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Focal point of this review is to provide a comparative display of qualitative and quantitative methodologies employed for the appraisal of interacting energy and climate policies, underlying their key features while presenting the most critical issues and limitations not addressed so far. Qualitative approaches provide a descriptive explanatory analysis of often non-quantifiable process in policy interactions, whereas modeling approaches provide numerical data estimating the extent of policy interaction impacts. Quantitative methods work best for narrowly specified policy combinations, while contextual implications and cause-impact effects are explained further via qualitative ones. In addition most evaluations so far adopt a rational view of policies and policy interactions leaving out a systemic evaluation of the institutionalism of interacting policies. Research analysis of energy and climate policy interactions is still young in comparison to the broad field of policy evaluation and impact assessment. However infants inherently tend to grow. Endeavors for a methodological framework that would allow for a systematic exchange of data between qualitative and quantitative approaches and would also include the relevance of the context as well as key casual relationships behind policy combinations, would provide the basis for further growth of knowledge in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Propelled by the actual demand from the renewable energy industry, the progress of literature on quantitative forecasting models during the past years is extensive. Research provides a vast output of papers on wind speed, wind power, solar irradiance and solar power forecasting models, accompanied by models for energy load and price forecasting for short-term (e.g. for the intraday trading schemes available at many market places) to medium-term (e.g. for day-ahead trading) usage. While the models themselves are, mostly, rather sophisticated, the statistical evaluation of the results sometimes leaves headroom for improvement. Unfortunately, the latter may occasionally result in the rejection of papers. This review aims at giving support at this point: It provides a guide on how to avoid typical mistakes of presenting and evaluating the results of forecasting models. The best practice of forecasting accuracy evaluation, benchmarking, and graphically/tabularly presenting forecasting results is shown. We discuss techniques, examples, guide to a set of paragon papers, and clarify on a state-of-the-art minimum standard of proceeding with the submission of renewable energy forecasting research papers. Highlights • We provide a baseline for the empirical assessment of renewable energy forecasting. • Prices, wind speed/power solar irradiance or price and load forecasts are covered. • We show how to present and evaluate forecasting results. • Performing and evaluating OOS studies and probabilistic forecasts is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable Energy and Sustainable Supply Chain Management have been extensively studied over the last decade. However, techniques based on the modelling and simulations have not been applied extensively in the supply chain of renewable energy. The main purpose of this study is to identify the latest System Dynamics contributions and trends related to the supply chain of renewable energy. An overview of works published in several journals and related to the application of the System Dynamics approach in Renewable Energy Supply Chain (RESC) is provided. Only 10 papers focusing on the application of system dynamics in RESC were found and these were classified into three groups of analysis. Although the literature is scarce, this work shows the importance of system modelling considering: (i) improving the understanding of supply chain in renewable energy and (ii) developing modelling and simulation approaches in renewable energy systems. This paper represents a source for elaborating a System Dynamics framework applied on RESC and provides a comprehensive bibliography of papers published in the last decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important energy base of China, Xinjiang is the key part of the “Silk Road” economic belt development strategy and is in an superior position. This paper analyzes the problems exist in the sustainable energy industry based on the distribution status of sustainable resources of Xinjiang. The evaluation index system of the application level of Renewable Energy Systems (RESs) is discussed using the wind farm as an example. Besides it investigates the advantages and disadvantages of the development process of each node in the “Silk Road” economic belt areas according to the current situation of the resources, economic and social development. Suggestions for the development of each area are proposed in the end. This paper will contribute to the sustainable development of renewable energy industry and economy in Xinjiang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy generation is rapidly growing in the power sector industry and widely used for two categories: grid connected and standalone system. This paper gives the insights about fuel cell operation and application of various power electronics systems. The fuel cell voltage decreases bit by bit with expansion in current because of losses associated with fuel cell. It is difficult in handling large rated fuel cell based power system without regulating mechanism. The issue connected with fuel based structural planning and the arrangements are widely investigated for all sorts of utilization. In order to improve the reliability of fuel cell based power system, the integration of energy storage system and advanced research methods are focused in this paper. The control algorithms of power architecture for the couple of well-known applications are discussed. Additionally, the paper addresses the suitable processor utilized as a part of the energy unit application on the premise of fuel cell characteristics. In this paper, the challenges to improve the dynamics of controller in fuel cell based applications are mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence of external costs can lead to market failure. This is because the free market generally ignores the existence of external costs. Pollution taxes and other flexible market instruments are being applied to internalize external costs of atmospheric emissions. Subsidies to renewable energy technologies are also being applied to internalize positive external benefits of renewables as these technologies have lower life-cycle emissions of classical pollutants and GHG emissions in comparison with fossil fuel based energy generation technologies. The paper applies “context-mechanism-outcome” (CMO) theoretical framework based on realistic evaluation theory for review and assessment of the level of internalization of externalities and their impact on atmospheric emissions of classical pollutants in Baltic States. The paper aims to compare external costs of atmospheric pollution and pollution taxes and other measures to internalize externalities in Baltic States and to relate them to the trends of emission of classical pollutants in these countries. The external costs of atmospheric pollution were compared in Baltic States together with atmospheric pollution taxes and other policy measures used to internalize external costs of atmospheric pollution in Baltic States. The analysis of trends of atmospheric pollution by classical pollutants in Baltic States indicated positive trends since 2004 in all analysed countries. Though review of internalization of externalities in Latvia indicated the lowest levels of external costs internalization in terms of pollution taxes, excise taxes and feed-in tariffs and subsidies from EU Structural Funds for renewables, the atmospheric emission reduction trends for classical pollutants are very favourable in Latvia except air pollution by ozone. This indicates that the degree of internalization of external costs related to specific pollutants does not necessary imply emission reduction of these pollutants as other factors as well as country context also play very important role and further investigations of this problem are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the forecasting model for a new and renewable energy supply utilized in the Fourth Basic Plan