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This paper presents the challenges of increasing the energy efficiency investments in European Union (EU) residential buildings in the context of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The paper presents the results of the PRIMES buildings model in key energy policy applications to support cost-effective and fair policy making in buildings across Europe. The model covers, in detail, the building sector for all the EU Member States (MS), segmenting the buildings into many categories. The approach proposed includes non-market barriers in conventional microeconomic modelling, which combined with idiosyncratic preferences can capture poor energy efficiency choices and still represent rational behaviours. The model includes a detailed portrayal of policies specific to the sector, comprising economic and regulatory policies as well as institutional measures. The results of the model show that the removal of non-market barriers is of great importance in reducing energy consumption and increasing both the pace and the depth of renovation investment. However, the institutional measures alone are not enough to induce energy efficiency improvement to the scale required to achieve the climate neutrality objectives. Economic (i.e., subsidies) or regulatory measures (i.e., energy performance standards) are also required to decrease emissions and energy consumption in buildings and the paper compares different configurations thereof. The optimum policy mix obviously derives from a compromise among various aims including the cost-effectiveness of the policy budget and the distributional impacts across building and consumer types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since modern times, the increase in shipborne equipment has brought tremendous pressure to the energy supply system. Establishing an accurate and reliable energy consumption model that reflects the dynamic characteristics of the system will provide an essential theoretical reference for energy efficiency optimization. This paper proposes a modeling method that considers both the dynamic characteristics and energy consumption characteristics of the system, based on the power bond-graph theory. Firstly, the transmission principle and energy transfer process of hydraulic and electric helicopter traction devices are analyzed. Then, the energy consumption is analyzed, and the state equation and energy equation of the system are established. Finally, the simulation tests are carried out. The results show that the proposed dynamic modeling method is reasonable and effective and can well reflect the dynamic characteristics and energy consumption characteristics of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current legal and policy system of renewable energy in China has set up a framework of policy instruments, which provides an important foundation for dealing with climate change and promoting the healthy development of the renewable energy industry with the goal of "carbon neutrality" and "emission peak". However, the current policy instruments cannot meet the needs for rapid development of the renewable energy industry. This paper investigates, analyzes, and concludes the status of renewable energy development along with related policy instruments in different renewable energy sources by literature and points out the problems of current policy instruments, and puts forward corresponding countermeasures. Moreover, from the perspective of energy consumption market transformation, the authors carried out an analysis of China's challenges of policy instruments, pointing out that China's renewable energy policy instruments have the potential to take one step further in the areas of the regulatory system, legal system and legal security system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption is an important indicator for measuring economic development and is closely related to the atmospheric environment. As a demonstration zone for China's high-quality development, the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area imposes higher requirements on ecological environment and sustainable development. Therefore, accurate data on energy consumption is crucial for high-quality green development. However, the statistical data on local energy consumption in China is insufficient, and the lack of data is severe, which hinders the analysis of energy consumption at the metropolitan level and the precise implementation of energy policies. Nighttime light data have been widely used in the inversion of energy consumption, but they can only reflect socio-economic activities at night with certain limitations. In this study, a random forest model was developed to estimate metropolitan-level energy consumption in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area from 2000 to 2020 based on nighttime light data, population data, and urban impervious surface data. The estimation results show that our model shows good performance with an R2 greater than 0.9783 and MAPE less than 9%. A long time series dataset from 2000 to 2020 on energy consumption distribution at a resolution of 500 m in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area was built using our model with a top-down weight allocation method. The spatial and temporal dynamics of energy consumption in the Greater Bay Area were assessed at both the metropolitan and grid levels. The results show a significant increase in energy consumption in the Greater Bay Area with a clear clustering, and approximately 90% of energy consumption is concentrated in 22% of the area. This study established an energy consumption estimation model that comprehensively considers population, urban distribution, and nighttime light data, which effectively solves the problem of missing statistical data and accurately reflects the spatial distribution of energy consumption of the whole Bay Area. This study provides a reference for spatial pattern analysis and refined urban management and energy allocation for regions lacking statistical data on energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition, patterns in residential activities and energy consumption, as well as the causal relationship between residential energy consumption and work patterns, are analyzed. Energy behaviors have increasing importance in the design of policies and programs that promote transitions to a low-carbon and more sustainable future. [Extracted from the article]

