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This paper briefly reviews some key aspects of U.S. energy policy history and policy-making complexity, considers the issues and pressures that growing international economic interdependency may bring, and suggests some approaches and tools for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of existing financial incentive policies in the U.S. for integrated photovoltaic and battery energy storage (PV-BES) systems. A mathematical model of PV-BES system to evaluate annual energy performance is developed in this paper. Four types of buildings (i.e., hospital, large office, large hotel, and secondary school) located in four different states, which each has their own PV and/or BES incentives, are selected and analyzed. Based on the energy performance data for each building type, the simply payback period (PBP) for the PV-BES system in different locations is calculated according to the local incentive policies. The PBP is chosen as an indicator to evaluate the effectiveness of incentive policies for different locations and building types by comparing it to the PBP for the same PV-BES systems without incentive policies. The reduction of carbon dioxide emission (CDE) due to the PV generation is also investigated since it indicates the potential to reduce the PBP for a further step when a high carbon credit is available. Furthermore, a parametric analysis is conducted to determine the sensitivity and contribution of parameters such as the capacity of the PV-BES system, the capital cost of PV module and the battery storage on the performance of the PV-BES system. Results show that for all the evaluated buildings in California and Hawaii, the existing incentive policy could reduce the PBP effectively below 10 years. However, the PBP for most of the evaluated buildings in New Jersey and New York were high even when both the PV and BES incentive policies were taken into account (approximately from 11 to 29 years). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a long time, the US policymakers have called for restrain over the country's high rate of oil consumption, as well as reducing its dependence on imported oil from the Middle East. It is against this backdrop that this study examines America's efforts to articulate a comprehensive long-term energy policy to address, among other things, these concerns. In doing so, the study began by analysing the US Energy Policy Act of 2005, (Public law 109–58) given particular attention to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Gulf of Mexico. The paper also discusses energy cooperation between the US and two Middle Eastern OPEC producers - Saudi Arabia and Libya. The paper attempts to put up a three-fold argument: that US heavy dependence on oil is likely to continue; that production from OPEC Members, particularly from Middle East, will meet the growing US and global oil demand, and that unilateral approach to energy issues will not succeed, but an inclusive approach to promote cooperation between producers and consumers to best serve the interests of all players and enhance global economic prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low grade energy streams are available in large quantities and end up as loss in the energy consumption in the United States. For sustainability and security of the energy future, various research efforts are under way to harness this low grade energy. This paper provides a review of low grade energy resources available in industry, and applications where that can be used. Then, an underdeveloped research area is identified in the integration of the low grade energy in process systems. Some of these areas include the use of low grade solar energy or flare systems, and applications include desalination, district heating, refrigeration, etc. A few applications related to saline agriculture are also identified. This work provides a basis where the recovery of low grade energy sources and subsequent integration can provide potential cost savings, environmental benefits and social impacts. The paper also concludes that further research is needed at the systems level for including sustainability considerations in the low grade energy integration of processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power split configurations exhibit potential on decreasing fuel consumption. However, how to select the best power split configuration among all the possible configurations still need to be explored. In this paper, a one-dimensional searching ECMS (Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy) is developed to evaluate fuel consumption for input power split configuration. Additionally, a battery degradation model based on experimental data is applied to evaluate the battery degradation for input power split configuration. According to one-dimensional searching ECMS and battery degradation model, the impact of different input power split configurations on fuel consumption and battery degradation is investigated. Simulations show that configuration T1 has fuel consumption and battery degradation advantages for PHEV city bus application in China. These advantages are observed because the system efficiency operation points of configuration T1 are closer to the high efficiency area than the system efficiency operation points of other input power split configurations. Furthermore, according to the lever model and one-dimensional searching ECMS method, a power split configuration selection method is provided in this paper. The simulation results based on configuration selection method still indicate that configuration T1 appears to have the best fuel economy for PHEV city bus application. Moreover, configuration T5, with a lever length close to 0, exhibits the worst fuel consumption and battery degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, combined