for New and Renewable Energy of South Korea in 2014 and presents the estimated results. The Korean government formulated a plan for raising the new and renewable energy deployment rate to 11% by 2035, and this paper presents the development of the corresponding plan. The proposed model essentially uses a bottom-up method to reflect the characteristics of each renewable source. In addition, a competitive diffusion model, a logistic growth model, a linear regression model, and data from government planning and companies’ planned projects are used. The forecasts are classified and presented by renewable source and output type (i.e., electricity, heat, and transportation fuels). The results show that Korean new and renewable energy production will reach about 37 million tonnes of oil equivalent by 2035. In addition, the renewable electricity sector has become mainstream since the 2012 implementation of Renewable Portfolio Standard policy, and is expected to account for 60% of total new and renewable energy supply in 2035. Furthermore, wind, solar photovoltaic, and bioenergy are projected to replace current waste-oriented sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, renewable energies are more preferable to fossil fuels because of being free, widely available and producing minimal pollution. One of the disadvantages of renewable energy systems is that using only one type of renewable energy cannot guarantee a continuous power generation. To overcome this problem, two or more renewable energy systems should be used simultaneously to compensate for times when one of them is not available or the renewable system should be used aligned with the generator. In addition, another weakness is that they are not accessible in every geographical position and location. It is clear that renewable energy systems can be exploited to their fullest capacity when used in the proper place. Therefore, given the importance of finding suitable places for co-utilization of several renewable energies, present paper attempted to find the ideal locations for construction of hybrid solar-wind power stations in Middle-East using Boolean model in GIS software. The Boolean method is, in a way, a more stringent method compared to the other positioning methods. Therefore, the selected locations will definitely have greater energy potential by using the Boolean method. Data obtained by RETScreen4 software from 400 stations in Middle-East were used for collecting monthly weather information. Results of the current paper may be helpful in creating prospects for sustainable energy development for systems based on natural resources and facilitating the national power transmission and sustainable environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contrasts the financial benefit of grants given to research and development projects with the reduction in managerial flexibility they impose, which implies a loss in the value of the project. To quantify this loss of value, real options analysis has been adopted as the most suitable framework to assess and quantify managerial flexibility. This idea is illustrated by the case of a research and development project in renewable energy, specifically Concentrated Solar Power. Our results show that the value added by the grants is less than the nominal incentives received as a result of the loss of flexibility for managers; they cannot apply certain options such as deferral, nor can they abandon the project. Therefore, a break-even grant is proposed that equals the financial incentive with the loss of managerial flexibility. Under this break-even point, the grant should be rejected. This paper will create awareness for both policy makers and private companies regarding a more accurate assessment of grants to research and development funding as well as provide insights to improve grant schemes without increasing the amount of public funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The harmful effects of carbon emissions and carbon dioxide caused by over dependence on oil is a global issue, which is currently being addressed by encouraging renewable energy (RE) resources contribution to the energy mix. Encouraging RE is important in order to solve the unsustainable nature of electricity generation especially in the sub-Saharan African countries. One of the REs that have vast potential especially in sub-Saharan Africa is the solar energy. This paper provides an overview of the solar photovoltaic (PV) developments in selected countries of sub-Saharan Africa – in terms of research, installed capacity, solar radiation level, RE policies and the percentage of solar PV in the future energy mix of these countries. Finally, this paper identified the barriers to RE deployment and proposed scaling-up solar PV as one of the solution in the development of energy mix in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper assesses the cost efficiency of renewable electricity (RES-E) support schemes in Europe for the 2000–2015 period based on data collected by CEER from national regulators. A cost efficiency indicator (CEI) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) were applied to measure the economic efficiencies of RES-E support schemes in Europe for the two most deployed renewable technology: photovoltaics and wind. The proposed CEI provides a relative and comparable measure of economic efficiency of support, measuring the cleaned (net of whole sale price) unit support value of RES-E production over consumption. The DEA assessment includes more input variables measuring economic performance of EU member states in RES-E support, where the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) served as input alongside the CEI. After a detailed literature review introduces previous studies on both types of efficiency measures for renewable deployment the results are presented and explained. This study reveals that although the performance of PV support improved rapidly in the time period, wind generated electricity remained more cost efficient. The DEA found wind support schemes in North European countries (Norway, Sweden, Ireland and Denmark) and PV support schemes in Romania, Malta, Cyprus and Italy to be notably cost efficient. Some of these countries are the traditional large-scale producers (like Denmark or Italy) but 'newcomers' also performed well due to technology learning resulting in low entry costs. The DEA shows that financing conditions are perhaps as important as resource endowment in determining cost efficiency of support schemes across EU countries. Based on the outcomes we conclude with recommendations to improve the design for more market oriented RES-E support schemes as required by new EU legislation. Highlights • Economic analysis of the renewable energy support schemes in the last 15 years in the EU. • Financial and economic implications of the support policies in the EU countries. • The EU RES support schemes move away from the administrative support schemes to market oriented ones. • The identified front runner schemes, technology cost trends and countries help designing the new schemes. • Bring closer the physical and finance markets for RES projects by closing the RES finance cost gap.