Energy Efficiency and Innovation - Implementing Environmental and Resource Management - page 5

Part I - Energy Efficiency and Innovation
Vincent Onyango
Department of Environmental Planning, Brandenburg University of Technology
(BTU), Cottbus, Germany
The world is focused on the urgent need to use energy efficiently, produce it from
more sustainable sources and reduce the adverse impacts of energy generation and
use. Within this context, Part I of this volume presents various research results and
opinions on how energy efficiency in various areas of application can be
innovatively achieved. Chapter 2 shows the potential of biomass pellets for energy
generation in Brazil. It presents the polluting and combustion behaviour of several
blends of residual biomass, the goal being to search for the most efficient biomass
mixture. Chapter 3 shows how rice husks can be used to produce energy in India.
It argues that instead of the rice husks being dumped as waste, fermenting and
producing global warming methane, the rice husks may instead be converted into
electricity and thermal energy at relatively high efficiencies. In Chapter 4, case
studies from 3 countries are used to show how the energy efficiency of central
water supply systems can be increased through energy efficient ways of
transporting water to consumers. These are reduction of water losses, optimised
operational strategies, energy recovery within the distribution system and use of
renewable energy for the water pumps. It concludes that the scarcer energy as well
as water resources become, the more often these concepts will find an application.
In Chapter 5, it is concluded that innovative use of technology in local reclamation
of wastewater offers a cost effective alternative for improving the efficiency of
water-use in agriculture. In this chapter, opportunities and potentials for improved
energy efficiency within wastewater treatment are identified. In Chapter 6, the
Brazilian energy sector is reviewed and a hypothetical case study with three
configurations of solar modules is used to highlight the environmental, technical
and economic aspects of grid-connected solar photovoltaics.
Chapters on the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
follow those on energy efficiency and technological innovation, albeit within
energy-related aspects. In Chapter 7, CDM application in wind power projects in
India is presented. It is stated that the decline in registration of CDM wind projects
has resulted in the creation of a Voluntary Emission Reduction (VER) market in
India. This presents a realistic option for investors to avail themselves of
additional benefits, thus encouraging the development of new wind power parks.
Chapter 8 discusses CDM projects worldwide and then focuses in detail on a
Brazilian case study. It highlights inequitable distribution of CDM projects and
outlines the theoretical conception of the Flexible Mechanisms and critiques
criteria such as additionality, sustainability and distribution of CDM projects.