research paper topics on energy conservation

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Household energy consumption: state of the art, research gaps, and future prospects

• Published: 03 January 2021
• Volume 23 , pages 12479–12504, ( 2021 )

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• Xiao Han 1 &
• Chu Wei   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7704-5544 1  

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Household energy consumption accounts for almost one third of global primary energy demand and significantly affects the environment. As such, it has served as a classic and compelling theme in the literature, with a range of studies having analyzed various aspects of household consumption, including energy conservation, energy poverty, and energy efficiency. Nonetheless, overall trends and frontiers in this research area have not been characterized and are poorly understood. This study aims to assess the current status, evolution, and emerging topics in this area through a bibliometric and network analysis of 1134 extracted publications from 1983 to 2018. This systematic review shows that nearly half the studies on household energy consumption were published in just three journals (namely, Energy Policy; Energy; and Energy Economics) with a focus on three areas (Environmental Sciences and Ecology; Energy and Fuels; Business and Economics). The findings also show that among contributing countries, the USA and China have the closest ties and wield the most academic influence. Furthermore, emerging and pioneering studies on behavioral interventions, energy conservation, and energy poverty and those pertaining to climate and electricity consumption may constitute the research frontier.

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We thank the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71622014, 41771564) and the National Statistical Research Program (2019LD09).

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Han, X., Wei, C. Household energy consumption: state of the art, research gaps, and future prospects. Environ Dev Sustain 23 , 12479–12504 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01179-x

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Could video streaming be as bad for the climate as driving a car? Calculating Internet’s hidden carbon footprint

Stefano Bonetti , Ca' Foscari University of Venice

Climate explained: why does geothermal electricity count as renewable?

Susan Krumdieck , University of Canterbury

5 ways to shift consumers towards sustainable behaviour

David J. Hardisty , University of British Columbia ; Katherine White , University of British Columbia , and Rishad Habib , University of British Columbia

Not all consumers are equal – in terms of what they save by using efficient appliances

Eric Williams , Rochester Institute of Technology ; Ashok Sekar , The University of Texas at Austin , and Eric Hittinger , Rochester Institute of Technology

France: The road to a low-carbon building sector by 2050 will be a long one

Carine Sebi , Grenoble École de Management (GEM) and Joachim Schleich , Grenoble École de Management (GEM)

Heat is a serious threat to dairy cows – we’re finding innovative ways to keep them cool

Alycia Drwencke , University of California, Davis ; Cassandra Tucker , University of California, Davis , and Theresa Pistochini , University of California, Davis

Low-income neighborhoods would gain the most from green roofs in cities like Chicago

Ashish Sharma , University of Notre Dame

Related Topics

• Climate change
• Consumer habits
• Energy consumption
• Energy efficiency
• Fossil fuels
• Social networks
• Solutions Journalism
• Sustainable cities
• The Conversation Europe

Top contributors

Professor of Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology

Illinois Research Climatologist, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Professor of Energy Economics, Grenoble École de Management (GEM)

Professor of Energy Transition, Heriot-Watt University

Associate Professor of Public Policy, Rochester Institute of Technology

Professor of Animal Science, University of California, Davis

PhD Candidate, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Davis, University of California, Davis

Graduate Student, University of California, Davis

Postdoctoral Fellow, Energy Systems Transformation (EST) Research Group, The University of Texas at Austin

Professeure associée et coordinatrice de la chaire « Energy for Society », Grenoble École de Management (GEM)

Assistant Professor of Marketing & Behavioral Science, University of British Columbia

Professor and Academic Director of the Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics, University of British Columbia

PhD student, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia

Professor of Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice

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116 Renewable Energy Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on renewable energy, 🌶️ hot renewable energy essay topics, 👍 good renewable energy research topics & essay examples, 💡 simple renewable energy essay ideas, ❓ renewable energy research questions.

• Solving the Climate Change Crisis by Using Renewable Energy Sources
• How Wind Turbines Convert Wind Energy into Electrical Energy?
• Renewable Energy Technology in Egypt
• Discussion of Renewable Energy Resources
• Siemens Energy: Renewable Energy System
• The Use of Renewable Energy: Advantages and Disadvantages
• Renewable Energy: Why Do We Need It?
• Solar Energy: Advantages and Disadvantages Renewable energy sources are being supported and invested in by governments to instigate a new environment-friendly technology.
• Wind Energy as an Alternative Source While energy is a must for our survival, wind energy as a seemingly perpetual source of energy is the potential answer to the energy security of our generations to come.
• Solar Energy and Its Impact on Environment The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of solar energy on the environment. The major positive impact is the minimal emission of greenhouse gases.
• Renewable Energy Sources: Popularity and Benefits Renewable fuels are not as pollutive as fossil fuels; they can be reproduced quickly from domestic resources. They became popular because of the decreasing amount of fossil fuels.
• Utilization of Solar Energy for Thermal Desalination The following research is set to outline the prospects of utilization of solar energy for thermal desalination technologies.
• Renewable Energy Sources for Saudi Arabia This paper will provide background information on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its energy resources, and how it may become more modern and efficient.
• The G20 Countries’ Competitiveness in Renewable Energy Resources “Assessing national renewable energy competitiveness of the G20” by Fang et al. presents an assessment of competitiveness in renewable energy resources among G20 countries.
• Discussion of Realization of Solar Energy Company ABC is interested in creating a “solar” project which will fully install and staff solar panels to ensure the safe transformation of solar energy into electricity.
• Solar Power as the Best Source of Energy The concepts of environmental conservation and sustainability have forced many countries and organizations to consider the best strategies or processes for generating electricity.
• Sunburst Renewable Energy Corporation: Business Structuring The proposed Sunburst Renewable Energy Corporation will function on a captivating value statement in product strategy and customer relationships as the core instruments of sustainable operations.
• Renewable Energy Sources: Definition, Types and Stocks This research report analyzes the growing interest of the use renewable energy as an alternative to the non-renewable energy.
• Environmental Degradation and Renewable Energy The global community relies on the surrounding environment for food production, transport, and economic development.
• Renewable Energy in Japan: Clean Energy Transition Renewable energy in Japan became significantly important after the Fukushima Daiichi tsunami that struck Japan in 2011.
• The Concept of Sustainability in Energy Plan for 2030-2040 The paper discusses the concept of sustainability takes a central role in the global discussion and presents of environment safety plan.
• Future of 100% Renewable Energy This article explores the future of renewable green energy and a review the topical studies related to 100% renewable energy.
• Full Renewable Energy Plan Feasibility for 2030-2040 This paper argues that green energy in its current state will struggle to meet humanity’s demand and the development of better hybrid, integrated grids is required.
• Profitability of Onshore and Offshore Wind Energy in Australia Undoubtedly, the recent increase in popularity of campaigns to decarbonize the globe proves renewable energy to be a current and future trend globally.
• Renewable Energy: The Use of Fossil Fuel The paper states that having a combination of renewable energy sources is becoming critical in the global effort to reduce the use of fossil fuels.
• Is Nuclear Power Renewable Energy? Renewable energy is obtained from the naturally-occurring elements, implying that it can be easily accessed, cheaply generated, and conveniently supplied to consumers.
• Solar Energy in China and Its Influence on Climate Change The influence of solar energy on climate change has impacted production, the advancement of solar energy has impacted climate change in the geography of China.
• Full Renewable Energy Plan Feasibility: 2030-2040 The paper argues that green energy in its current state will struggle to meet the humanity’s demand and the development of better hybrid, integrated grids is required.
• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Utilization This paper aims at expounding the effectiveness of renewable energy and the utilization of energy efficiency in regard to climate change.
• A World With 100% Renewable Energy Large corporations, countries, and separate states have already transferred or put a plan into action to transfer to 100% renewable energy in a couple of decades.
• Renewable Energy Programs in Five Countries Energy production is vital for the drive of the economy. The world at large should diversify the sources to reduce the over-usage of fossil energy that is a threat of depletion.
• Wind Works Ltd.: Wind Energy Development Methodology Wind Works Ltd, as the company, which provides the alternative energy sources, and makes them available for the wide range of the population needs to resort to a particular assessment strategies.
• Installing Solar Panels to Reduce Energy Costs The purpose of the proposal is to request permission for research to install solar panels to reduce energy costs, which represent a huge part of the company’s expenses.
• Renewable Energy: Economic and Health Benefits The US should consider the adoption of renewable sources of energy, because of the high cost of using fossil fuels and expenses related to health problems due to pollution.
• Renewable Energy Systems Group and Toyota Company The application of the Lean Six Sigma to the key company processes, creates prerequisites for stellar success, as the examples of Toyota and the Renewable Energy Systems Group have shown.
• Renewable Energy Usage: Advantages and Disadvantages This treatise attempts to support the statement that there are both advantages and disadvantages to the use of renewable energy with focus on hydroelectric power.
• Renewable Energy Systems: Australia’s Electricity
• Accelerating Renewable Energy Electrification and Rural Economic Development With an Innovative Business Model
• Renewable Energy Systems: Role of Grid Connection
• Breaking Barriers Towards Investment in Renewable Energy
• California Dreaming: The Economics of Renewable Energy
• Marine Renewable Energy Clustering in the Mediterranean Sea: The Case of the PELAGOS Project
• Differences Between Fossil Fuel and Renewable Energy
• Addressing the Renewable Energy Financing Gap in Africa to Promote Universal Energy Access: Integrated Renewable Energy Financing in Malawi
• Causality Between Public Policies and Exports of Renewable Energy Technologies
• Achieving the Renewable Energy Target for Jamaica
• Economic Growth and the Transition From Non-renewable to Renewable Energy
• Between Innovation and Industrial Policy: How Washington Succeeds and Fails at Renewable Energy
• Increasing Financial Incentive for Renewable Energy in the Third World
• Does Financial Development Matter for Innovation in Renewable Energy?
• Financing Rural Renewable Energy: A Comparison Between China and India
• Alternative Energy for Renewable Energy Sources
• Low-Carbon Transition: Private Sector Investment in Renewable Energy Projects in Developing Countries
• Effective Renewable Energy Activities in Bangladesh
• China’s Renewable Energy Policy: Commitments and Challenges
• Analyzing the Dynamic Impact of Electricity Futures on Revenue and Risk of Renewable Energy in China
• Driving Energy: The Enactment and Ambitiousness of State Renewable Energy Policy
• Carbon Lock-Out: Advancing Renewable Energy Policy in Europe
• Big Oil vs. Renewable Energy: A Detrimental Conflict With Global Consequences
• Efficient Feed-In-Tariff Policies for Renewable Energy Technologies
• Balancing Cost and Risk: The Treatment of Renewable Energy in Western Utility Resource Plans
• Active and Reactive Power Control for Renewable Energy Generation Engineering
• Mainstreaming New Renewable Energy Technologies
• Carbon Pricing and Innovation of Renewable Energy
• Economic Growth, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Renewable Energy and Globalization
• Figuring What’s Fair: The Cost of Equity Capital for Renewable Energy in Emerging Markets
• Distributed Generation: The Definitive Boost for Renewable Energy in Spain
• Biodiesel From Green Rope and Brown Algae: Future Renewable Energy
• Electricity Supply Security and the Future Role of Renewable Energy Sources in Brazil
• Contracting for Biomass: Supply Chain Strategies for Renewable Energy
• Advanced Education and Training Programs to Support Renewable Energy Investment in Africa
• Domestic Incentive Measures for Renewable Energy With Possible Trade Implications
• Affordable and Clean Renewable Energy
• Catalyzing Investment for Renewable Energy in Developing Countries
• Better Health, Environment, and Economy With Renewable Energy Sources
• Afghanistan Renewable Energy Development Issues and Options
• How Economics Can Change the World With Renewable Energy?
• Are Green Hopes Too Rosy? Employment and Welfare Impacts of Renewable Energy Promotion
• Marketing Strategy for Renewable Energy Development in Indonesia Context Today
• Biomass Residue From Palm Oil Industries is Used as Renewable Energy Fuel in Southeast Asia
• Assessing Renewable Energy Policies in Palestine
• Chinese Renewable Energy Technology Exports: The Role of Policy, Innovation, and Markets
• Business Models for Model Businesses: Lessons From Renewable Energy Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries
• Economic Impacts From the Promotion of Renewable Energy Technologies: The German Experience
• Key Factors and Recommendations for Adopting Renewable Energy Systems by Families and Firms
• Improving the Investment Climate for Renewable Energy
• How Will Renewable Energy Play a Role in Future Economies?
• What Are the Advantages of Renewable Energy?
• What Is the Term for a Renewable Energy Source That Taps Into Heat Produced Deep Below Ground?
• What Are the Basic Problems of Renewable Energy?
• Why Is Solar Energy the Best Resource of Renewable Energy?
• How Can You Make a Potentially Renewable Energy Resource Sustainable?
• What Is a Possible Cost of Using Renewable Energy Resources?
• What Is the Contribution of Renewable Energy Sources to Global Energy Consumption?
• How Do Renewable Energy Resources Work?
• What Is the Most Viable Renewable Energy Source for the US to Invest In?
• Why Isn’t Renewable Energy More Widely Used Than It Is?
• Is Coal Still a Viable Resource Versus Windpower Being Renewable Energy?
• What Is the Difference Between Non-renewable and Renewable Energy?
• Why Is It Necessary to Emphasize Renewable Energy Sources in Order to Achieve a Sustainable Society?
• Is Aluminum an Example of a Renewable Energy Resource?
• What Fraction of Our Energy Currently Comes From Renewable Energy Sources?
• What Are the Disadvantages of Renewable Energy?
• What Would Have to Happen to Completely Abandon Non-renewable Energy Sources?
• Why Are Renewable Energy Better Than Fossil Fuels?
• How Could a Renewable Energy Resource Become Non-renewable?
• How Have Renewable Energy Resources Replaced a Percentage of Fossil Fuels in Different Countries?
• How Can Water Be Used as a Renewable Energy Resource?
• What Is the Most Practical Renewable Energy Source?
• What Steps Are Necessary to Further the Use of Renewable Energy Resources in THE US?
• Why Is Renewable Energy Use Growing?
• What Type of Renewable Energy Should Businesses in Your Region Invest In?
• How Does Renewable Energy Reduce Climate Change?
• Can the Development of Renewable Energy Sources Lead To Increased International Tensions?
• How Do Renewable Energy Resources Affect the Environment?
• Why Have So Many Governments Decided to Subsidize Renewable Energy Initiatives?

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These essay examples and topics on Renewable Energy were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on December 28, 2023 .

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Energy Conservation and Renewable Applications in Urban Areas and Built Environment

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Energy is a key element for all human activities such as industry, agriculture, housing, and transportation. Energy production determines the level of the development that any country could reach. In addition, many developing countries are facing shortages in their basic needs for energy supplies, therefore ...

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Elevating Community Voices in the Transition to Net Zero

Environmental justice has come to the forefront of initiatives as policymakers seek to create a just transition to net-zero carbon emissions. Panelists at a recent Climate Conversations session discussed how environmental justice helps communities to have their voices heard and be included in decision-making.

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Discovering the Promise of RNA

A new report from the National Academies provides a road map to develop the capacity within 15 years to sequence any RNA molecule from any biological system with all its modifications. Transforming our understanding of RNA could have impacts that span far beyond the biomedical sciences and health.

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The transition to renewable energy has spurred many efforts to scale up the U.S. portfolio of efficient clean energy resources, including the development of offshore wind farms. The Nantucket Shoals region off the coast of Massachusetts is the first large scale wind farm installation under development in U.S. waters. To ensure Nantucket Shoals region offshore wind energy installations are being planned, constructed, and developed in an environmentally responsible way, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) asked the National Academies to evaluate the potential for offshore wind farms in the Nantucket Shoals region to affect oceanic physical processes, and, in turn, how those hydrodynamic alterations might affect local to regional ecosystems. Of particular interest to BOEM are the potential effects of hydrodynamic changes on zooplankton productivity and aggregations, which may affect foraging for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

This report found the impacts of offshore wind projects on the North Atlantic right whale and the availability of their prey in the Nantucket Shoals region will likely be difficult to distinguish from the significant impacts of climate change and other influences on the ecosystem. Further study and monitoring of the oceanography and ecology of the Nantucket Shoals region is needed to fully understand the impact of future wind farms. This report recommends the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and others should promote observational studies and modeling that will advance understanding of potential hydrodynamic effects and their consequent impacts on ecology in the Nantucket Shoals region during all phases of wind energy development.

Potential Hydrodynamic Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Nantucket Shoals Regional Ecology: An Evaluation from Wind to Whales

The concept of a just transition is increasingly recognized as a key element of sustainable development and the transformation of low-carbon economies and societies. Challenges to achieve a just transition include limited data availability and stakeholder engagement, issues of inequality, lack of regulations, and limited financial resources. To explore how to address these challenges, the Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability, the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems, and the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine jointly convened a public workshop on July 24, 2023. Participants discussed scientific-related priorities to a just transition and ways to translate research from the lab to the field and practice, as well as ways to inform policy making. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Challenges and Opportunities Toward a Just Transition and Sustainable Development: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief

The world confronts an existential challenge in responding to climate change, resulting in an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors of the economy. What will it take for new and advanced nuclear reactors to play a role in decarbonization? Nuclear power provides a significant portion of the worlds low-carbon electricity, and advanced nuclear technologies have the potential to be smaller, safer, less expensive to build, and better integrated with the modern grid. However, if the United States wants advanced nuclear reactors to play a role in its plans for decarbonization, there are many key challenges that must be overcome at the technical, economic, and regulatory levels.

Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States discusses how the United States could support the successful commercialization of advanced nuclear reactors with a set of near-term policies and practices. The recommendations of this report address the need to close technology research gaps, explore new business use cases, improve project management and construction, update regulations and security requirements, prioritize community engagement, strengthen the skilled workforce, and develop competitive financing options.

Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States

Today, with a changing climate putting pressure on communities and ecosystems worldwide, goals for a carbon-neutral economy mean that renewable and low-carbon energy sources are being presented as solutions. While these cleaner energy sources have the potential to reduce risk to the environment and bring energy security closer to a reality, questions remain about the stability of the energy supply chain, the ability to meet energy demand reliably, and the best ways to produce fair and equitable outcomes in an energy transition.

To serve as a catalyst for developing new insights and coordination around the energy transition, the Gulf Research Program at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a 2-day workshop in Washington, DC, called Navigating the Energy Transition in the Gulf of Mexico. Based around two scenarios in the year 2050 - one in which a carbon neutral economy is achieved and another in which robust dependence on fossil fuels remains - this serious gaming event stimulated the sharing of ideas, concerns, and cascading impacts from participants across academia, industry, government, and Gulf communities. This publication summarizes the activities, presentations, and discussion of the workshop.

Navigating the Energy Transition in the Gulf of Mexico: Proceedings of a Workshop

While technologies are clearly instrumental in transitioning away from fossil fuel-based energy and toward a decarbonized economy, decisions about which technologies are prioritized, how they are implemented, and the policies that drive these changes will have profound effects on people and communities, with important implications for equity, jobs, environmental and energy justice, health, and more. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States: Technology, Policy, and Societal Dimensions was tasked with assessing the broad range of technological, policy, and societal dimensions of decarbonizing the U.S. economy. The committee produced a 2021 report that provides the U.S. government with a roadmap of equitable and robust decarbonization policies. The next report of the committee will address the broader range of policy actors who play a role in equitable energy transition.

To inform its deliberations, the committee hosted a 1-day workshop on July 26, 2022 to discuss critical issues of equity and justice during the energy transition. The goal of the workshop, titled Pathways to an Equitable and Just Transition: Principles, Best Practices, and Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement, was to move beyond energy technologies and elicit ideas and insights to inform the development of principles, best practices, and actionable recommendations for a broad range of policy actors and stakeholders in order to fully operationalize equity, justice, and inclusion. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Pathways to an Equitable and Just Energy Transition: Principles, Best Practices, and Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement: Proceedings of a Workshop

Carbon materials pervade many aspects of modern life, from fuels and building materials to consumer goods and commodity chemicals. Reaching net-zero emissions will require replacing existing fossil-carbon-based systems with circular-carbon economies that transform wastes like CO2 into useful materials. This report evaluates market opportunities and infrastructure needs to help decision makers better understand how carbon dioxide utilization can contribute to a net-zero emissions future.

Carbon Dioxide Utilization Markets and Infrastructure: Status and Opportunities: A First Report

High energy density (HED) science has critical applications for society from fusion energy to sustaining the US nuclear deterrent, while also contributing to broader scientific questions such as understanding planets and their origins.

The next decade of HED science will be instrumental to growing our understanding and in the development of new technologies and processes. Fundamental Research in High Energy Density Science identifies key challenges and science questions for the field for the coming decade and proposes ways to address them.

Fundamental Research in High Energy Density Science

Over the last three decades, there have been fundamental shifts in the electricity system, including the growing adoption of clean distributed generation energy technologies such as rooftop solar. Net metering, which compensates customers for excess energy they contribute to the grid, has been instrumental in supporting the integration of these systems into the grid, but these policies may need to change to better address future needs.

The Role of Net Metering in the Evolving Electricity System explores the medium-to-long term impacts of net metering on the electricity grid and customers. This report evaluates how net metering guidelines should evolve to support a decarbonized, equitable, and resilient electricity system.

The Role of Net Metering in the Evolving Electricity System

The United States has deployed commercial nuclear power since the 1950s, and as of 2021, nuclear power accounts for approximately 20 percent of U.S. electricity generation. The current commercial nuclear fleet consists entirely of thermal-spectrum, light water reactors operating with low-enriched uranium dioxide fuel in a once-through fuel cycle. In recent years, the U.S. Congress, U.S. Department of Energy, and private sector have expressed considerable interest in developing and deploying advanced nuclear reactors to augment, and possibly replace, the U.S. operating fleet of reactors, nearly all of which will reach the end of their currently licensed operating lives by 2050. Much of this interest stems from the potential ability of advanced reactors and their associated fuel cycles - as claimed by their designers and developers - to provide a number of advantages, such as improvements in economic competitiveness, reductions in environmental impact via better natural resource utilization and/or lower waste generation, and enhancements in nuclear safety and proliferation resistance.

At the request of Congress, this report explores merits and viability of different nuclear fuel cycles, including fuel cycles that may use reprocessing, for both existing and advanced reactor technologies; and waste management (including transportation, storage, and disposal options) for advanced reactors, and in particular, the potential impact of advanced reactors and their fuel cycles on waste generation and disposal.

Merits and Viability of Different Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Technology Options and the Waste Aspects of Advanced Nuclear Reactors

The widespread adoption of electric vehicles will play a critical role in decarbonizing the transportation sector as the nation moves toward net-zero emissions. Recent announcements from automakers and the federal government, as well as provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, aim to stimulate electric vehicle (EV) deployment, and ongoing technology improvements continue to make EVs a more affordable and practical option. However, many challenges remain to meet the needs of all buyers and drivers and to ensure that manufacturing supply chains and the electric system can support this large-scale transformation.

As a follow-up activity to its 2021 report Assessment of Technologies for Improving Light-Duty Vehicle Fuel Economy - 2025-2035, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a 4-day virtual workshop on October 25-28, 2021, to identify some of the challenges to widespread EV deployment and discuss policy, technical, and market strategies to help federal agencies and other stakeholders plan for the future. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.

Navigating an Electric Vehicle Future: Proceedings of a Workshop

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) manages the energy and mineral resources on the outer continental shelf. BOEM's environmental program, by producing environmental studies and conducting environmental assessments, ensures that environmental protection is a critical element of BOEM's decision making. This report addresses BOEM's aspirations to conduct a first-in-class science program within their Environmental Studies Program (ESP).

This report describes attributes identified by the committee of a first-in-class, use-inspired, management-oriented science program (in this case, BOEM's ESP and its connection to the broader BOEM environmental program). The report recommends that BOEM develop procedures and conduct regular evaluations to assess whether and how well its environmental program meets the attributes of a first-in-class program and identify areas for improvement. It also outlines a framework for conducting such an evaluation. The report contains guidance and examples drawn from a workshop series with BOEM's peer agencies and other science programs, as well as other information gathering efforts. The guidance contained in this report is offered to BOEM as a starting point for developing more detailed processes for evaluating and improving its program.

Attributes of a First-in-Class Environmental Program: A Letter Report Prepared for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issues standards regulations for energy conservation pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended, and other authorities. These standards regulations apply to certain consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment. These can include air conditioning and heating systems, washing machines, and commercial refrigeration, among numerous other examples. DOE issues standards regulations by rulemaking and includes quantitative maximum water and energy use or minimum energy conservation standards. There are currently standards regulations for more than 70 product classes (i.e., a specific type of consumer product or commercial or industrial equipment). This report reviews the assumptions, models, and methodologies that DOE uses in setting the quantitative portion of the standards regulations following the Office of Management and Budget's guidance on the use of scientific information. Review of Methods Used by the U.S. Department of Energy in Setting Appliance and Equipment Standards makes findings and recommendations on how DOE can improve its analyses and align its regulatory analyses with best practices for cost-benefit analysis.

