If Europe is to achieve the planned transition to a low carbon economy by 2050, succeeding in improving the energy efficiency of the largely inefficient existing building stock will be pivotal. Certain energy efficien...If Europe is to achieve the planned transition to a low carbon economy by 2050, succeeding in improving the energy efficiency of the largely inefficient existing building stock will be pivotal. Certain energy efficiency retrofitting obligations have now emerged as part of the EU＇s Energy Performance in Buildings Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive. Challenges for retrofitting currently include gaps in technical skills both amongst building trades and professionals, a lack of awareness of building owners and users, concerns about compromising cultural heritage as well as a lack of viable business models, comparatively high cost and resulting long pay-back periods currently hamper the progress. Lessons can be drawn here form the EU-funded initiative CONCERTO, which helped 58 communities in 23 countries to reduce their dependence on conventional energy supply by implementing energy efficiency measures and integrating renewable energy sources not at single building scale but community scale. Almost all of these entailed retrofitting activities bad to find solutions to the issues mentioned. This paper presents a selection of conclusions regarding retrofitting to be drawn from the analysis undertaken under the project CONCERTO premium, which analysed outcomes across the 58 projects on behalf of the European Commission and focuses in particular on the political relevance of outcomes.展开更多
This paper presents results concerning energy efficiency of wheat production considered in the context of specific energy input variation in different climatic conditions of Europe as well as case studies on implement...This paper presents results concerning energy efficiency of wheat production considered in the context of specific energy input variation in different climatic conditions of Europe as well as case studies on implementation of selected energy saving measures in practice. The source data collected from the six european union （EU） countries represent five agricultural regions of continental Europe and three climates： continental, temperate and Mediterranean. The life cycle assessment （LCA） methodology was applied to analyze the data excluding of pre-farm gate activities. The total primary energy consumption was decomposed into main energy input streams and it was regressed to yield. In order to compare energy efficiency of wheat production across the geographical areas, the data envelopment analysis （DEA） was applied. It was shown that the highest wheat yield （6.7 t/ha to 8.7 t/ha） at the lowest specific energy input （2.08 GJ/t to 2.56 G J/t） is unique for temperate climate conditions. The yield in continental and Mediterranean climatic conditions is on average lower by 1.3 t/ha and 2.7 t/ha and energy efficiency lower by 14% and 38%, respectively. The case studies have shown that the energy saving activities in wheat production may be universal for the climatic zones or specific for a given geographical location. It was stated that trade-offs between energy, economic, and environmental effects, which are associated with implementation of a given energy saving measure or a set of measures to a great extent depend on the current energy efficiency status of the farm and opportunity for investment, which varies substantially across Europe.展开更多
The issue of the future of Europe is becoming increasingly important what with the depth of the economic crisis that started in 2008. In addition to a continuous growth in the number of the unemployed, the crisis part...The issue of the future of Europe is becoming increasingly important what with the depth of the economic crisis that started in 2008. In addition to a continuous growth in the number of the unemployed, the crisis particularly emphasizes the chronic level of energy dependence. The energy saving measures ~energy efficiency）, diversification of sources （stability of supply）, and the creation of substitutes in renewable energy （energy transition）, intertwine with administrative measures and form the response of European countries to the growing energy dependence. At the same time, although facing the threatening warming （or cooling） of the Earth, Europe, as a big advocate of reducing CO2 remains passively dependent on NATO （North Atlantic Treaty Organization） policy in the field of defense in the context of energy dependence. However, for the first time after many decades, Europe and America do not have the same energy, and consequently geo-strategic objective： The US has become energy independent while Europe is chronically energy dependent.展开更多
文摘If Europe is to achieve the planned transition to a low carbon economy by 2050, succeeding in improving the energy efficiency of the largely inefficient existing building stock will be pivotal. Certain energy efficiency retrofitting obligations have now emerged as part of the EU＇s Energy Performance in Buildings Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive. Challenges for retrofitting currently include gaps in technical skills both amongst building trades and professionals, a lack of awareness of building owners and users, concerns about compromising cultural heritage as well as a lack of viable business models, comparatively high cost and resulting long pay-back periods currently hamper the progress. Lessons can be drawn here form the EU-funded initiative CONCERTO, which helped 58 communities in 23 countries to reduce their dependence on conventional energy supply by implementing energy efficiency measures and integrating renewable energy sources not at single building scale but community scale. Almost all of these entailed retrofitting activities bad to find solutions to the issues mentioned. This paper presents a selection of conclusions regarding retrofitting to be drawn from the analysis undertaken under the project CONCERTO premium, which analysed outcomes across the 58 projects on behalf of the European Commission and focuses in particular on the political relevance of outcomes.
文摘This paper presents results concerning energy efficiency of wheat production considered in the context of specific energy input variation in different climatic conditions of Europe as well as case studies on implementation of selected energy saving measures in practice. The source data collected from the six european union （EU） countries represent five agricultural regions of continental Europe and three climates： continental, temperate and Mediterranean. The life cycle assessment （LCA） methodology was applied to analyze the data excluding of pre-farm gate activities. The total primary energy consumption was decomposed into main energy input streams and it was regressed to yield. In order to compare energy efficiency of wheat production across the geographical areas, the data envelopment analysis （DEA） was applied. It was shown that the highest wheat yield （6.7 t/ha to 8.7 t/ha） at the lowest specific energy input （2.08 GJ/t to 2.56 G J/t） is unique for temperate climate conditions. The yield in continental and Mediterranean climatic conditions is on average lower by 1.3 t/ha and 2.7 t/ha and energy efficiency lower by 14% and 38%, respectively. The case studies have shown that the energy saving activities in wheat production may be universal for the climatic zones or specific for a given geographical location. It was stated that trade-offs between energy, economic, and environmental effects, which are associated with implementation of a given energy saving measure or a set of measures to a great extent depend on the current energy efficiency status of the farm and opportunity for investment, which varies substantially across Europe.
文摘The issue of the future of Europe is becoming increasingly important what with the depth of the economic crisis that started in 2008. In addition to a continuous growth in the number of the unemployed, the crisis particularly emphasizes the chronic level of energy dependence. The energy saving measures ~energy efficiency）, diversification of sources （stability of supply）, and the creation of substitutes in renewable energy （energy transition）, intertwine with administrative measures and form the response of European countries to the growing energy dependence. At the same time, although facing the threatening warming （or cooling） of the Earth, Europe, as a big advocate of reducing CO2 remains passively dependent on NATO （North Atlantic Treaty Organization） policy in the field of defense in the context of energy dependence. However, for the first time after many decades, Europe and America do not have the same energy, and consequently geo-strategic objective： The US has become energy independent while Europe is chronically energy dependent.
