This thesis will focus on Azerbaijan's oil and gas industry; how the country uses its energy revenues within its economy; how it avoids economic pathologies such as the "Dutch Disease"; Azerbaijan's role within the Caspian Basin, and finally, the European Union's energy security and how Azerbaijan's energy resources can impact it. The Republic of Azerbaijan is a natural resource-rich country, and uses its energy resources as a means of socio-economic advancement and stability. Recent developments within the country's natural gas sector have allowed Azerbaijan to become a net gas exporter. The EU's growing demand for energy resources illustrates how important it is for states to have access to secure, stable, and diverse sources of energy. Energy resource exploration and the subsequent export of these products to international markets play a crucial role for the Republic of Azerbaijan's economy. Therefore, this thesis will first provide a brief evaluation of the history of Azerbaijan's energy sector; an overview of the current situation and recent developments; and explore how energy revenues are being distributed in the economy. It will define the interests of other important actors such as Russia, Turkey and the USA; and finally, it will assess the EU energy security, the role of Azerbaijan as the...

Recent widespread blackouts have indicated the need for more efficient and accurate power system monitoring, control and protection tools. Power system state estimation, which is the major tool that is used nowadays for providing the real-time model of the system, has significant biases resulting mainly from the complexity and geographic spread and separation of an electric power system. Synchrophasor technology is a promising technology that has numerous advantages compared to conventional metering devices. PMUs provide synchronized measurements, where synchronization is achieved via a GPS clock which provides the synchronizing signal with accuracy of 1 μsec. As a result, the computed phasors have a common reference (UTC time) and can be used in local computations, thus distributing the state estimation process. The first part of the work presents a PMU enabled dynamic state estimator (DSE) that can capture with high fidelity the dynamics of the system and extract in real time the dynamic model of the system. The described DSE is performed in a decentralized way, on the substation level based on local measurements which are globally valid. The substation based DSE uses data from relays, PMUs, meters, FDRs etc in the substation only, thus avoiding all issues associated with transmission of data and associated time latencies. This approach enables very fast DSE update rate which can go up to more than 60 executions per second. The distributed state estimation architecture that synchrophasor technology enables, along with the fast sampling rate and the accuracy of the measurements that PMUs provide, enable the computation of the real-time dynamic model of the system and the development of numerous power system applications for more efficient control and protection of the system. In the second part of the work, a transient stability monitoring scheme is presented that utilizes the information given by the dynamic state estimation and enables real-time monitoring of the transient swings of the system and characterizes the stability of the system in real time. In particular, the real-time dynamic model of the system, as given by the DSE, is utilized to evaluate the system's energy function based on Lyapunov's direct method and extract stability properties from the energy function. The two major components of the scheme are a) the calculation of the center of oscillations of the system and b) the derivation of an equivalent, reduced sized model which is used for the calculation of the potential and kinetic energy of the system based on which the stability of the system is determined. Finally, as an application of the transient stability monitoring scheme, an energy based out-of-step protection scheme is proposed. The energy of the generator is continuously monitored and if it exceeds a predefined threshold then instability is asserted and a trip signal can be sent to the generator. The major advantage of the scheme is that the out-of-step condition is predicted before its occurrence and therefore relays can act much faster than today's technology. The scheme is compared to presently available state of the art out-of-step protection schemes in order to verify its superiority.

Electric vehicles (EVs) offer an exciting opportunity in China both in terms of the potential to build a domestic manufacturing base and the potential to create a strong domestic market for the product. The Chinese nation stands to benefit from both supply-side and demand-side promotion due to the economic stimulus from EV manufacturing and export, the environmental benefits of reduced air pollution and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the energy security benefits of transitioning away from foreign oil dependence. The Chinese have several advantages when it comes to stimulating EV industry development and EV deployment, including: leadership in battery technology, great potential for cost competitiveness, an enormous and emerging number of new car buyers, and high level government support. Yet a number of challenges must be taken into account as well, including: shortfalls in overall automobile R&D spending, consumer concerns about Chinese cars’ safety and reliability, enhancing the appeal of the Chinese brand, and heavy national infrastructure demands. This paper will seek to examine the opportunities and challenges associated with EV deployment in China and identify industry actions and policy measures to facilitate the process.