Review of Methods Used by the U.S. Department of Energy in Setting Appliance and Equipment Standards

Fusion energy offers the prospect of addressing the nation's energy needs and contributing to the transition to a low-carbon emission electrical generation infrastructure. Technology and research results from U.S. investments in the major fusion burning plasma experiment known as ITER, coupled with a strong foundation of research funded by the Department of Energy (DOE), position the United States to begin planning for its first fusion pilot plant. Strong interest from the private sector is an additional motivating factor, as the process of decarbonizing and modernizing the nation's electric infrastructure accelerates and companies seek to lead the way.

At the request of DOE, Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid builds upon the work of the 2019 report Final Report of the Committee on a Strategic Plan for U.S. Burning Plasma Research to identify the key goals and innovations - independent of confinement concept - that are needed to support the development of a U.S. fusion pilot plant that can serve as a model for producing electricity at the lowest possible capital cost.

Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid

Peer Review of Interim Report on Computational Fluid Dynamics Model for Predicting Wellhead Oil-Burning Efficiency at Bench and Intermediate Scales reviews OSRR 1063: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Report: Computational Fluid Dynamics Model for Predicting Wellhead Oil-Burning Efficiency at Bench and Intermediate Scales: Interim Report (July 30, 2020), produced by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and funded by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Specifically, this report assesses the technical quality and completeness of the NRL report; the assumptions and approach used to develop the computational fluid dynamics model; and the completeness of the modeling results and experimental validation as an evidence base for determining whether wellhead burning is sufficient for mitigation of uncontrolled environmental release of oil in the event of loss of well control.

Peer Review of Interim Report on Computational Fluid Dynamics Model for Predicting Wellhead Oil-Burning Efficiency at Bench and Intermediate Scales

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.

Accelerating Decarbonization of the U.S. Energy System

Significant efforts are ongoing within the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to improve national security and competitiveness by harnessing the growing power of information technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Product and process technologies are being researched, experimented with, and integrated into future warfighting concepts and plans. A significant part of this effort is focused on integrating operations, from the strategic to the tactical and across all lines of effort. A question that must be asked in considering these future warfighting concepts is: how will the devices that enable the knowledge-based future be powered? The abundant energy supplies that characterize peacetime operating environments may not be readily available at the far reaches of the force projections - the tactical edge - during conflict. Understanding the energy challenges associated with continued data collection, processing, storage, analysis, and communications at the tactical edge is an important part of developing the plans for meeting the future competition on the battlefield.

This report identifies challenges and issues associated with energy needs at the tactical edge as well as any potential for solutions to be considered in the future to help address these challenges. The recommendations of Energizing Data-Driven Operations at the Tactical Edge address understanding these requirement needs and the cascading effects of not meeting those needs, integrating energy needs for data processing into mission and unit readiness assessments, and research into product and process technologies to address energy-efficient computation, resilience, interoperability, and alternative solutions to energy management at the tactical edge.

Energizing Data-Driven Operations at the Tactical Edge: Challenges and Concerns

Electric power is essential for the lives and livelihoods of all Americans, and the need for electricity that is safe, clean, affordable, and reliable will only grow in the decades to come. At the request of Congress and the Department of Energy, the National Academies convened a committee of experts to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the U.S. grid and how it might evolve in response to advances in new energy technologies, changes in demand, and future innovation.

The Future of Electric Power in the United States presents an extensive set of policy and funding recommendations aimed at modernizing the U.S. electric system. The report addresses technology development, operations, grid architectures, and business practices, as well as ways to make the electricity system safe, secure, sustainable, equitable, and resilient.

The Future of Electric Power in the United States

A widespread and rapid transition to a low-carbon energy system by 2050 is essential to keep pace with ambitious policy goals and avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Innovation is necessary to lower costs and improve performance of existing technologies and to develop new clean energy options that address challenges in harder-to-decarbonize sectors. To examine means by which the U.S. federal government can rise to this challenge, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a virtual workshop series "Enhancing Federal Clean Energy Innovation" on July 27 to August 7, 2020. The workshop featured timely, action-orientated assessments of how to strengthen development and penetration of new clean energy technologies. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions that occurred over the course of the workshop.

Enhancing Federal Clean Energy Innovation: Proceedings of a Workshop

Providing a reliable and resilient supply of electric power to communities across the United States has always posed a complex challenge. Utilities must support daily operations to serve a diverse array of customers across a heterogeneous landscape while simultaneously investing in infrastructure to meet future needs, all while juggling an enormous array of competing priorities influenced by costs, capabilities, environmental and social impacts, regulatory requirements, and consumer preferences. A rapid pace of change in technologies, policies and priorities, and consumer needs and behaviors has further compounded this challenge in recent years.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop on February 3, 2020 to explore strategies for incorporating new technologies, planning and operating strategies, business models, and architectures in the U.S. electric power system. Speakers and participants from industry, government, and academia discussed available models for long-term transmission and distribution planning, as well as the broader context of how these models are used and future opportunities and needs. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Models to Inform Planning for the Future of Electric Power in the United States: Proceedings of a Workshop

On April 27-29, 2020, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a virtual workshop on U.S. Air Force (USAF) data-driven operations’ energy challenges as part of a broader study focused on this topic. Subject experts from government, industry, and academia discussed steps and plans the USAF is taking and/or should be considering now to successfully develop, deploy, and sustain the weapons systems needed to compete in an emerging information-rich environment. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Energy Challenges and Opportunities for Future Data-Driven Operations in the United States Air Force: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief

Electric power is a critical infrastructure that is vital to the U.S. economy and national security. Today, the nation’s electric power infrastructure is threatened by malicious attacks, accidents, and failures, as well as disruptive natural events. As the electric grid evolves and becomes increasingly interdependent with other critical infrastructures, the nation is challenged to defend against these threats and to advance grid capabilities with reliable defenses. On November 1, 2019, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to gather diverse perspectives on current and future threats to the electric power system, activities that the subsector is pursuing to defend itself, and how this work may evolve over the coming decades. This publications summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Communications, Cyber Resilience, and the Future of the U.S. Electric Power System: Proceedings of a Workshop

Leadership in gas turbine technologies is of continuing importance as the value of gas turbine production is projected to grow substantially by 2030 and beyond. Power generation, aviation, and the oil and gas industries rely on advanced technologies for gas turbines. Market trends including world demographics, energy security and resilience, decarbonization, and customer profiles are rapidly changing and influencing the future of these industries and gas turbine technologies. Technology trends that define the technological environment in which gas turbine research and development will take place are also changing - including inexpensive, large scale computational capabilities, highly autonomous systems, additive manufacturing, and cybersecurity. It is important to evaluate how these changes influence the gas turbine industry and how to manage these changes moving forward.

Advanced Technologies for Gas Turbines identifies high-priority opportunities for improving and creating advanced technologies that can be introduced into the design and manufacture of gas turbines to enhance their performance. The goals of this report are to assess the 2030 gas turbine global landscape via analysis of global leadership, market trends, and technology trends that impact gas turbine applications, develop a prioritization process, define high-priority research goals, identify high-priority research areas and topics to achieve the specified goals, and direct future research. Findings and recommendations from this report are important in guiding research within the gas turbine industry and advancing electrical power generation, commercial and military aviation, and oil and gas production.

Advanced Technologies for Gas Turbines

While progress has been made in the development of decarbonization technologies, much work remains in scale-up and deployment. For decarbonization technologies to reach meaningful scale, real-world constraints, societal, economic, and political, must be considered.

To identify the primary challenges and opportunities to deploying decarbonization technologies at scale across major sectors of the U.S. economy, the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop on July 22-23, 2019. In addition to technology-specific and sector-specific studies, the workshop considered the types of societal transformations required, as well as potential policy drivers for carbon dioxide emissions reductions. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Deployment of Deep Decarbonization Technologies: Proceedings of a Workshop

Reliable, affordable, and technically recoverable energy is central to the nation's economic and social vitality. The United States is both a major consumer of geologically based energy resources from around the world and - increasingly of late - a developer of its own energy resources. Understanding the national and global availability of those resources as well as the environmental impacts of their development is essential for strategic decision making related to the nation's energy mix. The U.S. Geological Survey Energy Resources Program is charged with providing unbiased and publicly available national- and regional-scale assessments of the location, quantity, and quality of geologically based energy resources and with undertaking research related to their development.

At the request of the Energy Resources Program (ERP), this publication considers the nation's geologically based energy resource challenges in the context of current national and international energy outlooks. Future Directions for the U.S. Geological Survey's Energy Resources Program examines how ERP activities and products address those challenges and align with the needs federal and nonfederal consumers of ERP products. This study contains recommendations to develop ERP products over the next 10-15 years that will most effectively inform both USGS energy research priorities and the energy needs and priorities of the U.S. government.

Future Directions for the U.S. Geological Survey's Energy Resources Program

The widespread destruction of California, Houston, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands from extreme events, along with continued future transition planning exercises for building and rebuilding, have increased the focus on the potential role of sustainable energy deployment. To discuss the opportunities and challenges in deploying sustainable energy during transitions, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2018. Participants explored how cities, regions, and nations are building renewable energy into their longer-term planning, in accordance with the context of the United Nations’ (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Deploying Sustainable Energy During Transitions: Implications of Recovery, Renewal, and Rebuilding: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine organized an international workshop on February 27 - March 1, 2018 to discuss increasing access to reliable and affordable electricity in energy deficit regions of the world. The workshop was meant to identify under-valued activities that are essential for major progress in expanding access to reliable and affordable electricity in energy-deficit regions, particularly in sub-Sahara Africa and southern Asia. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Providing Reliable and Affordable Electricity in Countries with Energy Deficits: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief

The development of offshore energy on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is overseen by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). In support of its mission to conduct its activities in an environmentally and economically responsible way, BOEM engaged a steering committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to facilitate a workshop about the research and monitoring needed to assess potential impacts from offshore wind turbine installation and operation on fisheries on the Atlantic OCS. This activity is specifically focused on fisheries resources and is one part of a suite of efforts by BOEM to understand the potential impact of offshore renewable energy on the environment. The workshop was focused on southern New England, where several offshore wind leases are progressing toward construction. This publication briefly summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Atlantic Offshore Renewable Energy Development and Fisheries: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief

Preliminary Assessment of DOE Facility Management and Infrastructure Renewal: Letter Report

The potential for energy resource development on Department of Energy (DOE)-managed lands remains a topic of interest within DOE, Congress, and with private developers interested in siting projects on DOE lands. Several previous studies have estimated the energy resource development potential using various approaches and methodologies.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) was tasked by the DOE Office of Legacy Management in 2013 with conducting a study to further refine and build upon previous analyses and to assess energy resource development potential on these lands. Utilizing the Energy Resource Potential of DOE Lands reviews and comments on the NREL study.

Utilizing the Energy Resource Potential of DOE Lands

Americans' safety, productivity, comfort, and convenience depend on the reliable supply of electric power. The electric power system is a complex "cyber-physical" system composed of a network of millions of components spread out across the continent. These components are owned, operated, and regulated by thousands of different entities. Power system operators work hard to assure safe and reliable service, but large outages occasionally happen. Given the nature of the system, there is simply no way that outages can be completely avoided, no matter how much time and money is devoted to such an effort. The system's reliability and resilience can be improved but never made perfect. Thus, system owners, operators, and regulators must prioritize their investments based on potential benefits.

Enhancing the Resilience of the Nation's Electricity System focuses on identifying, developing, and implementing strategies to increase the power system's resilience in the face of events that can cause large-area, long-duration outages: blackouts that extend over multiple service areas and last several days or longer. Resilience is not just about lessening the likelihood that these outages will occur. It is also about limiting the scope and impact of outages when they do occur, restoring power rapidly afterwards, and learning from these experiences to better deal with events in the future.

Enhancing the Resilience of the Nation's Electricity System

Solar photovoltaics, wind power, and energy storage systems offer viable alternatives to fossil fuels—but they also have environmental, economic, and social impacts. To explore these impacts, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability held a workshop on June 12, 2017. The goals were examining the sustainability implications of material demands and manufacturing processes associated with renewable energy technologies; mobilizing, encouraging, and catalyzing the use of scientific knowledge; and stimulating additional research. This publication briefly summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing for Renewable Energy Technology Development to 2030: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief

Review of the Research Program of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership: Fifth Report follows on four previous reviews of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, which was the predecessor of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership. The U.S. DRIVE (Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle Efficiency and Energy Sustainability) vision, according to the charter of the Partnership, is this: American consumers have a broad range of affordable personal transportation choices that reduce petroleum consumption and significantly reduce harmful emissions from the transportation sector. Its mission is as follows: accelerate the development of pre-competitive and innovative technologies to enable a full range of efficient and clean advanced light-duty vehicles (LDVs), as well as related energy infrastructure. The Partnership focuses on precompetitive research and development (R&D) that can help to accelerate the emergence of advanced technologies to be commercialization-feasible.

The guidance for the work of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership as well as the priority setting and targets for needed research are provided by joint industry/government technical teams. This structure has been demonstrated to be an effective means of identifying high-priority, long-term precompetitive research needs for each technology with which the Partnership is involved. Technical areas in which research and development as well as technology validation programs have been pursued include the following: internal combustion engines (ICEs) potentially operating on conventional and various alternative fuels, automotive fuel cell power systems, hydrogen storage systems (especially onboard vehicles), batteries and other forms of electrochemical energy storage, electric propulsion systems, hydrogen production and delivery, and materials leading to vehicle weight reductions.

Review of the Research Program of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership: Fifth Report

The standard incandescent light bulb, which still works mainly as Thomas Edison invented it, converts more than 90% of the consumed electricity into heat. Given the availability of newer lighting technologies that convert a greater percentage of electricity into useful light, there is potential to decrease the amount of energy used for lighting in both commercial and residential applications. Although technologies such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have emerged in the past few decades and will help achieve the goal of increased energy efficiency, solid-state lighting (SSL) stands to play a large role in dramatically decreasing U.S. energy consumption for lighting.

Since the publication of the 2013 National Research Council report Assessment of Advanced Solid-State Lighting , the penetration of SSL has increased dramatically, with a resulting savings in energy and costs that were foreshadowed by that study. What was not anticipated then is the dramatic dislocation and restructuring of the SSL marketplace, as cost reductions for light-emitting diode (LED) components reduced profitability for LED manufacturers. At the same time, there has been the emergence of new applications for SSL, which have the potential to create new markets and commercial opportunities for the SSL industry.

Assessment of Solid-State Lighting, Phase Two discusses these aspects of change—highlighting the progress of commercialization and acceptance of SSL and reviewing the technical advances and challenges in achieving higher efficacy for LEDs and organic light-emitting diodes. This report will also discuss the recent trends in SSL manufacturing and opportunities for new applications and describe the role played by the Department of Energy (DOE) Lighting Program in the development of SSL.

Assessment of Solid-State Lighting, Phase Two

A congressionally mandated study carried out in 2013-2014 led to the November 2014 report A New Foundation for the Nuclear Enterprise . That report summarizes the panel’s findings on the current health of the enterprise, examines the root causes of its governance challenges, and offers the panel’s recommendations to address the identified problems. It concludes that the existing governance structures and many of the practices of the enterprise are inefficient and ineffective, thereby putting the entire enterprise at risk over the long term. It offers recommendations to put the entire nuclear security enterprise on a stronger footing.

Recognizing the persistence of governance and management concerns, this report serves as an initial assessment of the implementation plan developed by the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Department Of Energy for addressing the recommendations from A New Foundation for the Nuclear Enterprise . There will be seven semi-annual interim reports to evaluate progress in implementing the plan. A final report will be issued at the end of the study to document the overall progress in executing the implementation plan, assess the effectiveness of the reform efforts under that plan, and recommend whether further action is needed.

Report 1 on Tracking and Assessing Governance and Management Reform in the Nuclear Security Enterprise

Electricity, supplied reliably and affordably, is foundational to the U.S. economy and is utterly indispensable to modern society. However, emissions resulting from many forms of electricity generation create environmental risks that could have significant negative economic, security, and human health consequences. Large-scale installation of cleaner power generation has been generally hampered because greener technologies are more expensive than the technologies that currently produce most of our power. Rather than trade affordability and reliability for low emissions, is there a way to balance all three?

The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies considers how to speed up innovations that would dramatically improve the performance and lower the cost of currently available technologies while also developing new advanced cleaner energy technologies. According to this report, there is an opportunity for the United States to continue to lead in the pursuit of increasingly clean, more efficient electricity through innovation in advanced technologies. The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies makes the case that America's advantages—world-class universities and national laboratories, a vibrant private sector, and innovative states, cities, and regions that are free to experiment with a variety of public policy approaches—position the United States to create and lead a new clean energy revolution. This study focuses on five paths to accelerate the market adoption of increasing clean energy and efficiency technologies: (1) expanding the portfolio of cleaner energy technology options; (2) leveraging the advantages of energy efficiency; (3) facilitating the development of increasing clean technologies, including renewables, nuclear, and cleaner fossil; (4) improving the existing technologies, systems, and infrastructure; and (5) leveling the playing field for cleaner energy technologies.

The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies is a call for leadership to transform the United States energy sector in order to both mitigate the risks of greenhouse gas and other pollutants and to spur future economic growth. This study's focus on science, technology, and economic policy makes it a valuable resource to guide support that produces innovation to meet energy challenges now and for the future.

The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Electric Power Technologies

On behalf of the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) Task Force, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a workshop on February 8-9, 2016, titled "Electricity Use in Rural and Islanded Communities." The objective of the workshop was to help the QER Task Force public outreach efforts by focusing on communities with unique electricity challenges. The workshop explored challenges and opportunities for reducing electricity use and associated greenhouse gas emissions while improving electricity system reliability and resilience in rural and islanded communities. This report summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.

Electricity Use in Rural and Islanded Communities: Summary of a Workshop

The U.S. Congress asked the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a technical study on lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident for improving safety and security of commercial nuclear power plants in the United States. This study was carried out in two phases: Phase 1, issued in 2014, focused on the causes of the Fukushima Daiichi accident and safety-related lessons learned for improving nuclear plant systems, operations, and regulations exclusive of spent fuel storage. This Phase 2 report focuses on three issues: (1) lessons learned from the accident for nuclear plant security, (2) lessons learned for spent fuel storage, and (3) reevaluation of conclusions from previous Academies studies on spent fuel storage.

Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants: Phase 2

Geothermal Energy Technology: Issues, R&D Needs, and Cooperative Arrangements

Electricity is the lifeblood of modern society, and for the vast majority of people that electricity is obtained from large, interconnected power grids. However, the grid that was developed in the 20th century, and the incremental improvements made since then, including its underlying analytic foundations, is no longer adequate to completely meet the needs of the 21st century. The next-generation electric grid must be more flexible and resilient. While fossil fuels will have their place for decades to come, the grid of the future will need to accommodate a wider mix of more intermittent generating sources such as wind and distributed solar photovoltaics.

Achieving this grid of the future will require effort on several fronts. There is a need for continued shorter-term engineering research and development, building on the existing analytic foundations for the grid. But there is also a need for more fundamental research to expand these analytic foundations. Analytic Research Foundations for the Next-Generation Electric Grid provide guidance on the longer-term critical areas for research in mathematical and computational sciences that is needed for the next-generation grid. It offers recommendations that are designed to help direct future research as the grid evolves and to give the nation's research and development infrastructure the tools it needs to effectively develop, test, and use this research.

Analytic Research Foundations for the Next-Generation Electric Grid

The continued presence of highly enriched uranium (HEU) in civilian installations such as research reactors poses a threat to national and international security. Minimization, and ultimately elimination, of HEU in civilian research reactors worldwide has been a goal of U.S. policy and programs since 1978. Today, 74 civilian research reactors around the world, including 8 in the United States, use or are planning to use HEU fuel. Since the last National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on this topic in 2009, 28 reactors have been either shut down or converted from HEU to low enriched uranium fuel. Despite this progress, the large number of remaining HEU-fueled reactors demonstrates that an HEU minimization program continues to be needed on a worldwide scale. Reducing the Use of Highly Enriched Uranium in Civilian Research Reactors assesses the status of and progress toward eliminating the worldwide use of HEU fuel in civilian research and test reactors.

Reducing the Use of Highly Enriched Uranium in Civilian Research Reactors

Lessons Learned From the Fukushima Nuclear Accident: Two Volume Set

Oil and gas exploration in the United States has expanded with the increased use of horizontal, or directional, drilling to facilitate the recovery of shale gas and tight oil resources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 25,000 to 30,000 new hydraulic fracturing wells were drilled each year between 2011 and 2014, and the impact of those wells and the use of hydraulic fracturing has been a topic of public and policy discussion in recent years. Though chemistry and chemical engineering are used extensively in the hydraulic fracturing process, their roles are not well understood outside of the oil and gas industries. In a workshop held May 18-19, 2015 in Washington, DC by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, practitioners and experts in these fields came together to discuss shale gas and tight oil resource development. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Chemistry and Engineering of Shale Gas and Tight Oil Resource Development: Workshop in Brief

The 21st Century Truck Partnership (21CTP) works to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, increase heavy-duty vehicle safety, and support research, development, and demonstration to initiate commercially viable products and systems. This report is the third in a series of three by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that have reviewed the research and development initiatives carried out by the 21CTP. Review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership, Third Report builds on the Phase 1 and 2 reviews and reports, and also comments on changes and progress since the Phase 2 report was issued in 2012.

Review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership: Third Report

If the United States is to sustain its economic prosperity, quality of life, and global competitiveness, it must continue to have an abundance of secure, reliable, and affordable energy resources. There have been many improvements in the technology and capability of the electric grid over the past several decades. Many of these advances to the grid depend on complex mathematical algorithms and techniques, and as the complexity of the grid has increased, the analytical demands have also increased.

The workshop summarized in this report was developed as part of an ongoing study of the Committee on Analytical Research Foundations for the Next-Generation Electric Grid. Mathematical Sciences Research Challenges for the Next-Generation Electric Grid summarizes the presentations and discussions from this workshop. This report identifies critical areas of mathematical and computational research that must be addressed for the next-generation electric transmission and distribution system and to identify future needs and ways that current research efforts in these areas could be adjusted or augmented.

Mathematical Sciences Research Challenges for the Next-Generation Electric Grid: Summary of a Workshop

The light-duty vehicle fleet is expected to undergo substantial technological changes over the next several decades. New powertrain designs, alternative fuels, advanced materials and significant changes to the vehicle body are being driven by increasingly stringent fuel economy and greenhouse gas emission standards. By the end of the next decade, cars and light-duty trucks will be more fuel efficient, weigh less, emit less air pollutants, have more safety features, and will be more expensive to purchase relative to current vehicles. Though the gasoline-powered spark ignition engine will continue to be the dominant powertrain configuration even through 2030, such vehicles will be equipped with advanced technologies, materials, electronics and controls, and aerodynamics. And by 2030, the deployment of alternative methods to propel and fuel vehicles and alternative modes of transportation, including autonomous vehicles, will be well underway. What are these new technologies - how will they work, and will some technologies be more effective than others?

Written to inform The United States Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards, this new report from the National Research Council is a technical evaluation of costs, benefits, and implementation issues of fuel reduction technologies for next-generation light-duty vehicles. Cost, Effectiveness, and Deployment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles estimates the cost, potential efficiency improvements, and barriers to commercial deployment of technologies that might be employed from 2020 to 2030. This report describes these promising technologies and makes recommendations for their inclusion on the list of technologies applicable for the 2017-2025 CAFE standards.

Cost, Effectiveness, and Deployment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles

Adequate water and energy are critical to the continued economic security of the United States. The relationship between energy and water is complex, and the scientific community is increasingly recognizing the importance of better understanding the linkages between these two resource domains. Federal agencies, the private sector, and academic researchers have noted that the lack of data on energy-water linkages remains a key limitation to fully characterizing the scope of this issue.

Beginning in June 2013, the Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability in collaboration with the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems and the Water Science and Technology Board contributed to the emerging dialogue on the energy-water nexus by holding four related meetings. These meetings were designed to examine emerging technical and policy mechanisms to address energy-water issues. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from these meetings.