heat and power (CHP) systems have gained more attention from the U.S. government. Both the federal government and the state government have proposed many incentive policies to promote CHP systems. This paper focuses on analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of existing incentive policies for CHP systems in various U.S. states. In this paper, the existing incentive policies for CHP systems in different states are classified in four categories: capital cost rebate, tax credits, low tax loan, and utility credits. Four types of buildings including hospitals, large offices, large hotels, and primary schools, located in different U.S. regions, are selected and analyzed for the CHP incentives. Using the EnergyPlus simulation software, the energy consumption of each building is obtained. Then the simulation models of a CHP system are established for each building type. From the simulation results, the payback period of the CHP systems in different locations is calculated according to local incentive policies. This payback period is then compared with the one without regard for incentive policies. The results show that most of the incentive policies could obviously shorten the payback period in various U.S. regions, however some of them seem meaningless because some incentives were not effective enough to give a favorable payback period. This paper reveals that the type and level of incentives to promote CHP systems need to be carefully determined because the effectiveness and usefulness of incentive policies are highly dependent on the CHP performance due to the capacity of the power generation unit, the operational strategy of CHP system, the climate location, and the ratio of electricity cost to fuel cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an intensive survey of literature focused on the different aspects of fracking as related to the environment, economy, energy security and sustainability and establishes an understanding of the economic benefits and negative impacts of fracking on the environmental sustainability. The paper is also suggesting the use of all of those implications in a more comprehensive framework that can identify the real cost and benefit in fracking such as the Life Cycle Costing which can use all these implications along with others that occur across all the phases of the fracking process to come up with the real value and worth of the fracking process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Biden Administration appreciates the deleterious consequences associated with unregulated natural gas usage, while it seemingly shies away from pursuing progressive measures against the industry. But a 2050 future characterized by zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions demands that here in the United States and globally, we arrest methane emissions as swiftly as possible. Methane emissions, after all, over the next several decades are far more potent than emissions from coal. And yet, our news is populated with stories warning of increased methane emissions and corresponding initiatives to reduce or eliminate them. To be sure, in April 2023, the White House announced a methane finance sprint to curb emissions, joining a host of other programs targeting methane. It even acknowledged how reducing such emissions would “have an outsized impact on nearterm warming.” Unfortunately, little about these existing initiatives afford sufficient comfort that natural gas will not simply replace coal as the fuel cabining our race to reach a 43% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, the target of the 2015 Paris Agreement, or a net zero energy economy by 2035 or a zero-emission economy by 2050—targets of the Biden Administration. This Essay probes the array of assumptions animating the Administration’s continued support for natural gas. It chronicles how we may be creeping toward another of what I term energy folly, championing a fuel ostensibly necessary today to support a reliable electric grid and spur the nascent yet emerging hydrogen economy. And it explores how natural gas proponents assume that several initiatives will diminish the climate change impacts from methane emissions, counseling against aggressive programs for reducing continued investment in natural gas infrastructure. But as this natural gas infrastructure continues to grow, possibly becoming a future-stranded asset or chilling our willingness to wean ourselves off natural gas, our existing regulatory system avoids any meaningful inquiry into the role of natural gas from now until 2030, 2035, or 2050. To remedy this, I suggest we ought to engage in this inquiry by constructing appropriate institutional mechanisms capable of asking the right questions. State regulatory commissions, the Department of Energy, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ought to appreciate how their decisions today can solidify possibly problematic natural gas infrastructure long after immediate need for the natural gas has faded. To avert this scenario, they should be capable of scrutinizing whether any proposal involving natural gas is necessary not merely immediately or the following year, but five or more years later as well. Regional entities could be formed to aid the endeavor; those entities could be tasked with combining annual analyses by the Energy Information Administration with similar regional assessments and projections on the need for natural gas not just immediately but for the entire physical and economic life of the infrastructure. This ought to include requiring any proposal for new natural gas infrastructure to accept a decommissioning or transition plan. FERC, for instance, should demand from applicants an enforceable timeline for achieving zero emissions, whether through a commitment toward carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) or an agreement