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To achieve carbon neutrality quickly and deal with urban greenhouse effect, it is necessary to study the energy consumption of urban buildings. Energy consumption prediction is an important step in planning and managing energy use in buildings. At present, few studies have comprehensively considered the relationship between geometric features, functional types, location and energy use of buildings in urban built-up areas. In this paper, a spatial data-driven framework is introduced for the analysis and assessment of building energy consumption. The framework is grounded in the building centroid and is combined with single photon radar and point of interest data through the utilization of the nearest neighbor classification algorithm. Two megacities, Beijing and Shanghai, are taken as examples to illustrate the method and to generate the regional building energy use database. The results show that: a) building physical feature (geometric form, functional type) have a significant impact on energy consumption, and energy consumption is correlated with the economic level of the region; b) Energy use in urban built-up areas has obvious spatial agglomeration characteristics, and the siphon effect is obvious in region with high energy consumption. The contribution of the framework is to provide insights into the feasibility of employing multiple spatial data fusion for the analysis of energy consumption within urban built-up areas. This can be employed to address energy planning concerns and help promote sustainable environmental practices in urban areas worldwide. • This paper attempts to provide a feasible framework for analyzing urban building energy use by utilizing real-time urban semantic perception information and building features. • The proposed framework have comprehensively considered the relationship between geometric features, functional types, location and energy use of buildings. • The proposed methodology can obtain regional energy consumption stocks and produce spatial distribution results, thus improving the interpretability of the data. • The results show that energy use in urban built-up areas has obvious spatial agglomeration characteristics, and the siphoning effect is obvious in regions with high energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated energy systems within communities play a pivotal role in addressing the diverse energy requirements of the system, emerging as a central focus in contemporary research. This paper contributes to exploring optimal scheduling in a smart community featuring multiple smart buildings equipped with a substantial share of distributed photovoltaic sources, shared energy storage, and controllable loads. The study formulates a two-stage scheduling optimization model incorporating multiple stakeholders, explicitly examining the game dynamics between the smart community operator and the customer load aggregator. The weights assigned to each optimization objective are determined using an analytic hierarchy process-entropy weight method to establish a balanced and nuanced approach. The ensuing optimal scheduling encompasses unit output and energy trading considerations, focusing on enhancing the system's economic viability, safety measures, and environmental sustainability. A comprehensive evaluation is conducted to validate the proposed model by comparing its performance with alternative operational strategies. The results show that the designed strategy can reduce the operating cost by 40.22% and increase the level of PV consumption by 22.57% compared to the traditional heat-based strategy, which is effective in mitigating power fluctuations, smartly responding to dispatch peak demand, enhancing new energy integration, and ensuring the security of grid operation. • Energy optimization dispatch model considering demand side response. • Shared energy storage in smart communities. • Multi-subject game to maximize benefits. • Reduce energy costs and improve operational safety. • Ensure photovoltaic output and realize thermoelectric decoupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of energy transition amidst the energy crisis and how policymakers can drive down emissions while focusing on energy security are critical. Given the geo-political situation, energy crisis volatility, energy shortage and climate change all affect the green transition and the short-term priorities for energy companies and policymakers. Energy security is not an isolated issue but has widespread implications as various sectors depend on energy supply to function properly. Governments around the world are faced with this trilemma, how to balance energy security with energy sustainability while also considering energy affordability. Sustainability has been in focus for about a decade. However, energy security is suddenly becoming one of the most important priorities that policymakers need to consider. Unfortunately, the renewable energy infrastructure is not yet ready to replace the growing volume of energy demand from hydrocarbon, which the world has been dependent on. This means, for now, a surge in energy generation through hydrocarbon to meet the existing energy demand deficit. However, it is important not to lose focus on the challenge of energy sustainability and climate change adaption and mitigation. Where trends like carbon capture and storage; solar, wind, hydro, green hydrogen, etc.; renewable energy infrastructure and integrations, with supply chain and engineering services consideration [in aspect for the growing market in this space] need better attention with regards to investment and full-scale implementation. This paper aims to analyze this 1st energy crisis of green transition with a priori on energy poverty with consideration of major influences and associated impacts. Furthermore, it proposes a specific framework for inclusive investigations, which considers the entire energy ecosystem with consideration of major influences, to enable the policymakers to better drive the green transition. This involves formulating energy policies that are not entirely conservative towards renewable energy sources but instead promote investments in both green and relatively more environmentally benign energy sources compared to high emission hydrocarbons. In this regard, this paper renders exhaustive prospects and recommendations. • The nexus between energy transition, energy poverty and their impacts are investigated. • Influence of climate change, COVID-19, geo-politics, and energy infrastructure on energy transition. • Exhaustive prospects and recommendations are rendered. • Requirement for inclusive investigations and recognition of energy poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces an innovative hybrid system integrating renewable biomass and geothermal energy sources to address contemporary technological and environmental challenges. The proposed system enhances geothermal power plant operations by utilizing biomass combustion products for superheating the steam turbine's inlet stream. Additionally, it incorporates a modified Kalina cycle, flash desalination, and a multi-effect desalination subsystem to efficiently utilize the geothermal plant's waste heat, enabling the simultaneous production of power, heating, cooling, and freshwater. The system's performance is assessed through a combination of thermodynamic and economic analyses. A parametric study investigates the influence of four critical decision parameters on system operations. Moreover, a multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm, coupled with a LINMAP decision-making approach, is employed to identify the system's optimal operational state. Results indicate that the system can generate 776.3 kW of power, 237 kW of heating, 15.5 kW of cooling, and 20.35 kg/s of freshwater. This operation