Addressing the Energy-Water Nexus: 2013-2014 Meetings in Brief

Energy and mineral resources are essential for the nation's fundamental functions, its economy, and security. Nonfuel minerals are essential for the existence and operations of products that are used by people every day and are provided by various sectors of the mining industry. Energy in the United States is provided from a variety of resources including fossil fuels, and renewable and nuclear energy, all with established commercial industry bases. The United States is the largest electric power producer in the world. The overall value added to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011 by major industries that consumed processed nonfuel mineral materials was $2.2 trillion.

Recognizing the importance of understanding the state of the energy and mining workforce in the United States to assure a trained and skilled workforce of sufficient size for the future, the Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy technology Laboratory (NETL) contracted with the National Research Council (NRC) to perform a study of the emerging workforce trends in the U.S. energy and mining industries. Emerging Workforce Trends in the U.S. Energy and Mining Industries: A Call to Action summarizes the findings of this study.

Emerging Workforce Trends in the U.S. Energy and Mining Industries: A Call to Action

In the past few years, interest in plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) has grown. Advances in battery and other technologies, new federal standards for carbon-dioxide emissions and fuel economy, state zero-emission-vehicle requirements, and the current administration's goal of putting millions of alternative-fuel vehicles on the road have all highlighted PEVs as a transportation alternative. Consumers are also beginning to recognize the advantages of PEVs over conventional vehicles, such as lower operating costs, smoother operation, and better acceleration; the ability to fuel up at home; and zero tailpipe emissions when the vehicle operates solely on its battery. There are, however, barriers to PEV deployment, including the vehicle cost, the short all-electric driving range, the long battery charging time, uncertainties about battery life, the few choices of vehicle models, and the need for a charging infrastructure to support PEVs. What should industry do to improve the performance of PEVs and make them more attractive to consumers?

At the request of Congress, Overcoming Barriers to Deployment of Plug-in Electric Vehicles identifies barriers to the introduction of electric vehicles and recommends ways to mitigate these barriers. This report examines the characteristics and capabilities of electric vehicle technologies, such as cost, performance, range, safety, and durability, and assesses how these factors might create barriers to widespread deployment. Overcoming Barriers to Deployment of Plug-in Electric Vehicles provides an overview of the current status of PEVs and makes recommendations to spur the industry and increase the attractiveness of this promising technology for consumers. Through consideration of consumer behaviors, tax incentives, business models, incentive programs, and infrastructure needs, this book studies the state of the industry and makes recommendations to further its development and acceptance.

Overcoming Barriers to Deployment of Plug-in Electric Vehicles

The March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami sparked a humanitarian disaster in northeastern Japan. They were responsible for more than 15,900 deaths and 2,600 missing persons as well as physical infrastructure damages exceeding $200 billion. The earthquake and tsunami also initiated a severe nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Three of the six reactors at the plant sustained severe core damage and released hydrogen and radioactive materials. Explosion of the released hydrogen damaged three reactor buildings and impeded onsite emergency response efforts. The accident prompted widespread evacuations of local populations, large economic losses, and the eventual shutdown of all nuclear power plants in Japan.

Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants is a study of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. This report examines the causes of the crisis, the performance of safety systems at the plant, and the responses of its operators following the earthquake and tsunami. The report then considers the lessons that can be learned and their implications for U.S. safety and storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste, commercial nuclear reactor safety and security regulations, and design improvements. Lessons Learned makes recommendations to improve plant systems, resources, and operator training to enable effective ad hoc responses to severe accidents. This report's recommendations to incorporate modern risk concepts into safety regulations and improve the nuclear safety culture will help the industry prepare for events that could challenge the design of plant structures and lead to a loss of critical safety functions.

In providing a broad-scope, high-level examination of the accident, Lessons Learned is meant to complement earlier evaluations by industry and regulators. This in-depth review will be an essential resource for the nuclear power industry, policy makers, and anyone interested in the state of U.S. preparedness and response in the face of crisis situations.

Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety of U.S. Nuclear Plants

Medium- and heavy-duty trucks, motor coaches, and transit buses - collectively, "medium- and heavy-duty vehicles", or MHDVs - are used in every sector of the economy. The fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of MHDVs have become a focus of legislative and regulatory action in the past few years. Reducing the Fuel Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Phase Two is a follow-on to the National Research Council's 2010 report, Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium-and Heavy-Duty Vehicles . That report provided a series of findings and recommendations on the development of regulations for reducing fuel consumption of MHDVs.

This report comprises the first periodic, five-year follow-on to the 2010 report. Reducing the Fuel Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Phase Two reviews NHTSA fuel consumption regulations and considers the technological, market and regulatory factors that may be of relevance to a revised and updated regulatory regime taking effect for model years 2019-2022. The report analyzes and provides options for improvements to the certification and compliance procedures for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles; reviews an updated analysis of the makeup and characterization of the medium- and heavy-duty truck fleet; examines the barriers to and the potential applications of natural gas in class 2b through class 8 vehicles; and addresses uncertainties and performs sensitivity analyses for the fuel consumption and cost/benefit estimates.

Reducing the Fuel Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Phase Two: First Report

Natural gas in deep shale formations, which can be developed by hydraulic fracturing and associated technologies (often collectively referred to as "fracking") is dramatically increasing production of natural gas in the United States, where significant gas deposits exist in formations that underlie many states. Major deposits of shale gas exist in many other countries as well. Proponents of shale gas development point to several kinds of benefits, for instance, to local economies and to national "energy independence". Shale gas development has also brought increasing expression of concerns about risks, including to human health, environmental quality, non-energy economic activities in shale regions, and community cohesion. Some of these potential risks are beginning to receive careful evaluation; others are not. Although the risks have not yet been fully characterized or all of them carefully analyzed, governments at all levels are making policy decisions, some of them hard to reverse, about shale gas development and/or how to manage the risks.

Risks and Risk Governance in Shale Gas Development is the summary of two workshops convened in May and August 2013 by the National Research Council's Board on Environmental Change and Society to consider and assess claims about the levels and types of risk posed by shale gas development and about the adequacy of existing governance procedures. Participants from engineering, natural, and social scientific communities examined the range of risks and of social and decision-making issues in risk characterization and governance related to gas shale development. Central themes included risk governance in the context of (a) risks that emerge as shale gas development expands, and (b) incomplete or declining regulatory capacity in an era of budgetary stringency. This report summarizes the presentations on risk issues raised in the first workshop, the risk management and governance concepts presented at the second workshop, and the discussions at both workshops.

Risks and Risk Governance in Shale Gas Development: Summary of Two Workshops

The National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) Conference in 2013 focused on the Future of Advanced Nuclear Technologies to generate new ideas about how to move nuclear technology forward while making the world safer and more secure. Beyond the public's apprehension concerning the safety of nuclear power, which calls out for better communications strategies, several challenges lie ahead for the nuclear enterprise in the United States. The workforce in nuclear technology is aging, there is an overreliance on large, high-risk reactor designs, and the supply of radioisotopes for nuclear medicine remains unstable--all problems crying out for solutions.

The Future of Advanced Nuclear Technologies summarizes the 14 Interdisciplinary Research (IDR) teams' collaborations on creative solutions to challenges designed to propel the policy, engineering, and social aspects of the nuclear enterprise forward.

The Future of Advanced Nuclear Technologies: Interdisciplinary Research Team Summaries

Best Available and Safest Technologies for Offshore Oil and Gas Operations: Options for Implementation explores a range of options for improving the implementation of the U.S. Department of the Interior's congressional mandate to require the use of best available and safety technologies in offshore oil and gas operations.

In the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Congress directs the Secretary of the Interior to regulate oil and gas operations in federal waters. The act mandates that the Secretary "shall require, on all new drilling and production operations and, wherever practicable, on existing operations, the use of the best available and safest technologies which the Secretary determines to be economically feasible, wherever failure of equipment would have a significant effect on safety, health, or the environment, except where the Secretary determines that the incremental benefits are clearly insufficient to justify the incremental costs of utilizing such technologies."

This report, which was requested by Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), also reviews options and issues that BSEE is already considering to improve implementation of the best available and safest technologies requirement.

Best Available and Safest Technologies for Offshore Oil and Gas Operations: Options for Implementation

The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and Natural Disasters is the summary of a workshop convened in February 2013 as a follow-up to the release of the National Research Council report Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System . That report had been written in 2007 for the Department of Homeland Security, but publication was delayed because of security concerns. While most of the committee's findings were still relevant, many developments affecting vulnerability had occurred in the interval. The 2013 workshop was a discussion of the committee's results, what had changed in recent years, and how lessons learned about the grid's resilience to terrorism could be applied to other threats to the grid resulting from natural disasters. The purpose was not to translate the entire report into the present, but to focus on key issues relevant to making the grid sufficiently robust that it could handle inevitable failures without disastrous impact. The workshop focused on five key areas: physical vulnerabilities of the grid; cybersecurity; mitigation and response to outages; community resilience and the provision of critical services; and future technologies and policies that could enhance the resilience of the electric power delivery system.

The electric power transmission and distribution system (the grid) is an extraordinarily complex network of wires, transformers, and associated equipment and control software designed to transmit electricity from where it is generated, usually in centralized power plants, to commercial, residential, and industrial users. Because the U.S. infrastructure has become increasingly dependent on electricity, vulnerabilities in the grid have the potential to cascade well beyond whether the lights turn on, impacting among other basic services such as the fueling infrastructure, the economic system, and emergency services. The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and Natural Disasters discusses physical vulnerabilities and the cybersecurity of the grid, ways in which communities respond to widespread outages and how to minimize these impacts, the grid of tomorrow, and how resilience can be encouraged and built into the grid in the future.

The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and Natural Disasters: Summary of a Workshop

In the past several years, some energy technologies that inject or extract fluid from the Earth, such as oil and gas development and geothermal energy development, have been found or suspected to cause seismic events, drawing heightened public attention.

Although only a very small fraction of injection and extraction activities among the hundreds of thousands of energy development sites in the United States have induced seismicity at levels noticeable to the public, understanding the potential for inducing felt seismic events and for limiting their occurrence and impacts is desirable for state and federal agencies, industry, and the public at large. To better understand, limit, and respond to induced seismic events, work is needed to build robust prediction models, to assess potential hazards, and to help relevant agencies coordinate to address them.

Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies identifies gaps in knowledge and research needed to advance the understanding of induced seismicity; identify gaps in induced seismic hazard assessment methodologies and the research to close those gaps; and assess options for steps toward best practices with regard to energy development and induced seismicity potential.

Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies

The potential for using fusion energy to produce commercial electric power was first explored in the 1950s. Harnessing fusion energy offers the prospect of a nearly carbon-free energy source with a virtually unlimited supply of fuel. Unlike nuclear fission plants, appropriately designed fusion power plants would not produce the large amounts of high-level nuclear waste that requires long-term disposal. Due to these prospects, many nations have initiated research and development (R&D) programs aimed at developing fusion as an energy source. Two R&D approaches are being explored: magnetic fusion energy (MFE) and inertial fusion energy (IFE).

An Assessment of the Prospects for Inertial Fusion Energy describes and assesses the current status of IFE research in the United States; compares the various technical approaches to IFE; and identifies the scientific and engineering challenges associated with developing inertial confinement fusion (ICF) in particular as an energy source. It also provides guidance on an R&D roadmap at the conceptual level for a national program focusing on the design and construction of an inertial fusion energy demonstration plant.

An Assessment of the Prospects for Inertial Fusion Energy

The electric vehicle offers many promises—increasing U.S. energy security by reducing petroleum dependence, contributing to climate-change initiatives by decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, stimulating long-term economic growth through the development of new technologies and industries, and improving public health by improving local air quality. There are, however, substantial technical, social, and economic barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles, including vehicle cost, small driving range, long charging times, and the need for a charging infrastructure. In addition, people are unfamiliar with electric vehicles, are uncertain about their costs and benefits, and have diverse needs that current electric vehicles might not meet. Although a person might derive some personal benefits from ownership, the costs of achieving the social benefits, such as reduced GHG emissions, are borne largely by the people who purchase the vehicles. Given the recognized barriers to electric-vehicle adoption, Congress asked the Department of Energy (DOE) to commission a study by the National Academies to address market barriers that are slowing the purchase of electric vehicles and hindering the deployment of supporting infrastructure. As a result of the request, the National Research Council (NRC)—a part of the National Academies—appointed the Committee on Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment.

This committee documented their findings in two reports—a short interim report focused on near-term options, and a final comprehensive report. Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment fulfills the request for the short interim report that addresses specifically the following issues: infrastructure needs for electric vehicles, barriers to deploying the infrastructure, and possible roles of the federal government in overcoming the barriers. This report also includes an initial discussion of the pros and cons of the possible roles. This interim report does not address the committee's full statement of task and does not offer any recommendations because the committee is still in its early stages of data-gathering. The committee will continue to gather and review information and conduct analyses through late spring 2014 and will issue its final report in late summer 2014.

Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment focuses on the light-duty vehicle sector in the United States and restricts its discussion of electric vehicles to plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), which include battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The common feature of these vehicles is that their batteries are charged by being plugged into the electric grid. BEVs differ from PHEVs because they operate solely on electricity stored in a battery (that is, there is no other power source); PHEVs have internal combustion engines that can supplement the electric power train. Although this report considers PEVs generally, the committee recognizes that there are fundamental differences between PHEVs and BEVs.

Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment: Interim Report

In the fall of 2010, the Office of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Secretary for Science asked for a National Research Council (NRC) committee to investigate the prospects for generating power using inertial confinement fusion (ICF) concepts, acknowledging that a key test of viability for this concept—ignition —could be demonstrated at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the relatively near term. The committee was asked to provide an unclassified report. However, DOE indicated that to fully assess this topic, the committee's deliberations would have to be informed by the results of some classified experiments and information, particularly in the area of ICF targets and nonproliferation. Thus, the Panel on the Assessment of Inertial Confinement Fusion Targets ("the panel") was assembled, composed of experts able to access the needed information. The panel was charged with advising the Committee on the Prospects for Inertial Confinement Fusion Energy Systems on these issues, both by internal discussion and by this unclassified report.

A Panel on Fusion Target Physics ("the panel") will serve as a technical resource to the Committee on Inertial Confinement Energy Systems ("the Committee") and will prepare a report that describes the R&D challenges to providing suitable targets, on the basis of parameters established and provided to the Panel by the Committee. The Panel on Fusion Target Physics will prepare a report that will assess the current performance of fusion targets associated with various ICF concepts in order to understand: 1. The spectrum output; 2. The illumination geometry; 3. The high-gain geometry; and 4. The robustness of the target design. The panel addressed the potential impacts of the use and development of current concepts for Inertial Fusion Energy on the proliferation of nuclear weapons information and technology, as appropriate. The Panel examined technology options, but does not provide recommendations specific to any currently operating or proposed ICF facility.

Assessment of Inertial Confinement Fusion Targets

The material that sustains the nuclear reactions that produce energy can also be used to make nuclear weapons—and therefore, the development of nuclear energy is one of multiple pathways to proliferation for a non-nuclear weapon state. There is a tension between the development of future nuclear fuel cycles and managing the risk of proliferation as the number of existing and future nuclear energy systems expands throughout the world. As the Department of Energy (DOE) and other parts of the government make decisions about future nuclear fuel cycles, DOE would like to improve proliferation assessments to better inform those decisions.

Improving the Assessment of the Proliferation Risk of Nuclear Fuel Cycles considers how the current methods of quantification of proliferation risk are being used and implemented, how other approaches to risk assessment can contribute to improving the utility of assessments for policy and decision makers. The study also seeks to understand the extent to which technical analysis of proliferation risk could be improved for policy makers through research and development.

Improving the Assessment of the Proliferation Risk of Nuclear Fuel Cycles

A "sustainable society," according to one definition, "is one that can persist over generations; one that is far-seeing enough, flexible enough, and wise enough not to undermine either its physical or its social system of support." As the government sector works hard to ensure sufficient fresh water, food, energy, housing, health, and education for the nation without limiting resources for the future generations, it's clear that there is no sufficient organization to deal with sustainability issues. Each federal agency appears to have a single mandate or a single area of expertise making it difficult to tackle issues such as managing the ecosystem. Key resource domains, which include water, land, energy, and nonrenewable resources, for example, are nearly-completely connected yet different agencies exist to address only one aspect of these domains.

The legendary ecologist John Muir wrote in 1911 that "when we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." Thus, in order for the nation to be successful in sustaining its resources, "linkages" will need to be built among federal, state, and local governments; nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); and the private sector. The National Research Council (NRC) was asked by several federal agencies, foundations, and the private sector to provide guidance to the federal government on issues related to sustainability linkages. The NRC assigned the task to as committee with a wide range of expertise in government, academia, and business. The committee held public fact-finding meetings to hear from agencies and stakeholder groups; examined sustainability management examples; conducted extensive literature reviews; and more to address the issue. Sustainability for the Nation: Resource Connection and Governance Linkages is the committee's report on the issue.

The report includes insight into high-priority areas for governance linkages, the challenges of managing connected systems, impediments to successful government linkages, and more. The report also features examples of government linkages which include Adaptive Management on the Platte River, Philadelphia's Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Managing Land Use in the Mojave.

Sustainability for the Nation: Resource Connections and Governance Linkages

Review of the Research Program of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership: Fourth Report follows on three previous NRC reviews of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, which was the predecessor of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership (NRC, 2005, 2008a, 2010). The U.S. DRIVE (Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle Efficiency and Energy Sustainability) vision, according to the charter of the Partnership, is this: American consumers have a broad range of affordable personal transportation choices that reduce petroleum consumption and significantly reduce harmful emissions from the transportation sector. Its mission is as follows: accelerate the development of pre-competitive and innovative technologies to enable a full range of efficient and clean advanced light-duty vehicles (LDVs), as well as related energy infrastructure. The Partnership focuses on precompetitive research and development (R&D) that can help to accelerate the emergence of advanced technologies to be commercialization-feasible.

Review of the Research Program of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership: Fourth Report

Increasing renewable energy development, both within the United States and abroad, has rekindled interest in the potential for marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) resources to contribute to electricity generation. These resources derive from ocean tides, waves, and currents; temperature gradients in the ocean; and free-flowing rivers and streams. One measure of the interest in the possible use of these resources for electricity generation is the increasing number of permits that have been filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). As of December 2012, FERC had issued 4 licenses and 84 preliminary permits, up from virtually zero a decade ago. However, most of these permits are for developments along the Mississippi River, and the actual benefit realized from all MHK resources is extremely small. The first U.S. commercial gridconnected project, a tidal project in Maine with a capacity of less than 1 megawatt (MW), is currently delivering a fraction of that power to the grid and is due to be fully installed in 2013.

As part of its assessment of MHK resources, DOE asked the National Research Council (NRC) to provide detailed evaluations. In response, the NRC formed the Committee on Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Technology Assessment. As directed in its statement of task (SOT), the committee first developed an interim report, released in June 2011, which focused on the wave and tidal resource assessments (Appendix B). The current report contains the committee's evaluation of all five of the DOE resource categories as well as the committee's comments on the overall MHK resource assessment process. This summary focuses on the committee's overarching findings and conclusions regarding a conceptual framework for developing the resource assessments, the aggregation of results into a single number, and the consistency across and coordination between the individual resource assessments. Critiques of the individual resource assessment, further discussion of the practical MHK resource base, and overarching conclusions and recommendations are explained in An Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Energy's Marine and Hydrokinetic Resource Assessment .

An Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Energy's Marine and Hydrokinetic Resource Assessments

The standard incandescent light bulb, which still works mainly as Thomas Edison invented it, converts more than 90% of the consumed electricity into heat. Given the availability of newer lighting technologies that convert a greater percentage of electricity into useful light, there is potential to decrease the amount of energy used for lighting in both commercial and residential applications. Although technologies such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have emerged in the past few decades and will help achieve the goal of increased energy efficiency, solid-state lighting (SSL) stands to play a large role in dramatically decreasing U.S. energy consumption for lighting. This report summarizes the current status of SSL technologies and products—light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic LEDs (OLEDs)—and evaluates barriers to their improved cost and performance.

Assessment of Advanced Solid State Lighting also discusses factors involved in achieving widespread deployment and consumer acceptance of SSL products. These factors include the perceived quality of light emitted by SSL devices, ease of use and the useful lifetime of these devices, issues of initial high cost, and possible benefits of reduced energy consumption.

Assessment of Advanced Solid-State Lighting

For a century, almost all light-duty vehicles (LDVs) have been powered by internal combustion engines operating on petroleum fuels. Energy security concerns about petroleum imports and the effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on global climate are driving interest in alternatives. Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels assesses the potential for reducing petroleum consumption and GHG emissions by 80 percent across the U.S. LDV fleet by 2050, relative to 2005.

This report examines the current capability and estimated future performance and costs for each vehicle type and non-petroleum-based fuel technology as options that could significantly contribute to these goals. By analyzing scenarios that combine various fuel and vehicle pathways, the report also identifies barriers to implementation of these technologies and suggests policies to achieve the desired reductions. Several scenarios are promising, but strong, and effective policies such as research and development, subsidies, energy taxes, or regulations will be necessary to overcome barriers, such as cost and consumer choice.

Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels

The Department of Defense (DoD) is the largest consumer of energy in the federal government. In turn, the U.S. Air Force is the largest consumer of energy in the DoD, with a total annual energy expenditure of around $10 billion. Approximately 84 percent of Air Force energy use involves liquid fuel consumed in aviation whereas approximately 12 percent is energy (primarily electricity) used in facilities on the ground. This workshop was concerned primarily with opportunities to reduce energy consumption within Air Force facilities that employ energy intensive industrial processes—for example, assembly/disassembly, painting, metal working, and operation of radar facilities—such as those that occur in the maintenance depots and testing facilities. Air Force efforts to reduce energy consumption are driven largely by external goals and mandates derived from Congressional legislation and executive orders. To date, these goals and mandates have targeted the energy used at the building or facility level rather than in specific industrial processes.

In response to a request from the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering, the National Research Council, under the auspices of the Air Force Studies Board, formed the Committee on Energy Reduction at U.S. Air Force Facilities Using Industrial Processes: A Workshop . The terms of reference called for a committee to plan and convene one 3 day public workshop to discuss: (1) what are the current industrial processes that are least efficient and most cost ineffective? (2) what are best practices in comparable facilities for comparable processes to achieve energy efficiency? (3) what are the potential applications for the best practices to be found in comparable facilities for comparable processes to achieve energy efficiency? (4) what are constraints and considerations that might limit applicability to Air Force facilities and processes over the next ten year implementation time frame? (5) what are the costs and paybacks from implementation of the best practices? (6) what will be a proposed resulting scheme of priorities for study and implementation of the identified best practices? (7) what does a holistic representation of energy and water consumption look like within operations and maintenance?

Energy Reduction at U.S. Air Force Facilities Using Industrial Processes: A Workshop Summary

Biofuels made from algae are gaining attention as a domestic source of renewable fuel. However, with current technologies, scaling up production of algal biofuels to meet even 5 percent of U.S. transportation fuel needs could create unsustainable demands for energy, water, and nutrient resources. Continued research and development could yield innovations to address these challenges, but determining if algal biofuel is a viable fuel alternative will involve comparing the environmental, economic and social impacts of algal biofuel production and use to those associated with petroleum-based fuels and other fuel sources. Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels was produced at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels in the United States

The electric power delivery system that carries electricity from large central generators to customers could be severely damaged by a small number of well-informed attackers. The system is inherently vulnerable because transmission lines may span hundreds of miles, and many key facilities are unguarded. This vulnerability is exacerbated by the fact that the power grid, most of which was originally designed to meet the needs of individual vertically integrated utilities, is being used to move power between regions to support the needs of competitive markets for power generation. Primarily because of ambiguities introduced as a result of recent restricting the of the industry and cost pressures from consumers and regulators, investment to strengthen and upgrade the grid has lagged, with the result that many parts of the bulk high-voltage system are heavily stressed.

Electric systems are not designed to withstand or quickly recover from damage inflicted simultaneously on multiple components. Such an attack could be carried out by knowledgeable attackers with little risk of detection or interdiction. Further well-planned and coordinated attacks by terrorists could leave the electric power system in a large region of the country at least partially disabled for a very long time. Although there are many examples of terrorist and military attacks on power systems elsewhere in the world, at the time of this study international terrorists have shown limited interest in attacking the U.S. power grid. However, that should not be a basis for complacency. Because all parts of the economy, as well as human health and welfare, depend on electricity, the results could be devastating.

Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System focuses on measures that could make the power delivery system less vulnerable to attacks, restore power faster after an attack, and make critical services less vulnerable while the delivery of conventional electric power has been disrupted.

Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System

In July 2010, the National Research Council (NRC) appointed the Committee to Review the 21st Century Truck Partnership, Phase 2, to conduct an independent review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership (21CTP). The 21CTP is a cooperative research and development (R&D) partnership including four federal agencies-the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-and 15 industrial partners. The purpose of this Partnership is to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, increase heavy-duty vehicle safety, and support research, development, and demonstration to initiate commercially viable products and systems. This is the NRC's second report on the topic and it includes the committee's review of the Partnership as a whole, its major areas of focus, 21CTP's management and priority setting, efficient operations, and the new SuperTruck program.

Review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership, Second Report

The Chemical Sciences Roundtable (CSR) was established in 1997 by the National Research Council (NRC). It provides a science oriented apolitical forum for leaders in the chemical sciences to discuss chemistry-related issues affecting government, industry, and universities. Organized by the National Research Council's Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, the CSR aims to strengthen the chemical sciences by fostering communication among the people and organizations - spanning industry, government, universities, and professional associations - involved with the chemical enterprise. One way it does this is by organizing workshops that address issues in chemical science and technology that require national attention.

In September 2011, the CSR organized a workshop on the topic, "The Role of Chemical Sciences in Finding Alternatives to Critical Resources." The one-and-a-half-day workshop addressed key topics, including the economic and political matrix, the history of societal responses to key mineral and material shortages, the applications for and properties of existing minerals and materials, and the chemistry of possible replacements. The workshop featured several presentations highlighting the importance of critical nonfuel mineral and material resources in history, catalysis, agriculture, and electronic, magnetic, and optical applications.

The Role of the Chemical Sciences in Finding Alternatives to Critical Resources: A Workshop Summary explains the presentations and discussions that took place at the workshop. In accordance with the policies of the NRC, the workshop did not attempt to establish any conclusions or recommendations about needs and future directions, focusing instead on issues identified by the speakers.

The Role of the Chemical Sciences in Finding Alternatives to Critical Resources: A Workshop Summary

The United States is responsible for nearly one-fifth of the world's energy consumption. Population growth, and the associated growth in housing, commercial floor space, transportation, goods, and services is expected to cause a 0.7 percent annual increase in energy demand for the foreseeable future. The energy used by the commercial and residential sectors represents approximately 40 percent of the nation's total energy consumption, and the share of these two sectors is expected to increase in the future. The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) and Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) are two major surveys conducted by the Energy Information Administration. The surveys are the most relevant sources of data available to researchers and policy makers on energy consumption in the commercial and residential sectors. Many of the design decisions and operational procedures for the CBECS and RECS were developed in the 1970s and 1980s, and resource limitations during much of the time since then have prevented EIA from making significant changes to the data collections. Effective Tracking of Building Energy Use makes recommendations for redesigning the surveys based on a review of evolving data user needs and an assessment of new developments in relevant survey methods.

Effective Tracking of Building Energy Use: Improving the Commercial Buildings and Residential Energy Consumption Surveys

The scientific and technological progress in inertial confinement fusion has been substantial during the past decade. However, many of the technologies needed for an integrated inertial fusion energy system are still at an early stage of technological maturity. For all approaches to inertial fusion energy there remain critical scientific and engineering challenges.

In this interim report of the study An Assessment of the Prospects for Inertial Fusion Energy, the Committee on the Prospects for Inertial Confinement Fusion Energy Systems outlines their preliminary conclusions and recommendations of the feasibility of inertial fusion energy. The committee also describes its anticipated next steps as it prepares its final report.

Interim Report—Status of the Study "An Assessment of the Prospects for Inertial Fusion Energy"

In May 2007, the National Academies Chemical Sciences Roundtable held a public workshop on the topic of Bioinspired Chemistry for Energy , where government, academic, and industry representatives discussed promising research developments in solar-generated fuels, hydrogen-processing enzymes, artificial photosynthetic systems, and biological-based fuel cells. Workshop participants identified the need for a follow-up activity that would explore bioinspired energy processes in more depth and involve a wider array of disciplines as speakers and participants. Particularly, workshop participants stressed the importance of holding a workshop that would include more researchers from the biological sciences and engineering, as well as those involved in technological advances that enable progress in understanding these systems. Building upon the 2007 workshop, the National Academies Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology convened the Committee on Research Frontiers in Bioinspired Energy to organize a second workshop in 2011 which, according to the statement of task, would explore the molecular-level frontiers of energy processes in nature through an interactive, multidisciplinary, and public format. Specifically, the committee was charged to feature invited presentations and include discussion of key biological energy capture, storage, and transformation processes; gaps in knowledge and barriers to transitioning the current state of knowledge into applications; and underdeveloped research opportunities that might exist beyond disciplinary boundaries. Research Frontiers in Bioinspired Energy is an account of what occurred at the 2011 workshop, and does not attempt to present any consensus findings or recommendations of the workshop participants. It summarizes the views expressed by workshop participants, and while the committee is responsible for the overall quality and accuracy of the report as a record of what transpired at the workshop, the views contained in the report are not necessarily those of the committee.

Research Frontiers in Bioinspired Energy: Molecular-Level Learning from Natural Systems: Report of a Workshop

Highly enriched uranium (HEU) is used for two major civilian purposes: as fuel for research reactors and as targets for medical isotope production. This material can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Stolen or diverted HEU can be used-in conjunction with some knowledge of physics-to build nuclear explosive devices. Thus, the continued civilian use of HEU is of concern particularly because this material may not be uniformly well-protected. To address these concerns, the National Research Council (NRC) of the U.S. National Academies and the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) held a joint symposium on June 8-10, 2011. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors summarizes the proceedings of this joint symposium. This report addresses: (1) recent progress on conversion of research reactors, with a focus on U.S.- and R.F.-origin reactors; (2) lessons learned for overcoming conversion challenges, increasing the effectiveness of research reactor use, and enabling new reactor missions; (3) future research reactor conversion plans, challenges, and opportunities; and (4) actions that could be taken by U.S. and Russian organizations to promote conversion. The agenda for the symposium is provided in Appendix A, biographical sketches of the committee members are provided in Appendix B, and the report concludes with the statement of task in Appendix C.

Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report

In the United States, we have come to depend on plentiful and inexpensive energy to support our economy and lifestyles. In recent years, many questions have been raised regarding the sustainability of our current pattern of high consumption of nonrenewable energy and its environmental consequences. Further, because the United States imports about 55 percent of the nation's consumption of crude oil, there are additional concerns about the security of supply. Hence, efforts are being made to find alternatives to our current pathway, including greater energy efficiency and use of energy sources that could lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as nuclear and renewable sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. The United States has a long history with biofuels and the nation is on a course charted to achieve a substantial increase in biofuels.

Renewable Fuel Standard evaluates the economic and environmental consequences of increasing biofuels production as a result of Renewable Fuels Standard, as amended by EISA (RFS2). The report describes biofuels produced in 2010 and those projected to be produced and consumed by 2022, reviews model projections and other estimates of the relative impact on the prices of land, and discusses the potential environmental harm and benefits of biofuels production and the barriers to achieving the RFS2 consumption mandate.

Policy makers, investors, leaders in the transportation sector, and others with concerns for the environment, economy, and energy security can rely on the recommendations provided in this report.

Renewable Fuel Standard: Potential Economic and Environmental Effects of U.S. Biofuel Policy

TRB Special Report 305: Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines: Oversight of Design, Fabrication, and Installation explores the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) approach to overseeing the development and safe operation of wind turbines on the outer continental shelf, with a focus on structural safety. The committee that developed the report recommended that in order to facilitate the orderly development of offshore wind energy and support the stable economic development of this nascent industry, the United States needs a set of clear requirements that can accommodate future design development.

The report recommends that BOEMRE develop a set of requirements that establish goals and objectives with regard to structural integrity, environmental performance, and energy generation. The committee found that the risks to human life and the environment associated with offshore wind farms are substantially lower than for other industries such as offshore oil and gas, because offshore wind farms are primarily unmanned and contain minimal quantities of hazardous substances. This finding implies that an approach with significantly less regulatory oversight may be taken for offshore wind farms. Under this approach, industry would be responsible for proposing sets of standards, guidelines, and recommended practices that meet the performance requirements established by BOEMRE.

The domestic industry can build on standards, guidelines, and practices developed in Europe, where the offshore wind energy is further developed, but will have to fill gaps such as the need to address wave and wind loadings encountered in hurricanes. The report also includes findings and recommendations about the role that certified verification agents (third party evaluators) can play in reviewing packages of standards and project-specific proposals.

Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines: Oversight of Design, Fabrication, and Installation - Special Report 305

Power in ocean waves originate as wind energy that is transferred to the sea surface when wind blows over large areas of the ocean. The resulting wave field consists of a collection of waves at different frequencies traveling in various directions delivering their power to near shore areas, whereas ocean tides are a response to gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun. The limitless potential of tidal power for human use has traditionally led to proposals that employ various schemes to harness this generated power. Now, as marine and hydrokinetic resources increasingly become a part of energy regulatory, planning, and marketing activities in the United States, assessments are being conducted for future development. In particular, state-based renewable portfolio standards and federal production and investment tax credits, have led to an increased interest in the possible deployment of marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) technologies.

Assessment of Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Technology: Interim Letter Report provides an evaluation of detailed appraisals for the Department of Energy estimating the amount of extractable energy from U.S. marine and hydrokinetic resources. In order to assess the overall potential for U.S. MHK resources and technologies, this report evaluates the methodologies, technologies, and assumptions associated with the wave and tidal energy resource assessments.

Assessment of Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Technology: Interim Letter Report

Various combinations of commercially available technologies could greatly reduce fuel consumption in passenger cars, sport-utility vehicles, minivans, and other light-duty vehicles without compromising vehicle performance or safety. Assessment of Technologies for Improving Light Duty Vehicle Fuel Economy estimates the potential fuel savings and costs to consumers of available technology combinations for three types of engines: spark-ignition gasoline, compression-ignition diesel, and hybrid. According to its estimates, adopting the full combination of improved technologies in medium and large cars and pickup trucks with spark-ignition engines could reduce fuel consumption by 29 percent at an additional cost of $2,200 to the consumer. Replacing spark-ignition engines with diesel engines and components would yield fuel savings of about 37 percent at an added cost of approximately $5,900 per vehicle, and replacing spark-ignition engines with hybrid engines and components would reduce fuel consumption by 43 percent at an increase of $6,000 per vehicle. The book focuses on fuel consumption—the amount of fuel consumed in a given driving distance—because energy savings are directly related to the amount of fuel used. In contrast, fuel economy measures how far a vehicle will travel with a gallon of fuel. Because fuel consumption data indicate money saved on fuel purchases and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, the book finds that vehicle stickers should provide consumers with fuel consumption data in addition to fuel economy information.

Assessment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles

Combustion has provided society with most of its energy needs for millenia, from igniting the fires of cave dwellers to propelling the rockets that traveled to the Moon. Even in the face of climate change and the increasing availability of alternative energy sources, fossil fuels will continue to be used for many decades. However, they will likely become more expensive, and pressure to minimize undesired combustion by-products (pollutants) will likely increase. The trends in the continued use of fossil fuels and likely use of alternative combustion fuels call for more rapid development of improved combustion systems. In January 2009, the Multi-Agency Coordinating Committee on Combustion Research (MACCCR) requested that the National Research Council (NRC) conduct a study of the structure and use of a cyberinfrastructure (CI) for combustion research. The charge to the authoring committee of Transforming Combustion Research through Cyberinfrastructure was to: identify opportunities to improve combustion research through computational infrastructure (CI) and the potential benefits to applications; identify necessary CI elements and evaluate the accessibility, sustainability, and economic models for various approaches; identify CI that is needed for education in combustion science and engineering; identify human, cultural, institutional, and policy challenges and how other fields are addressing them. Transforming Combustion Research through Cyberinfrastructure also estimates the resources needed to provide stable, long-term CI for research in combustion and recommends a plan for enhanced exploitation of CI for combustion research.

Transforming Combustion Research through Cyberinfrastructure

The United States and China are the world's top two energy consumers and, as of 2010, the two largest economies. Consequently, they have a decisive role to play in the world's clean energy future. Both countries are also motivated by related goals, namely diversified energy portfolios, job creation, energy security, and pollution reduction, making renewable energy development an important strategy with wide-ranging implications. Given the size of their energy markets, any substantial progress the two countries make in advancing use of renewable energy will provide global benefits, in terms of enhanced technological understanding, reduced costs through expanded deployment, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to conventional generation from fossil fuels. Within this context, the U.S. National Academies, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), reviewed renewable energy development and deployment in the two countries, to highlight prospects for collaboration across the research to deployment chain and to suggest strategies which would promote more rapid and economical attainment of renewable energy goals. Main findings and concerning renewable resource assessments, technology development, environmental impacts, market infrastructure, among others, are presented. Specific recommendations have been limited to those judged to be most likely to accelerate the pace of deployment, increase cost-competitiveness, or shape the future market for renewable energy. The recommendations presented here are also pragmatic and achievable.

The Power of Renewables: Opportunities and Challenges for China and the United States

The public-private partnership to develop vehicles that require less petroleum-based fuel and emit fewer greenhouse gases should continue to include fuel cells and other hydrogen technologies in its research and development portfolio. The third volume in the FreedomCAR series states that, although the partnership's recent shift of focus toward technologies that could be ready for use in the nearer term--such as advanced combustion engines and plug-in electric vehicles--is warranted, R&D on hydrogen and fuel cells is also needed given the high costs and challenges that many of the technologies must overcome before widespread use. The FreedomCAR (Cooperative Automotive Research) and Fuel Partnership is a research collaboration among the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States Council for Automotive Research - whose members are the Detroit automakers--five major energy companies, and two electric utility companies. The partnership seeks to advance the technologies essential for components and infrastructure for a full range of affordable, clean, energy efficient cars and light trucks. Until recently, the program primarily focused on developing technologies that would allow U.S. automakers to make production and marketing decisions by 2015 on hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles. These vehicles have the potential to be much more energy-efficient than conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, produce no harmful tailpipe emissions, and significantly reduce petroleum use. In 2009, the partnership changed direction and stepped up efforts to advance, in the shorter term, technologies for reducing petroleum use in combustion engines, including those using biofuels, as well as batteries that could be used in plug-in hybrid-electric or all electric vehicles.

Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report

In some coalbeds, naturally occurring water pressure holds methane—the main component of natural gas—fixed to coal surfaces and within the coal. In a coalbed methane (CBM) well, pumping water from the coalbeds lowers this pressure, facilitating the release of methane from the coal for extraction and use as an energy source. Water pumped from coalbeds during this process—CBM 'produced water'—is managed through some combination of treatment, disposal, storage, or use, subject to compliance with federal and state regulations. CBM produced water management can be challenging for regulatory agencies, CBM well operators, water treatment companies, policy makers, landowners, and the public because of differences in the quality and quantity of produced water; available infrastructure; costs to treat, store, and transport produced water; and states' legal consideration of water and produced water. Some states consider produced water as waste, whereas others consider it a beneficial byproduct of methane production. Thus, although current technologies allow CBM produced water to be treated to any desired water quality, the majority of CBM produced water is presently being disposed of at least cost rather than put to beneficial use. This book specifically examines the Powder River, San Juan, Raton, Piceance, and Uinta CBM basins in the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. The conclusions and recommendations identify gaps in data and information, potential beneficial uses of CBM produced water and associated costs, and challenges in the existing regulatory framework.

Management and Effects of Coalbed Methane Produced Water in the Western United States

This Overview and Summary highlights key findings and major topics discussed in America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation . It also reflects results presented in the additional three books that comprise the America's Energy Future project.

Overview and Summary of America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation

Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles evaluates various technologies and methods that could improve the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, transit buses, and work trucks. The book also recommends approaches that federal agencies could use to regulate these vehicles' fuel consumption. Currently there are no fuel consumption standards for such vehicles, which account for about 26 percent of the transportation fuel used in the U.S. The miles-per-gallon measure used to regulate the fuel economy of passenger cars. is not appropriate for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which are designed above all to carry loads efficiently. Instead, any regulation of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles should use a metric that reflects the efficiency with which a vehicle moves goods or passengers, such as gallons per ton-mile, a unit that reflects the amount of fuel a vehicle would use to carry a ton of goods one mile. This is called load-specific fuel consumption (LSFC). The book estimates the improvements that various technologies could achieve over the next decade in seven vehicle types. For example, using advanced diesel engines in tractor-trailers could lower their fuel consumption by up to 20 percent by 2020, and improved aerodynamics could yield an 11 percent reduction. Hybrid powertrains could lower the fuel consumption of vehicles that stop frequently, such as garbage trucks and transit buses, by as much 35 percent in the same time frame.

Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Helium has long been the subject of public policy deliberation and management, largely because of its many strategic uses and its unusual source-it is a derived product of natural gas and its market has several anomalous characteristics. Shortly after sources of helium were discovered at the beginning of the last century, the U.S. government recognized helium's potential importance to the nation's interests and placed its production and availability under strict governmental control. In the 1960s, helium's strategic value in cold war efforts was reflected in policies that resulted in the accumulation of a large reserve of helium owned by the federal government. The latest manifestation of public policy is expressed in the Helium Privatization Act of 1996 (1996 12 Act), which directs that substantially all of the helium accumulated as a result of those earlier policies be sold off by 2015 at prices sufficient to repay the federal government for its outlays associated with the helium program. The present volume assesses whether the interests of the United States have been well served by the 1996 Act and, in particular, whether selling off the helium reserve has had any adverse effect on U.S. scientific, technical, biomedical, and national security users of helium.

Selling the Nation's Helium Reserve

America's economy and lifestyles have been shaped by the low prices and availability of energy. In the last decade, however, the prices of oil, natural gas, and coal have increased dramatically, leaving consumers and the industrial and service sectors looking for ways to reduce energy use. To achieve greater energy efficiency, we need technology, more informed consumers and producers, and investments in more energy-efficient industrial processes, businesses, residences, and transportation.

As part of the America's Energy Future project, Real Prospects for Energy Efficiency in the United States examines the potential for reducing energy demand through improving efficiency by using existing technologies, technologies developed but not yet utilized widely, and prospective technologies. The book evaluates technologies based on their estimated times to initial commercial deployment, and provides an analysis of costs, barriers, and research needs. This quantitative characterization of technologies will guide policy makers toward planning the future of energy use in America. This book will also have much to offer to industry leaders, investors, environmentalists, and others looking for a practical diagnosis of energy efficiency possibilities.

Real Prospects for Energy Efficiency in the United States

The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) is a survey of commercial buildings in the United States, mandated by Congress to provide comprehensive information about energy use in commercial buildings. In addition to energy consumption and expenditure data, the survey collects information about building characteristics, such as energy source, physical structure, equipment used, and activities performed, which provides researchers with detailed information about commercial sector energy use and how it relates to building characteristics. The CBECS is the only national source of these data, and is used for energy forecasting, program development, and policy development. At the request of the Energy Information Administration, the National Research Council is conducting a comprehensive 30-month study of the CBECS and the corresponding study of Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). Because plans for the upcoming 2011 round of CBECS must be finalized in the near future, the panel was charged to comment as soon as possible on design and data collection options that would enable the upcoming round of this survey to better support U.S. Department of Energy program information needs, reduce respondent burden, and increase the quality and timeliness of the data. This letter responds to that request, and is limited in scope to discussing issues that the panel believes are realistic to consider in the timeframe leading up to the 2011 data collection. At the conclusion of the study, the panel will deliver its comprehensive report on the overall design and conduct of both CBECS and RECS.

Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey Letter Report

Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use

The nation has compelling reasons to reduce its consumption of oil and emissions of carbon dioxide. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) promise to contribute to both goals by allowing some miles to be driven on electricity drawn from the grid, with an internal combustion engine that kicks in when the batteries are discharged. However, while battery technology has made great strides in recent years, batteries are still very expensive.

Transitions to Alternative Transportation Technologies--Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles builds on a 2008 National Research Council report on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The present volume reviews the current and projected technology status of PHEVs; considers the factors that will affect how rapidly PHEVs could enter the marketplace, including the interface with the electric transmission and distribution system; determines a maximum practical penetration rate for PHEVs consistent with the time frame and factors considered in the 2008 Hydrogen report; and incorporates PHEVs into the models used in the hydrogen study to estimate the costs and impacts on petroleum consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

Transitions to Alternative Transportation Technologies—Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

While energy prices, energy security, and climate change are front and center in the national media, these issues are often framed to the exclusion of the broader issue of sustainability--ensuring that the production and use of biofuels do not compromise the needs of future generations by recognizing the need to protect life-support systems, promote economic growth, and improve societal welfare. Thus, it is important to understand the effects of biofuel production and use on water quality and quantity, soils, wildlife habitat and biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, public health, and the economic viability of rural communities.

Expanding Biofuel Production and the Transition to Advanced Biofuels: Lessons for Sustainability from the Upper Midwest: Summary of a Workshop

A component in the America's Energy Future study, Electricity from Renewable Resources examines the technical potential for electric power generation with alternative sources such as wind, solar-photovoltaic, geothermal, solar-thermal, hydroelectric, and other renewable sources. The book focuses on those renewable sources that show the most promise for initial commercial deployment within 10 years and will lead to a substantial impact on the U.S. energy system. A quantitative characterization of technologies, this book lays out expectations of costs, performance, and impacts, as well as barriers and research and development needs. In addition to a principal focus on renewable energy technologies for power generation, the book addresses the challenges of incorporating such technologies into the power grid, as well as potential improvements in the national electricity grid that could enable better and more extensive utilization of wind, solar-thermal, solar photovoltaics, and other renewable technologies.

Electricity from Renewable Resources: Status, Prospects, and Impediments

The transportation sector cannot continue on its current path: The volatility of oil prices threatens the U.S. economy, the large proportion of oil importation threatens U.S. energy security, and the massive contribution of greenhouse gases threatens the environment. The development of domestic sources of alternative transportation fuels with lower greenhouse emissions is now a national imperative.

Coal and biomass are in abundant supply in the United States and can be converted to liquid fuels that can be combusted in existing and future vehicles. Their abundant supply makes them attractive candidates to provide non-oil-based liquid fuels to the U.S. transportation system. However, there are important questions about the economic viability, carbon impact, and technology status of these options.

Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass provides a snapshot of the potential costs of liquid fuels from biomass by biochemical conversion and from biomass and coal by thermochemical conversion. Policy makers, investors, leaders in industry, the transportation sector, and others with a concern for the environment, economy, and energy security will look to this book as a roadmap to independence from foreign oil. With immediate action and sustained effort, alternative liquid fuels can be available in the 2020 time frame, if or when the nation needs them.

Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass: Technological Status, Costs, and Environmental Impacts

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Energy touches our lives in countless ways and its costs are felt when we fill up at the gas pump, pay our home heating bills, and keep businesses both large and small running. There are long-term costs as well: to the environment, as natural resources are depleted and pollution contributes to global climate change, and to national security and independence, as many of the world's current energy sources are increasingly concentrated in geopolitically unstable regions. The country's challenge is to develop an energy portfolio that addresses these concerns while still providing sufficient, affordable energy reserves for the nation. The United States has enormous resources to put behind solutions to this energy challenge; the dilemma is to identify which solutions are the right ones. Before deciding which energy technologies to develop, and on what timeline, we need to understand them better. America's Energy Future analyzes the potential of a wide range of technologies for generation, distribution, and conservation of energy. This book considers technologies to increase energy efficiency, coal-fired power generation, nuclear power, renewable energy, oil and natural gas, and alternative transportation fuels. It offers a detailed assessment of the associated impacts and projected costs of implementing each technology and categorizes them into three time frames for implementation.

America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation

Energy production and use touch our lives in countless ways. We are reminded of the cost of energy every time we fill up at the gas pump, pay an electricity bill, or purchase an airline ticket. Energy use also has important indirect impacts, not all of which are reflected in current energy prices: depletion of natural resources, degradation of the environment, and threats to national security arising from a growing dependence on geopolitically unstable regions for some of our energy supplies. These indirect impacts could increase in the future if the demand for energy rises faster than available energy supplies. Our nation's challenge is to develop an energy portfolio that reduces these impacts while providing sufficient and affordable energy supplies to sustain our future economic prosperity. The United States has enormous economic and intellectual resources that can be brought to bear on these challenges through a sustained national effort in the decades ahead. America's Energy Future is intended to inform the development of wise energy policies by fostering a better understanding of technological options for increasing energy supplies and improving the efficiency of energy use. This summary edition of the book will also be a useful resource for professionals working in the energy industry or involved in advocacy and researchers and academics in energy-related fields of study. America's Energy Future examines the deployment potential, costs, barriers, and impacts of energy supply and end-use technologies during the next two to three decades, including energy efficiency, alternative transportation fuels, renewable energy, fossil fuel energy, and nuclear energy, as well as technologies for improving the nation's electrical transmission and distribution systems.