to transition away from natural gas and toward hydrogen, or otherwise agreeing to shutter the infrastructure. Climate change is propelling us into a perilous future, and yet we continue to promote natural gas with unverified assumptions about how we can arrest methane emissions. Those assumptions may well prove our prescience. Natural gas may well provide a catalyst capable of transitioning our energy systems toward a much more dominant hydrogen-based economy. But a gambit with natural gas is risky. Our future, consequently, warrants being cautious and charging our institutions with the obligation to prevent natural gas from becoming the proverbial sword of Damocles, preventing our transition to a zero-carbon economy sooner rather than later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As desalination capacity expands in the United States and elsewhere, it raises questions about environmental and societal impacts. Research in the field of ecological economics could provide insights that help regions and the public evaluate whether to pursue and approve desalination proposals, and how to configure them. This paper explores the possible role of ecological economics in addressing many of these questions. Using California as a focal point, this paper identifies issues that are emerging as the number of desalination proposals increases and installed capacity grows. It then identifies existing literature; and frames the research needs. Research needs include improving desalination's ability to operate using intermittent, renewable power sources; understanding societal economic impacts including desalination's impact on marginally employed people; ecological impacts of desalination from a variety of perspectives, and (in the case of ocean desalination) governance of near-shore environmental impacts. Desalination research already spans multiple disciplines. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Fuel economy of hybrid vehicles is affected by their powertrain configurations, powertrain parameters, and energy management strategies. It is most beneficial to optimizing all the three factors simultaneously. However, when the design search space is large, an exhaustive, optimal control strategy, such as dynamic programming (DP), is too computationally expensive. Hence, a faster optimization method with higher computational efficiency and acceptable accuracy is required. Based on the DP approach, an approximate optimization method, called rapid dynamic programming (Rapid-DP), is developed and discussed in this paper. This method effectively reduces the decision-making time (the time can be reduced by a factor of 700, compared to the DP approach) for optimal control. The optimization processes and results are described and then compared with the original DP and PEARS + methods under two different driving cycles: FTP72 and HWFET. In conjunction with particle swarm optimization (PSO), the rapid-DP is leveraged, for the first time, to optimize key powertrain parameters for power split hybrid electric vehicles. Based on two power-split hybrids: Toyota Prius and Prius++, the joint optimization approach is exploited to examine vehicular fuel savings attributed to synergistic parameters optimization and operating-mode increase. The multi-mode configuration with optimal component parameters is demonstrated to be most fuel-efficient, with 6.56% and 3.15% fuel reductions under FTP72 and HWFET cycles, respectively, with respect to the original Prius 2010. Highlights • Dynamics of power split hybrid electric vehicles (PS-HEVs) are modeled. • Rapid dynamic programming (Rapid-DP) is introduced. • A joint energy management and component-parameter optimization is made. • Fuel economy of power split hybrid electric vehicles (PS-HEVs) is optimized. • Synergy of operating-mode increase and system optimization is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper received a manuscript prize award for the best research paper on Sustainable Real Estate (sponsored by the NAIOP Research Foundation) presented at the 2010 ARES Annual Meeting.Increasing numbers of communities are considering wind power developments. One concern within these communities is that proximate property values may be adversely affected, yet there has been little research on the subject. The present research investigates roughly 7,500 sales of single-family homes surrounding 24 existing wind facilities in the United States. Across four different hedonic models, and a variety of robustness tests, the results are consistent: neither the view of the wind facilities nor the distance of the home to those facilities is found to have a statistically significant effect on sales prices, yet further research is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth for the United States both at a country and at a sectoral level (Industry, Residential, Electric Power and Transportation) using an asymmetric threshold cointegration approach and monthly data from January 1991 to May 2016. Granger causality tests support a neutrality hypothesis for all sectors, except for the case of total consumption at the country level where a unidirectional causality is running from energy consumption to economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a follow up discussion on William Nordhaus' energy resources presentation in this issue. Comments from Henrik Houthakker where he takes issue with Nordhaus' contention that free markets cannot ensure an efficient pattern of resource allocation; Argument of the author; Notes that Nordhaus underestimated the importance of trade in existing assets; Contention that current energy problems stem from interference with free market business; Comments from Robert Solow who believes that research on intermediate technologies is vital; General Discussion within the panel members on the strengths and weakness of the report.