mode yields an exergy efficiency of 19.61 % and an economic benefit of 2.78 M$, highlighting the system's dual efficiency and profitability. The performance is significantly influenced by the effectiveness of Heat Exchanger 1. Optimal system performance, characterized by an exergy efficiency of 20.55 % and a payback period of 5.21 years, is also achieved. These findings underscore the system's potential in sustainable energy production and resource optimization. • Proposing a novel geothermal and biomass-based multi-generation system. • Representing an economic analysis by direct and indirect costs consideration. • Comparing two multi-objective optimization scenarios. • Producing net power and freshwater rate of 776.3 kW and 20.35 kg/s. • Achieving a payback period and exergy efficiency of 5.21 years and 20.55 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient operation of the gas field supply chain is an important guarantee for oil and gas energy security, and it needs to dynamically adapt to upstream and market fluctuations. This paper proposes an innovative design and operation optimization mixed integer nonlinear programming (MILP) method for distributed supply chain based on skid equipment. Unlike the traditional methods, the proposed MILP method can simultaneously obtain upstream production planning, midstream modular equipment and processing capacity allocation, and downstream transportation allocation schemes for various natural gas products such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG) and pipeline natural gas (PNG) of each time periods by making the maximum net present value (NPV) of the full development cycle as the target. In order to prove the superiority and usability of the proposed method, four operation scheduling modes are compared through two comprehensive case analysis. Additionally, the effects of gas well productivity, market demand and product price are investigated through sensitivity analysis. The results show that comparing with the traditional method, the proposed method can effectively improve the loading rate of the processing equipment, increase the overall revenue of gas field development, integrate the operation in the upstream, midstream and downstream of the supply chain, dynamically adapt to the gas production and marketing fluctuations. This study provides a creative way to obtain better profit, reduce energy utilization and promote cleaner production for sustainable supplies management in gas industry. • A sustainable supply chain of distributed multi-product gas field based on skid equipment. • Production planning of upstream gas wells and allocation of downstream multiple products are considered. • Multi-product, modular facilities and multiple transportation mode are integrated. • The practicality of the optimization method is testified by two case studies. • Sensitivity analysis is employed to investigate the impact of uncertainty parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploiting low-carbon, clean, and stable medium-deep geothermal energy is critical to achieving clean and sustainable heating for buildings in northern China. The medium-deep U-type borehole heat exchanger (MDUBHE) system is a novel technology that has emerged recently for exploiting deep geothermal energy. However, previous studies mainly analyzed the heating characteristics of the MDUBHE system in a single building type (i.e., continuous operational conditions), and the long-term (15-year) heating performance under different operational conditions is still unclear. Moreover, the heating sustainability of the system in different regions has not been clarified. Therefore, to promote the application of the MDUBHE system, this paper conducts numerical simulations to analyze the system's long-term heating performance, thermal recovery characteristics of rock and soil, and the system's energy efficiency under different operational conditions and regions. The results show that the MDUBHE system has high heating sustainability under different working conditions. After 15 years of operation, the maximum decay rate of MDUBHE's outlet water temperature is less than 3.15 % under different operating conditions and less than 3.01 % in different regions. In addition, the maximum decay rate of total system heating capacity is less than 8.86 % under different operating conditions and less than 7.60 % in different regions. Furthermore, the intermittent operation of the system and the higher thermophysical properties of rock and soil can enhance the rock-soil's thermal recovery. The MDUBHE system can efficiently operate over the long term under different working conditions. The maximum decay rates of the system's energy efficiency are less than 1.86 % under different operating conditions and less than 1.60 % in different regions. The study could promote the application of the MDUBHE system in different regions. [Display omitted] • Heat extraction model for medium-deep U-type borehole heat exchanger system is presented. • Long-term heating performance of the system and soil temperature variation are clarified. • Intermittent operation improves system energy efficiency and promotes soil thermal recovery. • The system has robust long-term heating sustainability under different working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the reference architecture of a model for sustainable local planning and sector coupling based on an energy-community framework. The proposed approach includes four building blocks: (1) the data-acquisition building block - local energy consumption, (2) the building block for modelling and calculations - local energy conversions, (3) the building block for connecting the infrastructure status and needs with development plans of the energy-network operators and aggregators, and (4) the decision-support building block for local environmental, spatial and energy planning. The proposed approach was tested in a real industrial environment and a local community. Initial simulation results confirmed that excess heat from the energy-intensive company has the potential to replace the natural gas that is currently used for the production of heat in a local district-heating system. The natural gas savings in the district-heating system would be 3,299,676 Nm3, as the excess heat could cover as much as 68.4 % of the required heat for the local community. It has also been proven that complex modelling and simulation of a future sustainable solution can contribute to its optimization, understanding, and acceptance by all stakeholders and thereby increase the potential of the project's implementation. • Concept of the reference architecture of an energy community model is proposed. • The proposed concept enables a systematic sustainable local planning. • Utilization of the excess heat from the energy intensive company is presented. • The main challenge is the appropriate involvement of all relevant stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scale-up of urban electric vehicle (EV) fleets, driven by environmental benefits, is resulting in surging aggregate energy demands that may reshape a city's power supply. This paper establishes an integrated data-driven assessment model for investigating the energy use (kWh) patterns and charging load (kW) profiles of urban-scale EV fleets. To this end, urban EV operating and operational datasets are linked with climate data and vehicle specifications. Four vehicle fleet types are distinguished: private, taxi, rental, and business fleets. Statistical models regarding distribution analysis, spectrum analysis, and identical distribution tests are employed to analyze the patterns of driving distances, energy consumption, and shares of active charging EVs. The minute-level changes in charging EV numbers and aggregate charging power are examined to reflect the grid load impact. The results show