Low Carbon Thermal Energy Roadmap for Textile Industry

The textile and apparel industry is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 2% of annual emissions. A major challenge is its reliance on fossil fuel-based thermal energy for process heating, such as steam production and thermal oil heating, which contributes to substantial carbon dioxide emissions. The industry increasingly recognizes the need to decarbonize, especially as global demand for apparel grows.

This report, commissioned by the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) and authored by Global Efficiency Intelligence, focuses on strategies to transition textile plants in five key textile-producing countries (China, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Indonesia) to low-carbon …

Clean Fuel Standards: The Market-Based Policy for States Looking to Clean Up Transportation

Federal leadership transitions often bring significant changes to energy policy, which can create market and policy uncertainty for businesses, organizations, and state governments — and the shift from the past administration to the current one is no exception. During this time of evolving federal priorities, many states seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants have had to navigate a complex regulatory landscape. To ease this navigation, states can look toward bipartisan, cost-effective policies that do not rely on federal assistance or approval for implementation.

In this complex environment, clean fuel standard policies (also called low-carbon fuel standards, clean …

Assessment of Potential Impacts of Fires at BESS Facilities

This report provides an analysis of historical BESS fire incidents and their causes, a review of the types of contaminants released, the extent of environmental impacts, and how advancements in safety regulations and technology have mitigated risks. Case studies illustrate the evolution of BESS safety and the limited environmental consequences of such fires.

Key findings include:

– Historical incidents: An analysis of BESS fire incidents in the United States reveals that the incidents involved early-generation systems lacking modern safety features. Improved safety measures in newer systems have significantly reduced risks.
– Environmental impact: Studies show that BESS fires have minimal …

Risk-Constrained Participation of Virtual Power Plants in Day-Ahead Energy and Reserve Markets Based on Multi-Objective Operation of Active Distribution Network

This study presents an optimal approach to integrate flexible-renewable virtual power plants (VPPs) into the operation of active distribution networks (ADNs) with multi-criteria objectives for day-ahead energy and reserve markets. The level of interaction with VPPs is determined through a risk model. The proposed framework adopts a bi-level structure. In the upper-level model, the Pareto optimization strategy, based on the weighted sum method, is utilized to minimize the AND’s predicted operating costs and voltage deviation. The network’s optimal AC power flow (AC-OPF) equations serve as constraints for this level. The lower-level model intends to maximize VPPs’ expected profits while incorporating …

Economic and Technical Analysis of Hydrogen Production and Transport: A Case Study of Egypt

This study investigates the economic, technical, and logistical aspects of hydrogen production, with a particular focus on Egypt’s potential to emerge as a global hydrogen leader. The research is motivated by Egypt’s abundant renewable resources, strategic location, and increasing interest in hydrogen as a cornerstone of the energy transition. Using the Hydra simulation model developed in MATLAB/Simulink, the study evaluates the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) and Levelized Supply Costs of Hydrogen (LSCOH) across various scenarios, spanning from 2024 to 2050. These scenarios incorporate factors such as economic growth, technological advancements, energy policies, and infrastructure developments. Projections indicate that the …

Liability Considerations for Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Projects in U.S. Waters

Scientists have identified a number of land- and ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (“CDR”) approaches. Ocean-based approaches, also known as marine CDR, hold great potential for uptake and sequestration of carbon dioxide. However, controlled field trials in the ocean are needed to better understand the efficacy and impacts of several marine CDR approaches. Legal considerations will have a major bearing on whether, when, where, and how such field research goes forward. Previous studies have analyzed the potential international and domestic legal framework applicable to marine CDR research and subsequent deployment (if that is ultimately deemed appropriate). However, relatively little research has …

National Nuclear Security Administration: Reporting on Industrial Base Risks Needs Improvement

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) uses a coordinated but decentralized approach to manage risks to the nuclear security enterprise (NSE) industrial base. The NSE industrial base includes four elements—supply chain, operations and facilities, logistics and transportation, and workforce. The Office of Systems Engineering and Integration, within NNSA’s Office of Defense Programs, serves as the focal point for managing NSE industrial base risks at the enterprise level, including by attending working group meetings and participating in interagency processes. Contractors and working groups across the NSE are primarily responsible for managing industrial base risks. They use a variety of tools and …

The Use and Impacts of an Ethanol Cooking Fuel Promotion Pilot in Dar es Salaam

Ensuring access to affordable and clean energy resources (as articulated in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7) is critical to achieving a range of human development outcomes. Numerous studies have examined how clean cooking technology can, under the right circumstances, reduce household air pollution and shift household time use. Yet, empirical research on the adoption and impacts of bioethanol, an emerging clean cooking fuel that is frequently promoted in policy dialogues, remains limited and largely descriptive. Thus, this paper evaluates the effects of a large-scale, UNIDO/GEF-sponsored ethanol promotion program implemented in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

To mitigate against bias from non-random …

National Nuclear Security Administration: Explosives Program Is Mitigating Some Supply Chain Risks but Should Take Additional Actions to Enhance Resiliency

According to National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) documentation, the explosives supply chain is vulnerable to risks, such as material supply and manufacturing challenges. GAO found 66 total NNSA-identified risks across the agency’s 11 key explosives products supply chains. Agency officials told us the risks facing the explosives program, if not addressed, could result in delays to nuclear weapons modernization programs and newly designed weapons. NNSA has taken some steps to mitigate these risks, such as maintaining stockpiles of at-risk materials and identifying new domestic suppliers.

NNSA’s nearly $4 billion of existing explosives infrastructure—at five contractor-operated sites that design, produce, and …

Transmission Line Faults Detection and Classification Using New Tripping Characteristics Based on Statistical Coherence for Current Measurements

Power transmission lines are critical components of a power system that connect power stations to consumers. To maintain reliability and stability of the system, faults should be correctly classified and cleared as soon as possible. In this article, a coherence-based protection scheme for faults detection and classification on transmission lines (TLs) is proposed. Besides, the scheme introduces a new model of tripping characteristics based on six coherence coefficients that are computed only for current waves measured at the TL sending end. The power network under test is simulated using the ATP software, and signals analysis and the performance evaluation of …