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As energy plays a vital role in the modern lifestyle of any country, understanding how sustainable the energy system of a country remains an important policy issue. This paper reviews the comprehensiveness of existing metrics in tracking and tracing energy sustainability and finds that the existing multi-dimensional indicators do not capture the sustainability dimension adequately. This paper proposes a composite index, SEDI (Sustainable Energy Development Index), to fill the gap. SEDI focuses on establishing the sustainability level of both intra- and inter-generational needs. The paper discusses the methodology, data availability and initial country comparisons. It is found that SEDI has a positive correlation with both the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Energy Development Index (EDI) but provides a better understanding of the different dimensions of energy sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand-side management (DSM) is an effective means to construct low-carbon electricity system, improve energy efficiency and fastly enhance the sustainable development of economy. DSM in China has entered a period of rapid development. A series of policies and regulations related to DSM have been issued by some national ministries in China. However, some problems exist in the implementation of DSM. In view of that, the current situation of DSM development in China is analyzed in this paper from the three aspects of policies and regulations related to DSM, DSM organizational management and DSM development of representative regions. Following that, the challenges faced in DSM implementation are discussed and feasible measures are proposed based on the challenges. This paper is conducive to give impetus to the development of DSM in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There is a growing consensus that universalization of modern energy services is central to reducing major elements of poverty and hunger, to increase literacy and education, and to improve health care, employment opportunities, and lives of women and children. In India, as per 2011 census, over 700 million people lack access to modern energy services for lighting, cooking, water pumping and other productive purposes. Devoid of these services people, mostly women, are forced to spend significant amounts of their time and effort on subsistence activities like firewood collection, carrying these head load for miles, and then burning these hard earned fuels inefficiently in traditional chullas. These adversely affect the health and standard of living for women and act as a barrier to gender development (here ‘gender’ means women unless otherwise specified). Although the links between gender inequity, poverty, and energy deprivation have been studied by many, not many practical solutions to the above problems have emerged. The present paper explores the nexus among gender–energy–poverty, highlights areas of gender concern, and suggests actions. We analyze how women from rural areas and low income households are at the receiving ends of energy poverty. We then analyze the roles women as an important stakeholders in universalizing modern energy services. We show how women self-help groups can be a vital link in large-scale diffusion of energy-efficient and renewable technologies. The paper concludes with policy pointers for sustainable development and gender empowerment through energy solutions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper deals with fundamental policy mistakes in Pakistan for the cause of sustainable development through renewable energy. It then identifies that the low level of awareness regarding the potentials of renewable energy is the key hurdle in achieving the said cause. The paper further traces the root cause of this low awareness in educational and S&T policies of Pakistan and finally provides some recommendations to avoid dilemmas related to such policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Iran is rich in energy resources and oil has dominated the politico-socio-economic life of this country, but nevertheless Iran has no documented policy and vision for its massive resources. This poses a major challenge to policy makers and the society. It is necessary to have a clear picture of Iran׳s energy status in recent years showing the flow of energy supply, demand, consumption, import and export to know how the energy situation in Iran is and identify its weaknesses and strengths. This paper is the first step in that direction and presents an overview of Iran energy situation and the potential and current state of renewable energy application. The status of energy in Iran is compared to world’s energy status via five key factors, and finally this comparison shows hints for designing roadmap of energy for Iran to attain sustainable and secure energy in long term. The novel contribution of this work is the STEEP analysis of Iran energy situation for designing the long-term supporting mechanisms for sustainable and secure energy for Iran based on Social (S), Technological (T), Economical (E), Environmental (E) and Political (P) criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited fossil resources, the continuous increment in fuel prices and severe environmental problems require new sustainable electricity generation options, which utilize renewable energies. Solar photovoltaic generation is a proven renewable energy technology and has the potential to become cost-effective in the future, for it produces electricity from the solar radiation. In Ghana, the electricity demand is rapidly increasing at a rate of 10% annually. In the attempt to change the conventional energy intensive economical development and its negative impact on the environment, the government has begun to support the development of the solar photovoltaic technology strongly. In this paper, the state of solar photovoltaic, the challenges facing the industry, the potential of the technology, the policies and strategies to promote development of the technology have been presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper introduces a transparent methodology to assess new suitable locations for mini and small hydro power plants in Europe. The expansion of hydro electricity production is a policy focus not only in Europe, but in the US (Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013) and in the developing world as well. The analysis of the technical potential points out the exact geographical locations and their corresponding capacities instead of only a theoretical potential; therefore it can serve as a reference for the policy debate over the sustainable management of water resources. This debate is reflected already in two major European policies: the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC) and the RES Directive (2009/28/EC) on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. As both policies have major influence on the priorities of water use, it is important to identify water management