Pagrindinis šio darbo tikslas yra sukurti energijos tiekimo saugumo trikdžių scenarijų matematinį modelį, kuriuo būtų galima modeliuoti įvairių galimų energetinių trikdžių scenarijus. Priklausomai nuo trikdžio sudėtingumo lygio jis gali neturėti visiškai jokios įtakos ir pasekmių arba priešingai – gali turėti labai didelę įtaką ir labai sunkias pasekmes energijos tiekimo saugumui. Todėl energetinio trikdžio įtaka ir pasekmės suskirstomi balais: nuo 0 (nėra pasekmių) iki 5 balų (labai sunkios pasekmės). Nagrinėjama to trikdžio įtaka įvairiems valstybės sektoriams: ekonominiui, socialiniui ir politiniui. Energetinio trikdžio įtaka ir sukeltos pasekmės ekonominiui, socialiniui ir politiniui sektoriams ir suprantamas kaip atskiras scenarijus. Energetiniam trikdžiui buvo suteikti parametrai ir su įvairiais parametrų rinkiniais sumodeliuoti 100 scenarijų. Iš tų scenarijų išrinktas pats tikėtiniausias, nustatyti sunkiausi (kritiniai) bei lengviausi (sukeliantys mažas pasekmes) scenarijai. Taip pat suskaičiuojamos tokių scenarijų tikimybės bei trikdžių pasirodymo tikimybės. Tam naudojami Markovo grandinės bei procesai ir tikimybiniai skirstiniai. / The main objective of this paper is to develop a mathematical model of energy supply disturbances for modelling energy supply disturbance scenarios. The level of energy supply disturbance depends on the impact it does to energy security of supply. The level of energy supply disturbance expressible with points: from 0 points (no impact) to 5 points (very heavy impact). It is analysed impact of this disturbance to different sectors of state: economical, social and political. The impact and caused damage of energy supply disturbance to economical, social and political sectors is understandable like a different scenario. Energy supply disturbance depends on different parameters. Scenarios of disturbances were modeled considering three parameters. For comparison there were developed 100 different long term energy supply disturbance scenarios. There were selected most common, most heavy (critical) and easiest scenarios, evaluated such scenarios probabilities and energy supply disturbance probabilities. In thia paper was used Markov chains and processes, probability distributions.

Russia has supplied natural gas to Europe reliably for nearly four decades. But recent changes in Russian behaviour and policy, combined with EU-driven regulatory changes, have created a state of flux, and considerable concern in Europe. I address the question of possible Russian hegemony in European gas relations, and ask whether Moscow’s ambitions represent a security threat to Europe. Positioning these questions within the context of a European natural gas regime (NGR), I take a historical-comparitive approach, dividing the evolution of the NGR into three phases. Phase one moves from the origin of the cross-border trade in Europe in the 1960s to the 1991 Soviet dissolution; phase two explores the turbulent post-Soviet decade to 1999; and phase three addresses the era of Vladimir Putin from 2000 to 2010. For each phase, I assess hegemony by drawing on regime concepts offered by Alt et al, which I modify for application to the idiosyncratic realm of natural gas. The evidence suggests that Germany, not Russia, is more appropriately considered hegemonic, having acquired gas influence in the 1970s that it has not relinquished. However, there are also indications that a German-Russian ‘co-hegemony’ could be developing, characterized by disproportionate Russian influence in Central Europe, giving rise to possible tension between EU values, governance and responsibilities on one hand, and Russian influence associated with co-hegemony on the other. Despite this, I suggest that Russian aspirations constitute no imminent security threat to Europe – European gas actors are well entrenched, and Moscow faces strong disincentives to threaten its European buyers. ‘Co-hegemony’ could challenge the regime’s integrity, but evidence to date suggests that the EU and Gazprom prefer patience and compromise to brinkmanship, and that actor interest in maintaining the flow of gas suggests greater optimism than dread. ‘Security’ is therefore not as sound as it would be if Russia were an EU member or if it had ratified the Energy Charter Treaty, but emerging dynamics do not suggest imminent peril either. I conclude by discussing possible directions for future research. / A regime-based exploration of Euro-Russian gas dynamics, with attention to the new profile of Russia in the relationship and the limits of its coercive ability.

