The clean energy claims of BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell: A mismatch between discourse, actions and investments.

The energy products of oil and gas majors have contributed significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and planetary warming over the past century. Decarbonizing the global economy by mid-century to avoid dangerous climate change thus cannot occur without a profound transformation of their fossil fuel-based business models. Recently, several majors are increasingly discussing clean energy and climate change, pledging decarbonization strategies, and investing in alternative energies. Some even claim to be transforming into clean energy companies. Given a history of obstructive climate actions and "greenwashing", there is a need to objectively evaluate current and historical decarbonization efforts and investment behavior. This study focuses on two American (Chevron, ExxonMobil) and two European majors (BP, Shell). Using data collected over 2009-2020, we comparatively examine the extent of decarbonization and clean energy transition activity from three perspectives: (1) keyword use in annual reports (discourse); (2) business strategies (pledges and actions); and (3) production, expenditures and earnings for fossil fuels along with investments in clean energy (investments). We found a strong increase in discourse related to "climate", "low-carbon" and "transition", especially by BP and Shell. Similarly, we observed increasing tendencies toward strategies related to decarbonization and clean energy. But these are dominated by pledges rather than concrete actions. Moreover, the financial analysis reveals a continuing business model dependence on fossil fuels along with insignificant and opaque spending on clean energy. We thus conclude that the transition to clean energy business models is not occurring, since the magnitude of investments and actions does not match discourse. Until actions and investment behavior are brought into alignment with discourse, accusations of greenwashing appear well-founded.

A systematic bibliometric review of clean energy transition: Implications for low-carbon development.

More voices are calling for a quicker transition towards clean energy. The exploration and exploitation of clean energy such as wind energy and solar energy are effective means to optimise energy structure and improve energy efficiency. To provide in-depth understanding of clean energy transition, this paper utilises a combination of multiple bibliometric mapping techniques, including HistCite, CiteSpace and R Bibliometrix, to conduct a systematic review on 2,191 clean energy related articles obtained from Web of Science (WoS). We identify five current main research streams in the clean energy field, including Energy Transition, Clean Energy and Carbon Emission Policy, Impact of Oil Price on Alternative Energy Stocks, Clean Energy and Economics, and Venture Capital Investments in Clean Energy. Clearly, the effectiveness of policy-driven and market-driven energy transition is an important ongoing debate. Emerging research topics are also discussed and classified into six areas: Clean Energy Conversion Technology and Biomass Energy Utilisation, Optimisation of Energy Generation Technology, Policy-Making in Clean Energy Transition, Impact of Clean Energy Use and Economic Development on Carbon Emissions, Household Use of Clean Energy, and Clean Energy Stock Markets. Accordingly, more and more research attention has been paid to how to improve energy efficiency through advanced clean energy technology, and how to make targeted policies for clean energy transition and energy market development. This article moves beyond the traditional literature review methods and delineates a systematic research agenda for clean energy research, providing research directions for achieving low-carbon development through the clean energy transition.

Wave Energy Assessment at Valencia Gulf and Comparison of Energy Production of Most Suitable Wave Energy Converters.

Seaports' energy strategy should rely on the use of renewable energy. Presently, the share of renewable energy used by many of the ports worldwide is negligible. Some initiatives are in the process of implementation to produce some of the energy used by the Port of Valencia, one the largest ports in the Mediterranean Basin. Among these initiatives, a photovoltaic plant with an installed capacity of 5.5 MW is under a tendering process and the assessment studies for the deployment of three to five windmills are close to being finished. However, this is not enough to make it a "zero emissions port" as some of the energy demand would still be covered by fossil fuels. Therefore, we should consider clean alternative energy sources. This article analyses the wave energy resources in the surroundings of the Port of Valencia using a 7-year series of data obtained from numerical modelling (forecast). The spatial distribution of wave power is analysed using data from 3 SIMAR points at Valencia Bay and is compared to the data obtained by the Valencia Buoy I (removed in 2005). The obtained results are used to estimate the power matrices and the average energy output of two wave energy converters suitable to be integrated into the port's infrastructure. Finally, the wave energy converters' production is compared to the average amount of energy that is forecast to be obtained from other renewable sources such as solar and wind. Due to the nature of the Gulf's wave climate (mostly low waves), the main conclusion is that the energy obtainable from the waves in the Valencia Gulf will be in correlation with such climate. However, when dealing with great energy consumers every source of production is worthwhile and further research is needed to optimize the production of energy from renewable sources and its use in an industrial environment such as ports.

Inventory of main greenhouse gas emissions from energy sector in Palestine.

