Editorial

Citation

Dey, P.K. (2013), "Editorial", International Journal of Energy Sector Management, Vol. 7 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijesm.2013.32807aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Energy Sector Management, Volume 7, Issue 1

There are six papers in this issue covering wide areas of energy sector management such as energy efficiency, economic analysis of clean energy, productivity comparison of power plants, bioenergy supply chain, drivers and barriers of implementing renewable energy (RE) and energy services. The articles demonstrate practices of European countries, Gulf Cooperation Countries, Russia, and India using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Both renewable and non-RE management issues are discussed.

The article entitled “Building synergies between EU and GCC on energy efficiency” by Papadopoulou et al. analyses the state of play on energy efficiency with regards to policy, legislation and technological issues in the European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). The study reveals that achieving energy efficiency is the top most priority of both the regions. GCC states have started recognising that existing tariff schemes are unsuitable. They additionally reveal that both the regions could achieve substantial benefit through collaboration in policy formation, technological innovation and collaborative research initiatives.

Yessian et al. in their article entitled “Economic analysis of clean energy options for Kuwait” perform an economic assessment of the potential for clean energy options to contribute to the power and desalination needs in the State of Kuwait over the next 20-40 years. New power generation options – including RE, nuclear, combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) and reheat steam power plants (RHSPP) are compared and various percentage allocations are suggested.

Singh et al. study the changes in productivity for 25 state-owned coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) in India over a period of seven years (2003-2010) using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and use the Malmquist index to estimate the change in productivity of panel samples. The results indicate that the average total factor productivity regressed during the investigation period at an annual rate of 2 percent. The decrease in productivity is equally attributed to the technical efficiency change and technological change. The study also analyses plant wise performance and reveals various observations.

Svanberg and Halldórsson in their article entitled “Supply chain configuration for biomass-to-energy: the case of torrefaction” demonstrate ways of overcoming logistics barriers (poor transportation, handling and storage properties) for increased utilisation of biomass through introduction of torrefaction early in the biomass-to-energy supply chain. A framework that explicates different elements of supply and demand of torrefaction is proposed, and exemplified by three distinct supply chains. Depending on demand, torrefaction serves different purposes, bridging gaps in place, time, quality and ownership. The study further reveals that different supply chain configurations pose different requirements on torrefaction in terms of producing different product quality; durability, energy density and hydrophobicity of the pellets.

Ferroukhi et al. investigate the efforts undertaken by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in deploying RE, in terms of capacity assessments, research and development (R&D) activities, and current and planned projects. The paper also identifies and rates several drivers and barriers for the diffusion of RE technologies (RETs) in the GCC using qualitative analysis. The study reveals that there is growing interest in RE in the GCC countries at the R&D and project implementation level. The paper concludes with several recommendations for the effective adoption of renewables in the GCC nations.

Garbuzova-Schlifter and Madlener in their article entitled “Prospects and barriers for Russia’s emerging ESCO market” study Russian ESCO market and energy performance contracting (EPC) in the Western markets using qualitative survey method. The research reveals that only nine of the surveyed ESCOs have acquired energy performance-based projects. In line with the new energy efficiency legislation, such projects are strongly supported in the state sector but much less so in the commercial sector. Most of the projects are financed either through ESCOs’ own funds, direct loans to customers, or by the customers themselves. Russian banks, however, rarely provide direct loans for energy performance-based projects of ESCOs, but rather prefer to offer financial leasing contracts.

Prasanta Kumar Dey