Browsing by Author "Kim, Hana"
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Item Changes in Energy and Carbon Intensity in Seoul’s Water Sector(Sustainable Cities and Society, 2018-06-07) Chen, Wei-Ming; Kim, HanaThe water sector accounts for a significant proportion of the total energy consumption in urban areas; therefore, that sector can contribute to energy transition in urban areas. Seoul, South Korea has promoted the use of renewable energy and sewer heat as part of city-wide energy transition efforts. This study built energy consumption inventories for the urban water cycle in Seoul for 2012 and 2015 and investigated changes in net energy intensity and corresponding net carbon intensity during that period. It found that Seoul’s energy transition efforts reduced net energy intensity in the water sector from 5.83 MJ/m3 in 2012 to 5.42 MJ/m3 in 2015, even with the increased use of energy-intensive advanced water treatment technology. In addition, this study estimated that about 8.52% of the water sector’s current energy consumption could be saved in 2020 if 18.4 million m3/year of water were reused and 2.40 million m3/year of rainwater were harvested. This study showed a way to extend energy transition efforts into the urban water sector by reducing energy demand through reducing water demand.Item Circular Economy and Energy Transition: A Nexus Focusing on the Non-Energy Use of Fuels(Energy & Environment, 2019-05-27) Chen, Wei-Ming; Kim, HanaGiven emerging concerns about climate change, low-carbon energy transition is advocated and promoted. Non-energy use of fossil fuels accounted for 8.9% of the world’s total final energy consumption in 2015. Non-energy use intensity does not show an evident reduction, while energy intensity as fuel per dollar of gross domestic product has decreased thanks to energy transition efforts such as energy efficiency promotion and renewable energy expansion. This study conducted an extensive review of the circular economy and energy transition frameworks, and found that the energy transition framework has a critical gap, so it cannot provide a foundation for investigating non-energy use. This study suggests that the energy transition discourse needs to be extended to incorporate the transition of non-energy use and the achievement of a closed loop of non-energy use, which is part of the circular economy framework. The coordinated circular economy–energy transition approach could bring in synergistic effects, such as promoting circular economy activities among industries, reducing energy demand, and attaining additional greenhouse gas mitigation potential.Item Energy, Economic, and Social Impacts of a Clean Energy Economic Policy: Fuel Cells Deployment in Delaware(Energy Policy, 2020-09) Chen, Wei-Ming; Kim, HanaClean energy-related economic policy is designed to promote new energy technology and vigorous economic development. However, this type of policy is typically implemented and evaluated separately in the economic and energy sectors: comprehensive assessments are rarely done. This study analyzes the policy effectiveness of a clean energy-related economic policy in Delaware from energy, economic, and social perspectives. In 2011, the Delaware government provided generous economic incentives to attract California-based Bloom Energy to establish a fuel cell industry in the state. After eight years of operation, Bloom’s fuel cells demonstrated high-efficiency performance (45%). However, the company has not met the goals of job creation and payroll additions that it had promised to the Delaware government. In addition, public debate has arisen regarding the Qualified Fuel Cell Provider Project (QFCP), a special tariff for Bloom Energy. This paper concludes that when a government provides economic incentives to support new technology development, public acceptance should also be considered, particularly when the policy brings long-term social obligations and effects. Cost-sharing equity, decision making transparency, and knowledge enhancement are issues. Lessons learned from this case are applicable to a broader context.Item Towards an equitable cap-and-trade scheme in South Korea: based on input-output analysis of the distributional implications of carbon pricing mechanisms(University of Delaware, 2014) Kim, HanaWhile the efficiency of cap-and-trade programs has attracted the attention of several countries, equity implications of the programs require equal attention. The programs impact income distribution as the cost of mitigation is passed on to consumers in the form of increased prices. A great deal of literature shows that the incidence of these programs is regressive in developed countries, indicating that this program will exacerbate the distributional equity without appropriate countermeasures. Facing the impending implementation of cap-and trade schemes in South Korea in 2015, a handful of experts have studied the equity implications of the scheme. The literature often provides a partial analysis on equity implications of the scheme focusing only on regional distribution or on distribution between different income groups. However, this dissertation evaluates the comprehensive equity implications of a carbon pricing policy as well as the impacts on other dimensions. Input-output analysis (IOA) is employed to assess the comprehensive impacts of a carbon pricing policy in South Korea. Beyond a typical IOA, hybrid IO tables are developed to estimate energy consumption and CO 2 emissions by sector and to analyze the impacts of the implementation on different sectors. In addition, this study makes it possible to assess equity implications by introducing a transition matrix to link Household Survey Data with the IO table. The analysis of three different carbon-pricing scenarios reveals that a comprehensive participation scenario (S1) impacts economy less adversely than the partial participation case (S2). The S1 more adversely impacts the distribution without revenue recycling. Coal consumption is reduced more in the S2 and the reduction in non-energy use such as naphtha is larger in the S1. Of course, a higher carbon price (S3) can reduce more emissions and energy consumption, but can more adversely affect economy and distributional equity. Regardless of scenarios, the analysis shows that the households with lower capacity, such as those with low-income or with elderly heads, are likely to be more adversely affected. However, these groups can be beneficiaries if the program is in practice together with revenue recycling through lump-sum transfer. In addition, there is not great difference between the burdens on rural and urban households. In conclusion, there is no best-case scenario for every dimension. Since the policy impacts economy, energy, environment and equity--important pillars of sustainable development--we need to consider the comprehensive impacts of the policy. In addition, we need to explore a more effective method to recycle the revenue to alleviate the inequity.