Download or read book Impacts on U S Energy Expenditures and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Increasing Renewable Energy Use written by Michael Toman and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2008-06-24 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How could producing 25 percent of U.S. electricity and motor-vehicle transportation fuels from renewables by the year 2025 affect U.S. consumer energy expenditures and CO2 emissions? This report finds that reaching 25 percent renewables with limited impact on expenditures requires significant progress in renewable-energy technologies and biomass production. Without substantial innovation in these areas, expenditures could increase considerably.
Download or read book Impacts on U S Energy Expenditures of Increasing Renewable Energy Use written by Mark A. Bernstein and published by RAND Corporation. This book was released on 2006 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his 2006 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush enunciated goals for increasing the use of biomass fuels in transportation and curbing oil imports. Using a computer model, RAND assessed the possible impact that a 25-percent renewable energy target for electricity and motor vehicle ground transportation could have on total national energy expenditures and on emissions of local air pollutants and carbon dioxide by the year 2025. Currently, 6 percent of America's energy use comes from renewable sources, including hydropower. The authors estimate that about 18 percent of total demand in 2025 could be met by renewables. Further, as renewable energy supplants nonrenewable energy, demand for fuels declines, driving down the prices of fossil fuels in the model. In most cases considered in the study, significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions could also be achieved. The authors were able to identify potential critical points and ranges where changes in the prices of oil, gas, coal, or renewable technologies are found to result in a reduction or increase in energy expenditures.
Download or read book Accelerating Decarbonization of the U S Energy System written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by . This book was released on 2021-12-02 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world is transforming its energy system from one dominated by fossil fuel combustion to one with net-zero emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary anthropogenic greenhouse gas. This energy transition is critical to mitigating climate change, protecting human health, and revitalizing the U.S. economy. To help policymakers, businesses, communities, and the public better understand what a net-zero transition would mean for the United States, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine convened a committee of experts to investigate how the U.S. could best decarbonize its transportation, electricity, buildings, and industrial sectors. This report, Accelerating Decarbonization of the United States Energy System, identifies key technological and socio-economic goals that must be achieved to put the United States on the path to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The report presents a policy blueprint outlining critical near-term actions for the first decade (2021-2030) of this 30-year effort, including ways to support communities that will be most impacted by the transition.
Download or read book Energy Technology Innovation written by Arnulf Grubler and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An edited volume on factors determining success or failure of energy technology innovation, for researchers and policy makers.
Download or read book Effects of U S Tax Policy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-06-20 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Congress charged the National Academies with conducting a review of the Internal Revenue Code to identify the types of and specific tax provisions that have the largest effects on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions and to estimate the magnitude of those effects. To address such a broad charge, the National Academies appointed a committee composed of experts in tax policy, energy and environmental modeling, economics, environmental law, climate science, and related areas. For scientific background to produce Effects of U.S. Tax Policy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the committee relied on the earlier findings and studies by the National Academies, the U.S. government, and other research organizations. The committee has relied on earlier reports and studies to set the boundaries of the economic, environmental, and regulatory assumptions for the present study. The major economic and environmental assumptions are those developed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its annual reports and modeling. Additionally, the committee has relied upon publicly available data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which inventories greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from different sources in the United States. The tax system affects emissions primarily through changes in the prices of inputs and outputs or goods and services. Most of the tax provisions considered in this report relate directly to the production or consumption of different energy sources. However, there is a substantial set of tax expenditures called "broad-based" that favor certain categories of consumption-among them, employer-provided health care, owner-occupied housing, and purchase of new plants and equipment. Effects of U.S. Tax Policy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions examines both tax expenditures and excise taxes that could have a significant impact on GHG emissions.
Download or read book A Prospective Analysis of the Costs Benefits and Impacts of U S Renewable Portfolio Standards written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report evaluates the future costs, benefits, and other impacts of renewable energy used to meet current state renewable portfolio standards (RPSs). It also examines a future scenario where RPSs are expanded. The analysis examines changes in electric system costs and retail electricity prices, which include all fixed and operating costs, including capital costs for all renewable, non-renewable, and supporting (e.g., transmission and storage) electric sector infrastructure; fossil fuel, uranium, and biomass fuel costs; and plant operations and maintenance expenditures. The analysis evaluates three specific benefits: air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and water use. It also analyzes two other impacts, renewable energy workforce and economic development, and natural gas price suppression. This analysis finds that the benefits or renewable energy used to meet RPS polices exceed the costs, even when considering the highest cost and lowest benefit outcomes.
Download or read book Carbon Control in the U S Electricity Sector written by Paul W. Parfomak and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2011-04 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Congress has been debating a range of potential initiatives for reducing atmospheric CO2 from U.S. sources. Legislative proposals would seek to limit U.S. CO2 emissions to historical levels through emissions caps, carbon taxes, or other mechanisms. In the 110th Congress, the most prominent CO2 proposals sought reductions of nationwide CO2 emissions to 1990 levels or lower by 2030. Contents of this report: (1) Energy Efficiency and Conservation; (2) Renewable Energy; (3) Nuclear Power Generation; (4) Advanced Coal-Fired Power Generation; (5) Carbon Capture and Sequestration; (6) Plug-in Electric Hybrid Vehicles; (7) Distributed Energy Resources; (8) Policy Issues for Congress; (9) Conclusion. Illus. A print on demand report.