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural solid biomass has been widely recognized as an important source of renewable energy with huge production potential. The utilisation of agricultural solid biomass as feedstock for energy production is continuously growing all over Europe. As shown in the current country's balance of energy production and consumption, Croatia is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels. The aim of this paper is to determine the available agricultural solid biomass and its energy potential in Croatia. The quantity and energy potential of solid biomass refer to post-harvest residues, pruning residues, agro-industrial solid waste and biomass from Miscanthus energy crop. In relation to potentially available agricultural biomass, three scenarios have been developed (progressive – S1, optimistic - S2, and conservative – S3) of introducing solid biomass in the renewable energy production sector. On the basis of these scenarios, it can be concluded that in Croatia the following quantities of agricultural biomass are available: 3050.3 t (S1); 1441.8 t (S2); and 733.68 t (S3). These quantities give energy potential of 51.14 PJ (S1), 24.06 PJ (S2), and 12.18 PJ (S3) respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is one of the indispensable inputs for the survival of human being in the earth. Bangladesh has the very inadequate amount of indigenous non-renewable energy resources even which is being diminished rapidly to increase the electricity generation. Although the installed electricity generation capacity has been increased to 10,709 MW, still the amount is insufficient to meet the demand of the country. In addition to this, the insufficient power generation hinders the socio-economic and industrial development. This current problem in power generation of Bangladesh can be removed by incorporating renewable energy into electricity generation. Recently, utilization of renewable energy and Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) is getting momentum in the country to achieve not only energy security but also to reduce environmental pollution and to limit the imminent depletion of the non-renewable energy resources. Overall, Bangladesh has the vast potential of biomass, solar, hydro, wind, and tidal powers. This paper outlines the present energy scenario of the country. Following this, the potential of available renewable energy resources is also reviewed and presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to meet power needs, with concern for economics and environment, wind energy conversion is gradually gaining interest as a suitable source of renewable energy. To maximize the power extraction from the wind, optimization techniques are used at the various module of a wind farm starting from wind farm design for siting, sizing, optimal placement and sizing of distributed generation (DG) sources, generation scheduling, tuning of PID controller, control of wind energy conversion system (WECS) etc. This paper mainly focuses on the optimization algorithms (mostly the swarm based) in relation to integration of the wind farm with the grid. The paper here gives a precise idea about different optimization techniques, their advantage and disadvantage with respect to a wind farm. This review will enable the researchers to open the mind to explore possible applications in this field as well as beyond this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insatiable appetite for non-renewable fossil fuels in the past has resulted in a plethora of anthropogenic climate changes and pollution across the globe, causing serious threats to human beings and the environment. To avoid this contention, greater use of wind energy could be the solution for economic growth and sustainable environment, in the long run. This paper discusses the ways in which India has started the growth of wind energy and the country’s potential to expand its contribution to meet ever-increasing energy needs. The paper lucidly presents India’s progress to become the top five wind energy producers in the world. This paper also discusses the major achievements, programs, policy, and incentives for the installation of wind power in India. Opportunities and challenges have been discussed along with the ways to remove barriers to achieve higher growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to long-term, coal-based electricity generation, China’s power industry has produced not only heavy burdens on provincial coal supplies but has also caused serious environmental deterioration. This paper discusses the current status and future development trend of China’s power generation. By using the Johansen co-integration test and the error correction model (ECM), the paper shows the existence of a synchronous increase between China’s economy and its electricity production. Then, a GM(1,1) model is applied to predict China’s economic production in 2015. By using that prediction, the ECM to estimate the related electricity generation. Next, based on the 2015 power generation prediction, this paper discusses the development trend of China’s future power structure, especially in regard to renewable energy, and also provides an overview of the potential reserves and current development status of China’s renewable power generation as well as the 12th Five-Year Plan (FYP), with suggestions for the future development of renewable energy. Last, a centralized combined dispatching policy, including trans-provincial and trans-regional power transmissions, is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its vast natural resources, African is facing serious challenges in sustainable development in an energy sector, if addressed with dispatch could not only check its indispensable needs, but also mitigate some global phenomenon at stake, such as desertification, environmental degradation and green house emission. This paper reviews the prospects of four major renewable energy sources-hydro, solar, wind and biomass- for each of the three leading countries in Africa namely South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria. Based on literature survey of energy efficiency, all the three countries encourage energy efficiency in varying degrees. In the course of this review, several national energy policy frameworks of these countries were looked into, especially on how African countries could overcome the persistent energy crisis in the continent by utilizing the naturally gifted renewable energy sources. This could only be achievable if proper technology, awareness and skills for harnessing the resources are provided. Also lingering energy challenges such as energy efficiency measures, needs for grid extension, energy storage technology and seasonal variation were carefully highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are abundant renewable energy sources in Iran such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass. However, Iran is fully dependent on fossil fuels for industrial, residential and transportation sectors. It results in the country to be in top 10 producers of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. GHGs can be controlled by incorporating renewable sources to produce energy. Therefore, renewable energy resources are becoming more attractive to develop sustainable energy development in Iran. However, the transformation from traditional fossil fuel infrastructures to advanced renewable technologies needs many considerations, such as strategic and core planning. In this regard, this paper covers the current state of Iran's energy market focusing on both fossil fuels and renewable energy resources. A general review is offered over the renewable energy production status in Iran and the production potentials. Finally, in conclusion, a comparisons are made over the current state, plans and also potential opportunities of Iran over each sort of energy production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the field of innovation studies regarding barriers to low-carbon innovation and consequences for finance (investment and divestment) and contributes to a more holistic understanding of the underlying mechanisms. A combination of technological barriers combined with economic barriers, institutional and political barriers contribute to sub-optimal low-carbon investment all along the innovation cycle. Policy makers need to take a systemic approach to enable the redirection of diverse private financial sources. Instruments range from cutting ‘dirty’ (R&D) subsidies and support for clean technology innovation and diffusion, levelling the institutional playing field and making risks of high-carbon and low-carbon technologies transparent to providing a consistent but adaptive long-term transition strategy. This would allow financiers to gradually shift their investments away from high-carbon mainstream markets and scale low-carbon technology niche-markets. However financiers also need to sharpen their competencies with regard to new clean technologies and markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In a world struggling for sustainable access to energy for all, renewable energy systems can be a solution to implement on isolated micro-communities. However, such an implementation is still a challenge. This paper aims to review several types of projects developed in different micro-communities, namely small islands and remote villages, both in cases of real implementation and only evaluation studies. To do that, we analyzed documented projects in micro-communities with less than 100,000 people. We looked into different indicators related to island characterization, energy