This paper analyzes the building process of the main greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O) inventory from the energy sector in Palestine. The paper includes determination tools, i.e., emission factors, to estimate the amounts of national GHG emissions from sub-sectors of energy including energy industries, manufacturing industries and construction, transport and other sectors (households, agriculture and commerce and public services). The results show that the total amount of national GHG emissions from the energy sector in 2016 was 4131 thousand metric tons of CO2-equivalent (TtCO2e), which represented 0.011% of the total global GHG emissions. The average value of GHG emissions per capita from the energy sector was 0.86 tCO2e in Palestine, and its gross domestic product was estimated at 3212 $/ton of CO2e. The estimated amounts of CO2, CH4 and N2O emission from the energy sector were 4022, 49 and 60 TtCO2e, respectively. The transport and household sub-sectors dominated the national GHG emissions from the entire energy sector by 58 and 32%, respectively. In general, fuels including diesel, gasoline, wood and charcoal and liquefied petroleum gas made most of the total amount of the national GHG emissions from the energy sector at 50, 18, 18 and 12%, respectively. Finally, the mitigation actions included in the first nationally determined contribution of Palestine and recommendations to help lower the national GHG emissions from the Palestinian energy sector are provided.

Does Telemedical Support of First Responders Improve Guideline Adherence in an Offshore Emergency Scenario? A Simulator-Based Prospective Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate, in a simulator-based prospective study, whether telemedical support improves quality of emergency first response (performance) by medical non-professionals to being non-inferior to medical professionals. SETTING: In a simulated offshore wind power plant, duos (teams) of offshore engineers and teams of paramedics conducted the primary survey of a simulated patient. PARTICIPANTS: 38 offshore engineers and 34 paramedics were recruited by the general email invitation. INTERVENTION: Teams (randomised by lot) were supported by transmission technology and a remote emergency physician in Berlin. OUTCOME MEASURES: From video recordings, performance (17 item checklist) and required time (up to 15 min) were quantified by expert rating for analysis. Differences were analysed using two-sided exact Mann-Whitney U tests for independent measures, non-inferiority was analysed using Schuirmann one-sided test. The significance level of 5 % was Holm-Bonferroni adjusted in each family of pairwise comparisons. RESULTS: Nine teams of engineers with, nine without, nine teams of paramedics with and eight without support completed the task. Two experts quantified endpoints, insights into rater dependence were gained. Supported engineers outperformed unsupported engineers (p<0.01), insufficient evidence was found for paramedics (p=0.11). Without support, paramedics outperformed engineers (p<0.01). Supported engineers' performance was non-inferior (at one item margin) to that by unsupported paramedics (p=0.03). Supported groups were slower than unsupported groups (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: First response to medical emergencies in offshore wind farms with substantially delayed professional care may be improved by telemedical support. Future work should test our result during additional scenarios and explore interdisciplinary and ecosystem aspects of this support. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00014372.

Research on New and Traditional Energy Sources in OECD Countries.

To mitigate the problems associated with climate change, the low-carbon economy concept is now being championed around the world in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure sustainable economic growth. Therefore, to reduce the dependence on traditional energy sources, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been actively promoting the use of renewable energy. Past research has tended to neglect the influence of other pollutants such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) and have mainly been based on static analyses. To make up for these research gaps, this study examined OECD country data from 2010⁻2014, with labor, fixed assets, new energy, and traditional energy as the inputs, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), carbon dioxide (CO2), and PM2.5 as the outputs, from which it was found: (1) the overall efficiency of the individual countries varied significantly, with nine countries being found to have efficiencies of 1 for all five years, but many others having efficiencies below 0.2; (2) in countries where there was a need for improvements in traditional energy (which here refers to coal, petroleum and other fossil energy sources), there was also a significant need for improvement in new energy sources (which here refers to clean energy which will produce pollutant emissions and can be directly used for production and life, including resources like nuclear energy and "renewable energy"); (3) countries with poor traditional energy and new energy efficiencies also had poor CO2 and PM2.5 efficiencies; (4) many OECD countries have made progress towards sustainable new energy developments.

A review of studies on urban energy performance evaluation.

Energy is a foundation for a city to create economic wealth, satisfy people's desires, and achieve benefits. However, the increasing mismatch between energy supply and demand and the worsening of environmental pollution have highlighted the importance of improving urban energy performance, so the number of studies related to urban energy performance evaluation is increasing. Based on describing the authors, numbers, regional sources, and themes of these studies, this paper reviews and analyzes the conceptions, evaluation indicators, influencing factors, evaluation methods, and evaluation systems related to urban energy performance. Most countries have expressed concern about this topic. Researchers in China, Belgium, and the USA have had the most achievements and collaborations. The concept of urban energy performance further extends to a comprehensive performance. It is measured based on an input-output process. In addition to the original evaluation indicators, new desirable outputs and undesirable outputs are included. Industrial structure, energy price, population density, home car ownership, climate factors, Gini coefficient, health expenditure level, and unemployment rate are regarded as influencing factors. Therefore, a new framework of evaluation indicators and influencing factors is constructed. Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) are commonly used to evaluate. With changes in conceptions, evaluation indicators, and influencing factors, the evaluation method should rather focus on measuring multiple input-output variables, determining the evaluation results and the impacts of factors at the same analysis stage, and highlighting policy orientations. As an important management tool, the evaluation system would continue to be studied and developed.