The energy security and climate change risks of fossil fuel consumption have stimulated interest in developing renewable energy sources. Canada’s vast biomass potential is an attractive local resource but high transportation costs are a barrier to implementation. This study assesses how transformative systems can enable large-scale bioenergy production through integration with existing transportation corridors and fossil fuel infrastructure. Potential bioenergy corridors include the network of natural gas pipelines and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway (GLSLS). Sustainable lignocellulosic biomass production integrated with traditional food and fibre production was assumed to occur on 196 Mha of land within 100 km of pipelines. Conservative (81 Mt of dry biomass per year) and aggressive (209 Mt) scenarios were investigated for converting biomass to synthetic natural gas (SNG) via gasification, methanation, and upgrading, yielding enough pipeline-quality gas to meet 20% to 60% of Canada’s current needs. A systems analysis approach was used to calculate bioSNG life-cycle emissions of 15 to 18 kgCO2e GJ-1, compared to 68 or 87 for conventional or liquefied natural gas, respectively. Production costs ranged from $16 to $20 GJ-1, which were high compared to regional gas prices ($5 to $10 GJ-1). The biomass potential on 125 Mha of land area within 100 km of the Canadian portion of the GLSLS and railway lines ranged from 36 to 80 Mt(dry) per year, which was enough to displace coal-fired power in Ontario plus produce 1.6 to 11 billion L of green diesel that could offset 14% to 96% of fossil diesel in GLSLS provinces. Life-cycle emissions ranged from 110 to 130 gCO2e kWh-1 for biopower (compared to 1030 for coal) and 20 to 22 kgCO2e GJ-1 for green diesel (compared to 84 for conventional diesel). Cost estimates ranged from $130 MWh-1 for biopower (compared to an average market power price of $54 MWh-1) and $28 to $36 GJ-1 for green diesel (compared to $16 to $24 GJ-1 for diesel). The auxiliary benefits (energy security, climate change, air quality, and rural development) were seen as justification for supportive bioenergy policies. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2008-12-09 15:24:18.389

This paper is a law thesis that is based on a combined theoretical framework of Green Legal Theory (GLT) and Theories of International Regimes (TIR). GLT has a broad conception of ‘law’. It is based on the argument that ‘laws’ exist at different levels and in different forms, and that ‘legal laws’ are themselves manifestations of regulatory dynamics that are embedded in institutions and processes; and cultural logics that generate and support those laws. TIR examines the negotiation, development, formation, and sustenance of international regimes. The paper is a critical analysis of, especially, the combined effects of capitalist laws and the liberal democratic system of state-based governance. This allows me to highlight the underlying factors/dynamics that are responsible for the continuing inability to address climate change because of the mandated pursuit of energy security (i.e. the regulatory imperative). The analysis revolves around four key global actors, which are the multinational corporations (MNCs), the state, civil society (Non-governmental Organizations), and global institutions. First, I discuss the growing economic and political powers of MNCs in a liberalized and deregulated system, and establish the need for a better regulatory system. Second, I criticize the territorial sovereignty principle and deconstruct the contemporary system of national governance, while highlighting the need to relax the Westphalian system for global constitutionalism. Third, I analyze two approaches to globalization, and make a case against ‘globalization from above’ while arguing for ‘globalization from below’. I also highlighted the crucial role non-governmental organizations have begun to play in global governance. Fourth, I make a critical analysis of inter-state relations in global institutions to show the underlying factors that have compromised the level of cooperation needed to address the conundrum. Finally, based on all of the issues that I analyze in the paper, I propose some foundational principles, and a specific strategy, that would help to propel the needed re-form in global governance, to help to restore its ability to address global problems / Graduate / 0398 / 0616 / ikulasi@yahoo.com