demand and proposed technical solution, in order to identify the determinant factors for the success of the implementation and how do they differ for islands and remote villages. In islands, the main factors that influence the achievement of higher percentages of renewable source (RES) are the design of the existing energy system, the presence of a reliable energy storage system and the profile of the electricity demand, especially the occurrence of peak demand and seasonal oscillations. In general, the more popular configuration is a diesel/wind/photovoltaic. In remote villages, higher percentages of RES are meet more easily in cases of very low demand, unstructured previous electric supply and the capability of using batteries as storage. The more popular configuration is the photovoltaic/diesel/batteries. Having detailed demand information, estimates from the local renewable resources and the adequacy of the storage system are critical aspects for the system's design and its successful and reliable application. This review also shows that the data reported in many different case studies is often incomplete, which makes it hard to benchmark and evaluate the different projects. Thus, this paper proposes a methodology to report the data regarding the design and implementation of hybrid renewable energy systems, to enable the comparison of future projects and contribute to the discovery of new insights about the implementability of these systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Compared to the Feed-in tariff in China, the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) could not only help to change the driving force of renewable energy industry development, but also provide the renewable energy industry with incentives to achieve the governments' planned goal. This paper first compares the features of RPS of the major industrialized countries. Second the barriers of implementing the Renewable Portfolio Standard in China are analyzed from five aspects. Finally, based on the above analysis, this paper puts forward relative institutional arrangements for the implementation of Renewable Portfolio Standard in China making recommendations for the development of renewable energy industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper is about the benefits of a plug-in based software architecture, but it is not only intended for programmers. It also stands the fact that monitoring is needed in any renewable energy generation plant and describes a way to fulfill this need. The fast evolution of renewable energy sources during the last decades resulted in the installation of many power systems all over the world, showing a sharp trend towards Distributed Resources (DR). There are many people related to them (because they use, own, operate, maintain or receive services from DR) who may be interested in knowing things about them for several reasons like production, maintenance, investigation, profitability, etc.; that is why data-acquisition systems are widely used in renewable energy source applications. These systems allow to collect and analyze data regarding the renewable energy installation performance as well as meteorological data. The basic idea on this paper is to achieve monitoring of different energy generation plants using a plug-in driven design technique, presenting as a result of an extensible software architecture design. The main difference between this paper and the previous work is that we focus specifically on monitoring as a necessity, proposing a generic and extensible software system, which could be employed to monitor any kind of renewable energy plant and extended to connect to new developed devices by changing small pieces of software. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Based on the fact that PV systems are clean, environment friendly and secure energy sources, PV system installation has played an important role worldwide. However, the drawback of PV system is the high capital cost as compared to conventional energy sources. Currently, many research works are carried out focusing on optimization of PV systems so that the number of PV modules, capacity of storage battery, capacity of inverter, wind turbine capacity as well as diesel generator size optimally selected. In this paper, the current status of research on PV systems size optimization is reviewed taking into account standalone PV systems, hybrid PV/diesel generator systems, hybrid PV/wind systems, hybrid PV/wind/diesel generator systems as well as grid connected systems. In addition, size optimization techniques for the inverter in PV systems are reviewed. The outcome of this paper shows that the optimization of PV system is strongly depends on meteorological variables such as solar energy, ambient temperature and wind speed. Furthermore, the numerical methods are the mostly used methods. Meanwhile the artificial intelligence techniques have been employed recently to improve the process of PV system size optimization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the implications of strategic rigidness for technology adoption behaviours among electric utilities. Such behaviours lead to heterogeneity in firm performance and consequently affect the electric utility industry. The paper's central aim is to identify and describe the implications of strategic rigidness for a utility firm's decision making in adopting newer renewable energy technologies. The findings indicate that not all utility firms are keen to adopt these new technologies, as these firms have traditionally been operating efficiently with a more conventional and mature technological arrangement that has become embedded in the organisational routine. Case studies of Iberdrola S.A. and Enel S.p.A. as major electric utilities are detailed to document mergers and acquisitions and technology adoption decisions. The results indicate that technology adoption behaviours vary widely across utility firms with different organisational learning processes and core capabilities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Accession of Poland to the European Union led to a number of significant changes in the Polish energy sector through introduction of market mechanisms, creating competitiveness and enforcing improvement of an economic efficiency of the whole industry, including energy production from renewable energy sources. As a support system for renewable electric energy sources Poland implemented a system of Tradable Green Certificates. The mechanisms functioned properly for many years and were the source of a reasonable income for investors. In 2012 there was the first serious crisis in the renewable energy industry: certificate prices began to fall sharply and revenues of producers decreased drastically, calling into question profitability of many projects. Presented paper is an attempt to analyze this situation. The analysis covers the most important factors that led to this situation, taking into account the current legal situation and the current structure of the renewable energy sector in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To fulfill the target of emissions reduction, the Chinese government has made many efforts to develop renewable energy. Biomass power can provide stable power supply, avoid wasting straw resources and protect rural environment at the same time. However, the development of renewable power requires subsidies from the government, but increased subsidies placed heavy burden on the governments, whereas these governments want to develop renewable energy with minimum costs. This paper attempts to answer the question that whether the development of biomass power is a good choice for local governments in China. For this purpose, the goal of emissions reduction and subsidies of renewable energy powers were discussed. The main conclusion is that although the subsidies for biomass power were slightly higher than those for wind power, biomass power is a good choice for governments considering other benefits, especially for regions with rich agricultural and forest residues. In the future, regional and local conditions should be considered in the planning of biomass power development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand and acceptance of the renewable energy power plants are steadily increasing because of its positive environmental impacts and free availability of fuels such as wind and solar. Because of the