that private light-duty EVs in Beijing consume an average of 9.1 kWh/day, with more charging activities on Fridays. The primary load peaks of light-duty EVs in Beijing usually occur between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., attributable chiefly to the private fleet's midnight peak load estimated at 28 % of the total daily charging private EV count multiplied by 5.5 kW/EV. Secondary peaks occur between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. on weekdays for private fleets, and at 4 p.m. for public fleets. Our work can be extensively used for analyses on transport emissions, urban power supply, infrastructure build-ups, and policymaking. • An integrated data-driven model for large-scale EV operation analysis is proposed. • Real-world energy use patterns and load profiles of urban EV fleets are unveiled. • Urban-scale EV big data are utilized for fact-based assessments. • Diverse data sources are linked through spatiotemporal information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel multigenerational integrated system that is able to produce five useful commodities, such as freshwater, space heating, hot water, power and hydrogen for a community, is proposed and investigated. The system uniquely covers heat storage by molten salt heat storage along with hydrogen production by magnesium-chlorine (Mg–Cl) based thermochemical cycle. Additionally, the present system has a multi-effect desalination plant to provide freshwater community needs. A solar power tower is offered due to its capability of harvesting high energy levels. The heat recovered by the solar power receiver is passed through an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) to meet the need for the high-temperature level that is required for the thermochemical cycle. The molten salt storage tanks are used to offset the mismatch between demand and supply for the necessary energy to run the system in case of the absence of solar irradiation. The suggested system is intended to leverage solar and geothermal energy sources to generate practical necessities like power, heat, and hot water for residential applications of a projected community. The system is then analyzed in detail thermodynamically in the context of exergy and energy approaches. In addition, the subsystems are analyzed parametrically to study the performance of the overall system to observe how the ambient and working conditions change the system efficiencies. The city of Vancouver in Canada is selected as the potential location where the system performance assessment is carried out accordingly. As a result of the present thermodynamic analysis, the energetic and exergetic efficiencies for the system are obtained as 45.45% and 52.32%. The total exergy destruction rate is another exergy metric to compare both versions, where the rate of 163967.39 kW exergy destruction is obtained for the overall system. • A novel multigenerational integrated system developed with the Mg–Cl thermochemical cycle • Energy and exergy approaches and thermodynamics used to analyze the system efficiencies • Parametric study is carried out to observe the various effects on system performance. • The energy and exergy efficiencies found 45.45% and 49.65% to produce hydrogen, power, fresh water, and heat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable lipids can be converted into jet fuel-range alkanes via catalytic hydrotreatment, and many researches have been conducted over the past few decades. Relevant specification for Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (HEFA-SPK) has been approved by American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), and lipids-derived aviation fuel has been used in the commercial flights because of its obvious advantages in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. This paper introduces production processes for sustainable aviation fuels by hydroprocessing of lipids. First, the properties of lipids and their pretreatment methods are introduced. Hydrotreating catalysts, including supported single/bimetallic catalysts, metal sulfide catalysts, metal oxide catalysts, metal carbide and nitride catalysts, are introduced by category, and their catalytic mechanism in the hydroprocessing of lipids is discussed. In addition, several major commercial production technologies and techno-economic evaluations for the production of bio-aviation fuel from lipids are introduced. Finally, major challenges and promising prospects are also pointed out for the future development of conversion of lipids to aviation fuels. HEFA-SPK (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene) is an important type of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced from lipids. This work carefully reviewed and summarized the properties of lipid feedstocks and pretreatment, hydrotreating catalysts, production processes and techno-economic evaluation. [Display omitted] • The properties of lipids and its pretreatment methods were introduced. • Hydrotreating catalysts of lipids were summarized by category. • Deoxygenation routes (HDO, DCN or DCX) of triglyceride depend on catalyst and reaction conditions. • Major commercial production technologies of jet fuel from lipids were introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy infrastructure literature focuses on the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability, neglecting the social dimension. Particularly obscure is how the programme governance frameworks of energy projects and programmes shape their social performance. We address this gap in knowledge by leveraging a cross-case analysis of comparable energy infrastructures planned and delivered in contexts with different programme governance frameworks (i.e., Iran, Italy, Nigeria, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the USA). This article first clarifies how investigating social sustainability at the infrastructure/project level is inadequate, showing that the overarching programme governance framework - set at the country level - is a major driver for social sustainability. Second, this article identifies three perspectives to examine the link between the programme governance framework and social sustainability: 1) Types of contracts, 2) Leadership of the infrastructure programme, and 3) Maturity of the legal and regulatory framework. These perspectives are combined to provide a novel analytical framework, useful to both examine the present status and plan future energy infrastructures. Last, this article discusses the findings from a policy perspective deriving a research agenda. • The literature about energy infrastructures focuses on their economic and environmental impact; • The social sustainability dimension of energy infrastructures is often neglected; • This paper fills this gap by an empirical cross-case analysis; • It identifies three perspectives to look at the link between programme governance framework and social sustainability; • The programme governance framework is a major driver for social sustainability; [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proposing an effective multi-source plant is a promising approach to achieving higher performance in energy systems. By utilizing multiple energy sources, such as renewable and conventional sources, synergistically, a multi-source plant can enhance system efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. This paper presents a novel combination of a gas turbine cycle and a geothermal system for power and freshwater production, where the gas turbine cycle is an integration of modified methane and biomass-based systems. The proposed plant aims to improve the performance of conventional systems by considering thermodynamic, economic, and multi-objective optimization perspectives. Energy, exergy, and economic analyses are applied to assess the system's performance. Two