Download or read book Scenarios of U S Carbon Reductions written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Improving the Energy Performance of Buildings written by Charles P. Ries and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2009-09-21 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines how policies to increase energy efficiency in buildings in the European Union and Australia have worked and draws implications for the design of similar public policies for the United States. It appears that effective policies to promote energy efficiency can be devised using information disclosure, building codes, financial incentives, and benchmarking. Insights are presented to help designers of analogous U.S. policies.
Download or read book Imported Oil and U S National Security written by Keith Crane and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2009 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Assesses economic, political, and military concerns arising from the United States' dependence on foreign oil.
Download or read book Unconventional Fossil based Fuels written by Michael A. Toman and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2008 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Both high import payments for petroleum motor fuels and concerns regarding emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are motivating interest in possible fuel substitutes. Petroleum products derived from conventional crude oil constitute more than 50 percent of end-use energy deliveries in the United States and more than 95 percent of all energy used in the U.S. transportation sector. Almost 60 percent of liquid fuels are imported. Emissions from the consumption of petroleum account for 44 percent of the nation's CO2 emissions, with approximately 33 percent of national CO2 emissions resulting from transportation-fuel use. In this report, RAND researchers assess the potential future production levels, production costs, greenhouse gases, and other environmental implications of synthetic crude oil extracted from oil sands and fuels produced via coal liquefaction relative to conventional petroleum-based transportation fuels. The findings indicate the potential cost-competitiveness of these alternative fuels and the potential trade-offs that their deployment requires between economic and environmental considerations.
Download or read book Scenarios of U S Carbon Reductions written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report presents the results of a study conducted by five US Department of Energy national laboratories that quantifies the potential for energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies to reduce carbon emissions in the US. The stimulus for this study derives from a growing recognition that any national effort to reduce the growth of greenhouse gas emissions must consider ways of increasing the productivity of energy use. To add greater definition to this view, they quantify the reductions in carbon emissions that can be attained through the improved performance and increased penetration of efficient and low-carbon technologies by the year 2010. They also take a longer-term perspective by characterizing the potential for future research and development to produce further carbon reductions over the next quarter century. As such, this report makes a strong case for the value of energy technology research, development, demonstration, and diffusion as a public response to global climate change. Three overarching conclusions emerge from their analysis of alternative carbon reduction scenarios. First, a vigorous national commitment to develop and deploy cost-effective energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies could reverse the trend toward increasing carbon emissions. Along with utility sector investments, such a commitment could halt the growth in US energy consumption and carbon emissions so that levels in 2010 are close to those in 1997 (for energy) and in 1990 (for carbon). It must be noted that such a vigorous national commitment would have to go far beyond current efforts. Second, if feasible ways are found to implement the carbon reductions, the cases analyzed in the study are judged to yield energy savings that are roughly equal to or greater than costs. Third, a next generation of energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies promises to enable the continuation of an aggressive pace of carbon reductions over the next quarter century.
Download or read book Challenges for Europe in the World 2030 written by John Eatwell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 551 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenges for Europe in the World, 2030 embodies critical thinking about the long-term implications for Europe of the clear shift of power from the West to the East and the South. Designed as a multi-faceted project, this book presents an integrated assessment covering a wide range of policy areas and alternative assumptions about trends in global and European governance. In order to reach this ambitious objective in a comprehensive and consistent way, several types of quantitative and qualitative approaches have been combined: a model of macro regions of the world economy, an institutional perspective, and lessons from foresight studies. With a strong focus on policy implications, the book is introduced by an executive summary which outlines the project assumptions, especially on the future of Europe in the context of the current economic crisis and of the emergence of a new balance of powers in the global economy. Subsequent chapters cover the regulation of finance, trade and technology developments, environmental sustainability, employment conditions and population wellbeing. The book concludes with an assessment of the extent to which these developments are likely to lead to significant political changes in Europe. In sum this book challenges public policy makers to re-assess their thinking in shaping Europe’s future.
Download or read book Prospective Costs Benefits and Impacts of U S Renewable Portfolio Standards written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These slides were presented at a webinar on January 9, 2017. The slides overview a report that evaluates the future costs, benefits, and other impacts of renewable energy used to meet current state renewable portfolio standards (RPSs). It also examines a future scenario where RPSs are expanded. The analysis examines changes in electric system costs and retail electricity prices, which include all fixed and operating costs, including capital costs for all renewable, non-renewable, and supporting (e.g., transmission and storage) electric sector infrastructure; fossil fuel, uranium, and biomass fuel costs; and plant operations and maintenance expenditures. The analysis evaluates three specific benefits: air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and water use. It also analyzes two other impacts, renewable energy workforce and economic development, and natural gas price suppression. The analysis finds that the benefits or renewable energy used to meet RPS polices exceed the costs, even when considering the highest cost and lowest benefit outcomes.