intermittent and volatile nature of the output of these plants, neighboring plants are interconnected and controlled simultaneously using intelligent controllers. Loads and other conventional generators like diesel generators are also connected to this network and forms a microgrid which may or may not be connected to the main utility grid. For effectively controlling the resources and the loads connected to a microgrids, many control strategies are developed and successfully implemented nowadays. This paper looks at the possible control schemes used in an AC microgrid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding energy–water system interactions is critical to the effective management of urban infrastructure. This paper explores the potential for hydropower as a co-benefit in a novel operating regime for Sydney׳s main water reservoir (Warragamba Dam). Hydropower could be generated as part of storage level management in the reservoir aimed at introducing flood retention ‘airspace’ (to mitigate downstream flood risk from extreme rainfall) whilst augmenting the use of installed desalination capacity to maintain secure supplies of water. A purpose-built systems dynamics model provides the mechanism for evaluating and comparing future operating scenarios over a 25 year period (i.e. until 2040). Importantly, the findings reveal the potential for desalination plants, integrated into a populous city׳s water supply network, to satisfy a much broader planning agenda. Specifically, the study provides evidence that Sydney’s interdependent goals of deferring capital intensive flood storage works, maintaining water security, better utilising existing desalination and hydropower assets, and increasing renewable energy generation can be achieved through applying systems thinking to a complex citywide water planning problem. The work also makes a valuable contribution to the energy–water nexus literature at the under-explored city-scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following four years of relative stability at around $106 per barrel (bbl), oil prices have declined sharply since June 2014 and are expected to remain low for a considerable period of time. There are multiple factors which are being considered behind the plunge in the price of oil since June 2014. Most observers have conjectured that domestic oil boom in the United States and Iraq is the major cause for the falling oil prices. Some have suggested that a major shock to oil price expectations occurred after the November 2014 meeting of OPEC, when they did not cut production despite the steady increase in non-OPEC oil production. In this paper, first we analyzed the effect of various factors on the oil prices and then we studied impacts of the falling oil prices on non-hydro renewable energy. We compare the recent decline in oil prices with previous episodes up to 1996. We show that the demand and supply formula cannot be implemented to the current oil plunge. The study shows that so far the recent plunge in oil prices has produced no major impact on renewable energy sector. We found that renewable energies, such as solar and wind, are increasingly becoming cost competitive with fossil fuel energy. However the oil price crash could hurt the short-term outlook for certain specific clean energy technologies such as bio-fuel and electric vehicles that do compete with oil-based transportation. While long term low oil prices may threaten renewable energies, climate policies have the potential to act as a counterweight, encouraging long-term, low carbon, investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the electricity market, sudden price jumps occur more frequently than in other markets due to the peculiarity of electricity. Furthermore, the structural spot characteristics of the electricity market determine high price variability. All these characteristics have been accentuated by the dramatic increase of renewable energy supply in Italy starting in 2010. These features suggest the possibility of contagion effects across Italian regional electricity markets, considering contagion such as a sudden and significant increase in cross-market links arising from a shock to a specific market. In this paper we investigate whether such a renewable energy increase has affected the contagion behavior in the Italian electricity spot market taking into account both the difference between interdependence and contagion and the direction of the shock. We find empirical evidence, with significant tests, that no changes have occurred in interdependence mechanism, nor in contagion effects due to renewable energy sources development in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the market dynamics of mergers and acquisitions in the renewable energy and cleantech sectors. We analyzed abnormal returns from 273 announced and 54 completed buyout acquisitions that took place between the years 1997 and 2014, and we used an event study methodology to test (i) whether renewable energy and cleantech deals experienced higher rates of abnormal returns than traditional energy and mining deals, (ii) whether deal completions displayed similar effects as deal announcements, and (iii) whether homogenous deals experienced higher rates of abnormal returns than heterogeneous deals. Our findings were (i) that the traditional energy and mining sector outperformed the renewable energy and cleantech sectors in homogenous deals, (ii) that the deal completion effect followed the announcement effect in 9 of 12 cases, and (iii) that homogenous deals outperformed heterogeneous deals. To the best of our knowledge, comparisons of deal announcements and deal completion effects in the renewable energy and cleantech sectors have not to date been previously examined in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable portfolio standards (RPSs׳) require a certain fraction of the electricity generated for a given region be produced from renewable resources. California׳s RPS mandates that by 2020, 33% of the electricity sold in the state must be generated from renewables. Such mandates have important implications for the electricity sector as well as for the whole society. In this paper, we estimate the costs and benefits of varying 2020 California RPS targets on electricity prices, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, criteria pollutant emissions, the electricity generation mix, the labor market, renewable investment decisions, and social welfare. We have extended the RPS Calculator model, developed by Energy and Environmental Economics (E3) Inc., to account for distributions of fuel and generation costs, to incorporate demand functions, and to estimate the effects of RPS targets on GHG emissions, criteria pollutant emissions, and employment. The results of our modeling provide the following policy insights: (1) the average 2020 electricity price increases as the RPS target rises, with values ranging between $0.152 and $0.175/kW h (2008 dollars) for the 20% RPS to 50% RPS, respectively; (2) the 33% and 50% RPS targets decrease the GHG emissions by about 17.6 and 35.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO 2 e) relative to the 20% RPS; (3) the GHG emission reduction costs of the RPS options are high ($71–$94 per ton) relative to results from policy options other than RPS or prices that are common in the carbon markets; and (4) a lower target (e.g., a 27% RPS) provides higher social welfare than the 33% RPS (mandate) under low and moderate CO 2 social costs (lower than $35/ton); while a higher RPS target (e.g., 50%) is more beneficial when using high CO 2 social costs or rapid renewable technology diffusion. However, under all studied scenarios, the mandated 33% RPS for California would not provide the best cost/benefit values among the possible targets and would not maximize the net social benefit objective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tradable green certificates (TGC) framework is a prevalent policy support scheme enacted to stimulate investments in electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E). In several countries, including Sweden and Norway, the TGC framework is currently under reevaluation. In this process, academic literature plays a crucial role in reflecting the outcomes of this policy framework. The outcomes, however, are often limited by the analysis criteria, which reflect what has been accounted for or disregarded when