America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation: Summary Edition

The U.S. Capitol Complex in Washington, D.C., comprises some of the most historic and symbolic buildings in the nation. The steam and chilled water required to heat and cool these buildings and related equipment is generated and distributed by the Capitol Power Plant (CPP) district energy system. Portions of the CPP system are now 50 to 100 years old and require renewal so that reliable utility services can be provided to the U.S. Capitol Complex for the foreseeable future.

Evaluation of Future Strategic and Energy Efficient Options for the U.S. Capitol Power Plant provides comments on an interim set of publicly available consultant-generated options for the delivery of utility services to the U.S. Capitol Complex. The report provides recommendations to bring the interim options to completion, including suggestions for additional analyses, so that the CPP can be best positioned to meet the future strategic and energy efficiency requirements of the U.S. Capitol Complex.

Evaluation of Future Strategic and Energy Efficient Options for the U.S. Capitol Power Plant

This letter report broadly reviews the strategy and structure of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, as requested by the U.S. Department of Energy. Although the Obama Administration's focus on nearer-term technologies is on the right track, there remains a need for continued investment in longer-term, higher-risk, higher-payoff vehicle technologies that could be highly transformational with regard to reduced use of petroleum and reduced emissions. Such technologies include advanced batteries, technologies for hydrogen storage, and hydrogen/fuel cells. For researchers, contractors, and investors to be willing to make long-term commitments to these and other potentially important developing technologies, a consistent year-to-year level of support must be provided. Other recommendations within this report include incorporating a broader-scope approach to better consider total emissions and the full environmental impact of using various fuels and technologies; providing temporary reductions in cost-share requirements to ease the burden on prospective researchers; and providing direct funding to struggling automotive companies to help keep important in-house research programs active. Further suggestions are included within the body of the report.

Letter Report on the Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, Phase 3

Natural gas, composed mostly of methane, is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels, emitting 25-50% less carbon dioxide than either oil or coal for each unit of energy produced. In recent years, natural gas supplied approximately 20-25% of all energy consumed in the United States. Methane hydrate is a potentially enormous and as yet untapped source of methane. The Department of Energy's Methane Hydrate Research and Development Program has been tasked since 2000 to implement and coordinate a national methane hydrate research effort to stimulate the development of knowledge and technology necessary for commercial production of methane from methane hydrate in a safe and environmentally responsible way. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States evaluates the program's research projects and management processes since its congressional re-authorization in 2005, and presents recommendations for its future research and development initiatives.

Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States

Currently, the Department of Energy (DOE) sets appliance efficiency standards using primarily "site" (or point-of-use) measurements, which reflect only the energy consumed to operate the appliance. Site measurements allow consumers to compare energy efficiency among appliances, but offer no information about other energy costs involved. This congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council recommends that DOE consider moving over time to the use of a full-fuel-cycle measure of energy consumption for assessment of national and environmental impacts. Using that metric would provide the public with more comprehensive information about the impacts of energy consumption on the environment, the economy, and other national concerns. This volume discusses these matters and offers several related findings and recommendations together with supporting information.

Review of Site (Point-of-Use) and Full-Fuel-Cycle Measurement Approaches to DOE/EERE Building Appliance Energy-Efficiency Standards: Letter Report

This book presents an in-depth analysis of the investment in catalysis basic research by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Catalysis Science Program. Catalysis is essential to our ability to control chemical reactions, including those involved in energy transformations. Catalysis is therefore integral to current and future energy solutions, such as the environmentally benign use of hydrocarbons and new energy sources (such as biomass and solar energy) and new efficient energy systems (such as fuel cells). Catalysis for Energy concludes that BES has done well with its investment in catalysis basic research. Its investment has led to a greater understanding of the fundamental catalytic processes that underlie energy applications, and it has contributed to meeting long-term national energy goals by focusing research on catalytic processes that reduce energy consumption or use alternative energy sources. In some areas the impact of the research has been dramatic, while in others, important advances in catalysis science are yet to be made.

Catalysis for Energy: Fundamental Science and Long-Term Impacts of the U.S. Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences Catalysis Science Program

The Role of the Life Sciences in Transforming America's Future: Summary of a Workshop

The so-called nuclear renaissance has increased worldwide interest in nuclear power. This potential growth also has increased, in some quarters, concern that nonproliferation considerations are not being given sufficient attention. In particular, since introduction of many new power reactors will lead to requiring increased uranium enrichment services to provide the reactor fuel, the proliferation risk of adding enrichment facilities in countries that do not have them now led to proposals to provide the needed fuel without requiring indigenous enrichment facilities. Similar concerns exist for reprocessing facilities.

Internationalization of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle summarizes key issues and analyses of the topic, offers some criteria for evaluating options, and makes findings and recommendations to help the United States, the Russian Federation, and the international community reduce proliferation and other risks, as nuclear power is used more widely.

This book is intended for all those who are concerned about the need for assuring fuel for new reactors and at the same time limiting the spread of nuclear weapons. This audience includes the United States and Russia, other nations that currently supply nuclear material and technology, many other countries contemplating starting or growing nuclear power programs, and the international organizations that support the safe, secure functioning of the international nuclear fuel cycle, most prominently the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Internationalization of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Goals, Strategies, and Challenges

ITER presents the United States and its international partners with the opportunity to explore new and exciting frontiers of plasma science while bringing the promise of fusion energy closer to reality. The ITER project has garnered the commitment and will draw on the scientific potential of seven international partners, China, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States, countries that represent more than half of the world's population. The success of ITER will depend on each partner's ability to fully engage itself in the scientific and technological challenges posed by advancing our understanding of fusion.

In this book, the National Research Council assesses the current U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plan for U.S. fusion community participation in ITER, evaluates the plan's elements, and recommends appropriate goals, procedures, and metrics for consideration in the future development of the plan.

A Review of the DOE Plan for U.S. Fusion Community Participation in the ITER Program

The mission of Department of Homeland Security Bioterrorism Risk Assessment: A Call for Change, the book published in December 2008, is to independently and scientifically review the methodology that led to the 2006 Department of Homeland Security report, Bioterrorism Risk Assessment (BTRA) and provide a foundation for future updates. This book identifies a number of fundamental concerns with the BTRA of 2006, ranging from mathematical and statistical mistakes that have corrupted results, to unnecessarily complicated probability models and models with fidelity far exceeding existing data, to more basic questions about how terrorist behavior should be modeled. Rather than merely criticizing what was done in the BTRA of 2006, this new NRC book consults outside experts and collects a number of proposed alternatives that could improve DHS's ability to assess potential terrorist behavior as a key element of risk-informed decision making, and it explains these alternatives in the specific context of the BTRA and the bioterrorism threat.

Department of Homeland Security Bioterrorism Risk Assessment: A Call for Change

However, to achieve wide hydrogen vehicle penetration, further technological advances are required for commercial viability, and vehicle manufacturer and hydrogen supplier activities must be coordinated. In particular, costs must be reduced, new automotive manufacturing technologies commercialized, and adequate supplies of hydrogen produced and made available to motorists. These efforts will require considerable resources, especially federal and private sector funding.

This book estimates the resources that will be needed to bring HFCVs to the point of competitive self-sustainability in the marketplace. It also estimates the impact on oil consumption and carbon dioxide emissions as HFCVs become a large fraction of the light-duty vehicle fleet.

Transitions to Alternative Transportation Technologies: A Focus on Hydrogen

There is a growing sense of national urgency about the role of energy in long-term U.S. economic vitality, national security, and climate change. This urgency is the consequence of many factors, including the rising global demand for energy; the need for long-term security of energy supplies, especially oil; growing global concerns about carbon dioxide emissions; and many other factors affected to a great degree by government policies both here and abroad. On March 13, 2008, the National Academies brought together many of the most knowledgeable and influential people working on energy issues today to discuss how we can meet the need for energy without irreparably damaging Earth's environment or compromising U.S. economic and national security-a complex problem that will require technological and social changes that have few parallels in human history. The National Academies Summit on America's Energy Future: Summary of a Meeting chronicles that 2-day summit and serves as a current and far-reaching foundation for examining energy policy. The summit is part of the ongoing project 'America's Energy Future: Technology Opportunities, Risks, and Tradeoffs,' which will produce a series of reports providing authoritative estimates and analysis of the current and future supply of and demand for energy; new and existing technologies to meet those demands; their associated impacts; and their projected costs. The National Academies Summit on America's Energy Future: Summary of a Meeting is an essential base for anyone with an interest in strategic, tactical, and policy issues. Federal and state policy makers will find this book invaluable, as will industry leaders, investors, and others willing to convert concern into action to solve the energy problem.

The National Academies Summit on America's Energy Future: Summary of a Meeting

Review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership critically examines and comments on the overall adequacy and balance of the 21CTP. The book reviews how well the program has accomplished its goals, evaluates progress in the program, and makes recommendations to improve the likelihood of the Partnership meeting its goals.

Key recommendations of the book include that the 21CTP should be continued, but the future program should be revised and better balanced. A clearer goal setting strategy should be developed, and the goals should be clearly stated in measurable engineering terms and reviewed periodically so as to be based on the available funds.

Review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership

The National Research Council's Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability hosted "Transitioning to Sustainability through Research and Development on Ecosystem Services and Biofuels: The National Academies' First Federal Sustainability Research and Development Forum" on October 17- 18, 2007.

The forum discussed sustainability research and development activities related to ecosystem services and biofuels. The objective of the forum was to identify research gaps and opportunities for collaboration among federal agencies to meet the challenges to sustainability posed by the need to maintain critical ecosystem services, to support the development of alternatives to conventional fossil fuels, and to manage oceans and coastal areas. The forum focused primarily on federal activities, but included the participation of representatives from the private sector, universities, and nongovernmental organizations. This book is a summary the discussions from the forum.

Transitioning to Sustainability Through Research and Development on Ecosystem Services and Biofuels: Workshop Summary

The FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership is a collaborative effort among the Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR), and five major energy companies to manage research that will enable the vision of a clean and sustainable transportation energy future. It envisions a transition from more efficient internal combustion engines (ICEs), to advanced ICE hybrid electric vehicles, and to enabling a private-sector decision by 2015 on hydrogen-fueled vehicle development. At the request of DOE, the NRC has undertaken an effort to provide biennial reviews of the progress of the research program. Phase I of that review was described in a book issued in 2005. This second book presents an assessment of the progress in the research program management areas as well as the responses of program management to recommendations provided in the Phase I report. Covered in this second book are major crosscutting issues; vehicle subsystems; hydrogen production, delivery, and dispensing; and an overall assessment of the program.

Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Second Report

American society, with a standard of living unprecedented in human history, can attribute a large measure of its success to increasingly sophisticated uses of energy. But that condition has come at a cost to irreplaceable resources, to the environment, and to our national independence. The goal of What You Need to Know About Energy is to present an accurate picture of America's current and projected energy needs and to describe options that are likely to play a significant role in our energy future. Written for a general audience, the booklet begins with a description of the status of energy in 21st-century America, including an account of our main sources of energy and a survey of the nation's energy demand versus the world's available supply. It then looks ahead to the quest for greater energy efficiency and to a portfolio of emerging technologies.

What You Need to Know About Energy

Bioinspired Chemistry for Energy: A Workshop Summary to the Chemical Sciences Roundtable

There has been a substantial resurgence of interest in nuclear power in the United States over the past few years. One consequence has been a rapid growth in the research budget of DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). In light of this growth, the Office of Management and Budget included within the FY2006 budget request a study by the National Academy of Sciences to review the NE research programs and recommend priorities among those programs. The programs to be evaluated were: Nuclear Power 2010 (NP 2010), Generation IV (GEN IV), the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI), the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP)/Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI), and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) facilities. This book presents a description and analysis of each program along with specific findings and recommendations. It also provides an assessment of program priorities and oversight.

Review of DOE's Nuclear Energy Research and Development Program

Assessment of Technologies for Improving Light-Duty Vehicle Fuel Economy: Letter Report

Energy Futures and Urban Air Pollution: Challenges for China and the United States

National interests in greater energy independence, concurrent with favorable market forces, have driven increased production of corn-based ethanol in the United States and research into the next generation of biofuels. The trend is changing the national agricultural landscape and has raised concerns about potential impacts on the nation's water resources. To help illuminate these issues, the National Research Council held a colloquium on July 12, 2007 in Washington, DC. Water Implications of Biofuels Production in the United States , based in part on discussions at the colloquium, concludes that if projected future increases in use of corn for ethanol production do occur, the increase in harm to water quality could be considerable from the increases in fertilizer use, pesticide use, and soil erosion associated with growing crops such as corn. Water supply problems could also develop, both from the water needed to grow biofuels crops and water used at ethanol processing plants, especially in regions where water supplies are already overdrawn. The production of "cellulosic ethanol," derived from fibrous material such as wheat straw, native grasses, and forest trimmings is expected to have less water quality impact but cannot yet be produced on a commerical scale. To move toward a goal of reducing water impacts of biofuels, a policy bridge will likely be needed to encourage growth of new technologies, best agricultural practies, and the development of traditional and cellulosic crops that require less water and fertilizer and are optimized for fuel production.

Water Implications of Biofuels Production in the United States

Coal: Research and Development to Support National Energy Policy

Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects

Since its inception in 1977 from an amalgam of federal authorities, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has administered numerous programs aimed at developing applied energy technologies. In recent years, federal oversight of public expenditures has emphasized the integration of performance and budgeting. Notably, the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) was passed in 1993 in response to questions about the value and effectiveness of federal programs. GPRA and other mandates have led agencies to develop indicators of program performance and program outcomes. The development of indicators has been watched with keen interest by Congress, which has requested of the National Research Council (NRC) a series of reports using quantitative indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of applied energy research and development (R&D). The first such report took a retrospective view of the first 3 years of DOE R&D programs on fossil energy and energy efficiency. The report found that DOE-sponsored research had netted large commercial successes, such as advanced refrigerator compressors, electronic lighting ballasts, and emission control technology for flue gas desulfurization. However, some programs were judged to be costly failures in which large R&D expenditures did not result in a commercial energy technology. A follow-up NRC committee was assigned the task of adapting the methodology to the assessment of the future payoff of continuing programs. Evaluating the outcome of R&D expenditures requires an analysis of program costs and benefits. Doing so is not a trivial matter. First, the analysis of costs and benefits must reflect the full range of public benefits that are envisioned, accounting for environmental and energy security impacts as well as economic effects. Second, the analysis must consider how likely the research is to succeed and how valuable the research will be if successful. Finally, the analysis must consider what might happen if the government did not support the project: Would some non-DOE entity undertake it or an equivalent activity that would produce some or all of the benefits of government involvement? This second report continues to investigate the development and use of R&D outcome indicators and applies the benefits evaluation methodology to six DOE R&D activities. It provides further definition for the development of indicators for environmental and security benefits and refines the evaluation process based on its experience with the six DOE R&D case studies.

Prospective Evaluation of Applied Energy Research and Development at DOE (Phase Two)

Peer review is an essential component of engineering practice and other scientific and technical undertakings. Peer reviews are conducted to ensure that activities are technically adequate, competently performed, and properly documented; to validate assumptions, calculations, and extrapolations; and to assess alternative interpretations, methodologies, acceptance criteria, and other aspects of the work products and the documentation that support them. Effective peer reviews are conducted in an environment of mutual respect, recognizing the contributions of all participants. Their primary objective is to help the project team achieve its goals. Reviews also contribute to quality assurance, risk management, and overall improvement of the management process.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conducts different types of peer reviews at the different stages of a project, including reviews to assess risks and other factors related to design, safety, cost estimates, value engineering, and project management. Independent project reviews (IPRs) are conducted by federal staff not directly affiliated with the project or program and management and operations (M&O) contractors. External independent reviews (EIRs) are overseen by the Office of Engineering and Construction Management and conducted by contractors external to the department. EIRs are the primary focus of this report. However, the committee found that, in many cases, IPRs are explicitly used as preparation for or as preliminary reviews prior to EIRs. Thus, because IPRs are integral to the review process in DOE, they are also discussed because they might have an effect on EIRs.

In October 2000, DOE issued Order 413.3, Program and Project Management for the Acquisition of Capital Assets (DOE, 2000). The order established a series of five critical decisions (CDs), or major milestones, that require senior management review and approval to ensure that a project satisfies applicable mission, design, security, and safety requirements: approve mission need, approve alternative selection and cost range, approve performance baseline, approve start of construction, and approve start of operations or project closeout.

Assessment of the Results of External Independent Reviews for U. S. Department of Energy Projects summarizes the results.

Assessment of the Results of External Independent Reviews for U.S. Department of Energy Projects

The electrical grid goes everywhere -- it's the largest and most complex machine ever made. Yet the system is built in such a way that the bigger it gets, the more inevitable its collapse.

Named the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century by the National Academy of Engineering, the electrical grid is the largest industrial investment in the history of humankind. It reaches into your home, snakes its way to your bedroom, and climbs right up into the lamp next to your pillow. At times, it almost seems alive, like some enormous circulatory system that pumps life to big cities and the most remote rural areas.

Constructed of intricately interdependent components, the grid operates on a rapidly shrinking margin for error. Things can -- and do -- go wrong in this system, no matter how many preventive steps we take. Just look at the colossal 2003 blackout, when 50 million Americans lost power due to a simple error at a power plant in Ohio; or the one a month later, which blacked out 57 million Italians. And these two combined don't even compare to the 2001 outage in India, which affected 226 million people.

The Grid is the first history of the electrical grid intended for general readers, and it comes at a time when we badly need such a guide. As we get more and more dependent on electricity to perform even the most mundane daily tasks, the grid's inevitable shortcomings will take a toll on populations around the globe. At a moment when energy issues loom large on the nation's agenda and our hunger for electricity grows, The Grid is as timely as it is compelling.

The Grid: A Journey Through the Heart of Our Electrified World

Alternatives to the Indian Point Energy Center for Meeting New York Electric Power Needs

Tires and Passenger Vehicle Fuel Economy: Informing Consumers, Improving Performance -- Special Report 286

Trends in Oil Supply and Demand, the Potential for Peaking of Conventional Oil Production, and Possible Mitigation Options: A Summary Report of the Workshop

Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: First Report

Measuring Performance and Benchmarking Project Management at the Department of Energy

Future Hydrogen Production and Use: Letter Report

Methodology for Estimating Prospective Benefits of Energy R&D Programs

In 2001, the National Research Council (NRC) completed a congressionally mandated assessment of the benefits and costs of DOE's fossil energy and energy efficiency R&D programs, Energy Research at DOE: Was It Worth It? The Congress followed this retrospective study by directing DOE to request the NRC to develop a methodology for assessing prospective benefits. The first phase of this project—development of the methodology—began in December 2003. Phase two will make the methodology more robust and explore related issues, and subsequent phases will apply the methodology to review the prospective benefits of different DOE fossil energy and energy efficiency R&D programs. In developing this project, three considerations were particularly important. First, the study should adapt the work of the retrospective study. Second, the project should develop a methodology that provides a rigorous calculation of benefits and risks, and a practical and consistent process for its application. Third, the methodology should be transparent, should not require extensive resources for implementation, and should produce easily understood results. This report presents the results of phase one. It focuses on adaptation of the retrospective methodology to a prospective context.

Prospective Evaluation of Applied Energy Research and Development at DOE (Phase One): A First Look Forward

Decreasing Energy Intensity in Manufacturing: Assessing the Strategies and Future Directions of the Industrial Technologies Program

Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium

Charting the Future of Methane Hydrate Research in the United States

The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities, Costs, Barriers, and R&D Needs

Progress in Improving Project Management at the Department of Energy: 2003 Assessment

Summary of a Workshop on U.S. Natural Gas Demand, Supply, and Technology: Looking Toward the Future

Use of Lightweight Materials in 21st Century Army Trucks

Personal Cars and China

The Vision 21 Program is a relatively new research and development (R&D) program. It is funded through the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Fossil Energy and its National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The Vision 21 Program Plan anticipates that Vision 21 facilities will be able to convert fossil fuels (e.g., coal, natural gas, and petroleum coke) into electricity, process heat, fuels, and/or chemicals cost effectively, with very high efficiency and very low emissions, including of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). The goals of Vision 21 are extremely challenging and ambitious. As noted in the Vision 21 Technology Roadmap, if the program meets its goals, Vision 21 plants would essentially eliminate many of the environmental concerns traditionally associated with the conversion of fossil fuels into electricity and transportation fuels or chemicals (NETL, 2001). Given the importance of fossil fuels, and especially coal, to the economies of the United States and other countries and the need to utilize fossil fuels in an efficient and environmentally acceptable manner, the development of the technologies in the Vision 21 Program is a high priority.

This report contains the results of the second National Research Council (NRC) review of the Vision 21 R&D Program.

Review of DOE's Vision 21 Research and Development Program: Phase I

Partnership for Solid-State Lighting: Report of a Workshop

The USGCRP's Carbon Cycle Working Group asked the National Research Council's Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change to hold a workshop on Human Interactions with the Carbon Cycle. The basic purpose of the workshop was to help build bridges between the research communities in the social sciences and the natural sciences that might eventually work together to produce the needed understanding of the carbon cycle-an understanding that can inform public decisions that could, among other things, prevent disasters from resulting from the ways humanity has been altering the carbon cycle. Members of the working group hoped that a successful workshop would improve communication between the relevant research communities in the natural and social sciences, leading eventually to an expansion of the carbon cycle program element in directions that would better integrate the two domains.

Human Interactions with the Carbon Cycle: Summary of a Workshop

The Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) of the U. S. Department of Energy commissioned the National Research Council (NRC) to undertake a study on required technologies for the Mining Industries of the Future Program to complement information provided to the program by the National Mining Association. Subsequently, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health also became a sponsor of this study, and the Statement of Task was expanded to include health and safety. The overall objectives of this study are: (a) to review available information on the U.S. mining industry; (b) to identify critical research and development needs related to the exploration, mining, and processing of coal, minerals, and metals; and (c) to examine the federal contribution to research and development in mining processes.

Evolutionary and Revolutionary Technologies for Mining

Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards

The Department of Energy (DOE) is engaged in numerous multimillion- and even multibillion-dollar projects that are one of a kind or first of a kind and require cutting-edge technology. The projects represent the diverse nature of DOE's missions, which encompass energy systems, nuclear weapons stewardship, environmental restoration, and basic research. Few other government or private organizations are challenged by projects of a similar magnitude, diversity, and complexity. To complete these complex projects on schedule, on budget, and in scope, the DOE needs highly developed project management capabilities.

This report is an assessment of the status of project management in the Department of Energy as of mid-2001 and the progress DOE has made in this area since the National Research Council (NRC) report Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy (Phase II report) was published in June 1999.

Progress in Improving Project Management at the Department of Energy: 2001 Assessment

In legislation appropriating funds for DOE's fiscal year (FY) 2000 energy R&D budget, the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee directed an evaluation of the benefits that have accrued to the nation from the R&D conducted since 1978 in DOE's energy efficiency and fossil energy programs. In response to the congressional charge, the National Research Council formed the Committee on Benefits of DOE R&D on Energy Efficiency and Fossil Energy.

From its inception, DOE's energy R&D program has been the subject of many outside evaluations. The present evaluation asks whether the benefits of the program have justified the considerable expenditure of public funds since DOE's formation in 1977, and, unlike earlier evaluations, it takes a comprehensive look at the actual outcomes of DOE's research over two decades.

Energy Research at DOE: Was It Worth It? Energy Efficiency and Fossil Energy Research 1978 to 2000

The National Academies' National Research Council undertook this study in response to a request from the Under Secretary of Energy to provide strategic advice on how the Department of Energy could improve its Environmental Quality R&D portfolio. The committee recommends that DOE develop strategic goals and objectives for its EQ business line that explicitly incorporate a more comprehensive, long-term view of its EQ responsibilities. For example, these goals and objectives should emphasize long-term stewardship and the importance of limiting contamination and materials management problems, including the generation of wastes and contaminated media, in ongoing and future DOE operations.

A Strategic Vision for Department of Energy Environmental Quality Research and Development

Considerable international concerns exist about global climate change and its relationship to the growing use of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide is released by chemical reactions that are employed to extract energy from fuels, and any regulatory policy limiting the amount of CO2 that could be released from sequestered sources or from energy-generating reactions will require substantial involvement of the chemical sciences and technology R&D community.

Much of the public debate has been focused on the question of whether global climate change is occurring and, if so, whether it is anthropogenic, but these questions were outside the scope of the workshop, which instead focused on the question of how to respond to a possible national policy of carbon management. Previous discussion of the latter topic has focused on technological, economic, and ecological aspects and on earth science challenges, but the fundamental science has received little attention. This workshop was designed to gather information that could inform the Chemical Sciences Roundtable in its discussions of possible roles that the chemical sciences community might play in identifying and addressing underlying chemical questions.