Download or read book Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy written by Madhu Khanna and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-12-02 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concerns about energy security, uncertainty about oil prices, declining oil reserves, and global climate change are fueling a shift towards bioenergy as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Public policies and private investments around the globe are aiming to increase local capacity to produce biofuels. A key constraint to the expansion of biofuel production is the limited amount of land available to meet the needs for fuel, feed, and food in the coming decades. Large-scale biofuel production raises concerns about food versus fuel tradeoffs, about demands for natural resources such as water, and about potential impacts on environmental quality. The book is organized into five parts. The introductory part provides a context for the emerging economic and policy challenges related to bioenergy and the motivations for biofuels as an energy source. The second part of the handbook includes chapters that examine the implications of expanded production of first generation biofuels for the allocation of land between food and fuel and for food/feed prices and trade in biofuels as well as the potential for technology improvements to mitigate the food vs. fuel competition for land. Chapters in the third part examine the infrastructural and logistical challenges posed by large scale biofuel production and the factors that will influence the location of biorefineries and the mix of feedstocks they use. The fourth part includes chapters that examine the environmental implications of biofuels, their implications for the design of policies and the unintended environmental consequences of existing biofuel policies. The final part presents economic analysis of the market, social welfare, and distributional effects of biofuel policies.
Download or read book Technology Opportunities to Reduce U S Greenhouse Gas Emissions written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rise in greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial and agricultural activities has aroused international concern about the possible impacts of these emissions on climate. Greenhouse gases--mostly carbon dioxide, some methane, nitrous oxide and other trace gases--are emitted to the atmosphere, enhancing an effect in which heat reflected from the earth's surface is kept from escaping into space, as in a greenhouse. Thus, there is concern that the earth's surface temperature may rise enough to cause global climate change. Approximately 90% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources come from energy production and use, most of which are a byproduct of the combustion of fossil fuels. On a per capita basis, the United States is one of the world's largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, comprising 4% of the world's population, yet emitting 23% of the world's greenhouse gases. Emissions in the United States are increasing at around 1.2% annually, and the Energy Information Administration forecasts that emissions levels will continue to increase at this rate in the years ahead if we proceed down the business-as-usual path. President Clinton has presented a two-part challenge for the United States: reduce greenhouse gas emissions and grow the economy. Meeting the challenge will mean that in doing tomorrow's work, we must use energy more efficiently and emit less carbon for the energy expended than we do today. To accomplish these goals, President Clinton proposed on June 26, 1997, that the United States ''invest more in the technologies of the future''. In this report to Secretary of Energy Pena, 47 technology pathways are described that have significant potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The present study was completed before the December 1997 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is intended to provide a basis to evaluate technology feasibility and options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These technology pathways (which are described in greater detail in Appendix B, Technology Pathways) address three areas: energy efficiency, clean energy, and carbon sequestration (removing carbon from emissions and enhancing carbon storage). Based on an assessment of each of these technology pathways over a 30-year planning horizon, the directors of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) national laboratories conclude that success will require pursuit of multiple technology pathways to provide choices and flexibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Advances in science and technology are necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the United States while sustaining economic growth and providing collateral benefits to the nation.
Download or read book Impact of Climate Risk on the Energy System written by Amy Myers Jaffe and published by Council on Foreign Relations Press. This book was released on 2019-09-13 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change affects virtually every aspect of the U.S. energy system. As climatic effects such as rising seas and extreme weather continue to appear across many geographies, U.S. energy infrastructure is increasingly at risk. The U.S. Gulf Coast--which is home to 44 percent of total U.S. oil refining capacity and several major ports--is highly vulnerable to flooding events and dangerous ocean surges during severe storms and hurricanes. The link between water availability and energy and electricity production creates another layer of risk to U.S. energy security. Climate risk could manifest not only in physical damages, but also in financial market failures. Climate change-related challenges could impede energy firms' access to capital markets or private insurance markets. Already, climate-related risks have created severe financial problems at a handful of U.S. energy firms, forcing them to interrupt their sales of energy to consumers in particular locations. Over time, climatic disruptions to domestic energy supply could entail huge economic losses and potentially require sizable domestic military mobilizations. The United States is ill prepared for this national security challenge, and public debate about emergency preparedness is virtually nonexistent. To explore the challenges of climate risk to the U.S. energy system and national security, the Council on Foreign Relations organized a two-day workshop in New York, on March 18 and 19, 2019. The gathering of fifty participants included current and former state and federal government officials and regulators, entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, financial- and corporate-sector leaders, credit agencies, insurers, nongovernmental organizations, and energy policy experts. During their deliberations, workshop participants explored how climate-related risks to U.S. energy infrastructure, financial markets, and national security could be measured, managed, and mitigated. Impact of Climate Risk on the Energy System summarizes the insights from this workshop and includes contributions from seven expert authors delving into related topics.