assessing the performance of the TGC framework. The analysis criteria also stress what is considered as a successful outcome. Given the importance of such criteria, this paper presents an extensive and systemic literature review of academic publications assessing the performance of the TGC framework. The findings are to provide an overview of the publications’ analysis criteria and outline their outcomes. We also provide descriptive statistics for the publications and examine the average citation record of the publications that use various analysis criteria in order to explore their relative impact on later studies. These findings can help policymakers put the assessments into perspective when reevaluating a country׳s TGC system. They also suggest several intriguing directions for future studies in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization of electrical energy is the key to economic growth and improvement in people׳s living standards, especially in developing countries. The growing demand for electrical energy and the environmental effect of fossil fuel usage are the main topics driving us towards renewable technology. Hydropower, mainly hydrokinetic energy technology, is a well-known source of renewable energy. This study was carried out to present the potential of hydrokinetic energy in the world and Malaysia. Relevant research literature, based on developments, applications, design, operation, efficiency as well as different hydrokinetic technologies have been reviewed. This work critically considers the main characteristics of Malaysian current and water depth and the challenges associated with enhancing the efficiency of hydrokinetic turbines and providing electricity to remote areas with access to running water but little electricity. This paper will aid researchers to identify areas that need to be improved, as well as encourage public bodies to implement proper energy policies regarding hydrokinetic energy technology usage in rural areas with low-speed currents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale integration of renewable energy resources in the Alternating Current (AC) grids will have a serious impact on power system operation. The development of the Direct Current (DC) is presented as a solution to overcome some of the negative impacts on massive micro-generation deployment. Over 100 years later, from the time when AC was proving superior over DC, the existing AC electric power grids, equipment, and transmission method facing a big challenge from DC. In this paper, what has changed since Edison and Westinghouse public battle are firstly discussed? Then the high voltage DC (HVDC) transmission system is depicted the developmental history and the system׳s structure, and the HVDC applications based on voltage-source converters (VSCs) combined with the renewable generation are introduced, such as onshore, offshore wind, and City Power Supply. Then, those key technologies are represented. Finally, how to build future electricity grid network and VSCs-HVDC may improve the world is explored, and some recommendations are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the decline in the intensity of subsidy policies, technological progress has become a critical factor in promoting the renewable energy industry's sustainable development. This paper estimates the direction and extent of biased technological progress in China's renewable energy industry from 2009 to 2018. On this basis, by constructing an accounting model for the growth rate of total factor productivity (TFP), this paper empirically analyzes the effects of different factors on TFP growth. The research results indicate that: (1) The TFP of China's renewable energy industry has dropped by 4.60% annually, and the growth of industrial output mainly relied on factor input rather than technological progress. (2) The technological progress and factor allocation of China's renewable energy industry generally show a bias towards the capital. At different stages of the industry's development, it presents different degrees of bias. (3) Technological progress is biased towards capital factor with a lower growth rate of factor efficiency, which hinders the growth of TFP in the renewable energy industry. • This paper reveals the driving mechanism for the development of China's renewable energy industry. • The technological progress and factor allocation of China's renewable energy industry are biased towards the capital. • Capital inefficiency is the fundamental reason for the reduction of TFP in the renewable energy industry. • Improving the level of independent R&D is the key to achieving China's renewable energy industry's sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marketization of factor prices is not only an important component of pricing reforms but also a decisive determinant of innovation efficiency (IE). A good social welfare (SW) system attracts talent and affects the labor market. Thus, it is important to explore the impact of factor price distortions (FPDs) and SW on IE. Based on panel data on the Chinese renewable energy industry covering 2010–2019, this paper uses the Cobb-Douglas production function to calculate FPDs, adopts stochastic frontier analysis to measure IE, and then employs the sys-GMM method for empirical testing. The empirical results show the following: 1) FPDs can significantly inhibit IE. Furthermore, if FPDs are divided into capital (CPDs) and labor price distortions (LPDs), CPDs have a greater inhibitory effect on IE than LPDs. 2) SW has a significantly negative impact on IE. Moreover, if SW is divided into SOE social welfare (SSW) and non-SOE social welfare (NSSW) on the basis of the enterprise's ownership structure, SSW is significantly negatively related to IE, while NSSW is significantly positively related to IE. 3) The moderating effects of SSW have a significantly negative impact on the relationship between FPDs and IE, while the moderating effects of NSSW have a significantly positive impact on the relationship between FPDs and IE. Based on the above research results, this paper puts forward a series of policies to improve the IE of the renewable energy industry. • The marketization of factor price is a decisive factor for innovation efficiency. • Social welfare is another important factor for innovation efficiency. • The moderating effects of SOE social welfare happens. • A series of policies to improve the innovation efficiency are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the increasing concerns over environmental challenges such as global warming and exhaustion of fossil-fuel reserves, the renewable energy industry has become the most sought-after source of electrical energy production worldwide. In this context, wind energy conversion systems (WECS) are one of the most dominant and fastest-growing technologies, playing an increasingly vital role in renewable power generation. To meet this growing demand and mitigate the vulnerability of WECS to various sets of internal/external faults, the cost-effectiveness and efficient power production of WECS must be ensured, which highlights the critical role of the control system. This topic has been intensively studied in the literature, and many control approaches have been developed to deal with the simultaneous enhancement of efficiency and reliability of WECS. However, sliding mode control (SMC) has proved its reliable and superior performance among most control strategies due to its inherent robustness to parametric uncertainties and disturbances and ease of design and implementation. Accordingly, this paper provides a comprehensive survey of existing literature on the application of SMC and its emerging modifications to address different control design problems for WECS. • An explicit modeling of wind energy conversion systems (WECS). • A comprehensive survey of existing literature on SMC designs for WECS. • A survey of the different variants of SMC designs for WECS. • A review of existing chattering mitigation techniques in SMC designs for WECS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the global status of waste to energy (WTE) technologies as a mean for renewable energy production and municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal method. A case study of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) under this concept was developed. The WTE opportunities in the KSA is undertaken in the context of two