The conventional understanding behind how the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has formulated its decisions and subsequently behaved in the international system has consistently centered on the role of market forces. Either proactively or reactively, it has been assumed that OPEC’s actions were merely engaging and responding to the supply and demand dynamics in the global economy. Though space was always given to the political considerations of certain OPEC Member States, and how that impacts the behavior of the Organization, inquiry into OPEC decision-making and behavior has generally centered on economic considerations, with politics playing an intermittent supporting role. This work challenges the assumptions behind the conventional narrative of OPEC’s behavior in the international system. By utilizing a historically-based process tracing method, relying heavily on archival data from OPEC’s headquarters and declassified American national security documents from the late 1940s to the present, a more sophisticated model of decision-making and behavior is developed. Accordingly, OPEC’s decisions and behavior are more accurately a product of four inter-related determinants: the role of market forces, the influence of outside actors (usually great powers) upon the Organization, interstate relations and politics among Member States, and the pressure of the internal state dynamics within OPEC Member States. It is at the intersection of these four variables where OPEC’s behavior is more readily understood. Thus, with a sophisticated understanding of the interplay of these determinants, OPEC’s decision-making process and behavior can be more accurately understood and possibly forecasted to a limited degree.

Submitted by Haroudo Xavier Filho (haroudo.xavierfo@ufpe.br) on 2016-03-01T13:26:46Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) TESE DOUTORADO luiz filipe alves cordeiro.pdf: 3367412 bytes, checksum: bb375206b64e3d1952028cf594d8c86e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-01T13:26:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) TESE DOUTORADO luiz filipe alves cordeiro.pdf: 3367412 bytes, checksum: bb375206b64e3d1952028cf594d8c86e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-20 / O presente estudo, objetiva analisar o atual planejamento do sistema elétrico brasileiro e apontar propostas que visam diversificar a matriz energética brasileira, trazendo como benefícios um sistema robusto que proporcione a redução gradual dos custos de geração, confiabilidade no fornecimento pela tecnologia adequada e por está mais próximo dos centros de carga e por fim, a redução dos impactos ambientais através da redução das emissões de Gases de Efeito Estufa (GEE). Esse trabalho procura avaliar os potenciais do sistema elétrico e propor ações mitigadoras tanto no consumo de energia elétrica com o auxílio das redes neurais artificiais como na geração com a proposta de possibilitar ao Operador Nacional do Sistema (ONS) a otimização do planejamento minimizando CO2. / The present study aims to analyze the current planning of the Brazilian electrical system and point proposals to diversify the Brazilian energy matrix, bringing benefits as a robust system that provides a gradual reduction of generation costs, reliability of supply by appropriate technology and is more near the load centers and finally the reduction of environmental impacts by reducing emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). This study evaluates the potential of the electric system and propose mitigating actions in power consumption based in artificial neural networks and help to the generation with the proposal to enable the ONS (National Electric System Operator) to optimize the planning minimizing CO2.

The thesis is dedicated to the Russian view on energy security. Its aim is to evaluate how successful is Russian energy policy in sustaining energy and economy security in longterm perspective, and how well it deals with current and future potential problems of energy sector. The topic became of interest due to recent oil price drop, which led Russian economy to crisis and gave rise to discussion on its dependency on fossil fuel exports. First chapter is dedicated to definition of energy security of Russia as an exporting country. Next chapter is dedicated to SWOT analysis of current state of energy sector and defines its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Last chapter evaluates how successful is Russian energy policy in relation to defined energy security and performed SWOT analysis.