The pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) is a sagebrush (Artemisia sp.) obligate that depends on sagebrush habitats for food and cover throughout its life cycle. Invasive species, frequent fires, overgrazing, conversion of land to agriculture, energy development, and many other factors have contributed to recent declines in both quantity and quality of sagebrush-steppe habitats required by pygmy rabbits. Because of the many threats to these habitats and the believed decline of pygmy rabbit populations, there is a need to further understand habitat requirements for this species and how they respond to disturbance. This study evaluated habitat selection by pygmy rabbits in Utah and assessed response of this small lagomorph to construction of a large-scale pipeline (i.e. Ruby pipeline) in Utah. We collected habitat data across Utah at occupied sites (pygmy rabbit occupied burrows) and compared these data to similar measurements at unoccupied sites (random locations within sagebrush habitat where pygmy rabbits were not observed). Variables such as horizontal obscurity, elevation, percent understory composed of sagebrush and other shrubs, and sagebrush decadence best described between occupied (active burrow) and unoccupied (randomly selected) sites. Occupied sites had greater amounts of horizontal obscurity, were located at higher elevations, had greater percentage of understory comprised of sagebrush and shrubs, and had less decadent sagebrush. When considering habitat alterations or management these variables should be considered to enhance and protect existing habitat for pygmy rabbits. The Ruby pipeline was a large-scale pipeline project that required the removal of vegetation and the excavation of soil in a continuous linear path for the length of the pipeline. The area that was disturbed is referred to as the right of way (ROW). From our assessment of pygmy rabbit response to construction of the Ruby pipeline, we found evidence for habitat loss and fragmentation as a result of this disturbance. The size of pygmy rabbit space-use areas and home ranges decreased post construction, rabbits shifted core-use areas away from the ROW, and there were fewer movements of collared rabbits across the ROW. Mitigation efforts should consider any action which may reduce restoration time and facilitate movements of rabbits across disturbed areas.

Yes / This paper looks into the issues around renewable energy with a view to identify the opportunities for Nigeria and critically review the nation’s renewable energy policy vis-`a-vis the efforts and achievement of governments and indigenous practitioners. It identified the inherent opportunities of renewable energy resources at ameliorating the incidents of climate change and global warming and also surveyed international statistics on the relationships between energy and renewable energy adoption, national development, population explosion, job creation and rural-urban integration. It found out that for Nigeria to sustain economic growth especially as it relates to agriculture and food security, renewable energy for power generation must be included in the nation’s rural development plan. It also demonstrated that renewable energy poses an opportunity for mitigating the nation’s contributions to anthropogenic climate change. / This work was supported by the British Academy Global Challenges Research Fund under Grant number GCRFNGR3\1541 and Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria.