This study contributes to the body of literature on modeling and predicting gasoline demand by using nonlinear econometric techniques. For this purpose, dynamic model averaging (DMA) and Bayesian model averaging (BMA) combined with Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) are used to forecast gasoline consumption in the United States. The article's independent variables include demographic characteristics, economic activity, income, driving expenditures, automobile price, and road availability for annual data from 1960 to 2020. In the proposed model, not only may the coefficients and elasticity of a predictor of gasoline demand change over time, but other sets of predictors can also emerge at different periods. Moreover, this study aims to automate the process of picking two forgotten variables of the DMA model using the ABC model. Our findings indicate that dynamic model averaging significantly improves forecasting performance when compared to basic benchmark techniques and advanced approaches. Additionally, integrating it with an Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) may result in improved outcomes when time-varying forgetting variables are present. The findings of this research provide policymakers in the fields of energy economics and the environment with helpful tools and information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies a newly developed LM unit root test based on residual augmented least squares (RALS) regression under structural break and Bayer–Hanck cointegration approach to explore the integrating properties and to check whether a long run relationship exists among energy demand, financial development, economic growth, foreign direct investment (hereafter FDI), trade and capital using the United States dataset spanning over a period of four decades of 1973q1–2014q4. The results reveal cointegration among the series. Also, we find that financial development, FDI and real GDP reduce energy demand, while energy demand is positively affected by trade and capital in the long run. Moreover, real GDP and capital have an inverse impact on energy demand, while financial development, FDI and trade stimulate energy demand in the short run. Using a recently introduced asymmetric causality test, the results show that real GDP, FDI, trade and capital Granger cause energy demand in the long run, while a feedback effect is found for FDI and trade. This study opens up new insights for policy makers to maintain financial development and sustain economic growth in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity power is a basic industrial component which plays an important role in the economy of a nation. In this paper, the correlations evolution of electricity prices among 50 states and the District of Columbia are studied based on random matrix theory (RMT) Four regime shifts are identified from January 1990 to August 2014 in the U.S. residential, commercial and industrial electricity markets. Then, the genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to analyze the clusters of evolution. The results show that, the correlations of electricity prices increased continually in the three departments. However, it decreased in 2012 which further confirms its sensitivity to fuel market. Besides, four regime shifts exist in the three departments though the different times of occurrence caused by price level. And, the fluctuation of community evolution is consistent with four regime shifts. The final part is a summary of the research analyzed and results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy storage industry has expanded globally as costs continue to fall and opportunities in consumer, transportation, and grid applications are defined. As the rapid evolution of the industry continues, it has become increasingly important to understand how varying technologies compare in terms of cost and performance. This paper defines and evaluates cost and performance parameters of six battery energy storage technologies (BESS)—lithium-ion batteries, lead-acid batteries, redox flow batteries, sodium-sulfur batteries, sodium-metal halide batteries, and zinc-hybrid cathode batteries—four non-BESS storage systems—pumped storage hydropower, flywheels, compressed air energy storage, and ultracapacitors—and combustion turbines. Cost and performance information was compiled based on an extensive literature review, conversations with vendors and stakeholders, and costs of systems procured at sites across the United States. Detailed cost and performance estimates are presented for 2018 and projected out to 2025. Annualized costs were also calculated for each technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoltaic is emerging as a cost-competitive source of energy generation and has experienced a decade of substantial cost decline. Recognizing that innovation in sustainable technologies can substantially contribute to the sustainable generation of energy, the federal government, universities, and industries in the USA have invested considerably in innovative solar technologies involving photovoltaic energy generation. However, the association between innovations in photovoltaic energy generation, distribution, or transmission-related technologies (IPVEGRT) and carbon dioxide emissions is unclear. The present study significantly contributes to energy economics by inspecting the nexus between IPVEGRT and carbon dioxide emissions, renewable energy consumption, the expansionary monetary policy, international