Carbon Management: Implications for R&D in the Chemical Sciences and Technology

The purpose of this assessment of the fusion energy sciences program of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Science is to evaluate the quality of the research program and to provide guidance for the future program strategy aimed at strengthening the research component of the program. The committee focused its review of the fusion program on magnetic confinement, or magnetic fusion energy (MFE), and touched only briefly on inertial fusion energy (IFE), because MFE-relevant research accounts for roughly 95 percent of the funding in the Office of Science's fusion program. Unless otherwise noted, all references to fusion in this report should be assumed to refer to magnetic fusion.

Fusion research carried out in the United States under the sponsorship of the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (OFES) has made remarkable strides over the years and recently passed several important milestones. For example, weakly burning plasmas with temperatures greatly exceeding those on the surface of the Sun have been created and diagnosed. Significant progress has been made in understanding and controlling instabilities and turbulence in plasma fusion experiments, thereby facilitating improved plasma confinement—remotely controlling turbulence in a 100-million-degree medium is a premier scientific achievement by any measure. Theory and modeling are now able to provide useful insights into instabilities and to guide experiments. Experiments and associated diagnostics are now able to extract enough information about the processes occurring in high-temperature plasmas to guide further developments in theory and modeling. Many of the major experimental and theoretical tools that have been developed are now converging to produce a qualitative change in the program's approach to scientific discovery.

The U.S. program has traditionally been an important source of innovation and discovery for the international fusion energy effort. The goal of understanding at a fundamental level the physical processes governing observed plasma behavior has been a distinguishing feature of the program.

An Assessment of the Department of Energy's Office of Fusion Energy Sciences Program

In response to HUD's request, the NRC assembled a panel of experts, the Committee for Oversight and Assessment of the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing, under the auspices of the Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment. Over an initial term of three years, the committee was asked to review and comment on the following aspects of the PATH program: overall goals; proposed approach to meeting the goals and the likelihood of achieving them; and measurements of progress toward achieving the goals.

The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing: Year 2000 Progress Assessment of the PATH Program

As national priorities have been focused both on reducing fuel consumption and improving air quality, attention has increased on reducing emissions from many types of vehicles, including light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty diesel-powered vehicles. Meeting the recently promulgated (and proposed) emission standards and simultaneously increasing fuel economy will pose especially difficult challenges for diesel-powered vehicles and will require the development of new emission-reduction technologies.

In response to a request from the director of OHVT, the National Research Council formed the Committee on Review of DOE's Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies to conduct a broad, independent review of its research and development (R&D) activities.

Review of the U.S. Department of Energy's Heavy Vehicle Technologies Program

Today we recognize the importance of the pending transition in energy resource utilization in the coming century. Two major players in this transition will be two of the world's superpowers—China and the United States. Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States focuses on collaborative opportunities to provide affordable, clean energy for economic growth and social development, to minimize future energy concerns, environmental threats to our global society, and the health and economic impacts on energy production and use.

Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States

Review of the Research Program of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles reviews the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). The PNGV program is a cooperative research and development (R&D) program between the federal government and the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR). A major objective of the PNGV program is to develop technologies for a new generation of vehicles with fuel economies up to three times (80 miles per gallon [mpg]) those of comparable 1994 family sedans. At the same time, these vehicles must be comparable in terms of performance, size, utility, and cost of ownership and operation and must meet or exceed federal safety and emissions requirements. The intent of the PNGV program is to develop concept vehicles by 2000 and production prototype vehicles by 2004.

This report examines the overall adequacy and balance of the PNGV research program to meet the program goals and requirements (i.e., technical objectives, schedules, and rates of progress). The report also discusses ongoing research on fuels, propulsion engines, and emission controls to meet emission requirements and reviews the USCAR partners' progress on PNGV concept vehicles for 2000.

Review of the Research Program of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles: Sixth Report

Vision 21 reviews the goals of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Vision 21 Program (DOE's vision for the future of coal-based power generation) and to recommend systems and approaches for moving from concept to reality. Vision 21 is an ambitious, forward-looking program for improving technologies and reducing the environmental impacts of using fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, and coal) to produce electricity, process heat, transportation fuels, and chemicals.

Vision 21: Fossil Fuel Options for the Future

The Helium Privatization Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-273) directs the Department of the Interior to begin liquidating the U.S. Federal Helium Reserve by 2005 in a manner consistent with "minimum market disruption" and at a price given by a formula specified in the act. It also mandates that the Department of the Interior "enter into appropriate arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences to study and report on whether such disposal of helium reserves will have a substantial adverse effect on U.S. scientific, technical, biomedical, or national security interests."

This report is the product of that mandate. To provide context, the committee has examined the helium market and the helium industry as a whole to determine how helium users would be affected under various scenarios for selling the reserve within the act's constraints.

The Federal Helium Reserve, the Bush Dome reservoir, and the Cliffside facility are mentioned throughout this report. It is important to recognize that they are distinct entities. The Federal Helium Reserve is federally owned crude helium gas that currently resides in the Bush Dome reservoir. The Cliffside facility includes the storage facility on the Bush Dome reservoir and the associated buildings pipeline.

The Impact of Selling the Federal Helium Reserve

Renewable Power Pathways is the result of a study by the National Research Council (NRC) Committee for the Programmatic Review of the Office of Power Technologies (OPT) review of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Power Technologies and its research and development (R&D) programs. The OPT, which is part of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, conducts R&D programs for the production of electricity from renewable energy sources. Some of these programs are focused on photovoltaic, wind, solar, thermal, geothermal, biopower, and hydroelectric energy technologies; others are focused on energy storage, electric transmission (including superconductivity), and hydrogen technologies. A recent modest initiative is focused on distributed power-generation technologies. This report reviews the activities of each of OPT's programs and makes recommendations for OPT as a whole and major recommendations for individual OPT programs.

Renewable Power Pathways: A Review of the U.S. Department of Energy's Renewable Energy Programs

Petroleum-based industrial products have gradually replaced products derived from biological materials. However, biologically based products are making a comeback—because of a threefold increase in farm productivity and new technologies.

Biobased Industrial Products envisions a biobased industrial future, where starch will be used to make biopolymers and vegetable oils will become a routine component in lubricants and detergents.

Biobased Industrial Products overviews the U.S. land resources available for agricultural production, summarizes plant materials currently produced, and describes prospects for increasing varieties and yields.

The committee discusses the concept of the biorefinery and outlines proven and potential thermal, mechanical, and chemical technologies for conversion of natural resources to industrial applications.

The committee also illustrates the developmental dynamics of biobased products through existing examples, as well as products still on the drawing board, and it identifies priorities for research and development.

Biobased Industrial Products: Priorities for Research and Commercialization

Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States--Chinese Version

The Office of Fuels Development (OFD), a component of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Transportation Technologies, manages the federal government's effort to make biomass-based ethanol (bioethanol) and biodiesel a practical and affordable alternative to gasoline. Through the National Biomass Ethanol Program, the OFD is overseeing key research and development (R&D) and industry-government partnerships for the establishment of a cellulosic biomass ethanol industry. Cellulosic biomass resources being investigated include agronomic and forest crop residues, woody crops, perennial grasses, and municipal wastes. Starch-based sources, such as cereal grains (e.g., corn grain), are not included in this program. The objective of the program is to promote the commercialization of enzyme-based technologies to produce cost-competitive bioethanol for use as transportation fuel.

The OFD requested that the National Research Council estimate the contribution and evaluate the role of biofuels (biomass-derived ethanol and biodiesel) as transportation fuels in the domestic and international economies, evaluate OFD's biofuels strategy, and recommend changes in this strategy and the R&D goals and portfolio of the OFD in the near-term to midterm time frame (about 20 years). During this period, a number of complex, interacting factors, including advances in the technologies used to produce biofuels at a competitive cost, the elimination of tax incentives, advances in vehicle and engine technologies, growing concerns about solid waste disposal and air pollution, and global measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, will affect the position of biofuels in transportation fuel markets.

Review of the Research Strategy for Biomass-Derived Transportation Fuels

Review of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy's Research Plan for Fine Particulates

This book, the result of a congressionally mandated study, examines the adequacy of the regulatory framework for mining of hardrock minerals—such as gold, silver, copper, and uranium—on over 350 million acres of federal lands in the western United States. These lands are managed by two agencies—the Bureau of Land Management in the Department of the Interior, and the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture.

The committee concludes that the complex network of state and federal laws that regulate hardrock mining on federal lands is generally effective in providing environmental protection, but improvements are needed in the way the laws are implemented and some regulatory gaps need to be addressed. The book makes specific recommendations for improvement, including:

• The development of an enhanced information management system and a more efficient process to review new mining proposals and issue permits.
• Changes to regulations that would require all mining operations, other than "casual use" activities that negligibly disturb the environment, to provide financial assurances for eventual site cleanup.
• Changes to regulations that would require all mining and milling operations (other than casual use) to submit operating plans in advance.

Hardrock Mining on Federal Lands

The U.S. Department of Energy has been at the center of many of the greatest achievements in science and engineering in this century. DOE spends billions of dollars funding projects—and plans to keep on spending at this rate. But, documentation shows that DOE's construction and environmental remediation projects take much longer and cost 50% more than comparable projects undertaken by other federal agencies, calling into question DOE's procedures and project management. What are the root causes for these problems?

Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy

Decision Making in the U.S. Department of Energy's Environmental Management Office of Science and Technology

This fifth review of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles assesses progress made in the program towards the development of high fuel economy vehicles. One of the goals of the program is to develop midsize sedans with up to three times the fuel economy of today's vehicles. Concept vehicles are slated for 2000 and production prototypes for 2004.

The book addresses engine technologies, batteries for energy storage, fuel cells, lightweight materials, fuels, emissions control systems, power electronics, and vehicle systems engineering.

Review of the Research Program of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles: Fifth Report

This study was undertaken in recognition of the critical role played by the Energy Resources Program (ERP) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in the energy future of the United States. The ERP performs fundamental research to understand the origin and recoverability of fossil energy resources and conducts assessments of their future availability. The ERP also provides information and expertise on environmental effects.

Meeting U.S. Energy Resource Needs: The Energy Resources Program of the U.S. Geological Survey

Seismic Signals from Mining Operations and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Comments on a Draft Report by a Department of Energy Working Group

This book examines the state of development and research progress of technologies being considered for a new generation of vehicles that could achieve up to three times the fuel economy of comparable 1994 family sedans. It addresses advanced automotive technologies including engines, fuel cells, batteries, flywheels, power electronics, and lightweight materials being developed by the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles—a cooperative research and development program between the U.S. government and the U.S. Council for Automotive Research. The book assesses the relevance of the ongoing research to PNGV's goals and schedule, the program's adequacy and balance, and addresses several issues such as the benefits of hybrid versus nonhybrid vehicles and the importance of the sports utility vehicle market.

Review of the Research Program of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles: Fourth Report

Review of the Research and Development Plan for the Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies

The Office of Science and Technology (OST) of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Environmental Management (EM) recently has instituted a peer review program that uses the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), with administrative and technical support provided by the Institute for Regulatory Science (RSI), to conduct peer reviews of technologies (or groups of technologies) at various stages of development.

OST asked the NRC to convene an expert committee to evaluate the effectiveness of its new peer review program and to make specific recommendations to improve the program, if appropriate. This is the first of two reports to be prepared by this committee on OST's new peer review program. OST requested this interim report to provide a preliminary assessment of OST's new peer review program. In the final report, the committee will provide a more detailed assessment of OST's peer review program after its first complete annual cycle.

Peer Review in the Department of Energy-Office of Science and Technology: Interim Report

There has been much polemic about affluence, consumption, and the global environment. For some observers, "consumption" is at the root of global environmental threats: wealthy individuals and societies use far too much of the earth's resource base and should scale back their appetites to preserve the environment for future generations and allow a decent life for the rest of the world. Other observers see affluence as the way to escape environmental threats: economic development increases public pressure for environmental protection and makes capital available for environmentally benign technologies. The arguments are fed by conflicting beliefs, values, hopes, and fears—but surprisingly little scientific analysis.

This book demonstrates that the relationship of consumption to the environment needs careful analysis by environmental and social scientists and conveys some of the excitement of treating the issue scientifically. It poses the key empirical questions: Which kinds of consumption are environmentally significant? Which actors are responsible for that consumption? What forces cause or explain environmentally significant consumption? How can it be changed? The book presents studies that open up important issues for empirical study: Are there any signs of saturation in the demand for travel in wealthy countries? What is the relationship between environmental consumption and human well-being? To what extent do people in developing countries emulate American consumption styles? The book also suggests broad strategies that scientists and research sponsors can use to better inform future debates about the environment, development, and consumption.

Environmentally Significant Consumption: Research Directions

This book examines the state of development and research progress of technologies being considered for a new generation of vehicles that could achieve up to three times the fuel economy of comparable 1994 family sedans. It addresses compression ignition direct injection engines, fuel cells, gas turbines, batteries, flywheels, ultracapacitors, and power electronics being developed by the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles—a cooperative research and development program between the U.S. government and the U.S. Council for Automotive Research.

The book assesses the relevance of the ongoing research to PNGV's goals and schedule and addresses several broad program issues such as government efforts to anticipate infrastructure issues, the leverage of foreign technology, and the program's adequacy and balance.

Review of the Research Program of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles: Third Report

Review of the Department of Energy's Inertial Confinement Fusion Program: The National Ignition Facility

Technological Trajectories and the Human Environment provides a surprising projection of a much greener planet, based on long-range analysis of trends in the efficient use of energy, materials, and land.

The authors argue that we will decarbonize the global energy system and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We will dematerialize the economy by leaner manufacturing, better product design, and smart use of materials. We will significantly increase land areas reserved for nature by conducting highly productive and environmentally friendly agriculture on less land than is used today, even as global population doubles.

The book concludes that the technological opportunities before us offer the possibility of a vastly superior industrial ecology. Rich in both data and theory, the book offers fresh analyses essential for everyone in the environmental arena concerned with global change, sustainable development, and profitable investments in technology.

Technological Trajectories and the Human Environment

Competition in the Electric Industry: Emerging Issues, Opportunities, and Risks for Facility Operators

This book reviews a draft report from the federal government that assesses the effects of oxygenated gasoline on public health, air quality, fuel economy, engine performance, and water quality. In addition to evaluating the scientific basis of the report, the book identifies research needed to better understand the impacts of oxygenated fuels. Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), which is intended to reduce carbon monoxide pollution during winter, is the most commonly used additive in the federal oxygenated fuels program. MTBE has been implicated in complaints by the public of headaches, coughs, and nausea. Other questions have been raised about reduced fuel economy and engine performance and pollution of ground water due to the use of MTBE in gasoline. The book provides conclusions and recommendations about each major topic addressed in the government's report.

Toxicological and Performance Aspects of Oxygenated Motor Vehicle Fuels

(NAS Colloquium) Earthquake Prediction: The Scientific Challenge

Review of the Methodology Employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Assess Benefits of the Civil Works Research and Development Program

Maintaining Oil Production from Marginal Fields: A Review of the Department of Energy's Reservoir Class Program

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was given a mandate in the 1992 Energy Policy Act (EPACT) to pursue strategies in coal technology that promote a more competitive economy, a cleaner environment, and increased energy security.

Coal evaluates DOE's performance and recommends priorities in updating its coal program and responding to EPACT.

This volume provides a picture of likely future coal use and associated technology requirements through the year 2040. Based on near-, mid-, and long-term scenarios, the committee presents a framework for DOE to use in identifying R&D strategies and in making detailed assessments of specific programs.

Coal offers an overview of coal-related programs and recent budget trends and explores principal issues in future U.S. and foreign coal use.

The volume evaluates DOE Fossil Energy R&D programs in such key areas as electric power generation and conversion of coal to clean fuels.

Coal will be important to energy policymakers, executives in the power industry and related trade associations, environmental organizations, and researchers.

Coal: Energy for the Future

Energy Planning, Management, and Efficiency in a Local Context: Summary of an American-Bulgarian-Romanian Workshop, November 8-18, 1993

Energy and Industrial Ecology

Energy Planning, Management and Efficiency in Local Context: Summary of an American-Bulgarian-Romanian Workshop

Environmental Remediation Contracting: Summary of a Symposium

Romania's Energy Sector: Findings and Recommendations of an American-Romanian Workshop, November 8-18, 1992

Advanced Exploratory Research Directions for Extraction and Processing of Oil and Gas

This book addresses the process and actions for developing enhanced capabilities to analyze energy policy issues and perform strategic planning activities at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on an ongoing basis.

Within the broader context of useful analytical and modeling capabilities within and outside the DOE, this volume examines the requirements that a National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) should fulfill, presents an overall architecture for a NEMS, identifies data needs, and outlines priority actions for timely implementation of the system.

The National Energy Modeling System

Review of the Strategic Plan of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy

This volume presents realistic estimates for the level of fuel economy that is achievable in the next decade for cars and light trucks made in the United States and Canada.

A source of objective and comprehensive information on the topic, this book takes into account real-world factors such as the financial conditions in the automotive industry, costs and benefits to consumers, and marketability of high-efficiency vehicles.

The committee is composed of experts from the fields of science, technology, finance, and regulation and offers practical evaluations of technological improvements that could contribute to increased fuel efficiency. The volume also examines potential barriers to improvement, such as high production costs, regulations on safety and emissions, and consumer preferences.

This practical book is of considerable interest to car and light truck manufacturers, policymakers, federal and state agencies, and the public.

Automotive Fuel Economy: How Far Can We Go?

This book reviews current work and assesses the state of the art in potential applications of concentrated solar energy in nonelectric areas, such as water and waste treatment, photochemical processes, and materials processing. It identifies and recommends research needed for further development of promising applications.

Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons

When the U.S. Department of the Interior released its 1989 estimates of how much undiscovered oil and gas remain in the United States, a controversy ensued. Some members of the petroleum industry charged that the estimates were too low. This book evaluates the scientific credibility of the statistical and geological methods underlying the estimates.

Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources: An Evaluation of the Department of the Interior's 1989 Assessment Procedures

This book assesses the current state of the field in a number of potential applications and discusses technologies for which concentrated solar energy might be utilized. It contains all the papers submitted by the speakers as well as summaries of the presentations and discussions that followed each session.

Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Energy: Proceedings of a Workshop

The American love affair with the automobile is powered by gasoline and diesel fuel, both produced from petroleum. But experts are turning more of their attention to alternative sources of liquid transportation fuels, as concerns mount about U.S. dependence on foreign oil, falling domestic oil production, and the environment.

This book explores the potential for producing liquid transportation fuels by enhanced oil recovery from existing reservoirs, and processing resources such as coal, oil shale, tar sands, natural gas, and other promising approaches.

Fuels to Drive Our Future draws together relevant geological, technical, economic, and environmental factors and recommends specific directions for U.S. research and development efforts on alternative fuel sources.

Of special interest is the book's benchmark cost analysis comparing several major alternative fuel production processes.

This volume will be of special interest to executives and engineers in the automotive and fuel industries, policymakers, environmental and alternative fuel specialists, energy economists, and researchers.

Fuels to Drive Our Future

Energy provides a fresh, multidisciplinary approach to energy analysis. Leading experts from diverse fields examine the evolving structure of our energy system from several perspectives. They explore the changing patterns of supply and demand, offer insights into the forces that are driving the changes, and discuss energy planning strategies that take advantage of such insights.

The book addresses several major issues, including the growing vulnerabilities in the U.S. energy system, the influence of technological change, and the role of electricity in meeting social objectives. The strongest of the book's themes is the growing influence of environmental concerns on the global energy system.

Energy: Production, Consumption, and Consequences

Review of the Department of Energy's Inertial Confinement Fusion Program: Interim Report

Pacing the U.S. Magnetic Fusion Program

Technology and Environment is one of a series of publications designed to bring national attention to issues of the greatest importance in engineering and technology during the 25th year of the National Academy of Engineering.

A "paradox of technology" is that it can be both the source of environmental damage and our best hope for repairing such damage today and avoiding it in the future. Technology and Environment addresses this paradox and the blind spot it creates in our understanding of environmental crises. The book considers the proximate causes of environmental damage—machines, factories, cities, and so on—in a larger societal context, from which the will to devise and implement solutions must arise. It helps explain the depth and difficulty of such issues as global warming and hazardous wastes but also demonstrates the potential of technological innovation to have a constructive impact on the planet. With a range of data and examples, the authors cover such topics as the "industrial metabolism" of production and consumption, the environmental consequences of the information era, and design of environmentally compatible technologies.

Technology and Environment

State and Federal Roles in Energy Emergency Preparedness

Shortly after the April 1986 nuclear accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station in the Soviet Union, Secretary of Energy John S. Herrington requested that the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering provide an independent assessment of the implications of the accident for the safe operation of 11 of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) larger reactors. In response, the Academies formed the Committee to Assess Safety and Technical Issues at DOE Reactors, which in August 1986 began the study requested by the Secretary.

Safety Issues at the Defense Production Reactors provides an assessment of safety and technical issues at 4 of the 11 reactors. This review was completed by a committee whose members are experienced in reactor safety, particularly in the commercial and naval reactor fields. This committee reviewed extensive documentation from the DOE and its contractors, including departmental orders, testimony before Congress, safety analyses and incident reports, correspondence, audit and surveillance reports, minutes or meetings, and other documents, as well as several site visits explained in the report.

Safety Issues at the Defense Production Reactors: A Report to the U.S. Department of Energy

Outlook for the Fusion Hybrid and Tritium-Breeding Fusion Reactors: A Report

Revitalizing Nuclear Safety Research

This volume surveys the complex relationships between economic activity and electricity use, showing how trends in the growth of electricity demand may be affected by changes in the economy, and examining the connection between the use of electrotechnologies and productivity. With a mix of historical perspective, technical analysis, and synthesis of econometric findings, the book brings together a summary of the work of leading national experts.

Electricity in Economic Growth

Planning for Energy Conservation R&D: A Review of the DOE's Planning Process

Review of the Department of Energy's Inertial Confinement Fusion Program

Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Behavioral Issues

Used historically in urban areas but now mainly in institutions, district heating and cooling systems—efficient centralized energy systems that may use energy sources other than petroleum—have gained renewed interest. This volume is a nontechnical examination of the history and current extent of district heating and cooling systems in the United States, their costs and benefits, technical requirements, market demand for them, and European experience with such systems, with major focus on the problems of financing, regulation, and taxation. Appendixes provide case studies of cities and towns currently using district heating and cooling systems.

District Heating and Cooling in the United States: Prospects and Issues

Natural Gas Data Needs in a Changing Regulatory Environment

Assessment of the Industrial Energy Conservation Program: FY 1985 and Planned FY 1986

A Review of the 1984 Department of Energy Health and Environment Effects Documents on Coal Liquefaction and Oil Shale Technologies

Improving Energy Demand Analysis

Energy Use: The Human Dimension

Diffusion of Biomass Energy Technologies in Developing Countries

Research Priorities for Advanced Fossil Energy Technologies: A Report

Cooperation and Competition on the Path to Fusion Energy: A Report

Stimulating Cooperative Research in Fossil Energy at Universities

Proceedings of a Symposium on District Heating and Cooling: Preprint

Fuel Cell Materials Technology in Vehicular Propulsion

Research and Information Needs for Management of Oil Shale Development

Providing R&D Test Fuels from Alternate Energy Sources: An Assessment of Options

Research and Information Needs for Management of Uranium Development

Producer Gas: Another Fuel for Motor Transport

Assessment of the Industrial Energy Conservation Program for the Pulp and Paper and General Manufacturing Industries: Report

Research and Information Needs for the Management of Onshore Arctic Oil and Gas Operations on Federal Lands

Summary of Research and Information Needs for the Management of Selected Onshore Energy Minerals: Oil Shale, Tar Sands, Arctic Oil and Gas, and Uranium

Alcohol Fuels: Options for Developing Countries

Research and Information Needs for Management of Tar Sands Development

Safety Issues Related to Synthetic Fuels Facilities

Future Engineering Needs of Magnetic Fusion

Assessment of the Industrial Energy Conservation Program: Final Report

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Energy Symposium: Energy for Survival

Outlook for Science and Technology: The Next Five Years: Summary

Manganese Reserves and Resources of the World and Their Industrial Implications

Energy Storage for Solar Applications

Workshop on Ethanol as an Alternative Source of Fuels

Assessment of the Industrial Energy Conservation Program: Final Summary Report

Energy for Rural Development: Renewable Resources and Alternative Technologies for Developing Countries: Supplement

Energy in Transition, 1985-2010: Final Report of the Committee on Nuclear and Alternative Energy Systems

Energy Choices in a Democratic Society: The Report of the Consumption, Location, and Occupational Patterns Resource Group, Synthesis Panel of the Committee on Nuclear and Alternative Energy Systems, National Research Council.