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the energy sector. The new behavior of industrial and non-commercial consumers changes the energy consumption model. In addition, the constraints associated with the coronavirus crisis have led to environmental effects from declining economic activity. The research is based on evidence from around the world showing significant reductions in emissions and improved air quality. This situation requires rethinking the energy development strategy, particularly the construction of smart grids as a leading direction of energy development. Evaluating the efficiency of smart grids is a vital tool for disseminating successful experience in improving their management. This paper proposes an approach to a comprehensive assessment of smart grids based on a comparative analysis of existing methods, taking into account the changes that need to be considered after the experience gained from the COVID-19 pandemic. The approach provides an accurate set of efficiency indicators for assessing smart grids to account for the direct and indirect effects of smart grids' implementation. This evaluation approach can be helpful to policymakers in developing energy efficiency programs and implementing energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of gendered energy transition at an urban scale has emerged as a challenging issue for researchers, policy makers and practitioners. With municipalities becoming players in the energy markets, their involvement raises policy issues that need to be better assessed in supporting gendered energy transition. This paper, therefore, contributes to gendered energy transition assessments at urban household level from a policy maker perspective. We developed a system dynamics model to assess the effects of urban energy policy interventions on household energy consumption and gendered measures using Drakenstein Municipality as a case study. The study used secondary data from various sources for the model parameters. We tested three hypothetical policy scenarios: the business-as-usual, the energy subsidy policy and the energy efficiency policy. The results show that understanding the changes in urban household energy consumption and gendered measures due to energy transition interventions is essential for urban policy planning. The energy subsidy policy scenario was observed to increase total energy consumption but also resulted in socio-environmental impacts that might increase inequality and impair human health. Urban household energy transition interventions need to consider a systems approach to develop decision support tools that capture the cross-sector impacts and inform the development of interventions that promote gendered household energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the structure of primary energy consumption in European countries, utilizing data from the Eurostat database, and focuses on the years 1990 and 2021. Through cluster analysis, countries were categorized based on their consumption patterns, revealing significant insights into energy security. The findings indicate a discernible shift away from solid fossil fuels, with renewable energy sources witnessing the most substantial growth. Natural gas, serving as a transitional fuel, has seen a rise in consumption, while nuclear energy's development remained relatively stagnant. Oil, despite its declining share, remains a crucial component in the European energy mix. The study also highlights the challenges and implications of over-reliance on a single energy source, emphasizing the need for a diversified energy strategy. The analysis underscores the importance of diversifying primary energy sources to ensure energy security. While renewable sources are environmentally favorable, their inherent instability necessitates backup from other energy sources. Solid fossil fuels, despite their availability, face challenges due to environmental concerns. Natural gas, while flexible, requires extensive infrastructure and is highly politicized. Nuclear energy, despite its potential as an ideal complement to renewables, faces barriers in terms of investment and public perception. Oil, though convenient, is a fossil source with associated CO2 emissions and largely needs to be imported. In conclusion, the study advocates for a well-diversified set of energy sources tailored to individual country-specific situations, emphasizing the importance of strategic planning in energy consumption to ensure long-term energy security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decisions regarding waste and emission management systems are subject to many sustainability criteria, including environmental, social, and economic criteria. The problem is the multidimensionality of the energy transformation and its reading from different perspectives. This article aims to assess the effectiveness of the municipal energy policy. The VIKOR multicriteria analysis approach to modeling and Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation were chosen for the method. The approach made it possible to create a ranking and choose a compromise solution. The analyses were carried out for four areas of intervention (ETS tariffs), in which a set of four general criteria and twelve specific criteria were distinguished, and based on the weights assigned, rankings were created highlighting the activities that have the greatest impact on low emission in urban areas. Based on the analyses, it was found that the most significant impact on reducing emissions in urban areas has led to decisions to increase investments in renewable energy sources and promote the reduction in household energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to energy, including electricity, determines countries' socio-economic development. The growing demand for electricity translates into environmental problems. Energy is therefore a crucial element of the European Union's sustainable development strategy. This article aims to present the changes taking place in the electricity market in Poland considering the goals of the energy policy until 2040. This is the basis for the determination of the scale of processes taking place in the Polish energy sector from two perspectives, i.e., the production of electricity considering its level and energy carriers used, and the consumption of electricity in households depending on their location (rural vs. urban areas). The research was conducted at the regional level (NUTS 2 until 2017) in Poland. Secondary data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS) contained in the Local Data Bank were used, along with information from the European Commission and Eurostat websites. Results of the study made it possible to identify areas in which a greater environmental load is observed due to increasing electricity consumption. The coefficient of localization and concentration (by Florence) and the rate of change were applied. These results indicate that, in Poland, it is now the rural areas that have a greater negative environmental impact than urban areas, resulting from differences in unit energy consumption. Compared to the other provinces, rural areas of Podlaskie province had the highest rate of growth in energy consumption in the years 2004–2019, with an annual average of almost 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]