scenarios: (1) incineration and (2) refuse derived fuel (RDF) along with biomethanation from 2012 to 2035. Biomethanation technology can proved to be the most suitable WTE technology for KSA due to (a) availability of high food waste volume (37% of total MSW) that can be used as a feedstock, (b) higher efficiency (25–30%) and (c) lowest annual capital ($0.1–0.14/ton) and operational cost. However, the need for large space for continuous operation might increase operational cost. The RDF has an advantage over incineration due to (a) less annual capital ($7.5–11.3/ton) and (b) operational cost ($0.3–0.55/ton), but the high labor skills requirements will most probably be a limitation, if appropriate training and related infrastructure are not scheduled to be included as a prerequisite. The incineration technology also proves to be an efficient solution with a relatively higher efficiency (25%) and lower operational cost ($1.5–2.5/ton). However, the need for treatment of air and waterborne pollutants and ash within the incineration facility can be the limiting factors for the development of this technology in KSA. In 2012, the power generation potential for KSA was estimated at 671 MW and 319.4 MW from incineration and RDF with biomethanation scenarios respectively, which was forecasted to reach upto 1447 MW and 699.76 MW for both scenarios respectively by 2035. Therefore, WTE technologies, could make a substantial contribution to the renewable energy production in KSA as well as alleviating the cost of landfilling and its associated environmental impacts. However, the decision to select between the two scenarios requires further in-depth financial, technical and environmental analysis using life cycle assessment (LCA) tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The share of renewable energy generation has been increasing as a result of the world-wide concern on environmental deterioration and climate change associated with burning fossil fuel. Due to the stochastic and intermittent characteristics of renewable energy resources, assessing the reliability of power systems with renewables has become challengeable and been widely studied for the past several decades. This paper provides a review of the studies on the reliability and economic evaluation of power system with renewables. It starts from a summary of the key indicators and models for assessing the reliability and economics of power systems. Different studies are then compared in terms of type of renewables, evaluation method, application area, level of study and country involved, through which the main features of past studies are identified. We also discuss the relationship between economics and reliability that shows the necessity of evaluating reliability and economics of power system with renewables simultaneously. A case study is finally proposed to illustrate the differences between alternative system settings in reliability and economic evaluation. It is found that the types and scales of renewable energy generation have significant impacts on system reliability and economics, which needs to be taken into account in the development of renewable energy power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China applies no efforts to promote the development of renewable energy (REE) so as to enhance China׳s energy security and address climate change. National top-down support scheme and the local renewable energy industry (REEI) development are the two important and intervened countermeasures for promoting REEI development in China. Considering China׳s vast regional disparity, the review on the spatial distribution of REEI in provincial level is critical and enlightening for future appropriate policy-making, while to date, there has been few related studies. With this circumstance, this paper made an empirical study on the distribution and cluster pattern of China׳s REEI based on the analysis on the industrial output value, the number and location of key companies/industrial bases, through on-site survey and updating statistical data. Results highlighted that in general, four REEI clusters were formed, included Bohai sea region, Yangtze River Delta, middle area, and western area. Supply chains were diversely distributed based on the regional resources allocation as well as economy development level and. In summary, REE resource supply and transformation facilities construction were the main REEI in western China, while R&D and high-tech equipment manufacture were clustered in eastern coastal regions. Based on the empirical study and Analytic Network Process (ANP) of the roles of stakeholders involved REEI of China, we further proposed various strategic measures and policy implications to better balance the REEI development in China. Our findings were critical for China׳s authority to design appropriate policies and take effective measures for promoting the harmonious development of REEI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The finiteness of fossil fuels implies that future electric power systems may predominantly source energy from fuel-free renewable resources like wind and solar. Evidently, these power systems without fuel will be environmentally benign, sustainable, and subject to milder failure scenarios. Many of these advantages were projected decades ago with the definition of the soft energy path , which describes a future where all energy is provided by numerous small, simple, and diverse renewable sources. Here we provide a thorough investigation of power systems without any fuel-based generation from technical and economic standpoints. The paper is organized by timescale and covers issues like the irrelevance of unit commitment in networks without large, fuel-based generators, the dubiousness of nodal pricing without fuel costs, and the need for new system-level models and control methods for semiconductor-based energy-conversion interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integration of Distributed Renewable Generation (DRG) to the future Smart Grid (SG) is one of the important considerations that is highly prioritized in the SG development roadmap by most of the countries including Malaysia. The plausible way of this integration is the enhancement of information and bidirectional communication infrastructure for energy monitoring and controlling facilities. However, urgency of data delivery through maintaining critical time condition is not crucial in these facilities. In this paper, we have surveyed state-of-the-art protocols for different Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) with the aim of realizing communication infrastructure for DRG in Malaysia. Based on the analytical results from surveys, data communication for DRG should be efficient, flexible, reliable, cost effective, and secured. To meet this achievement, IEEE802.15.4 supported ZigBee PRO protocol together with sensors and embedded system is shown as Wireless Sensor (WS) for DRG bidirectional network with prospect of attaining data monitoring facilities. The prospect towards utilizing ZigBee PRO protocol can be a cost effective option for full integration of intelligent DRG and small scale Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV)/Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) under SG roadmap (Phase4: 2016–2017) conducted by Malaysia national utility company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). Moreover, we have provided a direction to utilize the effectiveness of ZigBee-WS network with the existing optical communication backbone for data importing from the end DRG site to the TNB control center. A comparative study is carried out among developing countries on recent trends of SG progress which reveals that some common projects like smart metering and DRG integration are on priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy is undoubtedly the environment friendly and inexhaustible energy resource for humans. The concept of hydronic asphalt pavement (HAP) is an emerging renewable energy technology, which provides an interesting method for solar energy utilization. The innovation of HAP is to mitigate a series of realistic problems related to the asphalt pavement as well as the depletion of fossil energy resource. Fluid circulating through the pipes network imbedded in the asphalt pavement can capture the solar energy and store for later use. This paper summaries the major achievements of the existing literatures