Materials Aspects of World Energy Needs

Energy Taxation: An Analysis of Selected Taxes

Refining Synthetic Liquids From Coal and Shale: Final Report of the Panel on R&D Needs in Refining of Coal and Shale Liquids, Energy Engineering Board, Assembly of Engineering

Energetics of the Earth

International Workshop on Energy Survey Methodologies for Developing Countries: Proceedings

Energy Decisions: Founders Award Lecture, October 24, 1980

Geothermal Resources and Technology in the United States: Support Paper 4

The Department of Energy: Some Aspects of Basic Research in the Chemical Sciences

Critical Issues in Coal Transportation Systems: Proceedings of Symposium

Domestic Potential of Solar and Other Renewable Energy Sources

Alternative Energy Demand Futures to 2010:

Hydrogen as a Fuel: A Report

Criteria for Establishing University Coal Research Laboratories

U.S. Energy Supply Prospects to 2010

Nonresidential Steam Boilers and Hot-Water Generators

Private Sector Participation in Federal Energy RD&D Planning

Coal Mining

Problems of U.S. Uranium Resources and Supply to the Year 2010: Study of Nuclear and Alternative Energy Systems, Supporting Paper 1

Energy Modeling for an Uncertain Future: Supporting Paper 2

Controlled Nuclear Fusion was written as part of a larger study of the nation's prospective energy economy during the period 1985-2010, with special attention to the role of nuclear power among the alternative energy systems. Written to assist the American people and government in formulating energy policy, this report is an examination of the current state of fusion technology with an estimate of its future progress. Controlled Nuclear Fusion discusses the wide-ranging implications of energy in the coming decades.

Controlled Nuclear Fusion: Current Research and Potential Progress

Potential for Increasing Production of Natural Gas From Existing Fields in the Near Term: A Final Report to the Secretary of the Interior From the Committee on Gas Production Opportunities of the National Research Council

Review of ERDA's RD&D Program for Energy Conservation in Buildings

America's demand for energy is now growing at 2.5 percent a year, according to the Federal Energy Administration, and its dependence on foreign oil is increasing rapidly—from 26 percent before the 1973 oil embargo to 46 percent in February 1977. One important source of new oil and gas reserves lie off the coasts of the U.S. This offshore region, only about 2 percent of which has been opened for production, provided 16.4 percent of the nation's oil and 14 percent of its natural gas in 1975, and according to the predictions of the American Petroleum Institute by 1985 the yield could double.

In the near future, exploration and production will be extended from the principal sites of present offshore oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico and the offshore Southern California to the Gulf of Alaska and the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, where storm, seismic, and geological conditions are different. The projected increase in such oil and gas recovery from the U.S. outer continental shelf has intensified public and government concerns about conserving vital resources, protecting the environment, and safeguarding human life.

Verification of Fixed Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms: An Analysis of Need, Scope, and Alternative Verification Systems reviews the practices in the verification of the structural adequacy of fixed offshore oil and gas platforms—that is, the production facilities permanently fixed to the seabed by pilings, spread footings, and other means. This book also reviews the need for establishing a third-party verification procedure and if deemed necessary, how that procedure might operate. This report recommends that a third-party verification system should be implemented by the United States Geological Survey for future production platforms in all U.S. waters, and discusses essential elements for the system, with a description of how third-party verification might operate.

Verification of Fixed Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms: An Analysis of Need, Scope, and Alternative Verification Systems

Selected Issues of the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Program: A Report

Interim Report of the National Research Council Committee on Nuclear and Alternative Energy Systems

Stationary Diesel Engines for Use With Generators to Supply Electric Power

Natural Gas From Unconventional Geologic Sources

Biological Productivity of Renewable Resources Used as Industrial Materials

Gas Reserve Estimation of Offshore Producible Shut-in Leases in the Gulf of Mexico: A Report

Criteria for Energy Storage R&D

Staff Summary Report: Seminar on Industrial Energy Conservation: Seminar on Solar Space Heating and Cooling

Solar Heating/Cooling of Buildings: Current Building Community Project: An Interim Report

U.S. Energy Prospects: An Engineering Viewpoint

Evaluating Integrated Utility Systems

Report of the Conference on Thermodynamics and National Energy Problems

Evaluation of Coal-Gasification Technology: Part II, Low- and Intermediate-BTU Fuel Gases

Evaluation of Alternative Power Sources for Low-Emission Automobiles: Report

Solar Energy in Developing Countries: Perspectives and Prospects

Engineering for Resolution of the Energy-Environment Dilemma: A Summary

Engineering for the Benefit of Mankind: A Symposium Held at the Third Autumn Meeting of the National Academy of Engineering

Energy Systems of Extended Endurance in the 1-100 Kilowatt Range for Undersea Applications: A Report

Energy Resources

The area of concern of the study on renewable natural resources was the total range of living organisms providing man with food, fibers, drugs, etc., for his needs, but also including hazards to his health and welfare. Renewable Resources declares no detailed problem bearing on renewable natural resources seems at present in critical need of remedial program research, and the detection and accommodation of future specific research needs should be made the concern of a separate agency to keep the field under continuous surveillance.

Renewable Resources: A Report to the Committee on Natural Resources of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council

New Methods of Heating Buildings

Resident Research Associateships, Postdoctoral and Senior Research Awards: Opportunities for Research Tenable at the US Department of Energy, Federal Energy Technology Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [and] Morgantown, West Virginia

Other topics.

461 Energy Essay Topics to Write about & Examples

🔝 top 10 topics related to energy, 🏆 best energy topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good energy essay topics, 📑 interesting topics to write about energy, 🔍 good research topics about energy.

• 🎓 Energy Writing Prompts

📌 Simple & Easy Energy Essay Titles

Welcome to our ultimate list of topics related to energy! Here, you will find solar energy essay topics, interesting titles for energy projects, writing ideas about environmentally friendly and renewable energy sources, research titles on trending issues, and more.

• The Economics of Energy
• Wind Energy for Clean Electricity
• Sustainable Alternative Energy Sources
• How Fossil Fuels Influence Climate Change
• Strategies for Reducing Energy Consumption
• Nuclear Energy’s Safety and Sustainability
• The Role of Solar Power in the Future
• Hydropower: Environmental Pros and Cons
• Energy Transition from Non-Renewable to Renewable Sources
• Smart Grid Technology and Other Ways of Energy Distribution
• Alternative Sources of Energy Essay Consequently, the government has been urged to reduce restrictions impeding the development of renewable sources of energy and increase funding of the same.
• Solar Energy Installation Project Management 0 Pilot solar energy project Managers will run a pilot project to determine the feasibility of the project. A number of resources will be required to complete the project.
• Solar Energy as an Alternative Source of Energy It is of essence to note that, with the depletion of fossil fuels, more emphasis is now being put on the use of solar energy as an alternate energy source.
• Energy Conservation: The Lab Experiment The motion of a pendulum is a good demonstration of mechanical energy conservation. However, gravity is a conservative force, which is why it does not cause any change to the total mechanical energy of the […]
• New Energy Drink Marketing Strategy The Mission of the company is to be a leader in the manufacturing and marketing of healthy, nutritious beverages in the USA and to satisfy consumers’ needs while at the same time enhancing the individual […]
• Renewable Energy Sources: Existence, Impacts and Trends It is important to note that about 20% of the world energy sources come from renewable sources. The management and maintenance of renewable energy production may be in the short run or long run.
• Grassland Ecosystem and the Energy Flow in the Ecosystem Apart from the leaves and foliages, the primary consumers in the grass land ecosystem can also feed on the roots and backs of trees.3.
• The Benefits of Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy This research paper seeks to describe renewable and non renewable energy sources, their effects on the environment and economic benefits.”Fossils fuels are one of the most widely used sources of energy”.
• Biofuel: Renewable Energy Type The purpose of this essay is to discuss this statement and evaluate its accuracy in accordance to the latest studies, as well as the pros and cons of biofuel in general.
• Waste-to-Energy Conversion Efforts The EPA documents that once waste has been converted into energy through incineration, only 10% of the initial waste volume is recovered as ash to be disposed in the landfills. The cost of converting waste […]
• Adopting Renewable Energies Proponents of fossil fuels assert that while alternative energy sources purport to be the solution to the problems that fossil fuels have caused, alternative energy sources can simply not cater for the huge energy needs […]
• The Advantages and Disadvantages of Biomass Energy Biomass is widely known as a renewable source of energy, which is utilized in the production of electricity and other types of energy in most parts of the world.
• Energy Crisis in Pakistan At the present moment, the most common source of energy that is used in the world is electricity. In 2010, violent protests emerged in several parts of the nation, especially major cities of Pakistan in […]
• Hydro Energy Advantages and Disadvantages Run off rivers This is the use of water speed in running rivers which is used to rotate turbines for electricity generation.
• Conservation Of Energy The amount of kinetic energy in a body is affected by environmental factors and the state of surrounding bodies while potential energy is independent of the surroundings.
• Energy Conservation The second step is to check all the electric devices and gadgets in every room unplugging them from the sockets on the walls, switching off all the bulbs that are on.
• Using Solar (PV) Energy to Generate Hydrogen Gas for Fuel Cells With the current technologies, an electrolyzer working at 100% efficiency needs 39 kWh of electricity to liberate 1 kg of hydrogen.
• Solar Energy in the United Arab Emirates The success of the solar power initiatives in the UAE is largely attributed to the wide range of financial incentives that the UAE government has offered to the companies that are prepared to advance the […]
• Why Nuclear Energy Is Not Good? Even those who say net production is cost effective for unit of nuclear energy produced may not be saying the truth because most of these estimate forget that nuclear energy is recipient of many government […]
• Monster Energy Company’s Marketing Strategies In spite of applying all approaches to the market segmentation in order to promote the product, including demographic, geographic, behavioral, and psychographic segmentation, Monster Energy accentuates the use of demographic and behavioral analysis.
• Renewable Energy: Geothermal Energy Of all these forms of renewables, geothermal energy is perceived as one of the renowned forms of renewable energy which is generated from the crust of the earth.
• Why People Should Donate Time, Money, Energy to a Particular Organization, Charity, or Cause Its vision is to have a world that is free from Alzheimer’s disease.”The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading, global voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care and support, and the largest private, nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s […]
• Energy and Momentum in the Daily Life Ke= mv2/2 From eq taking the negligible potential energy we have E t = Ke = mv2/2 Kinetic energy is therefore related to momentum in the above equation. As mentioned in the literature energy is […]
• Halliburton Company: Energy Issues Halliburton is one of the major players in the energy industry. The main goal of this paper is to discuss three issues that are relevant to the company.
• Suzlon Energy Case from a Strategic Point of View Suzlon is the dominant provider of wind energy in India with a market share of more than 50% where it provides customers with both the land and the infrastructure.
• Carbon Taxes in Environmental Protection In addition, application of the strategy extends to the use of fuels and the amount of carbon emitted in the process of production.
• Tesla’s Strategic Plan for Leadership in Energy Sector The purpose of this report is to analyze Tesla’s strategic plan of technological leadership in the energy segment to strengthen its competitive position.
• Energy Drink Competition Analysis The short product life cycle in this industry requires an effective research and development strategy to ensure that new products are availed to the market at the opportune time.
• The Concept of Energy Wind is not only one of the most attractive sources of energy, but it also among the cleanest sources of renewable energy, and for these reasons, it is the fastest advancing energy technology in the […]
• Renewable Energy: Comparison Between Biogas and Solar Energies Again, the research finds that the cost of installation is higher compared to solar energy sources. However, the paper is going to compare solar and biogas energy sources.
• The Impact of Green Energy on Environment and Sustainable Development Traditional methods of receiving the necessary amount of power for meeting the needs of the developed cites and industries cannot be discussed as efficient according to the threat of the environmental pollution which is the […]
• Virtual Water and Water-Energy-Food Nexus The content of the “real” water in the product is usually insignificant in comparison to the amount of used virtual water.
• British Petroleum Alternative Energy The company was incorporated in the UK in 2005 and is operating all over the world. After incorporating, British petroleum sold off its derivative businesses to be able to run the current business The company […]
• Massey Energy Company’s Social Responsibility According to Williams, this decision is contrary to the justice rule of ethics in a business because it continues to do more harm than good to the people. Consequently, it would be easier said than […]
• Investment in Renewable Energy Sources Thus, it is possible to say that climate crisis can prove to be a catastrophe that can profoundly influence people living in various regions of the world; more importantly, the existing policies are not sufficient […]
• Recovering Energy from Waste In the past, the Victorian government did not see the relevance of enacting strict policies to help in the management of waste because it never considered it a major issue.
• Sustainable Initiatives in Energy Industry Therefore, they are mandated to regulate the use of energy in the country Some researchers argue that, private companies should regulate the production of energy resources, while others argue that end users should also be […]
• Renewable Energy Sources Thus, the establishment that the use of fossil fuels adversely affects the environment is important in explaining the shift to the use of renewable energy sources.
• Ethanol as an Alternative Energy Source The fuel has the backing of some of the influential figures in the automobile industry. Ethanol has the capacity to absorb water in the engine such that one eliminates the need for addition of such […]
• Wind Energy as Forms of Sustainable Energy Sources T he only costs to be met in producing wind energy is the cost of equipment for harnessing wind, wind turbines for converting the energy and photovoltaic panels for storing energy.
• Wind Energy: The Use of Wind Turbines One of the most promising is wind energy, specifically the use of wind turbines to produce clean and renewable energy. The only problem is that it is more expensive to build large wind turbines.
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Energy Another advantage is the fact that most of the turbines that are used in the generation of wind power are located in ranches, and on farms.
• Energy: Types and Conversion Process This process is called energy conversion, and it is one of the most important concepts in understanding energy. An example of energy conversion in daily activities is the shift from electric energy to heat in […]
• Geothermal Energy and Its Application in the Middle East Not much is known to the general public regarding the development of the geothermal energy in the countries of the Middle East.
• Wind Power as an Alternative Energy Source Wind energy is a renewable source of energy that is an alternative to fossil fuel use, which is necessary for the conservation of the environment.
• Suzlon Energy Case The failure of a company to invest in growth will render it uncompetitive in the medium-term. There is sufficient room for expansion of Suzlon to cover the emerging markets and increase its presence in the […]
• History of Applied Energy Services (AES) Company To this end, they had to come up with ethical standards that would adhere to their goals with the belief that, if the company catered for the needs and welfare of society, its good deeds […]
• Solar Energy in the UAE It is important to note that the nature of the solar field is modular, and that it has a number of parallel solar collector rows.
• Climate Change and Renewable Energy Options The existence of various classes of world economies in the rural setting and the rise of the middle class economies has put more pressure on environmental services that are highly demanded and the use of […]
• New Techniques for Harnessing Solar Energy Due to the scarcity of fossil fuels and the expenses incurred in the mining of fossil fuels, it is important that we find a new source of energy to fulfill the energy needs of the […]
• Nuclear Energy Effectiveness Although water is used to cool nuclear plants, we can conclude that nuclear energy is the most cost effective method of producing electricity.
• An Introduction to Energy and Its Development Further developments in the field of energy use began with the sources such as wind, biomass, and hydropower and these were the only sources of energy for humans for thousands of years.
• Australian Energy Company Strategic Human Resource Management The other important aspect of the integrated model is the focus on employ assessment in order to ensure that the employees comply with the process-based standards rather the development of a psychological atmosphere that enables […]
• Wind and Solar Energy as a Sources of Alternative Energy Fthenakis, Mason and Zweibel also examined the economical, geographical and technical viability of solar power to supplement the energy requirements of the U.S.and concluded that it was possible to substitute the current fossil fuel energy […]
• Energy Service Companies’ Benefits and Drawbacks Lastly, the expertise of the ESCO system will have to be maintained even after the end of the project. In addition to the benefits, the hiring of ESCO had its demerits.
• Energy Conservation for Solving Climate Change Problem The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that of all the ways energy is used in America, about 39% is used to generate electricity.
• Demand for Energy. Energy Sources The other issue that is likely to face the idea of sourcing of energy from the rural areas is the environmental impact that the sources of energy are likely to have in those areas.
• Energy Disruption: Causes and Effects of the Fukushima Nuclear Reactors Leak The Fukushima nuclear disaster that occurred in March, 2011in Japan as the result of the earthquake and tsunami led to a number of the serious problems and energy disruption.
• Can a Switch to Renewable Energy Sources Help Combat Global Warming? This paper will argue that since fossil fuels have been the primary contributors to the global warming problem, a switch to renewable energy sources will help to mitigate global warming and possibly even reverse the […]
• Earth’s Global Energy Budget It is appropriate to inspect the ocean and land spheres independently so as to take advantage of the limitations that arises with them and particularly to the capability of the land and ocean to store […]
• Nuclear Power Provides Cheap and Clean Energy The production of nuclear power is relatively cheap when compared to coal and petroleum. The cost of nuclear fuel for nuclear power generation is much lower compared to coal, oil and gas fired plants.
• Aspects of Materialism and Energy Consumption In my opinion, this led to the formation of the materialism phenomenon and enforced a particular way of thinking centered on meeting one’s demands.”Different economies worldwide use fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural […]
• Innovations on Energy and Water Co-Benefits In addition, the number of harmful emissions that are harmful to both people and the planet will be significantly reduced. The introduction of social innovations is to develop strategies that will solve social problems.
• Climate Change: Renewable Energy Sources Climate change is the biggest threat to humanity, and deforestation and “oil dependency” only exacerbate the situation and rapidly kill people. Therefore it is important to invest in the development of renewable energy sources.
• Energy Resources in Minnesota: Clean Energy Transition Just like the United States, the MROW region is one of the leading coal producers in the country, which means many people and organizations have a significant reliance on this resource.
• The Engie Firm’s Vision of Energy Sobriety in Asia For Engie to have a leading vision of energy sobriety in APAC regions and still make profits compared to their competitors, the company should make strategic alliances with other companies in Japan that can aid […]
• The Concept of Energy Consumption and Integrity Therefore, I prefer the end-use method as it is the most appropriate for a full account of energy consumption patterns in totality.
• “Windfall Taxes on Energy Are All the Rage They Shouldn’t Be” by Mintz As such, the editors expound that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to governments from Europe to the United States grappling with energy alternatives due to its scarcity.
• Å Energi IT Infrastructure and Strategic Solutions The company aspires to expand its operations in the Eastern and Southern parts of the United States of America to serve the local population.
• The EON Firm as an Energy Service Provider The major factor that sets EON apart from other companies within the same industry is that it is It is one of the largest energy providers in the globe, and yet it does not have […]
• The Role of Renewable Energy in Addressing Electricity Demand in Zambia In this regard, ZESCO Limited, the Zambian power utility company, has an obligation to generate and supply the electricity in the country.
• IT Services in the Energy Industry Companies Although the existing literature on the topic of digital transformation is abundant, the area of IT service management within the context of the larger digitalization of organizations is surprisingly underresearched.
• The Caribbean Culture: Energy Security and Poverty Issues Globally, Latin American and the Caribbean also has the most expensive energy products and services because of fuel deprivation in the Caribbean and the Pacific regions.
• Low-Carbon Multi-Energy Options in the UAE S, and Mohamad, M.O.A.’Transition to low-carbon hydrogen energy system in the UAE: sector efficiency and hydrogen energy production efficiency analysis. The authors found that the UAE should put industry and transportation first in the transfer […]
• ExxonMobil: Shaping the Future of Energy Through Innovation and Responsibility ExxonMobil, one of the world’s major publicly-listed energy suppliers and chemical manufacturers, manufactures and deploys next-generation technologies to help fulfill the world’s expanding demand for energy consumption and high-quality chemical products safely and responsibly.
• Water and Energy Problems in Mining Industry The goal is to find and recommend solutions for mining companies to easily access quality ore deposits in inaccessible areas. According to the second interviewee, accessibility to water and electricity are among the major challenges […]
• The Relationship Between the Kinetic Energy of Motion and the Force The ultimate goal of the laboratory work is to determine the relationship between the kinetic energy of motion and the force.
• Sustainable Development and Water-Food-Energy Nexus in Sweden The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations states that the securities of food, energy, and water are interconnected and depend on each other.
• Energy Balance and Expenditure Energy density, which is typically expressed as the number of calories in a gram, is the quantity of energy or calories in a specific weight of food.
• The Agriculture, Energy, and Transportation Infrastructure: Main Threats Thus, the purpose of the work is to analyze the food/agricultural, energy, and transport sectors of critical infrastructure in terms of physical, cyber, or natural disaster threats.
• Mind-Body and Energy Approaches This connects to the film because the video explains how one’s health can be preserved by ensuring that the mental and emotional components of the mind-body system are treated to the appropriate conditions in the […]
• Equations for Predicting Resting Energy Expenditure They helped identify the best equations to use for predicting REE in patients of different weight and age categories when indirect calorimetry is unavailable.
• Interplay of Energy Systems During Physical Exercise At the start of the exercise in consideration, as the three energy systems begin to supply energy to cells, the ATP-PC system provides the most energy during the first 10 seconds of running, with the […]
• Types of Energy and Their Effects on Matter Finally, electrical energy is similar to thermal energy, but in this case, there is the movement of electric charges, which cause perturbation of the electromagnetic field.
• The Importance of Affordable and Clean Energy One of the best ways to accomplish this is to encourage the international community to develop renewable energy sources. Local sources of energy are crucial to developing countries, as occasionally, electricity can be an issue […]
• Energy Deficiency During Training Study by Beals et al. Additionally, the training of the SQT students in MWCW to determine the TDEE, compare it to the TDI and observe temperature patterns did not adhere to various ethical standards as the participant’s health was not […]
• Unnecessarily Waste of Energy During a Typical Day It is common to walk out of place and neglect the duty to turn off the lights. Similar to the previous issue, this action neglects the principle of effective and minimized use of energy in […]
• Barriers to Deploying Renewable Energy in Hotels The main benefit of renewable energy is environmental protection, improving the environmental and social performance of the industry, and reducing utility costs.
• A Virtual Resource to Reimagine Energy for People It is important to note that BP Plc is engaged in both mandatory and voluntary reporting as well as disclosure of information in order to achieve a higher degree of legitimacy.
• Green Energy Solutions & Sustainability at Al Qusais Landfill The figure below presents the overview of the company and the potential solutions to its problems. Furthermore, it is in the best interest of the government to mitigate the negative externalities and promote positive externalities.
• Issues Affecting the Energy Industry and Their Solutions The increasing demand for sustainable energy is one of the issues affecting the sector. Price volatility is one of the most significant concerns in the energy industry.
• Impact of Energy on Ecosystems The major benefit of the generation of renewable energy is the minimization of water and air pollution as it does not presuppose carbon dioxide emission and soil erosion. For instance, the use of wind energy […]
• Renewable Energy: An International Profile To illustrate the severity of some of the outlined consequences and challenges presented to the national environment, the following graph is presented, illustrating the growth rate of the US fracking industry.
• Energy and Sustainability Issue in the Ignabi Community Thus, understanding different methods of generating renewable energy is the key to ensuring that the world achieves a low-carbon level in the future.
• The Speech on the Use of Alternative Energy Sources for Different Audiences The upbringing of children determines the future of a society in which their generation will make decisions, and for this reason, it is necessary to inform them of global issues.
• Eden Project Implements a Sustainable Energy Source The biomes of the attraction, along with some other buildings, are going to be heated by the use of geothermal energy.
• Cybersecurity in the Energy Sector The stable supply of energy is the key to the normal functioning of American society, as it fuels all essential industries that ensure the vitality of the nation.
• Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): Georgia The history of the program dates back to the 1980s when the Low Income Energy Assistance Program was created to mitigate rising energy prices.
• “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”: Developing Renewable Energy The focus of this bill on the technological aspect of environmental protection is seen in the allocation of funds on loan guarantees, grants for researchers, and the manufacturing of advanced systems.
• Energy and Air Emission Effects of Water Supply Contemporary systems meant to heat water/air explore both the heat pumps and the solar plates that are combined to form a unit with the aim of optimizing on the energy efficiency as well as solar […]
• Metropolitan Edison Company vs. People Against Nuclear Energy In addition, the commission published a hearing notice which entailed an invitation to parties that were interested to submit their briefs explaining the impacts of the accident to the psychological harm or any other indirect […]
• Technology and Wind Energy Efforts by the elite members of the society enlightened the global countries about the benefits of renewable energy sources in conserving the environment prompting the need to consider wind energy.
• Efficient Solar Refrigeration: A Technology Platform for Clean Energy and Water Refrigeration cycle capable to be driven by low grade energy, substituting gas-phase ejector used in conventional mechanical compressor.
• Non-Renewable Energy and Gross Domestic Product of China The use of non-renewable energy in China has the negative impact on the GDP, as indicated by the negative values of DOLS and CCR coefficients. The generation of renewable energy has a negligible negative impact […]
• Modern Technologies: Wireless Signals Into Energy I love this article because it is beneficial and informative; it tells about the technology that in the near future may enter into daily use by people around the world.
• Energy and Macronutrient Analysis However, in case of considerable sports activities, it is essential to adhere to the advised number of calories in order to maintain the current weight and not to lose muscle mass.
• Energy Efficient Lighting Design in a Corporate Space It is possible to increase energy efficiency by installing LED lights, implementing smart lighting control systems, and reducing the overall levels of light in the office by about 40-50%.
• “Energy Sector Emissions Make for 74% of UAE Total” by Zaatari The article by Zaatari discusses energy sector emissions, which should be regarded as a market failure. According to the text, “energy sector emissions make for 74% of UAE total”.
• Renewable and Sustainable Energy in NYC To provide a deepened assessment of sustainable and renewable energy usage in urban settings with New York City as a principal example.
• Making Solar Energy Affordable Solar energy is a type of energy that is obtained through tapping the sun’s rays radiant and converting it into other energy forms such as heat and electricity.
• Alternative Energy: Types and Benefits Researchers believe that the way that we are using our natural resources soon we would wind up depleting them and also would damage the earth.
• The Realization of the UAE Energy Plan 2050 The UAE energy plan and the green economy are among the key emerging trends influencing the transition and can affect how the future unfolds in the energy sector and the people of the UAE at […]
• Nuclear Energy: High-Entropy Alloy One of the tools for reducing the level of greenhouse gas emissions is the development of nuclear energy, which is characterized by a high degree of environmental efficiency and the absence of a significant impact […]
• Impacts of Alternative Energy on the Environment The term “alternative energy” refers to energy sources other than fossil fuels, including renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy, as well as nuclear energy.
• Energy Sector and Effects of Global Warming In an interview that was conducted with some of the experts in this field, one of the respondents stated that “the government has the financial capacity to support the growth and development of renewable energy […]
• Excel Energy Company’s Business Ethics In regard to the company, Excel Energy has been selling power to Excel Power Company and then buying the same units of power back.
• Government Subsidies for Solar Energy This approach has enabled solar companies and developers to penetrate the energy market despite the high costs involved in developing solar power.
• The Clean Energy Revolution Further, the failure of nuclear power to be a source of safe and clean energy, as envisaged early, has led to the need to repeal it with new energy solutions. To this end, the new […]
• CFO Report: Chesapeake Energy Corporation The company’s Board of Directors has failed in corporate governance leading to questionable acts of the CEO and undisclosed financial transactions.
• Building Energy Assessment and Rating Tools Houses are rated prior to building them or after building them and the rating depends on the dwelling’s plan; the erection of its roof, walls, windows and floor; and the direction of its windows relative […]
• House Energy Audit: Water and Energy Consumption Review for the House 265 kWh/kL water supply The actual daily consumption in a period of 8 days of the above-mentioned utilities are calculated and recorded in the following table 2.
• Energy Rating for Residential Buildings This report will look at the various tools used in the measurement of building energy performance and the shortcomings in the tools of measurement.
• Energy Intake and Expenditure Analysis Determination of relationship between energy intake and energy expenditure is therefore important aspect towards determination of maximal energy expenditure, optimization of fat expenditure as secondary source of energy after carbohydrates and capacity to achieve energy […]
• Measurement of Energy Expenditure in Humans Energy expenditure as a whole is comprised of Basal Metabolic Rate, energy above BMR that is needed to process food, and physical activity thermogenesis which is the energy used during physical activities.
• Artificial Leaf as Cheap and Reliable Source of Alternative Energy When it is receives solar energy, the artificial leaf absorbs the energy and stores it in the bonds of the diatomic Hydrogen molecules liberated when water molecules are split by the silicon cells.
• Energy and Efficiency Knowledge and Capabilities in Saudi Arabia The main incentives in the frames of the NEEP in Saudi Arabia include regular energy auditing in the industrial and commercial sectors, developing policies for energy-consuming regulation in residential buildings and improving the exchange of […]
• Electrical Engineering Building Uses Wind Energy The purpose of this fact-finding mission was to determine an appropriate type and rating of the wind turbine based on three factors: the average wind data at UNSW; the peak power demand for the EE […]
• Technology Upgrade: The “A” Energy Company The following is an examination of the “A” Energy Company and delves into a SWOT assessment of the current system and the potential alternatives that can be implemented to replace it.
• Superior Energy Services: Assessing Dividend Policy The current dividend policy adopted by the company can be identified as the irregular dividend policy, as the organization leader is clearly geared towards returning the cash to the key stakeholders.
• GE Taps into Coolest Energy Storage Technology around The reaction occurs the other way round during the discharge process where the sodium ions shift to the cathode reservoir through the separating plate. In addition, the energy saving system is designed to enable monitoring, […]
• The Sun’s Light and Heat: Solar Energy Issue The figure below provides an overview of the major parts of the solar system, which include the solar core, the radiative zone, the convective zone, the photosphere, the chromosphere, and the corona among others.
• Boosting Gas Turbine: Energy Analysis in the Thermal Power Plant The first law of thermodynamics is the principle that guides energy analysis and the continuity equation over the system and its elements make the energy analysis a dominant method.
• Solar Energy: Review and Analysis Available literature shows that most commercial CSP plants in Spain and the United States using synthetic oil as the transfer fluid and molten salt as the thermal energy storage technology are able to achieve a […]
• Financing Rural Energy Projects in China: Lessons for Nigeria China has sustained many electricity projects using different project strategies. China has sustained many electricity projects using different project strategies.
• Energy and Nanotechnologies: Australia’s Future Given the concerns about the sustainability and the security of the energy supply, the fast pace of economic development, the connection between global warming and fossil fuels, the author seeks to investigate alternative energy efficient […]
• Energy Trust: Technology and Innovation Similarly, the Energy Trust demonstrates commercial and pre-commercial renewable energy technologies and builds market for renewable energy. Besides, renewable energy is cost effective than other sources of energy in the long run.
• Mining Investment in Mongolia’s Energy Sector To ensure that the energy initiative in the country gets public support, the government has also recognized that it is essential to meet the needs of all the stakeholders of the resource. Mongolia Energy Corporation […]
• Solar and Wind Energy in the Empty Quarter Desert However, the main bulk of the report focuses on the proposal to build a stand alone renewable energy source, a combination of a solar power wind turbine system that will provide a stable energy source […]
• Wind Energy for the Citizens of Shikalabuna, Sri Lanka The citizens of Shikalabuna are shot of the possibility to implement the required wind turbines and get a chance to pay less using the natural source available.
• The Impact of Energy on Logistics Systems In the long term, it has been estimated that there will be continual increases in energy prices and this will directly correlate to increased energy costs within the supply chain.
• Effect of Title XI of the Energy and Security Act of 2007 on Transportation In this paper, we will try to anticipate the impact of Title XI of The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 on the transportation industry.
• Energy, Oil and Gas Industry in the United Kingdom Examples of international bonds are Eurocurrencies and Eurobonds which are mostly for the European market.[3] The United Kingdom is one of the most energy-rich countries in the European country, enjoying a wealth of energy resources […]
• Coal Energy and Reserves in New Zealand The main use of coal in New Zealand is in the production of electric energy. Timber production in the lumbering industry has also used coal as the chief source of energy.
• Krakow Energy Efficiency Project (Poland) This paper describes the Krakow Energy Efficiency Project whose project proponent were the World Bank and the Government of Poland. The first parameter was the satisfaction of the end-user consumer with regard to the standards […]
• Investment Project: Energy and Petrochemical Industry: SABIC and Petro Rabigh Companies The Saudi petrochemical industry is the result of the venture to add value to natural gas and oil in the 1070s.
• Organic Macromolecules and Energy Systems It is stored in the substances of the cells like carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, and is released through the interaction with oxygen.
• The Energy Crisis and Its Biological and Environmental Impact While the process of formation of fossil fuels is long and the process of their consumption quick, the use of these fuels presents hazards to the environment.
• Application of Catalyst and Energy Production This work entails developing a catalyst coupled with the construction of a good reformer in the field of catalysis. The catalyst is released at the end of the reaction and may be used again.
• Fuel Cell as an Alternative Energy Source For the fuel cell to operate continuously the reactants must flow into the cell, and the products out of the cell and the electrolyte must remain within the cell.
• Renewable Energy and Transport Fuel Use Patterns The base data is as follows: Table 1 The first segment of this analysis tests for differences between consumption of natural gas and ethanol.
• Provide Energy From Fusion Analysis Energy conversion, for instance, is a foundational activity that is very critical in mechanical engineering now and even in the past.”At first it was the steam engines, then a graduation to internal combustion systems of […]
• Energy Resource Projects in Ohio The company in charge of construction and development is Innergex Renewable Energy. Nevertheless, the support from the state and various ecological funds is bound to compensate for any issues, thus making Hillcrest Solar facility a […]
• Renewable Energy Technologies As for the construction decision and the way of harnessing the wave power, a variety of solutions has been proposed. Cheap and reliable desalinization technology such as one described in the Economist article could be […]
• The Rise of Alberta’s Unapologetic Petro-Patriots One of the critical things to remember is that energy production is one of the important industries that facilitate the development of human society.
• Solar Energy Selling Framework The list of actions to complete the required activity goes in the following sequence: planning actions, sales pitch itself, and reflection. The actions, aimed at doing are the four stages of a sales pitch, that […]
• Energy Relations Between the European Union and Russia: Economic and Political Perspectives In the last part of this study, a conclusion about the motivation that underlies the actions of Russia and the EU, and the interconnection of the political and economic reasons for such activities will be […]
• Lunar Energy: Formic Acid Case Lunar Energy would like to make an offer to the hospital regarding the provision of energy in the form of formic acid.
• Future Innovation in the Energy Industry The technological revolution of the 21st century will continue to shape the way people live now and in the future. Specifically, in the field of agriculture, technological innovation is likely to introduce precision in agriculture […]
• Energy Problems in Modern India For any country in the world, energy is one of the most critical sectors of the economy. The energy complex is one of the most critical sectors of the economy, particularly those that are of […]
• Ecosystem: Consumer Energy Use The basic factor of the river ecosystem is the water flow, which influences the entire system. The other factor is the temperature which affects and influences the flow of a river as well as its […]

