Energy efficiency and renewable energy under extreme conditions: Case studies from Antarctica

Tina Tin, Benjamin K. Sovacool, David Blake, Peter Magill, Saad El Naggar, Sven Lidstrom, Kenji Ishizawa and Johan Berte

Renewable Energy, 2010, vol. 35, issue 8, 1715-1723

Abstract: This article showcases a range of small and large scale energy efficiency and renewable energy deployments at Antarctic research stations and field camps. Due to the cold and harsh environment, significant amounts of fuel are needed to support humans working and living in Antarctica. The purchase, transportation and storage of large amounts of fossil fuel entail significant economic costs and environmental risks and have motivated developments in energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment. Over the past three decades, improved building design, behavioral change, cogeneration, solar collectors, solar panels and wind turbines have been found to be effective in Antarctica, demonstrating that harsh environmental conditions and technological barriers do not have to limit the deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy. The ambition to run entire stations or field camps on 100% renewable energy is increasingly common and feasible. While the power requirements of Antarctic research stations are small compared to urban installations on other continents, these case studies clearly demonstrate that if energy efficiency and renewable energy can be deployed widely on the coldest, darkest and most remote continent of the world, their deployment should be more widespread and encouraged on other continents.

Keywords: Antarctica; Energy efficiency; Wind energy; Solar energy; Research stations; Scientific instruments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:35:y:2010:i:8:p:1715-1723

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2009.10.020

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