Assessing potential health impacts of waste recovery and reuse business models in Hanoi, Vietnam.

OBJECTIVES: In resource-constrained settings, the recovery of nutrients and the production of energy from liquid and solid waste are important. We determined the range and magnitude of potential community health impacts of six solid and liquid waste recovery and reuse business models in Hanoi, Vietnam. METHODS: We employed a health impact assessment (HIA) approach using secondary data obtained from various sources supplemented with primary data collection. For determining the direction (positive or negative) and magnitude of potential health impacts in the population, a semiquantitative impact assessment was pursued. RESULTS: From a public health perspective, wastewater reuse for inland fish farming, coupled with on-site water treatment has considerable potential for individual and community-level health benefits. One of the business models investigated (i.e. dry fuel manufacturing with agro-waste) resulted in net negative health impacts. CONCLUSIONS: In Hanoi, the reuse of liquid and solid waste-as a mean to recover water and nutrients and to produce energy-has considerable potential for health benefits if appropriately managed and tailored to local contexts. Our HIA methodology provides an evidence-based decision-support tool for identification and promotion of business models for implementation in Hanoi.

The water footprint of California's energy system, 1990-2012.

California's energy and water systems are interconnected and have evolved in recent decades in response to changing conditions and policy goals. For this analysis, we use a water footprint methodology to examine water requirements of energy products consumed in California between 1990 and 2012. We combine energy production, trade, and consumption data with estimates of the blue and green water footprints of energy products. We find that while California's total annual energy consumption increased by just 2.6% during the analysis period, the amount of water required to produce that energy grew by 260%. Nearly all of the increase in California's energy-related water footprint was associated with water use in locations outside of California, where energy products that the state consumes were, and continue to be, produced. We discuss these trends and the implications for California's future energy system as it relates to climate change and expected water management challenges inside and outside the state. Our analysis shows that while California's energy policies have supported climate mitigation efforts, they have increased vulnerability to climate impacts, especially greater hydrologic uncertainty. More integrated analysis and planning are needed to ensure that climate adaptation and mitigation strategies do not work at cross purposes.

Technical assessment of the CLEERGAS moving grate-based process for energy generation from municipal solid waste.

A technical analysis has been completed for a commercial-scale two-stage gasification-combustion system. The CLEERGAS (Covanta Low Emissions Energy Recovery GASification) process consists of partial combustion and gasification of as-received municipal solid waste (MSW) on a moving grate producing syngas followed by full combustion of the generated syngas in an adjoining chamber and boiler. This process has been in operation since 2009 on a modified 330-tonne day(-1) waste-to-energy (WTE) line in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Material balances determined that the syngas composition is 12.8% H2 and 11.4% CO, the heating value of the gas in the gasifier section is 4098 kJ Nm(-3), and an aggregate molecular formula for the waste is C6H14.5O5. The analysis of gas measurements sampled from the Tulsa unit showed that the gasification-combustion mode fully processed the MSW at an excess air input of only 20% as compared to the 80-100% typically found in conventional WTE moving grate plants. Other important attributes of the CLEERGAS gasification-combustion process are that it has operated on a commercial scale for a period of over two years with 93% availability and utilizes a moving grate technology that is currently used in hundreds of WTE plants around the world.

