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Even though renewable energy development has gained momentum in China, thermal power generation still accounts for approximately 70% of the county's total power generation serving as the major source of carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions in China. Facing the challenges of meeting 2030 peak target of CO 2 emission and realizing the coordinated development of thermal power generation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, this paper applies generalized Divisia Index Method (GDIM) to decompose the dynamics in the relevant CO 2 emission. The effects of five factors including electricity demand, energy consumption, technology, energy efficiency and energy-mix are considered. The decomposition suggests that electricity demand is the primary factor driving the CO 2 emission up, whereas technology effect decreases CO 2 emission the most. Given the significant roles of technology, energy-mix and energy efficiency in CO 2 emissions reduction, seven scenarios are designed to identify the optimal coordinated development pathway for thermal power generation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Through upgrading energy structure and/or enhancing energy efficiency, the thermal power generation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region can achieve coordinated development and realize the 2030 peak target under four scenarios. The detailed development pathways for CO 2 emissions and specific policy implications for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei are provided to further govern CO 2 emissions and maintain sustainable development. • Proposed a five-factor Generalized Divisia Index Model (GDIM) for CO 2 emission analysis. • Analyzed the CO 2 from thermal power generation in China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. • Electricity demand and technology contributed the most to the positive and negative changes of CO 2 , respectively. • Designed seven thermal generation development scenarios to study the CO 2 change until 2030. • The 2030 CO 2 peak target can be achieved under four scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because industrial sectors in China are energy-intensive, improving energy efficiency and promoting energy savings in these sectors are of great importance for the further sustainable development of China’s economy. Using a proposed meta-frontier data envelopment analysis (DEA), this paper analyzes the total-factor energy efficiency and energy savings potential in China’s provincial industrial sectors for the years 2000–2014 from three perspectives, namely, the technology gap, management, and scale. The results indicate that (1) driven by technological progress, energy efficiency during the sample period was greatly improved, though the expansion of technology gaps between regions and the decline in scale efficiency represented two significant handicaps; (2) the current energy efficiency in China’s industrial sectors remains extremely low, indicating that there is considerable potential for energy efficiency improvement and energy savings; and (3) the sources of energy inefficiency and energy savings potential in China’s industrial sectors exhibit spatially distinct characteristics. Accordingly, it is determined that most of China’s eastern provinces should focus on improving scale and management efficiency, whereas most of its central and western provinces should concentrate on three factors: narrowing the regional technology gap, improving management efficiency, and optimizing the industrial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Better digging the sustainable development path of the top five energy consumers (China, the United States, India, Japan and Russia) can serve both domestic economy and global economy to achieve coordinated development with the ever-increasing energy demand. This work has made the following efforts: (1) the Tapio decoupling model was employed to determine the decoupling states between energy consumption and economy; (2) based on the extended Kaya formula and the LMDI method, this work focused on measuring the impact of technological factors and urbanization factor on energy consumption; (3) the LMDI method and the Tapio decoupling model were combined to measure the impact degree of influencing factors on decoupling indicators. The main findings show that from 2001 to 2018: (1) Japan was the country with the most year of strong decoupling, followed by the United States, which indicates that the decoupling status of developed countries was better than that of developing countries. (2) The driving forces behind the energy consumption growth are mainly the effects of R&D scale and urbanization, while the main factors that hinder energy consumption growth were technological factors, including energy intensity effect and R&D efficiency effect. (3) Energy intensity effect was the main driving force for the decoupling process, and the R&D efficiency effect was the biggest obstacle to decoupling energy consumption from economic growth. Finally, this paper proposes that the government can give priority to relying on technological innovation to accelerate the development and promotion of energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies. • Exploring the coordinated development path of energy consumption and economic growth in top five energy consumers. • Extending the traditional LMDI method to measure the impact of technological progress and urbanization on energy consumption. • R&D scale and urbanization promote energy consumption growth, while technological progress inhibits energy consumption growth. • Governments can prioritize technological innovation to speed up energy conservation and emissions reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the main components of a smart city, the energy system plays a vital and core role in the transition towards a sustainable urban life. Furthermore, the utilization of renewable energy sources has been demonstrated as a significant contribution to reducing pollutant emissions and enhancing the quality of the living environment. Therefore, designing the energy systems based on clean and renewable criteria is considered a sustainable solution for smart cities. Indeed, the deep and rapid penetration of renewable energy-based technologies have been believed to very well fit into a smart city under various scales, this could supply a secure basis for a modern society with a low-carbon economy. In this review paper, the main components and roles of renewable energy resources (such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, and biofuels) for the smart city were fully introduced. Besides, integrating the renewable sources form into the energy systems of smart cities was thoroughly analyzed on the basis of technical and economic criteria. Finally, existing challenges and future scenarios were also discussed in detail to clarify the progress and perspective of smart renewable energy systems for the smart city. In general, the integration of renewables into energy systems of the smart city is a sagacious perspective and solution aiming to achieve cleaner process and more sustainable development. However, the optimization issues of the energy system for integrating of renewable components, ensuring good stability, maximizing the operating range, and minimizing the investment costs should be critically evaluated in the future works. • Designing tools and key criteria for smart renewable energy systems. • Efficiency and prospect of integrating renewables into energy system for smart city. • Existing problems and challenges for renewable-based energy system in smart city. • Future scenarios for the sustainable development of energy system in smart city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this review paper is to present the historical development, current utilization, practices and opportunities of geothermal energy in Algeria. Algeria has relatively abundant geothermal resources of low-enthalpy type that could form part of the total energy network of the country. Algeria is the leading country of the direct use of geothermal energy in Africa with a total amount reaching 54.64 MW t installed thermal power, and also among the first five countries in the world in air conditioning application. The main utilization field of geothermal energy in Algeria is balneology, which accounts for about 82% of the total geothermal power utilization, the remaining 18% of the energy is consumed for other purposes such as space heating, heat pumps and fish farming. In this study, the existing literature and current practices of the Algeria's geothermal resources are reviewed and it is revealed that geothermal energy development remained almost stagnant over the past two decades in Algeria although there is a large potential and resources available in the country. Furthermore, geothermal energy use and latest technologies around the world have been summarized. This study elucidates the influencing factors in the development of geothermal energy in Algeria and suggests the development roadmap and a number of measures that can enhance the development of this significant energy source. • Previous researches on geothermal energy in Algeria are reviewed. • Geothermal energy utilization and advanced technologies around the globe are summarized. • Current geothermal energy utilization in Algeria is discussed. • Exploitation opportunities of geothermal energy in Algeria are addressed. • Countermeasures to promote geothermal energy development in Algeria are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy is one of the fastest growing segments of energy consumption and wind energy is one of the most widely used sources of renewable energy. There is, however, much less known about the main drivers of wind energy consumption at the country level. This paper uses the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method to study the driving factors in wind energy consumption for a group of 17 countries (Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States) that are major consumers of wind energy. The renewable energy share component has the largest impact on wind energy consumption. Improvements in energy intensity are the largest driver of reductions in wind energy consumption. Wind energy consumption forecasts for each country in the business as usual (BAU) scenario for the years 2018–2025 show that compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) for wind energy consumption are highest for Canada, Sweden, China, and Germany. Countries that have high shares of renewable energy like Spain, Portugal, and Denmark have low forecast values of CAGRs. Wind energy forecasts are also calculated for a high growth rate scenario and a low growth rate scenario. Future increases in wind energy consumption are going to depend upon the continued increase in renewable energy share which in turn is affected by energy policy designed to promote fuel switching from fossil fuels to renewables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]