collaboration in green technology development, gross domestic product per capita, and trade openness in the USA from 1990Q1 to 2018Q4. The results indicate that IPVEGRT helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions. International collaboration in green technology development and renewable energy consumption was negatively associated with carbon dioxide emissions, while expansionary monetary policy, gross domestic product per capita, and trade openness were positively associated with carbon dioxide emissions. The two-way causality between IPVEGRT and carbon dioxide emissions and between international collaboration in green technology development and carbon dioxide emissions was validated. Finally, a one-way causality between expansionary monetary policy, carbon dioxide emissions, gross domestic product per capita, and carbon dioxide emissions was validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most promising strategies recommended for increasing energy security and for mitigating transportation sector emissions is to support alternative fuel technologies, including electric vehicles. However, there is a considerable amount of uncertainty regarding the market penetration of electric vehicles that must be accounted for in order to achieve the current market share goals. This paper aims to address these inherent uncertainties and to identify the possible market share of electric vehicles in the United States for the year 2030, using the developed Electric Vehicle Regional Market Penetration tool. First, considering their respective inherent uncertainties, the vehicle attributes are evaluated for different vehicle types, including internal combustion engine, gasoline hybrid, and three different electric vehicle types. In addition, an agent-based model is developed to identify the market shares of each of the studied vehicles. Finally, market share uncertainties are modeled using the Exploratory Modeling and Analysis approach. The government subsidies play a vital role in the market adoption of electric vehicle and, when combined with the word-of-mouth effect, may achieve electric vehicle market share of up to 30% of new sales in 2030 on average, with all-electric vehicles having the highest market share among the electric vehicle options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the Lotka–Volterra model to investigate the competitive interactions among energy, environment, and economy (3 E s) in the U.S. The proposed LV-COMSUD (Lotka–Volterra COmpetition Model for SUstainable Development) has satisfactory performance for model fitting and provides a useful multivariate framework to predict outcomes concerning these interactions. Our key findings include a pure competition between emissions and GDP (Gross Domestic Product), neutralisms between renewable and fossil/nuclear energy, and commensalisms between GDP and renewable/fossil energy and between nuclear energy and fossil energy/emissions. These results indicate that renewable/fossil energy use contributes to GDP and interacts indirectly with emissions, that an environmental Kuznets curve exists, and that the amount of produced nuclear energy correlates with emission. The U.S. is dependent on non-clean energy sources and its energy efficiency has room for improvement. The results provide unique insights for policy makers to craft up sustainable economic development plans. Overall, it is suggested that for developed markets such as the U.S., to enhance energy security and mitigate climate changes, improving energy efficiency and developing low-carbon clean energy should be top priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a comprehensive empirical assessment of American stimulus policies aimed at renewable energy (RE) technologies. We use an indicator-based methodology to assess progress with respect to energy, environmental and socio-economic issues resulting from RE stimulus programs linked to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and review and analyze the emerging but scattered literature. Overall, our results indicate that stimulus programs have had a positive effect on the RE sector. This is despite the fact that they were originally planned to work in combination with a greenhouse gas ‘cap-and-trade’ system, which has not been implemented. From the methodological perspective, our approach is resource-intensive and our analysis highlights numerous challenges, notably related to causality and additionality. Despite these limitations, this research improves our understanding of the broad effects and impacts of RE stimulus programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are expected to be commercially available on the world market in 2015, therefore, introducing hydrogen-refueling stations is an urgent issue to be addressed. This paper proposes deployment plan of hydrogen infrastructure for the success of their market penetration in the Northeastern United States. The plan consists of three-timeline stages from 2013 to 2025 and divides the designated region into urban area, suburban area and area adjacent to expressway, so that easy to access to hydrogen stations can be realized. Station is chosen from four types of stations: off-site station, urban-type on-site station, suburban-type on-site station and portable station, associated with growing demand. In addition, on-site station is used as hydrogen production factory for off-site station to save total investment. This deployment plan shows that 83% of urban residents