about the HAP and gives some proposals for further investigations. Studies have confirmed the feasibility of harvesting solar energy, cooling the pavement, snow melting/deicing as well as air conditioning of buildings by applying innovation technologies on asphalt pavement. As seasonal energy storage technology is relatively mature at present, most of the literatures reviews focus on the influences of variables associated with system behavior as well as the heat transfer processes during snow melting and solar energy collection. Future work should aim to do more urgent issues involved with HAP application: construction technology, maintenance technology, and long-term performance. Solving these problems can strengthen the theoretical and practical understanding of HAP, and lead to more extensive applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years there has been several technological advances in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), but energy still remains a paramount resource. The amount of available energy has a direct effect on the performance, functionality and lifetime of WSN. Being bound by cost and size, sensor nodes are usually equipped with limited amount of energy and therefore requires a replacement of batteries occasionally. But replacement might not always be feasible option and in some scenarios might even be prohibitive. This indicates the need for more viable solutions, these involve generating energy at the sensor nodes or have it delivered to them i.e., energy harvesting or wireless energy transfer. The objective of this paper is threefold: first we present a survey on potential renewable energy resources along with their characteristics and applications in WSN. Second, this study also describes various battery recharging techniques and their applications with respect to WSN. Finally, we discuss formidable issues, challenges and future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing is the capital of China, serving as the center of China’s politics, culture and education. The exploitation and utilization of renewable energy has become an important developmental carrier for Beijing, which is also a key channel for optimizing energy consumption structure, building a high-efficiency and low-carbon energy system, relieving the environmental pressure and ensuring the energy secure of Beijing. In this paper, Beijing’s renewable energy industry was analyzed. First, Beijing’s renewable energy resources, which include biomass energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy and hydro energy, were introduced from two aspects of energy resource distribution and energy resource utilization. Second, the development status of Beijing’s renewable energy industry (including biomass, solar and wind energy industry) was expounded. Then, the obstacles of Beijing’s renewable energy industry were analyzed. Finally, some proposals for the healthy development of Beijing’s renewable energy industry were put forward, which will contribute to build a clean, safe, efficient and low-carbon energy system for Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure properties of lithium-ion battery determine the specific energy and specific power of renewable energy vehicle and have attracted extensive concerns. Fundamental innovations in battery system depend on the structure properties, of which graphene and concentration gradient structures become increasingly prospective. As the performance of structure closely relates to the battery performance and the advancement of battery technologies, the paper, based on the research work at our laboratory, discusses about the structure model and energy system design and analyzes the evolution of lithium batteries to provide scientific insights and technical advices for the development of renewable energy vehicle. The review shows that nano and graphene models, with their corresponding energy systems, significantly improve the performance of lithium batteries, thus supporting longer mileage and service life, while providing new ideas for the design of renewable energy vehicles. Compared with other power batteries, lithium-ion batteries are advantageous in addressing the requirements raised by battery electric vehicles, such as, long mileage, high-current charging, and safety. Therefore, lithium batteries are reliable and feasible for the deployment in battery electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Alternative fuels have numerous advantages compared to fossil fuels as they are renewable and biodegradable besides providing energy security and foreign exchange saving addressing environmental concerns, and socio-economic issues as well. Therefore renewable fuels can be predominantly used as fuel for transportation and power generation applications. In view of this exhaustive experiments on the use of producer gas for both spark ignition (SI) and compression ignition (CI) engine applications for short and long term trial runs have been reported in the literature. Today, the use of biomass derived producer gas is more reliant for addressing rural power generation and is a promising technique for controlling both NO x and soot emission levels. Researchers have found that, the brake thermal efficiency of producer gas operated single and dual-fuel engines were far lower compared to diesel/biodiesel operated engine and suggested that, this can be improved by improving the fuel properties, adopting good operating parameters or altering engine design. In order to address this, many researchers/scientists have proposed different solutions for enhancing the performance of a producer gas operated engine. Majority of the research work is focused on the utilization of compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in engines operated on both single and dual fuel mode. However, use of producer gas in engines still needs more detailed studies, as this area is less investigated. Literature review suggests that the combustion characteristics of the producer gas operated engines need extensive research for a long-term use in both gas and dual-fuel engine. In this context, this paper mainly presents a literature review based on the utilization of producer gas as fuel for transport and power generation applications. Based on the review of literatures, it can be concluded that this area requires more research with long term engine operation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper discusses the potential of renewable energy, investment and CO2 mitigation by renewable energy technologies. Currently, India's per-capita emissions are around one tonne of CO2/year. The present energy scene offers India a window of opportunity to invest in renewable energy. The annual turnover of renewable energy industry has reached $12.3 billion in 2011, which is 36% higher than 2010 investment of $7.5 billion. Increasing the share of renewable energy in overall energy mix is an effective option to mitigate CO2 emission. Presently, the share of renewable energy is around 12% in the energy mix. The present study estimated CO2 mitigation potential of Indian renewable energy sector about 203milliontonnes with an installed capacity of 24GW in 2012. However, enormous potential identified in renewable energy sector with favorable CO2 mitigation the government is compromising with limited financial resources. However, policy efforts need to be strengthened to encourage a massive scale-up of renewable technologies to build sustained low carbon economy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The past 20 years have brought significant changes in the evolution of the energy sector in Romania. Even if it is considered a country with high potential for renewable energies, these are not fully exploited. European Union accession has determined significant changes in energy policy, energy legislation alignment and promotion of renewable energy. In this context, the paper aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the renewable energy sector in Romania. Based on an extensive research of Romanian energy policy and legislation, the article presents the Romanian energy sector and the current status of the main renewable energy sources. The information was gathered from the available data in statistical reports, energy and environment strategies, energy companies' reports, NGO studies and research articles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]