double-objective optimizations are carried out to obtain the system's operation mode at the optimum state. The results reveal that the combustion chamber has the highest exergy destruction rate by 2967 kW. At the base operation conditions, the design system provides 5601 kW of net power, a freshwater production rate of 10.05 kg/s, and 39.5% of exergy efficiency. Furthermore, considering the net power-freshwater production rate as the optimization scenario, the optimum of 7070.52 kW net power and 41.16% exergy efficiency. While, considering exergy efficiency-exergy destruction as the objective scenario, the best payback period is obtained to be 5.71 years. • Proposal and assessment of a novel multi-source power and freshwater production cycle. • Reporting the highest exergy destruction rate of 2967 kW for the combustion chamber. • Reporting 5601 kW net power and 10.05 kg/s freshwater in the designed system at the base operating conditions. • Achieving 41.16% exergetic efficiency with 5.86 years payback period and 10.85 M$ NPV in the second optimization scenario. • The best payback period is reported for the second optimization scenario by 5.71 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient, economic and environmentally friendly aircrafts and their operations have become the motivation of research nowadays after the COVID-19 pandemic has spread around the world. This paper presents a combined solid oxide fuel cell with a turbofan engine system in order to potentially improve the aviation performance. Two different analyses are conducted through exergy and exergoeconomic approaches. Also, the paper investigates five alternative fuels with five fuel blends on the system performance. It is founded that the overall exergetic performance is almost the same among the five fuel blends of 82% exergetic efficiency and 18% exergy destruction ratio. In addition, using the methanol and hydrogen fuel blend appears to be the most economical way of achieving a relative cost difference of 38% and minimum price of electricity generation in the range of 108–621 $/GJ for turbines and SOFC. However, using the dimethyl ether and hydrogen fuel blend is the least favorable. • Five alternative fuels are chosen with different concentrations. • Combined SOFC-turbofan engine has 82% high exergetic efficiency. • Combined SOFC-turbofan engine has 18% exergy destruction ratio. • Combined engine has a total annual levelized investment cost rate of 76190 $/h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of technology and innovation has made the performance of the new-generation machinery generally better than that of retired machinery. Simply using remanufacturing technology to bring retired machinery back into specifications of previous life will lead to reduced demands from consumers because of the out-of-date functioning remanufactured products. This technology gap (TG) is rarely considered in existing researches. This paper proposes an emergy based sustainability assessment model for retired machinery to solve this problem. Firstly, the TG between retired and new-generation machinery is quantified as functional devaluation from the perspectives of energy, environment and society through emergy theory. Secondly, the added value of retired machinery is derived from the evaluation of remanufacturing cost. Among them, the remanufacturing cost is predicted based on the BP Neural Networks. Then, this paper combines the functional devaluation and added value of retired mechanery to calculate the sustainability indicator. Finally, the feasibility of this study was verified by the sustainability evaluation of the WD615.50 diesel engine, and the results show that the WD615.50 diesel engine has no potential for re-service. • The functional devaluation of retired machinery is proposed by emergy theory. • The added value and sustainability of retired machinery are analyzed. • The intrinsic connection between technological progress and remanufacturing behavior is revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the expansion of the scale of the petrochemical industry, the occurrence of safety production accidents has seriously affected people's livelihood and property. Many countries have developed emergency response systems for preventing and responding to kinds of accidents. In this paper, an emergency response framework whose mainly includes the configuration and management of emergency supplies is proposed by a multi-objective optimization method, considering pre-disaster and post-disaster stages. In the pre-accident stage, the configuration plan of emergency materials is obtained by solving the mathematical model according to the actual production of the enterprise. In the post-accident phase, based on the number of materials stored in the previous stage, third-party emergency forces are considered to optimize the delivery of materials by a multi-objective model. Finally, a petrochemical enterprise in Zhoushan, Zhejiang is taken as an example to illustrate the validity and practicability of the proposed framework. The framework can complete rescue work under the requirements of enterprise budget and rescue time, so as to reduce the safety and environmental impact caused by accidents, such as air pollution caused by fire accidents, marine pollution caused by leakage accidents, etc. In the analysis, all scheme in model can complete more than 80% of the commodity scheduling within half an hour, which is better than the actual situation of the enterprise. This study provides the way to reduce material utilization and promote cleaner production for sustainable supplies management in petrochemical enterprise. • A multi-objective method for emergency response of in petrochemical enterprise is proposed. • The multi-objective framework including pre-disaster and post-disaster stages integrates costs and rescue time. • Scheduling in the post-disaster stage considers the role of the third-party emergency force in the petrochemical. • The model gives a variety of schemes that can be chosen, which are beneficial to economical and rescue time. • A real-field case study is used to prove the practicality and advantages of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper present a research on the performance efficiency and sustainability of an Oscillating Water Column (OWC) simple off-shore device, accounting for the influence of governing thermodynamic variables (moisture, temperature, pressure) in the compression/expansion polytropic process. The work proposes a simple off-shore OWC experimental set up as the basis of the study. The analysis takes into consideration both gas subsystems inside and outside the OWC, to achieve a better understanding of the conservative nature of entropy system variable, the net exchange balance, the effects on efficiency and exergy destruction, and the interpretation of the OWC as a thermodynamic engine. Results show that, within the context of the set up, moderate wave climate conditions contribute to a better efficiency of the device in terms of output power, providing with a low impact on exergy destruction and high sustainability in terms of renewability index. • The turbine acts like a restraint of the system. • The non-dimensional average pneumatic power output remains essentially constant. • The higher the relative depth the lower the relative available useful work obtained. • The higher the exergy efficiency, the higher the renewability index. • The exergy efficiency and the renewability index are higher in shallow water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplying the heating and cooling needs of a soilless vertical farming system for an intensive and sheltered fodder production system is explored. This paper describes a full system consisting of a Hydroponic Greenhouse (HG), a freshwater tank, and a Multi-Level Pipes Exchanger System (ML_PESys). The ML_PESys warrants the conditioning of the HG and operates in two modes: summer mode during hot periods and winter mode during cold periods, by activating the optimal number of layers. In this work, a dynamic modeling and experimental approach are followed to examine the thermo-energetic setting of the hydroponic greenhouse. Furthermore, an energetic balance is performed to substantiate the chosen model and uphold its validation. The hydroponic greenhouse is heated via a solar water system composed mainly of two evacuated tube solar collectors and cooled with freshwater. An experimental case study is conducted to examine the effect of conditioning on the greenhouse microclimate and its effects on forage growth and productivity. An HGH-Sim model was also used to substantiate the ML_PESys performance in both summer and winter. After validating the model, the numerical results showed an increase in nighttime temperature of between 5 and 6 °C during the test period and a diurnal temperature drop of about 6 °C throughout the warm period. The cooling process was only done in the daytime. The benefit of this application is to increase plant height and get more yield. Compared to traditional feed, hydroponic fodder improves health and reduces feed requirements for livestock. The novelty of this research refers to presenting a new approach aiming to ensure the energy supply of a hydroponic greenhouse for forage crops including a new methodology and new observation. This study brings out the effect of implementing the innovative environmentally friendly conditioning system not only in ensuring the energy supply of a hydroponic greenhouse but also in improving the feed length and the harvest yield. • Thermal demand forecast of a hydroponic sheltered system (HG) for harsh winter and summer conditions. • Conditioning HG warrants by a Multi-Level Pipes Exchanger System (ML_PESys) operates in two modes. • Annual thermal model for a system connected to an air conditioning system. • Fodder growth in a hydroponic greenhouse with thermal conditioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Energy Council annually publishes the Energy Trilemma Index (ETI) to highlight an economy's challenges in balancing the Trilemma and opportunities for improvements in meeting energy goals at present and in the future. The ETI is constructed by taking the arithmetic average of energy security, energy equity (accessibility and affordability), environmental sustainability. This paper proposes an ensemble ranking methodology based on the half-quadratic theory, for measuring and comparing country-wide energy system performance using the ETI data. Specifically, all possible importance orders among energy security, energy equity, environmental sustainability are described as the ranked dimension weights to derive a new decision matrix with the country-specific rankings as elements. Then a half-quadratic programming approach is presented to estimate the ensemble ranking, along with the development of consensus index and trust level to indicate the level of agreement and reliability of the final ensemble ranking. An empirical study using the ETI 2020 data of 30 International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries is performed to demonstrate the implementation of the our methodology. • An ensemble ranking methodology based on the half-quadratic theory is proposed to measure national energy system performance. • A half-quadratic programming approach is developed to estimate the ensemble ranking. • The consensus index and trust level are developed to demonstrate the superiority of our methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of air conditioners (ACs) in developing regions exacerbates some of the issues present in their electricity systems. Direct Load Control strategies can manage peak loads for optimizing energy usage for users and utilities. When applied to air conditioning, these strategies can be used for Demand Side Management which has not been fully explored for developing regions. In this paper a novel Direct Load Control mechanism is proposed, wherein control is based on technical constraints (generation capacity). To determine the effects of the proposed mechanism, a case study of the Indian State of Karnataka is carried out. The results indicate 0.88% energy savings and a reduction of almost 2% in regional peak loads in a state where only around 5% of all households have AC units. The case study shows that an AC Direct Load Control can have significant economic and environmental impacts, and can help improve current energy, water and climate issues. Continuous improvements in both energy access and economic conditions of developing regions are leading to a larger number of AC's installed, meaning that a mechanism that enables sustainable AC consumption could be of great use for all the stakeholders in the developing countries' electricity sectors. • A novel Direct Load Control for residential air conditioning is proposed. • The control can be implemented in developing regions without price-based markets. • A case study of the novel control shows a summer demand reduction of 0.88%. • The reduction of the demand leads to environmental and economic benefits. • The proposed control reduces negative impacts of growing air conditioning demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy supply is essential for the development of any society and search for energy sustainability is a must with poverty reduction and environmental sustainability as the two challenges to consider for any energy scenario. Meanwhile environmental damage receives predominant attention in the energy sustainability analysis, a lack of attention exists to others, such as external dependence for energy supply or availability of enough energy for people. However, these factors also compromise the sustainability of the assumed policies. An analysis considering these three factors has been developed and applied to countries in the Mediterranean area by considering two well-defined zones: the North side with an adequate level of energy consumption, but with excessive CO 2 emissions and high external dependence on energy supply; and, by the contrary, the Middle East and North African countries, with a deficit in energy supply, but without problems in CO 2 emissions and external energy supply. Results show a requirement of a 100% renewable scenario for the countries in the North area, while those in the MENA need to increase drastically their energy demand with a significant contribution from renewable sources. Assuming a global scenario for the entire area, energy sustainability could be reached with less demanding requirements. • The paper presents a sustainability development index and an extrapolation algorithm. • The novel algorithm looks for sustainable scenarios of energy synergies. • Mediterranean area is chosen, considering the North zone and MENA countries. • 70% renewable scenario results necessary for a global scenario (North + MENA countries). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable growth is one of the major challenges of the XXI century; the antagonism between the needs of "development" and finiteness of natural resources is more and more evident, forcing international Agencies to endorse a "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" to promote, among other goals, a responsible management of natural resources. The key issue here is the lack of a consistent sustainability indicator to assess whether a country is moving in the right direction: for over seventy years, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been the main parameter to verify the "health" of a Society, but this is a controversial issue in the scientific community. The main concern expressed by Economists and Energy experts is that the GDP was conceived to evaluate the "marketable part" of a society being in contrast with either a sustainable development and a responsible exploitation of natural resources. According to its critics, developmental scenarios built on the GDP might in fact be unsustainable and extremely harmful for future generations. Against this background, several indicators were developed with the intention of replace or supplement such a purely monetary quantifier, but these efforts enjoyed little success, so that the GDP is still the tool of choice for governments and most international Agencies. The aim of the paper is to assess whether it is possible to use a sustainable indicator based on the Extended Exergy Analysis (EEA), a Second Law-based accounting method that includes a novel internalization of Externalities (Capital, Labour and Environmental Cost). The present study proposes a structured method to perform an Extended Exergy Analysis of a whole country, starting with a very disaggregated database that ensured higher accuracy. A numerical application to the "System Italy" is implemented over a period of 22 years (1990–2012). The results lead to a complete divergence between the trends of GDP and EEA. Quite on the contrary, the EEA results are consistent with those generated by other sustainability indicators and contain a higher information content. • Finding an indicator for measuring the sustainability of an economy. • Gross Domestic Product not always implies improvements in a sustainable perspective. • The method assigns equivalent exergy values to capital and labour. • An Extended Exergy analysis of the Italian society has been performed. • The indicator is sensitive to variation in energy management but also to economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable growth is one of the major challenges of the XXI century; the antagonism between the needs of "development" and finiteness of natural resources is more and more evident, forcing international Agencies to endorse a "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" to promote, among other goals, a responsible management of natural resources. The key issue here is the lack of a consistent sustainability indicator to assess whether a country is moving in the right direction: for over seventy years, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been the main parameter to verify the "health" of a Society, but this is a controversial issue in the scientific community. The main concern expressed by Economists and Energy experts is that the GDP was conceived to evaluate the "marketable part" of a society being in contrast with either a sustainable development and a responsible exploitation of natural resources. According to its critics, developmental scenarios built on the GDP might in fact be unsustainable and extremely harmful for future generations. Against this background, several indicators were developed with the intention of replace or supplement such a purely monetary quantifier, but these efforts enjoyed little success, so that the GDP is still the tool of choice for governments and most international Agencies. The aim of the paper is to assess whether it is possible to use a sustainable indicator based on the Extended Exergy Analysis (EEA), a Second Law-based accounting method that includes a novel internalization of Externalities (Capital, Labour and Environmental Cost). The present study proposes a structured method to perform an Extended Exergy Analysis of a whole country, starting with a very disaggregated database that ensured higher accuracy. A numerical application to the "System Italy" is implemented over a period of 22 years (1990–2012). The results lead to a complete divergence between the trends of GDP and EEA. Quite on the contrary, the EEA results are consistent with those generated by other sustainability indicators and contain a higher information content. • Finding an indicator for measuring the sustainability of an economy. • Gross Domestic Product not always implies improvements in a sustainable perspective. • The method assigns equivalent exergy values to capital and labour. • An Extended Exergy analysis of the Italian society has been performed. • The indicator is sensitive to variation in energy management but also to economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decades, a large set of policies have been used to reduce the coal dependency of China and diversify the source of energy used. Despite the decrease in the coal intensity of production, extensive differences still exist across regions, where development trends are influencing coal efficiencies and use. By impacting the sustainability performances of the country, regional disparities need to be investigated. With this objective, a perfect decomposition technique is used, for the first time, to analyse the drivers of coal consumption changes across four macro-Chinese regions for the years 2000–2016. Characterized by three major development programmes and five-year plans with specific energy targets, this period is particularly relevant to investigate the relationships existing between socio-economics factors and coal consumption changes. Results show that economic prosperity has been the main driver of coal consumption increase and, for the most developed areas, coal intensity contributed to slow down the coal consumption rise. Regional differences on internal migration rate largely influenced the population effect. By investigating the factors of coal consumption changes, and relating results to targets and policies, this paper supports the definition of strategies aiming to account for the opportunities and constraints of the different Chinese regions. • The drivers of coal consumption changes are analysed for Chinese regions. • The standard of living effect is the main drivers of coal consumption increase. • The coal intensity effect contributed to slow down the coal consumption increase. • Extensive differences exist across regions and targeted policies are needed. • Inter-regional collaborations should be promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating and selecting suitable low-carbon suppliers is one of the most disputed topics in different industries. Some studies have more specifically investigated the role of sustainable low-carbon suppliers in the maritime sector. In general, sustainability is recognized as a vital philosophy for many industrial sectors since it enhances environmental protection and raises people's and organizations' awareness about social obligations. Therefore, choosing low-carbon suppliers based on the sustainability perspective is important for firms and organizations in order to effectively promote sustainable supplier chain management (SSCM). The present study develops a new fuzzy decision-making approach to rank and evaluate low-carbon, sustainable suppliers (LCSS) through the integration of the Combinative Distance-Based Assessment (CODAS) framework and intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs), which results in a new approach called intuitionistic fuzzy CODAS (IF-CODAS). The paper is aimed at making a decision on the IFSs context by considering the decision makers' hesitancy based on both Hamming and Euclidean distances in accordance with the anti-ideal point. To evaluate the weights of the criteria, a new discrimination measure is developed. To show the practicality of the proposed approach, a case study for the assessment of low carbon sustainable suppliers is presented. To validate the developed approach, comparative research and sensitivity analysis were conducted in this study. The evaluation results showed that the fourth low-carbon sustainable supplier with a maximum assessment score degree (0.4747) using the proposed method was found the best option for selecting LCSS based on the sustainability perspective. