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Consumers' perceptions of energy use and energy savings / V Lesic, WB de Bruin, M Davis, T Krishnamurti, Environmental Research Letters, 2018, in press, 22 p. http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aaab92/pdfBackground. Policy makers and program managers need to better understand consumers’ perceptions of their energy use and savings to design effective strategies for promoting energy savings. Methods. We reviewed 14 studies from the emerging interdisciplinary literature examining consumers’ perceptions electricity use by specific appliances, and potential savings.Results. We find that: (1) electricity use is often overestimated for low-energy consuming appliances, and underestimated for high-energy consuming appliances; (2) curtailment strategies are typically preferred over energy efficiency strategies; (3) consumers lack information about how much electricity can be saved through specific strategies; (4) consumers use heuristics for assessing the electricity use of specific appliances, with some indication that more accurate judgments are made among consumers with higher numeracy and stronger pro-environmental attitudes. However, design differences between studies, such as variations in reference points, reporting units and assessed time periods, may affect consumers’ reported perceptions. Moreover, studies differ with regard to whether accuracy of perceptions was evaluated through comparisons with general estimates of actual use, self-reported use, household-level meter readings, or real-time smart meter readings. Conclusion. Although emerging findings are promising, systematic variations in the measurement of perceived and actual electricity use are potential cause for concern. We propose avenues for future research, so as to better understand, and possibly inform, consumers’ perceptions of their electricity use. Ultimately, this literature will have implications for the design of effective electricity feedback for consumers, and related policies.Russia-China Energy Dialogue: Research of the Most Promising Energy Areas for Interrelation / E Nezhnikova, O Papelniuk, AE Gorokhova, International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 2018, 8(1), 203-211. https://econjournals.com/index.php/ijeep/article/download/6119/3526Cooperation in the energy sector is an important component of the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership. The purpose of this work is to study the current state and prospects for the development of cooperation in the energy area of Russia and China. The information base of the research is a certain historical material on energy cooperation in the form of a dialogue between Russia and China. The research is based on the principles of a system approach by using historical research methods, comparative and statistical analysis. The results of analyzing the indicators that characterize the effectiveness of the interrelation between the two countries in the energy area allow the author to make the following conclusions. In the context of the complicating geopolitical situation, Russia as the largest exporter of energy resources and a participant in global energy processes has to develop efficient mechanisms for ABS diversifying export of energy resources and to focus on expanding energy cooperation. China is the largest importer of energy resources in the Asia-Pacific region and the world. It can become a promising partner for Russia to implement ambitious energy projects. There are such top-priority directions for the development of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector as participation in projects on developing the Arctic shelves, infrastructure development and increase in the capacity of the Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean export route, the launch of a new Power of Siberia pipeline, etc.Le gaz dans la transition énergétique européenne : enjeux et oppportunités / Sylvie Cornot-Gandolphe. Paris : IFRI, janvier 2018, 90 p. https://www.ifri.org/fr/publications/etudes-de-lifri/gaz-transition-energetique-europeenne-enjeux-opportunitesAprès des années difficiles pour l’industrie gazière européenne, le gaz revient sur le devant de la scène. Grâce à ses atouts environnementaux, sa flexibilité, sa performance et la diversité de ses usages, le gaz a en effet un rôle majeur à jouer dans la réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES), l’amélioration de la qualité de l’air et l’intégration des énergies renouvelables (ENR) dans le mix électrique. Ce rôle évoluera dans le temps et il convient de distinguer la période 2015-2030 et la période 2030-2050...An Overview of Economic Impacts of Shale Gas on EU Energy Security / Karel Janda and Ivan Kondratenko 16 January 2018, 32 p. (MPRA Paper ; n° 83945) https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/83945/1/MPRA_paper_83945.pdfThis paper analyzes the possible shale gas development in the EU in context with raising problem of energy security. Based on the experience of shale revolution in the USA the transfer of US model to the EU is discussed. The results show that shale production affects the price negatively and that US model is successful due to multiple reasons, primarily presence of experienced companies, geological structure and strong regulation rules. This paper shows the unsuitability of the US model for the EU market. After the first enthusiasm for shale plays research in late 2000s the multiple barriers for drilling have risen up; the most significant are the environmental worries; both on governmental and public levels. US companies have lost interest in the EU and moved to other parts of the world. The shale gas development is not able to affect the energy security of the EU on European, international level.Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report 2018. Lighting Global, Jan. 2018, 236 p. https://www.lightingglobal.org/embeds/globe/iframe.htmlThe 2018 Global Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report is the fourth report in a biennial series established over the past 8 years as the report of record for the off-grid solar industry. While the Lighting Global/GOGLA franchise of six-month market updates (H1 2017, H2 2016) serve as the go-to source of information for investors, industry members, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the off-grid solar space, the flagship Market Trends Report provides an opportunity to step back for reflection on long-term trends, challenges and opportunities—illuminating a path forward for the sector. The 2018 publication takes stock of the industry across six axes: market fundamentals, sales, the competitive landscape, finance, the enabling environment, and impact. It provides in-depth analysis on current market dynamics, projections for the coming five years, and a blueprint for how actors in this market can compete in a swiftly evolving industry ecosystem... lire la suiteDelivering Sustainable Bioenergy. Paris : IEA/OECD, Dec. 2017, 89 p. http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/energy/delivering-sustainable-bioenergy_9789264287600-enBioenergy is the main source of renewable energy today. IEA modelling also indicates that modern bioenergy is an essential component of the future low carbon global energy system if global climate change commitments are to be met, playing a particularly important role in helping to decarbonise sectors such as aviation, shipping and long haul road transport.However, the current rate of bioenergy deployment is well below the levels required in low carbon scenarios. Accelerated deployment is urgently needed to ramp up the contribution of sustainable bioenergy across all sectors, notably in the transport sector where consumption is required to triple by 2030.  But bioenergy is a complex and sometimes controversial topic. There is an increasing understanding that only bioenergy that is supplied and used in a sustainable manner has a place in a low carbon energy future.This Technology Roadmap re-examines the role of bioenergy in light of changes to the energy landscape over the past five years as well as recent experience in bioenergy policy, market development and regulation. It identifies the technical, policy and financial barriers to deployment, and suggests a range of solutions to overcome them.La co-combustion de bois dans les centrales charbon aux États-Unis : Un moyen détourné de prolonger l’usage du charbon ? / Vincent Bertrand. Chaire économie du climat, Univ Paris Dauphine, 24/01/2018, 10 p. (Policy brief ; 2018-2) https://www.chaireeconomieduclimat.org/publications/co-combustion-de-bois-centrales-charbon-aux-etats-unis-moyen-detourne-de-prolonger-lusage-charbon/La co-combustion de biomasse dans les centrales charbon est devenue très populaire aux États-Unis depuis 2014 et les premières annonces autour du Clean Power Plan de l’administration Obama. Paradoxalement, l’intérêt pour cette stratégie perdure sous l’administration Trump, en dépit de l’hostilité affichée vis-à-vis des politiques climatiques. Cela s’explique par l’impact positif de la co-combustion en termes d’emplois dans les industries du charbon et de l’exploitation forestière. Un livre blanc publié récemment aux États-Unis propose au Président Trump de mettre en place des politiques pour stimuler la co-combustion afin de soutenir les industries du charbon et de l’exploitation forestière, en crise depuis la révolution du gaz de schiste et le déclin constant de la demande de papier. La réduction des émissions de CO2 induite ne serait alors qu’un coproduit dont l’intérêt résiderait dans la possibilité de pouvoir éventuellement revenir à une politique climatique plus ambitieuse pour les États-Unis dans le futur, si l’on ne s’éloigne pas trop des trajectoires décidées lors de la COP 21. Cette stratégie n’est cependant pas sans risque pour le climat à long terme, si les mesures adoptées conduisent à l’éviction par le charbon de technologies non-carbonées et renouvelables. De façon générale, toute politique visant à promouvoir de manière spécifique la co-combustion comporte le risque de pénaliser les technologies non-carbonées et accroître les émissions de CO2 à long terme. Des études récentes montrent que ce risque existe en Europe.The SPIMEX Gas Exchange: Russian Gas Trading Possibilities / James Henderson, Tatiana Mitrova, Patrick Heather, Ekaterina Orlova &#38; Zlata Sergeeva. Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Jan. 2018, 31 p. (OIES paper ; NG 126) https://www.oxfordenergy.org/publications/spimex-gas-exchange-russian-gas-trading-possibilities/The sale and purchase of Russian gas in the post-Soviet era has been dominated by the need for Gazprom, the dominant player, to sell to consumers at a regulated price. Since 1998 other producers, known in Russian legal terminology as the independents, have been able to sell gas at market prices, but these prices have always been heavily influenced by the regulated price because of the dominance of Gazprom’s volumes. Initially independent producers sold gas at a premium to Gazprom, due to the fact that the regulated price was set at a low level to provide a boost to industry and a subsidy to residential consumers, with the result that their sales volumes were limited and only went to customers with a need for extra gas to cover surplus demand, even at premium prices. However, during the past two decades regulated prices have risen significantly (see figure 2 below), largely due to pressure from Gazprom which asserted its need for higher revenues to underpin investments in new fields. The consequence has been that by 2012 independent producers were able to compete with Gazprom on price and win customers who historically had wanted to only pay low, regulated prices. Indeed, since 2012 independents have won significant market share from Gazprom and now account for around half of all gas sold on the domestic Russian market. This increasing price competition has underlined that the regulated gas price has effectively reached an equilibrium, at least partially reflecting the balance of supply and demand in Russia. However, the search for a market mechanism to reflect this situation has continued, with almost all transactions to date being bilateral deals between buyer and seller, largely on the basis of long-term contracts. Various means to relate gas prices in Russia to market reality have been tried since 2000, with varying degrees of success, but in 2014 the launch of a gas exchange in St Petersburg by SPIMEX, the St Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange, has offered the latest, and most serious, opportunity for a true market price to be established. This can have important consequences in Russia, where the SPIMEX price could eventually provide a benchmark for the domestic wholesale gas price and could also provide a foundation for further liberalisation of the gas market. Given the location of the exchange at one end of the Nord Stream pipeline, it could also impact the trading of gas exports to Europe. This latter opportunity remains some way from realisation, but nevertheless the development of more active gas trading in St Petersburg is a growing reality and deserves the attention of the wider gas community given its potential to connect two major gas markets and the possibility that it could play a role in easing relations between Russia and its gas customers to the west.