The Journal of Energy and Development volume 37, number 2, spring 2012 (copyright 2012) http://www.scribd.

com/doc/122596586/ Eunju Min, Yanping Zhang, Hyun-Goo Kim, and Suduk Kim, Can China, Korea, and Japan, Avoid the Controversy Over Nuclear Power? The Journal of Energy and Development, volume 37, no. 2 (spring 2012, copyright 2012), pp. 143178. http://www.scribd.com/doc/109969771 Abstract: Given the importance of nuclear power in the Northeast Asian countries of Korea, Japan, and China, especially in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, the controversy over the future use of nuclear power in these nations is examined with a focus on Chinas nuclear power development plans. A detailed survey conducted on Chinas proposed nuclear power deployment found it amounts to almost 284 gigawatts in size, much greater than the 223 gigawatts reported by the World Nuclear Association in 2011. In this paper, the planned nuclear power plants sites in China are examined in conjunction with their location relative to seismic zones and Northeast Asian regional wind fields. The siting of Chinas proposed nuclear power plants in potentially active seismic areas, regional wind fields, and the massive size of the program are all contributing factors that are expected to raise serious safety-related concerns for neighboring countries such as Korea and Japan. Therefore, the need for the institutionalization of a sophisticated legal framework in order to secure the safety of nuclear energy in this region is discussed. The authors recommend a Northeast Asian Nuclear Council, which would be similar to EURATOM in Europe, with its initial aim of enhancing mutual cooperation and with the additional goal of promoting the safe use of nuclear power in the future. Keywords: China nuclear energy, Korea nuclear energy, Japan nuclear energy, Northeast Asian countries, energy mix, inland nuclear power, wind field & direction, earthquakes, EURATOM Melike E. Bildirici, The Relationship Between Economic Growth and Electricity Consumption in Africa: MS-VAR and MS-Granger Causality Analysis, The Journal of Energy and Development, volume 37, no. 2 (spring 2012, copyright 2012), pp. 179205. http://www.scribd.com/doc/118439920/ Abstract: Knowledge of the direction of the causality between electricity consumption and economic growth is of primary importance if appropriate energy policies and energy conservation measures are to be devised. This study estimates the causality relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth by Markov Switching Vector Auto Regression (MS-VAR) and Markov Switching Granger Causality (MSGranger) methods for nine African countries: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe. For all countries, electricity consumption is the Granger cause of the economic growth. According to the second equation, economic growth appears to be the Granger cause of electricity consumption in the three economic regimes we studied (recessionary, moderate growth, and high growth). In summation, some evidence was found of bi-directional Granger causality between electricity consumption and economic growth for the countries we analyzed.

Keywords: electricity consumption and GDP causality, Markov Switching Vector Auto Regression (MSVAR), Markov Switching Granger Causality (MS-Granger), African economies, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Zimbabwe Mohamed El Hdi Arouri, Adel Ben Youssef, Hatem MHenni, & Christophe Rault, Empirical Analysis of the EKC Hypothesis for Sulfur Dioxide Emissions in Selected Middle East and North African Countries, The Journal of Energy and Development, volume 37, no. 2 (spring 2012, copyright 2012), pp. 207226. http://www.scribd.com/doc/112111360/ Abstract: Studying the impact of economic growth on the environment in the context of developing countries has become of increasing economic importance in recent years. Alarming international reports show that pollutants emissions are growing at their highest level ever. This paper implements recent bootstrap panel unit root tests and cointegration techniques to investigate the relationship between sulfur dioxide emissions and real gross domestic product for 12 Middle East and North African countries over the period 19812005. Our investigations lead to the result that no evidence is found for the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for 10 countries of the region. However, the EKC hypothesis is valid in the case of Egypt and Tunisiathe two most industrialised and diversified economies in our sample. At the same time, our findings show that EKC is not valid for the region when considered as a whole. Keywords: Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, economic growth, panel data, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries Said A. Al-Shaikh and Lama S. Kiyasseh, Alternative Power-Sector Financing to Meet Saudi Arabias Economic Development, The Journal of Energy and Development, volume 37, number 2 (spring 2012, copyright 2012), pp. 227258. http://www.scribd.com/doc/122686652/ Abstract: The power sectors role within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias socio-economic development is significant as the country diversifies its economy away from its dependency on oil. The sector aims to strengthen the economys industrial base and expand its infrastructure in order to accommodate the demands of its growing population. State-controlled power utility company, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), since its consolidation in 2000, has been active in extending electrification to all parts of the Kingdom. Through off-take agreements with the Saline Water Conversion Company's (SWCC) desalination plants, and purchased power from large contributors like Saudi Aramco, both the power and water infrastructure has largely developed over the past decade. This article examines the power sectors role within the Kingdom and the challenges it faces in increasing generation capacity over the coming years to sustain the Kingdoms level of economic development. Artificially low tariffs in a highly regulated sector have led to the wasteful use of electricity causing power shortages and blackouts. Accordingly, sizeable funding needs have emerged as a central issue, which are addressed in this paper. To overcome this challenge, the Kingdom is encouraging more private sector participation investments vis--vis independent power/water/steam producers (IPPs, IWPPs, and IWSPPs) and financiers.

Keywords: power sector in Saudi Arabia, independent power/water/steam producers (IPPs, IWPPs, and IWSPPs), Saudi Electricity Company Michael Diamond, If Not Now, When? Addressing Oil Shales Contribution to Climate Change in the Midst of the U.S. Production Boom, The Journal of Energy and Development, volume 37, number 2 (spring 2012, copyright 2012), pp. 259288. http://www.scribd.com/doc/122687269 Abstract: Oil shale is an unconventional liquid fuel source that has not yet been commercially produced in the U.S., but of which the U.S. possess an enormous resource base. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the federal Bureau of Land Management has analyzed the environmental effects of its opening of public lands in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah for application for lease for production of oil shale. Given oil shale productions high carbon-intensity relative to production of other liquid fuels, the size of the domestic resource base, and policy makers aims to achieve large-scale commercial production in the near future, its potential contribution to climate change is a major issue. This article discusses the NEPA analyses shortcomings regarding climate change, and draws broader conclusions. Keywords: oil shale, climate change, National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, energy development, unconventional fuels, environment, mitigation Mary Sabina Peters and Manu Kumar, An Insight into Production-Sharing Agreements: How They Prevent States from Achieving Maximum Control over Their Hydrocarbon Resources, The Journal of Energy and Development, volume 37, no. 2 (spring 2012, copyright 2012), pp. 289295. http://www.scribd.com/doc/117693030/ Abstract: The economic and strategic importance of hydrocarbon resources has led countries to establish their domestic petroleum production and as such, many states are compelled to turn to foreign oil companies for the exploration and exploitation of their petroleum resources. Open to the states are various options of oil policies, however, some states opt for production-sharing agreements (PSAs) as the vehicle for the development of their oil and natural gas resources. This is because PSAs provide for state sovereignty and control over the countrys natural resources with an opportunity of transfer of technology and training of the state personnel by foreign oil companies who also bear the development and financial risk. However, in reality, while the states have ownership over their hydrocarbon resources, the control of the resources is with the foreign oil companies. Keywords: production-sharing agreements (PSAs), state policy and hydrocarbon development, foreign oil companies/international oil companies