can reach station within 10 min in 2025, and that more than 90% people especially in four major cities: Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. can get to station within 10 min by Geographic Information System (GIS) calculation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In a clean energy economy, green businesses play a central role by utilizing renewable energy technologies and employing green labor forces to provide clean energy services and goods. This paper aims at analyzing factors driving the growth and survival of green businesses in the U.S. states, with hypotheses proposed on the impacts from clean energy policies and tax incentives, labor market conditions, and economic and political environments. A fixed effect regression analysis is applied with a panel data set of 48 continental states from 1998 to 2007 in the United States. The statistical analysis with a longitudinal data set reveals that the adoption of renewable energy policies, the permission of renewable energy credits imports, the stringency of minimum wage legislations, and presence of clean energy business associations are the major driving forces of the green business development in the U.S. states. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Energy is a key input in investment decision making with a well-known effect on economic growth. Inelasticity of energy demand urges an understanding of its price dynamics. This paper makes a joint analysis of the price of oil, natural gas, and electricity in U.S. markets using a multi-regime specification that captures the stylized facts of energy prices. Oil and natural gas returns have similar regime dynamics and are well characterized by a high and low volatility regime. Electricity returns have to be parameterized with more regimes: a low volatility, a price spike, and a mean-reverting regime. The California crisis period stands out as a sole regime with extremely high volatility. Our methodology allows the synchronization among regimes to be studied and we find that electricity prices tend to be synchronized in U.S. wholesale markets, while natural gas returns show synchronization with electricity returns in the low volatility regime. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recently, showed that a simple system of coupled differential equations can be used for a quantitative description of the exploitation of non renewable resources in a free market economy. The present paper examines how the model describes the behavior of the system in terms of energy return for energy invested (EROEI) and net energy (energy returned minus energy expended). We show that the model generates a behavior of these factors comparable to the results obtained by other methods, for instance for the case of crude oil production in the US. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The recent development of small scale combined heat and power (CHP) systems has provided the opportunity for in-house power backup of residential-scale photovoltaic (PV) arrays. This paper investigates the potential of deploying a distributed network of PV+CHP hybrid systems in order to increase the PV penetration level in the U.S. The temporal distribution of solar flux, electrical and heating requirements for representative U.S. single family residences were analyzed and the results clearly show that hybridizing CHP with PV can enable additional PV deployment above what is possible with a conventional centralized electric generation system. The technical evolution of such PV+CHP hybrid systems was developed from the present (near market) technology through four generations, which enable high utilization rates of both PV-generated electricity and CHP-generated heat. A method to determine the maximum percent of PV-generated electricity on the grid without energy storage was derived and applied to an example area. The results show that a PV+CHP hybrid system not only has the potential to radically reduce energy waste in the status quo electrical and heating systems, but it also enables the share of solar PV to be expanded by about a factor of five. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Intense energy security debates amidst the ever increasing demand for energy in the US have provided sufficient impetus to investigate alternative and sustainable energy sources to the current fossil fuel economy. This paper presents the advanced (injection) low pilot ignition natural gas (ALPING) engine as a viable, efficient, and low emission alternative to conventional diesel engines, and discusses further efficiency improvements to the base ALPING engine using organic rankine cycles (ORC) as bottoming cycles. The ALPING engine uses advance injection (50-60 deg BTDC) of very small diesel pilots in the compression stroke to compression ignite a premixed natural gas-air mature. It is believed that the advanced injection of the higher cetane diesel fuel leads to longer incylinder residence, times for the diesel droplets, thereby resulting in distributed ignition at multiple spatial locations, followed by lean combustion of the higher octane natural gas fuel via localized flame propagation. The multiple ignition centers result in faster combustion rates and higher fuel conversion efficiencies. The lean combustion of natural gas leads to reduction in local temperatures that result in reduced oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions, since NOx emissions scale with local temperatures. In addition, the lean pre-mixed