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The aim of this review was to analyze to what extent the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR), environment and energy has been addressed in the specialized literature and which are the deficient segments in this regard. VOSviewer was used for data extraction, mapping and grouping the articles from journals that have been indexed in Web of Science (WOS). A total of 102 papers were found approaching the topic of corporate social responsibility, environment and energy policy, 5192 research papers for CSR and the environment and 320 on CSR and energy policy. Following the bibliometric analysis, we can conclude that we are facing a shortage of works that analyze the relationship between the three fields together. The number of published articles was reduced to establish the direction of influence between the three variables, as well as the impact between them. However, the advantage that emerges from this lack of works is that there are many opportunities to find news on this subject and to discover solutions to improve the quality of life. This study can be used as an impetus for researchers to examine the trends of this research topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the challenges faced by Brazilian distribution utilities to enable the connection and operation of microgrids (MGs) is the absence of a solid set of technical standards in the country. An alternative has been to use and adapt existing standards applied to micro- and mini-distributed generation. In this context, this paper presents an analysis of the development status of norms, standards, and general requirements for the connection and operation of microgrids, as well as a proposal for the regulation and structuring of technical and operational requirements related to the implementation of microgrid projects. Some critical points highlighted in the paper include: the modes of operation, the minimum requirements for the different modes of operation, interoperability of systems, a conceptual model with attribution of responsible actors for the decentralized management of microgrids adapted to the institutional standards of the Brazilian sectorial model, a proposal for a standard connection structure considering the point of connection (PoC) implanted using multifunctional relay and recloser, procedures for technical feasibility assessment (operational studies) of MGs connection, and, finally, a discussion of operational issues of storage systems in a microgrid environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous promotion of China's electricity market reform, the introduction of competition in the power generation market provides a new research direction for the generation expansion planning (GEP) problem, which is of great significance in the promotion of the optimization of the power energy structure. In the context of marketization, the electricity price expectation during the planning period is a key factor of GEP for independent power generation groups. There is some literature showing that the electricity price expectation in the planning period can be estimated according to certain laws of market supply and demand, while it seems to us that a future Pay as Bid (PAB) mechanism is better to determine the electricity price expectation. In this paper, to explore the impact of these two different electricity price formation mechanisms on the evolution of the generation market, a multi-agent framework is first established to describe the interaction process among the generation market agents; then, a GEP model for independent power generation groups is developed in the market competition environment, and four representative scenarios are finally designed for detailed comparative studies. Based on these case studies, the conclusion can be summarized as: (1) the PAB bidding mechanism has a lower electricity price and higher market installed capacity almost all the time during the whole planning period for all four scenarios; (2) it is more important that PAB can reduce the impact of parameter uncertainty in the laws of market supply and demand, which can obtain more reliable and reasonable results regarding the long-term evolution of the generation market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review provides the state of the art of energy management systems (EMS) and organizational structures of prosumers. Integration of renewable energy sources (RES) into the household brings new challenges in optimal operation, power quality, participation in the electricity market and power system stability. A common solution to these challenges is to develop an EMS with different prosumer organizational structures. EMS development is a multidisciplinary process that needs to involve several aspects of observation. This paper provides an overview of the prosumer organizational and control structures, types and elements, prediction methods of input parameters, optimization frameworks, optimization methods, objective functions, constraints and the market environment. Special attention is given to the optimization framework and prediction of input parameters, which represents room for improvement, that mitigate the impact of uncertainties associated with RES-based generation, consumption and market prices on optimal operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing pandemic has driven the attention of both policy makers and professionals of the building sector towards the need for proper ventilation of the indoor environment. Despite accurate ventilation control only being available with mechanical ventilation systems, in several countries worldwide the renovation of indoor air relies mainly on natural solutions. In this context, in the design of new or renovated buildings, conventional natural ventilation rates are typically assumed to be in agreement with available technical standards, sometimes regardless of the actual external conditions. For instance, local wind speed and direction, as well as buoyancy-driven air displacements, are not considered, even if they can significantly affect the ventilation efficacy for the