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The cost of heat savings in buildings increase as more heat savings are achieved and hence, alternatives other than savings typically become more economically feasible at a certain level of heat reductions. The challenge addressed in this paper is to identify when the cost of heat savings become more expensive than the cost of sustainable heat supply, so society does not overinvest in heat saving measures. This study first investigates the heat saving potentials for different countries in Europe, along with their associated costs, followed by a comparison with alternative ways of supplying sustainable heating. Furthermore, the levelised cost of supplying sustainable heat is estimated for both a single technology and from an energy system perspective. The results are analysed by assessing various parameters such as socio-economic costs and energy efficiency improvements in the national energy systems. The results demonstrate the economically feasible levels of heat savings and heat production for various European countries, highlighting differences in their national conditions and energy systems. The findings in this paper indicate that overinvestments in heat savings can be avoided by saving heat until a level around 30–50% of projected heat demands and supplying the remaining heat demand with sustainable heat sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Sustainable and energy efficient transport of passengers and goods has become a major concern of policy makers worldwide. This paper examines the existence of policies and measures for sustainable urban freight transport in European cities. The methodology for comprehensive mapping and benchmarking of strategic policy documents and measures has been developed and applied to a panel of 129 European cities. The desktop analysis shows an extremely heterogeneous situation of logistics and mobility planning policies and planning documents adopted in Europe. Cities are mainly opting for soft measures with high impact on savings. They are trying to achieve efficiency with adequate regulation system and measures supporting the introduction of new services. Only few measures directly promoting energy savings were identified while on the other hand, various measures with indirect impact on energy consumption were recognised. Highlights • Literature review of urban freight transport problems, policies, measures and models. • Methodology for mapping and benchmarking strategic policy documents. • Review of strategic policy documents for a panel of 129 European cities. • Best practice examples of measures contributing to energy saving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency measures and the utilisation of renewable energy sources have been consistently incorporated into the energy strategy documents of the EU Member States in various sectors. Industry, as the backbone of the European economy, is still not sufficiently addressed, since its development is almost exclusively market driven. The importance of the industrial sector for the economy is not questionable, nor is its impact on the environment. More than a quarter of all final energy consumption in Europe can be attributed to the industrial sector, representing one third of the final energy consumption of natural gas and one third of electricity use, with more than three quarters of all final energy consumption of solid fuels. The paper presents an overview of the energy efficiency development trends in Slovenian industry. To assess the development of energy efficiency, an energy efficiency index (ODEX) is applied, also highlighting some of the non-technical, structural changes. Furthermore, the future development prospects of energy-intensive industry in Slovenia are addressed in compliance with the national legislative framework and energy efficiency targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores two linked theses related to the role energy in economic development, and potential sources of increased energy efficiency for continued growth with reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The first thesis is that, while reduced GHG emissions are essential for long-term global sustainability, the usual policy recommendation of increasing energy costs by introducing a carbon tax may be relatively ineffective under current market structures and have an unnecessarily adverse impact on economic growth. Our second thesis is that there exists a practical near-term strategy for reducing GHG emissions while simultaneously encouraging continued technology-driven economic growth. Moreover, this strategy does not require radical new technologies, but rather improved regulation or—more precisely—better deregulation of the electric power sector. In respect to the first of our two theses, this paper addresses a deficiency in neoclassical economic growth theory, in which growth is assumed to be automatic, inevitable and cost-free. We challenge both the assumption that growth will continue in the future at essentially the same rate (“the trend”) as it has in the past, and the corollary that our children''s children will inevitably be richer and better able to afford the cost of repairing the environmental damages caused by current generations [Simon et al., The state of humanity. Cambridge MA: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.; 1995]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents the findings from a multi-objective genetic algorithm optimization study on the design parameters of an underwater compressed air energy storage system (UWCAES). A 4 MWh UWCAES system was numerically simulated and its energy, exergy, and exergoeconomics were analysed. Optimal system configurations were determined that maximized the UWCAES system round-trip efficiency and operating profit, and minimized the cost rate of exergy destruction and capital expenditures. The optimal solutions obtained from the multi-objective optimization model formed a Pareto-optimal front, and a single preferred solution was selected using the pseudo-weight vector multi-criteria decision making approach. A sensitivity analysis was performed on interest rates to gauge its impact on preferred system designs. Results showed similar preferred system designs for all interest rates in the studied range. The round-trip efficiency and operating profit of the preferred system designs were approximately 68.5% and $53.5/cycle, respectively. The cost rate of the system increased with interest rates. [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]

Abstract: ‘Gher’ farming is a unique system that incorporates the joint operation of three enterprises: freshwater prawn, fish and HYV rice, and is expanding rapidly in the coastal regions of Bangladesh because of its proven high income earning potential. In this paper, the sustainability of this system is evaluated by analysing its performance in terms of energy use by applying a stochastic distance function approach which revealed interesting and unexpected results. The prawn enterprise which is the key income earning component is found to be technically inefficient while the rice enterprise is found to be efficient. The net energy balance and the energy use efficiency of the ‘gher’ farming system is estimated at 18,510 MJ ha−1 and 1.72 respectively. The ‘gher’ farmers are operating at a very high level of technical (energy) efficiency (92%). Diversification amongst enterprises is associated with technical (energy) inefficiency. However, larger operation size enhances efficiency. The key policy implication is that the ‘gher’ farming system can be sustained in the long run provided that productivity from the rice enterprise remains high. Also, policies to support the expansion of ‘gher’ farm sizes will improve efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Research on manufacturing scheduling has historically emphasized production efficiency. With rising environmental consciousness, manufacturing companies are paying increasing attention to energy efficiency on the shop floor. Manufacturing consumes a large amount of electricity globally. The mismatch between electric supply and demand has been a huge problem, which even becomes worse when renewable energy becomes more popular. The time-of-use (TOU) pricing policy is a widely used demand response (DR) approach, trying to align demand to supply. This paper considers energy-efficient scheduling of a single batch processing machine with non-identical job sizes and release times under a TOU electric tariff so as to simultaneously minimize total electricity cost, a criterion of environmental and energy sustainability, and makespan, a criterion of productivity. A mathematical formulation is developed to optimize electricity cost and makespan. Due to computational complexity, a hybrid multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithm is developed to find the Pareto front. Two constructive heuristics are presented to group jobs into batches. Two different approaches are presented to improve total electricity costs. The performance of the proposed model and algorithms is evaluated through extensive numerical experiments. Production managers can use the model and algorithms provided in this work to make a trade-off between productivity and sustainability. • A new energy-efficient scheduling tool for batch processing machine with arbitrary job sizes and release times. • Consideration on the time-of-use pricing policy for tradeoff between productivity and total electricity cost. • A fast hybrid multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithm to find the Pareto front for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]