East Asia Science & Security Network Report, March 28, 2007
1. Future of Coal Power
A new interdisciplinary study by MIT examines the future of coal power in a world where constraints are placed on carbon emissions. It concludes that carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is the critical technology, as it would allow the world to continue to use coal while still cutting CO2 emissions.
2. National Oil Companies and International Markets
A study by the James Baker Institute of Rice University examines the emerging importance of national oil companies on the global markets. Noting that the top 10 reserve holders internationally are nationally held companies, the report argues that oil suppliers will be increasingly forced to respond to non-market forces, such as the political agendas of rulers.
http://www.rice.edu/energy/publications/nocs.html
3. Energy Storage
John Boyes and Dave Menicucci, research engineers at Sandia National Labs, discuss research that leads to the novel proposition that the careful placement of energy generators and associated electric energy and fuel storage near the load can help not only to improve grid reliability but to address critical needs—including security, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness— without compromising safety.
Energy Storage: The Emerging Nucleus
4. Northeast Asia Environmental Cooperation
The latest Booklet (#5) from the Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia (ERINA) explores the concept of regional cooperation for meeting the targets of the Kyoto Protocol. The paper includes country profiles for China, the ROK, Japan, Mongolia, and Russia.
5. Chinese Energy Innovation
The Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University has a working paper by Valerie Karplus on “Innovation in China’s Energy Sector.” The paper identifies factors affecting patterns of technological innovation and adoption in eight industries in China’s energy sector (coal, oil and non-conventional hydrocarbons, natural gas, nuclear power, electric power, renewable sources, automobiles, and motor systems). It concludes that innovation performance is strongest in industries that have experienced institutional transformation and growing market competition, whereas in industries where the pre-reform legacy of central control, weak intellectual property protection, and low levels of corporate R&D persists, innovation is lagging.
http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/innovation_in_chinas_energy_sector/
The East Asia Science and Security Network (EASSNet) delivers timely news and innovative research across a range of issues relating to science and security, including energy security, bio-security, nano-technology, nuclear fuel cycle, missile technology, and information technology, especially within the East Asia region. The network draws on research from Nautilus Institute and its partners in China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Australia, and North Korea, as well as grantees of the MacArthur Foundation, of MacArthur Foundation, Ploughshares Fund, New Land Foundation, Korea Foundation, Ford Foundation, and US Department of Energy. The service provides researchers, journalists, and policymakers access to and understanding of developments beyond their own disciplinary, academic, or industrial communities.
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