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis was made to observe the difference of alternative ranking when the importance values of criteria weights change. [Display omitted] • New intuitionistic fuzzy combinative distance-based assessment (IF-CODAS) framework is developed. • To determine criteria weights, new intuitionistic fuzzy divergence measure is proposed. • The proposed method is applied to address low carbon sustainable suppliers selection issues in the maritime industry. • Sensitivity analysis and comparative discussion are made to explore the accuracy and validity of proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy systems are in a state of transition due to national energy and climate policies. The Finnish Government has declared a national target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035. This will require further reductions in carbon intensity of the Finnish energy generation mix. Some of the energy related emission reductions could simultaneously be achieved through effective energy efficiency measures in the buildings sector. In this paper, the effectiveness of these measures is studied in alternative long-term energy system scenarios with varying CO 2 reduction targets for the energy supply sector until 2050. The results show that initial carbon intensity of energy mix has a significant effect on the achievable CO 2 emission reductions of demand-side measures. Moreover, assigned system boundaries can significantly affect the results, especially in a low-carbon energy system, where energy savings mostly reduce the use of wood-based biomass in the energy production. Furthermore, long-term perspective for identifying the environmental effects of an energy efficiency measure is recommended, since they often have a long economic lifetime and due to structural changes in the energy system, the marginal energy production unit changes over its lifetime. Consequently, the CO 2 emission reduction potential of an energy efficiency measure can vary over its lifetime. • Building sector demand-side measures are analysed in broader energy system context. • CO 2 emission reduction potential depends on the carbon intensity of marginal unit. • Marginal emission factor can change during the lifetime of demand-side measure. • System boundaries can significantly affect the results in a low carbon energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to make a research on solar power plants integration in an electric power system, taking into account all costs arising from circular economy criteria. Four scenarios of solar power plant installation are analyzed. The methodology relies on nature-inspired optimization. The evolutionary multiobjective genetic algorithm is applied. The optimization is based on the costs of electricity production, encompassing not only the costs of technology, but also the costs of environmental protection and sustainable development. These costs are included in the model and the objectives are formulated accordingly. The objectives are based on maximization of electricity production up to the level of demand, minimization of total electricity costs and minimization of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, grid losses as well as other limitations and constraints of the electric power system are included into the model. The loss distribution is calculated in proportion to the distance between the supplier and the end user. The solar power plant losses equal zero, because it is assumed that the plant is located in a local community, close to consumers. The results show that the emissions and costs are higher without an introduced solar power plant. Introduction of solar capacities reduces the costs and emissions to a certain level. The developed model may be useful as a decision-support system generator. [Display omitted] • Research on integration of the solar capacity in a real electricity system. • Four scenarios analyzed for the solar capacity integration. • Nature inspired optimization-evolutionary multiple objective genetic algorithm applied. • Optimization numerically linked to circular economy principles. • The goals are minimization of electricity total cost and decarbonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several countries are adopting plans to reduce the contaminant emissions from the energy sector through renewable energy integration and restrictions on fossil fuel generation. This process poses important computational and methodological challenges on expansion planning modeling due to the operational details needed for a proper analysis. In this context, this paper develops a planning model including an effective representation of the operational aspects of the system to understand the key role of flexible resources under strong decarbonization processes in highly renewable power systems. A case study is developed for the Chilean power system, which is currently undergoing an ambitious coal phase-out process, including the analysis of a scenario that leads to a completely renewable generation mix. The results show that highly renewable generation mixes are feasible, but rely on an effective balance of the key flexibility attributes of the system including ramping, storage, and transmission capacities. Further, such balance allows for faster decarbonization goals to remain in a similar cost range, through the deployment of flexible capacity in earlier stages of the planning horizon. • Flexibility is a critical challenge for the decarbonization of power systems. • Planning models with operational detail capture key trends through decarbonization. • A planning model with a linear relaxation of the unit commitment problem is proposed. • A case study on decarbonization pathways for the Chilean power system is presented. • Fully renewable mixes are feasible through a proper balance of flexibility attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethanol as fuel oxygenator is currently being introduced in Mexico with an estimated yearly demand of 3 billion liters expected to be produced mainly from sugarcane. This paper studies how to employ some of the expertise acquired by Brazil during its transition from typical mills into advanced biorefineries to retrofit the Mexican sucroalcohol industry. A typical Mexican sugarcane factory design is retrofitted to three biorefinery designs commonly found in Brazil, which are an autonomous distillery, a biorefinery with 50:50 feedstock ratio for ethanol and sugar production and a molasses distillery. The results of a techno-economic analysis considering these four designs under Mexican conditions are presented, followed by an economic comparison of the autonomous distillery design operating under Mexican and Brazilian conditions. Sustainability analysis is then carried out to identify the advantages and drawbacks of each design. The analysis compares an environment-driven scenario promoting bioethanol production and use for phasing out fossil fuels, against a commercially focused framework considering only environmental and economic issues affecting stakeholders' profit. Results show in monetary terms the impact of each indicator of a retrofitting path from currently profitable biorefineries coproducing sugar and alcohol to sustainable distilleries using molasses and juice as feedstock to produce bioethanol. • Retrofitting the Mexican sugar industry with Brazilian expertise for ethanol production. • Techno-economic and sustainability analyses of all designs. • Calculation with same tools and bases, thus highlighting differences between countries. • Comparison of environment-driven sustainability versus current commercial practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, JT15D turbofan engine and its main subcomponents are assessed with the aviation, energy, exergy, environmental, and sustainability analyses. In the first stage, the system's specific thrust and specific fuel consumption