🎓 EnergyWriting Prompts

• Resolute Energy Corporation: Project Budget Development
• Resolute Energy Corporation: Project Plan Template
• ExtraSolar Planet Life: The Sun Energy
• Renewable Energy Ethical Question
• Valero Energy: Marketer and Producer of Fuels
• Superior Energy Services: Staffing System & Organizational Strategy
• Sustainable Energy: Business Solutions
• Renewable Energy Resources in Qatar
• Reducing Energy Consumption in Schools
• Environmental Protection With Energy Saving Tools
• The Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Effect
• Water and Energy Requirements of Curcubita Maxima
• European Union and Its Energy Situations
• Energy, Water and Capital as Factors Influencing Business
• Solar Energy Project: Stakeholder and Governance Analysis
• Energy Crisis in the Next 10-12 Years Is Inevitable
• Reliant Energy Services Inc.’s Need for Database
• Conservation of Energy Technology
• Energy Market Segmentation Approaches
• Alternative Energy and Green Improvements
• Energy Conservation: Problems, Methods
• An Energetic but Practical Mini Cooper Car
• Energy in New York City Analysis
• China and Its Energy Needs and Strategies
• Tidal Energy Technology Review
• European Energy Crisis and the Hike in Oil Prices
• Canadian Renewable Energy Industry
• Solar Energy: Commercial and Industrial Power Source
• Conceptual Chemistry. Wind Turbine vs. Coal Energy
• Activation Energy Barrier Definition
• Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
• Energy Wasting and Consumption Optimization
• China: Impact of Energy Production
• ‘An Energy Revolution for the Greenhouse Century’ by Martin Hoffert
• Advanced Ecological Economics: Energy Options for the Global Economy
• British Energy: Corporate Restructuring and Governance
• Solar Energy and Its Impact on Society
• Nuclear Energy: Impact of Science & Technology on Society
• Energy-Wasting: Modelling Exercise
• Nuclear Energy and The Danger of Environment
• Water, Energy and Food Sustainability in Middle East
• The Concept of Gartner’s Hype Cycle in the Energy Business
• The UAE’s Sustainable Energy Projects
• Cyber Security in the Energy Sector
• CPU–RAM-Based Energy-Efficient Resource Allocation in Clouds
• Energy Consumption in Electric and Fossil Fuel
• Price Influence on Energy Drink Consumption Behavior
• 5 Hour Energy Drink: Observational Field Research
• Energy and Utility Firms and Their Final Consumers
• Bismuth Vanadate Photocatalyst for Solar Energy
• Thermodynamics History: Heat, Work, and Energy
• Renewable Energy and Politics Relationships
• Energy, Its Usage and the Environment
• Peak Pricing Applied to Energy Sector
• Energy Consumption and Cost Structuring
• Achieving Full Potential in the Energy Market
• The Canadian Electric Energy Industry
• Energy and Water Projects in the Middle East and North Africa
• Dangerous and Natural Energy: Earthquakes
• Ecosystem and Its Energy Sources
• Solar Energy Power Plant & Utility Supply Contract
• Powerbill Restaurant’s Energy Usage and Controls
• Smart Grid Energy Technology and Its Future
• AMP Energy Drink Introduction in India
• Biomass Energy, Its Advantages and Disadvantages
• Energy Future in Casper, Wyoming
• Kinetic Energy Harvester Gait in Health Technology
• Innovative Solutions: Improving Energy Plan
• Artificial Intelligence System for Smart Energy Consumption
• China Shenhua Energy Company: Pollution Reducing
• The EU-Russia Energy Relations
• Horizon Company’s Energy and Waste Management
• Energy Sector in 2050: Potential Scenario
• Russian Energy and Oil Industry: Sustainability Concept
• Business Model Challenges in Energy Industry
• Global Energy Consumption Trends for 2010-2040
• Renewable Energy in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE
• Primitive Energy Company’s Capital Budgeting
• UAE Foreign Policy and Association of Energy Sources
• Global Warming and Alternative Energy Awareness
• The UAE Energy Sources, Foreign Policy and Security
• Student Behaviors and Energy Consumption
• Solar Energy Industry in the UAE
• Sustainable Energy: Recycling of Cars in Germany
• Eco-Built Homes Company: Montana Energy Project
• Energy Consumption and Its Indices
• Car Recycling: Direct and Indirect Energy Use
• Regulatory Controls in the Energy Market Supply Chain
• Energy Poverty Elimination in Developing Countries
• Amount of Energy Used by the Country
• European Energy Market Liberalization
• Saudi Power & Energy Companies’ Knowledge Management
• Southeast Asia: Energy Security and Economic Growth
• Environment and Human Needs of Goods and Energy
• Hedging in the Energy Sector
• Nuclear Energy: Safe, Economical, Reliable
• Energy in Physics and Natural Sciences
• The Switch to Cleaner Forms of Energy
• Static Hydraulic Energy Project Requirements
• BP Company: Strategic Planning in the Energy Industry
• Shell’s Gamechanger Model in the Energy Sector
• Energy Consumption and Minimization Methods
• The Impacts of Energy Crisis on Businesses in Egypt
• Wind Energy Feasibility in Russia
• Motkamills Organization’s Energy Management
• Water-Energy Nexus Explained
• The Clean Energy Business Council Evaluation
• Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation: Business Principles
• Nuclear Power as a Primary Energy Source
• Energy Consumption in Utah
• Energy Infrastructure and Competition in Europe
• Abu Dhabi National Energy Company’s Supply & Demand
• Energy Problems in the Agriculture Sector
• Abu Dhabi National Energy Company’s Budgetary Process
• Energy Drink Product Marketing
• Canada-China Trade: Petroleum, Gas, Energy
• SMF Energy Corporation Officers’ Financial Fraud
• Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. at Canada’s Market
• Atlas Automation’s Energy Software’s Marketing
• Center for Climate and Energy Solutions: Mission
• Daylight Use for Energy Production
• The Brazilian Energy Industry Analysis
• UK Energy Industry Analysis
• Solar Energy: Definition and Ways of Usage
• Environmental Studies: Energy Wastefulness in the UAE
• Energy Production Importance for Eurasia Security
• Nuclear Energy and Its Risks
• What Kind of Energy Can Be Produced from Corn in Farms
• Collective Passenger Transport Role in Energy Conservation
• Valero Energy Company: International Trade and Finance
• Environmental Issues of Energy Innovations
• Energy Development and Global Warming
• Solar Energy Panels in UAE
• Ethanol as an Alternative Source of Energy
• How Solar Energy Can Save the Environment?
• Alternative Sources of Energy and Their Use
• Energy Resource Plan – Physics
• Overprotected Children and Low Energy Potential
• Saving Energy Systems: Water Heater Technology
• BP Energy Company’s Business Ethics and Strategy
• Emerging Energy Development’ Impacts on Wildlife
• Sustainable Energy Future: Opportunities and Challenges
• Geothermal Energy in Eden Project
• Energy Problem Evaluation and Solution
• Environmental Issues for Managers: UK’s Current Strategy on Renewable Energy & Technologies
• Alternative Energy Sources for Saving Planet
• Solar & Wind Sources: Hybrid Energy System
• Fossil Fuel, Nuclear Energy, and Alternative Power Sources
• Energy and Society Carbon Footprint
• The Cost Efficiency of Renewable Energy
• Design of Behavior Change Program for Promoting Energy Saving Quest at Mr. Faud’s Household
• Millennium Development Goals – Energy and Poverty Solutions
• Sociological Indicators of Energy Poverty
• Energy and Poverty Solutions – Non-Traditional Cookstoves
• Energy and Poverty Solutions – World Bank
• Analysis of Japan’s Energy Policy
• Impact of PPP Projects in Energy and Water Sectors in the MENA Region
• The Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union’s Strike
• Policy Position on Energy Development
• Scottish and Southern Energy Evaluation
• Legal and Political Factors of Renewable Energy Development
• Environment and Renewable Energy
• Technological Factors of Renewable Energy Development
• Social Background of Renewable Energy Development
• Economic Factors of Renewable Energy Development
• Producing and Transmitting Renewable Energy
• Green Energy Brand Strategy: Chinese E-Car Consumer Behaviour
• Petroleum Segment of the Energy Infrastructure
• Green Energy Brand Strategy
• Increasing Productivity in Superior Energy Services
• Labor Market – Superior Energy Services Company
• Superior Energy’s Targeted Work Class
• How to Achieve Energy Security in the US?
• Renewable Energy Policies in Thailand
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
• Energy Generation Industry in India
• Possible Use of Alternative Energy Sources
• HRM Practices at Superior Energy Services
• Solar Energy Houses’ Benefits
• Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s Employee Training Program
• Is Renewable Energy a Viable Option?
• Energy Efficiency in the Saudi Transport Sector
• Energy Demand and Supply Modeling
• DONG Energy A/S Teaching Essentials
• History of DONG Energy A/S
• Logistics of Vestas Energy Wind Turbines: Europe to USA
• Energy Storage Technologies
• Economics of Renewable Energy
• Liquefied Natural Gas Role in Catering the Energy Demands
• Renewable Energy: Wind Generating Plant for the Local Community
• China’s Energy and Environmental Implications
• Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation Managerial Accounting
• Harmful Health Effects of Nuclear Energy
• Energy Consumption: The State of Maryland as the Residential Region
• Usage of Renewable Energy in Saudi Arabia
• Value of Sustainable Energy
• The Advantages and Limitations of Wave Energy
• Energy Problem in Minh Mekong Delta, Vietnam
• Filling the Global Energy Research Gap
• GasLand (2010): American Appetite for Energy
• Technology Industrial and Energy Sectors
• Portable Energy Inc: Internet Strategy
• A Robust Strategy for Sustainable Energy
• The Dangers of Energy Drinks
• Energy Infrastructure and Security U.S.
• Sustainable Energy Source – Nuclear Energy
• The Role of Behavioural Economics in Energy and Climate Policy
• Chesapeake Energy Corporate Politics and Culture
• Wind-Based Energy Market
• Biomass Energy – A Reliable Energy Source
• Carbon Footprint and Renewable Energy
• Chromotherapy and Energy Distribution in Natural Field
• Company Analysis: AGL Energy’s Risk Management with Reference to ISO 31000
• Sempra Energy Strategic Management
• Energy Entrepreneurship: Southern company
• Reducing Energy Emission: Role of University and Government
• A Cost Benefit Analysis of the Environmental and Economic Effects of Nuclear Energy in the United States
• Reducing the Energy Costs in Hotels: An Attempt to Take Care of the Environment
• Nuclear Energy Fusion and Harnessing
• Reducing Standby Energy Wastage in Canada
• The Effects of Energy Drinks and Alcohol on Neuropsychological Functioning
• We Should Recover Energy from Waste Rather Than Dispose of To Landfill
• Science and the Use of Non-Renewable Energy Resources
• Solar Energy Business Model Based in Melbourne
• Fossil Energy and Economy
• Future of the World: Fuel Cell Energy and Its Impact
• Nuclear Energy Usage and Recycling
• Abu Dhabi Wind Energy
• The Effect of Nuclear Energy on the Environment
• Wind Energy for Environmental Sustainability
• Australian Energy Company Limited
• Kuwait’s Energy Consumption
• The Reality of the Prospects within Wave Energy
• Suzlon Energy, Inc. Financial Analysis
• Is it Time to Put Geothermal Energy Development on the Fast Track?
• The Fossil Oil Energy Effects on the Environment
• South Wales Region: Energy and Economy
• The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation
• Reducing Energy Usage
• Nuclear Energy Benefits and Demerits
• Non-Conventional Energy Resources
• Tecck Industries: Business Climate and Ethics
• Concepts of Dangerous and Natural Energy
• The US energy diplomacy
• Balanced Treatment of the Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy
• Energy Resource Plan: Towards Sustainable Conservation of Energy
• Geothermal Energy: What Is It and How Does It Work?
• Making Solar Energy More Affordable
• Contradictions to the Conservation Law of Energy
• Environmental Effects of the Production of Electricity by Various Energy Sources: Natural Gas vs. Its Alternatives
• Indoor Air Quality in Sustainable, Energy Efficient Buildings
• The Environmental Impact of Nuclear Energy
• Clean Sources of Energy: Advantages and Disadvantages
• Renewable Energy Sources Summary
• Wind Energy, Its Advantages and Disadvantages
• Renewable Energy Co: Engineering Economics and TOP Perspectives of Renewable Energy in Canada
• Sustainable Global Energy Options
• Sources of Energy: Nuclear Power and Hydroelectric Power
• Corporate Governance Strategy for Emirates Energy Nuclear Corporation
• Stakeholder Analysis: The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA)
• Cybersecurity in the Energy Industry
• Energy efficient team project
• Solving the Climate Change Crisis Through Development of Renewable Energy
• Clean Energy Technologies
• New Technology for Energy Saving and Better Use of Energy in Air Conditioning Systems
• Global Race for Energy
• Natural Resources and Energy
• Natural Apex- Defining a National Energy Policy for the Next Decade
• Alternative Sources of Energy: Solar, Wind, and Hydropower
• Mitigation Plan for Energy Resources
• Energy Use and Conservation
• Different Sources of Energy
• Role of Alternative Energy Resources in Reshaping Global Transportation Infrastructure
• Water Pollution and Wind Energy
• Evolution of Solar Energy in US
• Saving Energy Dollars While Providing an Optimal Learning Environment
• Are Alternative Energy Sources an Option?
• Nuclear Energy in Australia
• The Fundamentals of Energy Efficiency
• Impact of Nuclear Energy in France
• Suppression of Alternative Energy
• Energy Needs in the United States of America
• Problems in Energy Conservation
• Energy and Environmental Policies
• Energy & Fossil Fuels
• Is Solar Energy Good for the State of New Jersey?
• Sustainability of Energy Sources: Carbon, Petroleum, Coal & Gas
• Nuclear Energy Benefits
• Why Clean Energy Is Important?
• Kleen Energy Explosion in Middleton, Connecticut
• The Use of Solar Energy Should be Adopted in All States in the U.S.
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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IvyPanda . 2024. "461 Energy Essay Topics to Write about & Examples." February 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/energy-essay-topics/.

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IvyPanda . "461 Energy Essay Topics to Write about & Examples." February 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/energy-essay-topics/.

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