combustion of natural gas is expected to produce very little particulate matter emissions (not measured). Representative base line ALPING (60 deg BTDC pilot injection timing) (without the ORC) half load (1700 rpm, 21 kW) operation efficiencies reported in this study are about 35% while the corresponding NOx emission is about 0.02 g/kWh, which is much lower than EPA 2007 Tier 4 Bin 5 heavy-duty diesel engine statutes of 0.2 g/kW h. Furthermore, the possibility of improving fuel conversion efficiency at half load operation with ORCs using "dry fluids" is discussed. Dry organic fluids, due to their lower critical points, make excellent choices for waste heat recovery Rankine cycles. Moreover previous studies indicate that dry fluids are more preferable compared to wet fluids because the need to superheat the fluid to extract work from the turbine is eliminated. The calculations show that ORC—turbocompounding results in fuel conversion efficiency improvements of the order of 10% while maintaining the essential low NOx characteristics of ALPING combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: High expansion of power demand is expected in the Upper Rio Grande region of far west Texas as a result of both electrical demand growth and decommissioning of installed capacity. On the supply side, a notable deployment of renewable power technologies can be projected owing to the recent legislation of a new energy policy in Texas, which attempts to reach 10,000 installed MWe of renewable capacity for 2025. Power generation fueled by natural gas might consistently expand due to the encouraged use of this fuel. In this context, the array of participating technologies can be optimized within a sustainability framework, which translates into a multi-objective optimization problem. In this paper, the problem is formulated and solved to determine supply shares for some chosen technologies based on both renewable power conversion and natural gas use. The exergetic and economic costs are established as primary competing factors. The deployment of renewable power technologies hypothetically follows the Gompertz growth model, which is constrained by exergetic self sustenance. The solution is given as a Pareto tradeoff front for arrays of optimal technologies and capacities. Additionally, the sustainability of these arrays is analyzed through indicators, and the current goal for renewable power technologies is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper describes an economic and statistical approach to modeling and forecasting municipal solid waste generation in the US energy supply. It begins with a discussion of the historical developments in the waste to energy industry over the last 25 years. Then a model is developed to provide energy policy makers with an analytical framework for understanding the relationships between the solid waste industry and the waste to energy industry. The model is tested empirically using data at the national level. The model's forecasts are compared with projections made by the US Environmental Protection Agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the allocation of energy resources in the United States. How some are worrying about the exhaustion of petroleum supplies; Discussion of the role of markets for resources; Details on the efficient allocation of energy resources; Recoverable energy resources in the world; Technologies used in processing energy resources; Cost of intermediate energy products without the cost of royalties; Terminal conditions and discount rates or backstop technology; Environmental constraints; Results of the basic case which states there are sufficient energy resources for two hundred years; Exploration of gasoline pricing; Role of foreign trade; Implications for energy policy.

The article discusses several aspects of the energy situation in the U.S. that appeared after the gasoline shortage of 1973 and the natural gas shortage during 1977, and other consequences with energy policies initiated by the U.S. Federal Energy Administration. The authors share a concern about government intrusions into an area where higher energy prices would lead the private sector into making changes the acts now mandate but in a more efficient and less costly manner. The article suggests that the cost of energy is one of many associated with product manufacture, ownership, and operation. The article emphasizes that energy costs to the exclusion of others may result in inefficient actions by manufacturers, distributors, and consumers.

The authors revisit the relationship between US economic growth and crude oil prices considering Industrial Production Index and West Texas Intermediate crude oil spot prices as respective proxies for a period spanning over January 1986 to June 2017. To capture the asymmetric and time-varying relationship, the authors employ maximum overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT)-based quantile regression (QR) analysis. Interestingly, MODWT-based QR analysis provides evidence of supply-driven link between crude oil prices and economic growth in the short run. However, in the medium to long run a demand-driven link is dominant. In addition, the QR results without MODWT also advocate a demand-driven link. Overall, the result of this study adds a new dimension to the literature on the relationship between crude oil prices and economic growth by focusing upon the time-frequency varying business cycle fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]