of the engine are found as 315.9 N s/kg and 15.8 g/kN.s, respectively. Then, system's energetic efficiency is estimated as 21.15% and exergetic efficiency is accounted to be 19.919%. The system's exergetic improvement potential rate, productivity lack ratio and fuel exergy waste ratio are determined as 1573.535 kW, 402.024% and 80.081%, respectively. The ecological and environmental effect factors of the turbofan system are computed to be 5.020 and 4.020, respectively, while the sustainable efficiency factor and exergetic sustainability index rates are found as 1.249 and 0.249, respectively. Finally, among the system parts, the Combustion Chamber (CC) has minimum rates of sustainable efficiency factor, exergetic efficiency and sustainability index, while it has utmost rates of ecological and environmental effect factors, fuel exergy waste ratio, irreversibility and productivity lack ratios. As a general conclusion, the combustion chamber and low pressure compressor components should be optimized for better performance of the system. • General aviation and energetic performances of a turbofan engine are assessed. • Thermodynamic inefficiencies are obtained for engine and its components. • Environmental impacts and sustainability levels of turbofan engine are evaluated. • Risky components are determined for enhancing thermodynamic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing effective charging infrastructure is an essential step in popularizing electric vehicles, which is conductive to improving pollution induced by traditional fuel vehicles and thus improving the environmental sustainability. The most crucial factor in escaping the dilemma of charging infrastructure construction lies in the synergies of multi-sectorial. This paper develops a stochastic evolutionary game model grounded on the strategy adoption of charging infrastructure construction involving governments (public), companies (private), and consumers (civil). We collect the data of Shanghai for simulation to compare the influence of strategy adoption. Our findings suggest that ⅰ) unlike the public and civil sector, in the current situation, the private sector will adopt the defector strategy quickly and lock in the defection state as time goes on; ⅱ) the additional cost effect caused by public-civil co-construction scenario is significant positive to the public sector but almost no impact on the civil sector; ⅲ) civil's strategy adoption has directional differences under two cost sharing scenarios (private-civil and public-civil) of charging infrastructures construction. In the private-civil scenario, if the cost of charging infrastructures construction is transferred to the civil sector, not only will it not change the private-sectorial defection state, but it will also cause civil sector to shift from cooperation to defection. However, at the same sharing ratio of the public-civil scenario, the civil sector is still willing to cooperate. ⅳ) reducing incentives of electric vehicles or increasing costs of internal combustion engine vehicles is necessary, which will not change the lock-in cooperation state of civil sector, and it can improve the cooperation willingness of publicsector. • A multi-agent stochastic evolutionary game model with charging infrastructure adoption is constructed. • Simulation with real-world values of game parameters for the case of Shanghai. • Parameters sensitivity to the strategy adoption are discussed by computational experiments. • Civil's strategy adoption has directional differences under two scenarios of charging infrastructure construction. • It's time to consider eliminating the subsidy for EVs because of the lock-in state of civil cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel quantitative sustainability evaluation model of hybrid natural gas combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) systems integrated with solar technologies, including sustainability indicator selection, normalization, weighting, aggregation, application, and sensitivity analysis. Three hybrid CCHP schemes respectively integrated with stationary and concentrating solar heat collectors and photovoltaic/thermal collectors and two natural gas CCHP schemes are configured and compared. Eleven indicators considering resources, technology, economics, environment and society were selected to estimate a composite sustainability index (CSI) for each of the five CCHP schemes. The "combined weighting" method was employed to define the indicators' weights, which combines subjective opinion of experts in the analytic hierarchy process method and the objective information of quantitative data in the information entropy method. The aggregated CSI provides a unique value for indicating the sustainability degree of schemes that is proportional to it. The results for a defined specific case demonstrate that the hybrid system integrated with stationary evacuated tube collectors has the largest CSI (0.868) and that the CSI of natural gas CCHP system, 0.756, is declined to 0.753 because of integrating the concentrating PV/T collector. The CSI provides a quantitative method to calculate the penalty cost of a scheme's negative environmental and social impact according to the economic cost of energy products, in which the dimensionless impact adjustment factor represents the magnitude of environmental and social impact. When the impact adjustment factor is set to 1.0, the lowest penalty cost of hybrid schemes accounts for 13.2% of total cost of energy product. The sensitivity analysis of indicator weights demonstrated the reliability of final evaluation results of the proposed quantitative sustainability evaluation model for hybrid CCHP schemes, and the comparisons with the conventional techno-economic model validated the proposed model. • A quantitative sustainability evaluation model of hybrid system was developed. • Five combined cooling, heating and power schemes were evaluated and compared. • Expert opinion and objective data were combined to obtain weight of criteria. • An index was defined to obtain penalty cost of environmental and social impacts. • Impact cost accounts for at least 13.2% of the total cost in the five schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns over anthropogenic climate change and sustainable development motivate rapid expansion of renewable energy in China. This paper explores metal demand caused by projected wind power developments in China up to 2050. Dynamic material flow analysis is combined with explorative energy scenarios to evaluate induced demand of base metals (copper, steel, aluminum, nickel) and rare earth elements (neodymium and dysprosium). The results indicate that annual demand of base metals for Chinese wind power is up to 12 times larger in 2050 than in 2018, and the cumulative demand is up to 23 times larger. Copper and nickel show greater supply pressure than aluminum and steel in the wind power sector. Cumulative copper and nickel demand of wind power sector are 9–11.9 Mt and 2.1–2.8 Mt respectively, which corresponds to 35–45.9% of copper reserves and 74–101% of nickel reserves in China. For rare earth elements demand, more than 18-fold increases are expected for annual demand in 2050 compared with 2020, and cumulative demand of neodymium and dysprosium are 1.6–3.3% and 1.4–2.8% of their reserves respectively. Recycling will play an important role after 2050 as a secondary supply of metal for Chinese wind power, and lacks noteworthy impacts on short-term future outlooks. • Technology uncertainties determine metal demand and influence metal supply risks. • Nickel, copper and REEs play critical role in Chinese wind power deployment. • EoL recycling enables increase of China's long-term secondary supply of metal. • To achieve energy-metal system's co-benefits needs system nexus thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]