Health impact of wind farms.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Wind power is employed worldwide as an alternative source of energy. At the same time, however, the health effects of wind turbines have become a matter of discussion. The purpose of this study is a critical review of available reports providing arguments both for and against the construction of wind farms. The authors also attempt to propose recommendations in accordance with the Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) guidelines. In the case of exposure to wind farms, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is impossible. To obtain the highest-level recommendations, analysis of case-control studies or cohort studies with control groups should be performed. Preferably, it should include geostatistical analysis conducted with the use of variograms and the kriging technique. Combinations of key words were entered into the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge (SM) and the Internet search engine Google. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF STATE OF THE ART: The nuisance caused by wind turbines is stereotypically linked with the noise that they produce. Nevertheless, the visual aspect of wind farms, opinions about them, and sensitivity to sound seem to be of the greater importance. To date, the direct correlations between the vicinity of modern wind farms, the noise that wind turbines make, and possible consequences to health have not been described in peer reviewed articles. Health effects are more probably associated with some environmental factors leading to annoyance or frustration. All types of studies share the same conclusion: wind turbines can provoke annoyance. As with any project involving changes in the local environment, a certain level of irritation among the population can be expected. There are elected officials and government representatives who should decide what level of social annoyance is acceptable, and whether wind power advantages outweigh its potential drawbacks. The influence of wind turbines on human emotional and physical health is a relatively new field of research. Further analyses of these issues are justified, especially because none of the studies published in peer-reviewed journals so far meet the criteria for cohort or case-control studies. SUMMARY: Due to methodology, currently available research results do not allow for higher than C-level recommendations. In the case of wind farms, the ideal types of research would be: a retrospective observation of a particular group of residents before and after the wind farm construction, case-control studies or cohort studies with control groups matched in respect of socioeconomic factors, predisposition for chronic diseases, exposure to environmental risk factors, and only one variable which would differentiate cases from controls--the distance between place of residence and a wind farm.

Wind energy presents new challenges for worker health and safety.

Wind technology jobs present uncertainties for worker health. More investigation is needed to ensure the safety of employees working on wind farms.

Solid recovered fuel: influence of waste stream composition and processing on chlorine content and fuel quality.

Solid recovered fuel (SRF) produced by mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) of municipal waste can replace fossil fuels, being a CO(2)-neutral, affordable, and alternative energy source. SRF application is limited by low confidence in quality. We present results for key SRF properties centered on the issue of chlorine content. A detailed investigation involved sampling, statistical analysis, reconstruction of composition, and modeling of SRF properties. The total chlorine median for a typical plant during summer operation was 0.69% w/w(d), with lower/upper 95% confidence intervals of 0.60% w/w(d) and 0.74% w/w(d) (class 3 of CEN Cl indicator). The average total chlorine can be simulated, using a reconciled SRF composition before shredding to <40 mm. The relative plastics vs paper mass ratios in particular result in an SRF with a 95% upper confidence limit for ash content marginally below the 20% w/w(d) deemed suitable for certain power plants; and a lower 95% confidence limit of net calorific value (NCV) at 14.5 MJ kg(ar)(-1). The data provide, for the first time, a high level of confidence on the effects of SRF composition on its chlorine content, illustrating interrelationships with other fuel properties. The findings presented here allow rational debate on achievable vs desirable MBT-derived SRF quality, informing the development of realistic SRF quality specifications, through modeling exercises, needed for effective thermal recovery.

Development by design: mitigating wind development's impacts on wildlife in Kansas.

Wind energy, if improperly sited, can impact wildlife through direct mortality and habitat loss and fragmentation, in contrast to its environmental benefits in the areas of greenhouse gas, air quality, and water quality. Fortunately, risks to wildlife from wind energy may be alleviated through proper siting and mitigation offsets. Here we identify areas in Kansas where wind development is incompatible with conservation, areas where wind development may proceed but with compensatory mitigation for impacts, and areas where development could proceed without the need for compensatory mitigation. We demonstrate that approximately 10.3 million ha in Kansas (48 percent of the state) has the potential to provide 478 GW of installed capacity while still meeting conservation goals. Of this total, approximately 2.7 million ha would require no compensatory mitigation and could produce up to 125 GW of installed capacity. This is 1,648 percent higher than the level of wind development needed in Kansas by 2030 if the United States is to get 20 percent of its electricity from wind. Projects that avoid and offset impacts consistent with this analysis could be awarded "Green Certification." Certification may help to expand and sustain the wind industry by facilitating the completion of individual projects sited to avoid sensitive areas and protecting the industry's reputation as an ecologically friendly source of electricity.

Impact of wind turbine noise in the Netherlands.

The Dutch government aims at an increase of wind energy up to 6 000 MW in 2020 by placing new wind turbines on land or offshore. At the same time, the existing noise legislation for wind turbines is being reconsidered. For the purpose of establishing a new noise reception limit value expressed in L den , the impact of wind turbine noise under the given policy targets needs to be explored. For this purpose, the consequences of different reception limit values for the new Dutch noise legislation have been studied, both in terms of effects on the population and regarding sustainable energy policy targets. On the basis of a nation-wide noise map containing all wind turbines in The Netherlands, it is calculated that 3% of the inhabitants of The Netherlands are currently exposed to noise from wind turbines above 28 dB(A) at the faηade. Newly established dose-response relationships indicate that about 1500 of these inhabitants are likely to be severely annoyed inside their dwellings. The available space for new wind turbines strongly depends on the noise limit value that will be chosen. This study suggests an outdoor A-weighted reception limit of L den = 45 dB as a trade-off between the need for protection against noise annoyance and the feasibility of national targets for renewable energy.