designed buildings. Moreover, the local outdoor temperature and the presence of pollutants are rarely accounted for, even though they can represent interesting inputs not only for naturally ventilated buildings but also for mechanical ventilation systems. In the framework described above, this review paper aims to provide an overview of the current state-of-the-art of the research regarding air displacement and conditions in the urban context, focusing on the main methods, parameters and metrics to consider in order to ensure a deeper and more accurate modelling of natural ventilation potential in the urban built environment. The analysis of the literature includes both experimental and numerical studies. As regards the latter ones, the features of the chosen urban areas—real or parametric ones—the adopted turbulence models and the indexes calculated as simulation outputs were analysed, with the purpose of defining a common framework to support future extensive numerical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What benefits, from the point of view of the energy and ecological performance of a multisource drive system, can be gained for a particular control criterion through the use of appropriate secondary energy source parameters (accumulator volume V g and initial gas pressure p g ) for a given work cycle of a machine working in closed spaces? This paper describes a method of determining energy and ecological efficiency for a selected multisource drive system control criterion and presents potential benefits resulting from a proper choice of secondary energy source parameters for a selected control criterion. Using, as an example, a multisource hydrostatic drive system with a combustion engine as the primary energy source, the energy consumption and the ecological parameters (nitrogen oxides N O x emissions, carbon monoxide C O emissions and opacity D Y M ) were analysed for selected work cycles and different hydraulic accumulator parameters, i.e., initial gas pressure ( p g ) and accumulator volume ( V g ). The investigations showed that the optimal parameters for the secondary energy source for energy performance criteria are different from those for the ecological criteria. It can be concluded that when a bank of accumulators is used, it will be possible to select a secondary energy source capacity that is optimal for the given work cycle, thereby improving the energy balance or the ecological balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy sources are an alternative to traditional sources and are based on inexhaustible and environmentally friendly supply. Various controversies have been stirred up by the development of energy production from renewable sources, e.g., due to the high cost of these investments or carbon footprint at the production stage of renewable installations, or later in the disposal process. However, they seem to be gradually offset by the numerous benefits that outweigh the initial costs of their support. Therefore, it is not surprising that European Union (EU) countries are at the forefront of the transition to a low-emission economy. This is evidenced, e.g., by a 22% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in Member States, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 58% between 1990 and 2017. Nevertheless, the use of renewable energy sources such as sun, wind, water, etc. is much more expensive than burning fossil fuels. This argument of high investment costs can be decisive in decisions of both public debates and individual households. Therefore, education on renewable energy sources is needed to facilitate the process of transition to a zero-emission economy in the European Union countries. This education should, above all, be addressed to young people, who will be making these decisions in the future. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will largely depend on the knowledge and awareness of young people. The aim of the paper is to diagnose the perception of the transition to a zero-carbon economy in the opinion of Polish schoolchildren. We put a particular emphasis on renewable energy sources as a key element shaping the security of the state in terms of sustainable ecology and friendly social development. We achieved the aim of the study through a research process with use of theoretical and empirical research methods. We analysed the literature on the subject and the current legal acts in the field of renewable energy sources. We also conducted a survey of high school students in Poland. The analysis of the research results allowed us to formulate recommendations on the possibility of shaping state security in the field of sustainable ecology and friendly social development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper, the authors focused on the environmental problems of pollution emissions caused by households using batch boilers fired with solid fuels. The aim of this study is to analyse the course of changes in the actual efficiency and emission of a solid fuel updraft boiler, the most popular type of batch boilers used in Poland in recent years. The subject of analysis is the comparison of the values of atmospheric emissions of harmful substances depending on the type of wood burnt in the boiler. The investigation comprises the combustion characteristics of three types of woody biomass (in billets), i.e., pine, birch, and beech. Based on the carried out research of all billets, the beech has the lowest values of CO (3497 mg/m3) and particulate matter (116.9 mg/m3). Despite this, obtained results exceed the current permissible limits based on the standard PN:EN 303-5:2012. The highest efficiency (54.13%) was obtained for birch billets, the lowest for pine (45.13%). The research has shown that the real heating efficiency during the combustion of wood, irrespective of the type of wood being burnt, is low. To summarise, the outdated installations contribute to air pollution several times higher, which indicates the need to replace inefficient heat sources using solid fuels with modern equipment that meets the most stringent standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]