The increasing awareness of the need to look for new and renewable sources of energy to replace the depleting fossil-based resources has given rise to research in several prospective areas. While hydro power and bio energy has been with us long now, success and commercial viability is being achieved in solar energy applications. Similar trends are visible in wind energy. Long term potential for geothermal energy, sea power and fuel cells appear bright and they need to be vigorously looked into. This study looks at a decision making tool, Analytic Hierarchy Process—AHP—as a means of developing a methodology for exploring the feasibility of introducing new and renewable energy technologies in the Indian energy sector. AHP uses the hierarchical structure of a problem to elicit from a panel of experts, an opinion that is then used to derive composite opinions. The consistency of such opinions is monitored and those opinions that display a level of inconsistency above an acceptable threshold are rejected and modification requested. AHP has been tested and proved successful, in several other similar applications around the world and proves itself a good tool here too. A software package for its implementation had been developed earlier and is suitably modified to meet the objectives of this study. / M.S.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa is one of the most energy-intensive economies in the world, with around 90 per cent of its electricity generated using coal as a primary resource. As such, the South African energy system remains on a highly unsustainable path, and the potential for long-term growth and prosperity of the economy is thwarted. The alternative to conventional energy, renewable energy, has unfortunately been relatively slow to take off in the South Africa market. This is disappointing considering the country’s wealth of natural resources required for renewable energy generation. The potential of renewable energy to contribute to the South African energy mix is thus significant. The transition to a green economy, and subsequently a more sustainable energy future, is therefore achievable and realistic. However, national policies aimed at promoting the deployment of renewable energy have been thwarted by inconsistencies, lack of coordination, and proved relatively ineffective at increasing the country’s renewable energy capacity to its full potential. The recent policy changes from a feed-in tariff to a competitive tender approach dented investor confidence in the South African renewable energy industry significantly. Nevertheless, renewable energy policy in South Africa is still in its infancy, and valuable lessons are still to be learnt and incorporated into future policies going forward. A critical analysis of the current policy identifies the need for amendment to the structure of the policy landscape. The current policy strongly favours larger, more established and mature renewable technologies, whilst completely neglecting smaller and less mature ones. This not only results in a highly undiversified renewable energy mix, which has considerable negatives in itself, but also reduces the ability of the policy to capture a host of significant opportunities and advantages associated with small-scale renewable energy projects. The importance of diversifying South Africa’s renewable energy mix was therefore ones of the principal stances of this study, and intervention that ensured diversification within the industry was therefore vital. This study fundamentally designs and proposes a revised policy system that makes use of both competitive tenders and feed-in tariffs within the policy framework. In essence, this would allow for greater diversification within the renewable energy industry. The competitive tender component should be used for larger, more established technologies and projects, while the feed-in tariff should be used to drastically stimulate investment in smaller technologies and projects. By making use of a dual-mechanism system, the benefits associated with small-scale renewable energy projects can be realized without any noteworthy opportunity costs foregone. These benefits include diversification of the renewable energy mix; stimulation of smaller technologies; increased job creation; and stabilisation of supply volatility. This study recommends that the current renewable energy policy in South Africa be reassessed for both its relevancy within the South African context as well as its ability to effectively promote the deployment of alternative energy technologies. In an ever-changing and globalising world, where exogenous influences on national policies are stronger than ever, it becomes necessary and of utmost importance that policies are evaluated constantly in order to ensure their effectiveness is at optimal level. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie is een van die energie-intensiefstes ter wêreld, met steenkool as hoofbron vir sowat 90 persent van die land se kragopwekking. Die Suid-Afrikaanse energiestelsel as sulks bly dus op 'n onstabiele pad, en die potensiaal vir langdurige ekonomiese groei en welvaart word geknel. As teenvoeter vir konvensionele krag het hernubare energie steeds stadig veld gewen in die plaaslike mark – wat teleurstellend is as die land se rykdom aan natuurlike bronne vir hernubare energie-opwekking in ag geneem word. Hernubare energie het dus 'n aansienlike potensiaal om tot die Suid-Afrikaanse energiemengsel by te dra. Die oorgang na 'n groen ekonomie, en gevolglik na 'n volhoubaarder energie-toekoms, is daarom bereikbaar en realisties. Nasionale beleide oor hoe die uitrol van hernubare energie bevorder word, is egter tot dusver gestrem deur ongereeldhede en 'n gebrek aan koördinasie, en was gevolglik relatief ondoeltreffend om die land se hernubare energiekapasiteit ten volle te verhoog. Die onlangse beleidsveranderinge vanaf 'n toevoertarief na 'n mededingende tenderbenadering het beleggersvertroue aansienlik geskaad. Suid-Afrika se hernubare energiebeleid is nietemin nog in sy kinderskoene, met kosbare lesse wat geleer kan word en vir die pad vorentoe in toekomsplanne ingewerk kan word. 'n Kritiese ontleding van die huidige beleid wys hoe nodig 'n aangepaste struktuur vir die beleidsraamwerk is. Die huidige beleid begunstig groter, meer gevestigde en ontwikkelde tegnologieë terwyl kleiner en minder ontwikkeldes heeltemal afgeskeep word. Dit het tot gevolg nie net 'n hoogs ongediversifiseerde mengsel van hernubare energie nie, wat op sigself 'n aantal nadele inhou, maar boonop verminder dit die beleid se vermoë om vele betekenisvolle geleenthede en voordele aan te gryp wat gepaard gaan met kleinskaalse projekte vir hernubare energie. Dat die diversifisering van Suid-Afrika se hernubare energiesamestelling belangrik is, was dus een van dié studie se hoofbenaderings, asook dat ingryping ter wille van diversifisering binne die bedryf onontbeerlik is. Hierdie studie bied 'n ingrypende ontwerp en voorstel vir 'n hersiene beleidstelsel, met mededingende tenders asook toevoertariewe binne die beleidsraamwerk. Dit sal in wese ruimte laat vir groter diversifikasie binne die hernubare energiebedryf. Die mededingende tendergedeelte behoort vir groter, meer gevestigde tegnologieë en projekte gebruik te word, terwyl die toevoertariewe kan dien om belegging in kleiner tegnologieë en projekte te stimuleer. Deur 'n stelsel van tweeledige meganismes kan die voordele van kleinskaalse hernubare energieprojekte realiseer sonder die inboet van noemenswaardige geleentheidskoste. Dié voordele sluit in, om enkeles te noem, die diversifikasie van die hernubare energie-toneel; die stimuleer van kleiner tegnologieë met gepaardgaande groter werkskepping; en toenemende plaaslike produkvervaardiging. Met dié studie word aanbeveel dat Suid-Afrika se huidige beleid oor hernubare energie heroorweeg word, rakende die relevansie daarvan binne die landskonteks asook die beleid se vermoë om die ontplooiing van alternatiewe energietegnologieë doeltreffend te bevorder. In 'n voortdurend veranderende en globaliserende wêreld, met buite-invloede op nasionale beleidsrigtings sterker as ooit, word dit noodsaaklik en uiters belangrik dat beleide voortdurend heroorweeg word om die doeltreffendheid daarvan op die gunstigste vlak te verseker.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / Over the past few years the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been facing regional power shortages. These regional power shortages currently being experienced within the SADC region have been partly due to a lack of generation capacity and transmission capacity constraints. This situation has been further aggravated by the unanticipated economic growth within the SADC region. In order for the SADC region to meet its electricity demand, the region needs to invest in new generation and transmission projects. However, due to the inability of regional utilities to raise funds to finance these projects, the projects tend to not reach financial close resulting in the increase of the regional power deficits. Although these regional power shortages have been attributed to the lack of adequate investment in power generation projects and power transmission interconnector projects, this research report was limited to the development and financing of power transmission interconnector projects. The objective of this research report was to identify the dynamics that prohibit regional power transmission interconnectors from reaching financial close and to recommend possible solutions on how best to develop and package these projects. The research used the proposed developmental approach of the ZIZABONA transmission interconnector project as a case study to develop a generic model that could be utilised on other regional transmission interconnector projects. Based on the research presented in this research report, the study has highlighted project finance as a viable funding strategy. Regional utilities can utilise this funding strategy to package and finance joint transmission regional interconnectors to alleviate the current regional power shortages by facilitating regional electricity trade.

National oil companies (NOCs) control over 80 percent of world oil reserves and over 50 percent of gas reserves and hold exclusive rights to exploration and development of oil and gas reserves within their home countries. Because of host government involvement and supervision, NOCs may also act as instruments of state, implementing government foreign and domestic policies such as wealth re-distribution through the provision of subsidised oil products, job creation, and economic development. Such activities can lead to restricted availability of funds for finding and developing reserves for future production and to inefficiencies in current production and distribution. This thesis assesses the geopolitical factors that influence the conduct, strategies and priorities of NOCs and how these may impact on the continuing security of energy supplies to countries which are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It will focus on ten NOCs supplying oil to world markets and two which supply gas to the European market. The study will also review the activities and .scope for influence as state instruments of Sovereign Wealth Funds which have been established by states with NOCs, in particular, those which have earned substantial petro-dollar surpluses, during the period of high oil and gas prices of2006-2008. In an age of global interdependence between nations, specific objectives of this thesis are to consider the implications of anticipated growth in world demand for oil and gas supplies over the next 20 years, whether world production capacity is likely to grow to meet increases in world demand, the potential impact on world oil and gas supplies of the policies and practices of NOCs, in particular, the desire of host governments to require NOCs to follow non- commercial objectives, and the responses from OECD countries to threats to their energy security from potential restrictions on supplies.

This thesis makes contributions to provide the microeconomic evidence on the effects of electricity provision and on the feasibility of electricity provision via renewable energy in developing countries. Three selected topics are presented. First, we discuss how the impact of national electricity grid provision affects household welfare and individual labor activities in Vietnam. To overcome the endogeneity problem of infrastructure provision, the slope of the terrain is used as the instrumental variable. We present both first-difference regression and pooled regression results using household survey data and geographic datasets. The effect of electrification on female labor supply is negative, contrary to the evidence suggested in the previous literature. Second, we measure willingness to pay for solar lanterns among the poor rural households in India using the Becker-DeGrook-Marschak method. We conduct field surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of providing a trial period and postponed payment scheme to promote sales. Results show that willingness to pay for the solar product among the consumers is low. Lastly, we report patterns of awareness and interest in solar home systems (SHS) among the poor rural households in India. Results show that willingness to pay for SHS is low, even if the national subsidy is taken into account. Moreover, households that have experience using grid electricity have greater willingness to pay for SHS.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

No description available.