practices capable of accommodating sustainable energy purposes while maintaining water quality objectives at the same time. As the WFD poses limitation on the further expansion of large scale hydro options in the European water bodies, the present study focuses on local mini and small hydropower options and their suitability mapping. The presented, geographically explicit method is based on geospatial analysis and the results can contribute to the prioritization of potential hydro power sites in order to improve water quality and its use for energy simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving sustainable energy development in a region requires rational use of energy resources and technologies, and the development of appropriate policies. Three concerns are therefore required to achieve these issues: (i) to acquire a picture of the local current energy situation, (ii) to measure the state of development and the progress towards a sustainable energy system, and (iii) to have energy decision- and policy-makers fully aware of the implications on sustainable development of selected policies. It is in this perspective and in the frame of activities on sustainable energy for all and access to energy in developing countries carried out by the UNESCO Chair in Energy for Sustainable Development, that we developed this review. The objective of this paper is to depict the current energy situation of Africa by using the most up to date data, describing it as far as the concept of sustainable development is concerned, and to see if and how energy policies promoted by local players fit with this asset. We assess the energy situation of Africa by combining (i) data, mainly by the International Energy Agency, about national energy balances for primary and electric energy, the Energy Development Index and energy resources, with (ii) a more comprehensive analysis of the African energy system, accomplished by the Energy Indicators for Sustainable Development. An overview of the energy-related policies and action plans developed by different local players in the African continent is also carried out with the goal of providing remarks by coupling such plans with the above mentioned energy analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Renewable energy is considered as a solution for mitigating climate change and environmental pollution; however, an important problem of the application of renewable energy systems (RESs) is that the evaluation of the sustainability of these systems is extremely complex. In order to assess the sustainability of renewable energy systems comprehensively, the use of sustainability indicators (SIs) is often necessary. Since sustainability indicators are necessary to reflect various aspects of sustainability, the development of a general sustainability indicator (GSI) including many basic sustainability indicators (BSIs) becomes critical. In this paper, the methods of selection, quantification, evaluation and weighting of the basic indicators as well as the methods of GSI aggregation are reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed. Based on these discussion and the analysis of the uncertainties of sustainability assessment, an effective framework and its procedures of the development of GSI for renewable energy systems is presented. This GSI is not only able to evaluate all the sustainability criteria of RESs, but also can provide numerical results of sustainability assessment for different objective systems. The proposed framework in this study can be used as a guidance of the development of sustainability indicator for various renewable energy systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Increasing the share of renewable energy in the national energy mix remains one of the major energy policy goals across many economies. This paper assesses the roles and potentials of renewable energy sources in less-developed economies while citing Nepal as an example. Renewable energy has a significant role to play in the electrification of rural areas in developing economies and contribute towards sustainable development. Realizing full potentials of renewable, however, requires addressing both the associated demand-side and supply-side constraints. Innovative subsidies and tax incentives, adequate entrepreneurial support, strengthening institutional arrangement and promoting local community-based organizations such as the cooperatives are the necessary factors in promoting the green technologies in countries like Nepal. International factors such as large scale investment and adequate technology transfer are equally crucial to create a rapid spread and increase affordability of decentralized renewable energy technologies in less-developed economies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The provision of modern energy services is recognised as a critical foundation for sustainable development, and is central to the everyday lives of people. Effective policies to dramatically expand modern energy access need to be grounded in a robust information-base. Metrics that can be used for comparative purposes and to track progress towards targets therefore represent an essential support tool. This paper reviews the relevant literature, and discusses the adequacy and applicability of existing instruments to measure energy poverty. Drawing on those insights, it proposes a new composite index to measure energy poverty. Both the associated methodology and initial results for several African countries are discussed. Whereas most existing indicators and composite indices focus on assessing the access to energy, or the degree of development related to energy, our new index – the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) – focuses on the deprivation of access to modern energy services. It captures both the incidence and intensity of energy poverty, and provides a new tool to support policy-making. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper evaluates small hydropower (SHP) development and examines the current situation in Nigeria with respect to the established policies and Energy Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act 2005. Hydropower sector witnessed about 360% growth between 1971 and 2005 and yet only about 5% of the vast small hydropower (SHP) potential is tapped by the few plants built between 1923 and 1964. Operating and maintenance costs are in favor of SHP development in the country, being the lowest when compared with the situation in European countries. The Nigerian Government has taken steps to diversify energy sources in order to promote renewable energy development by encouraging private investments in the energy sector through reforms, but this may not be adequate as there remain barriers against SHP development in the country. It is concluded that government must incorporate subsidies, feed-in-tariffs, and framework for Price Purchase Agreements (PPA) into the policies in order to further promote renewable energy and attract both indigenous and foreign investments for quick adoption and rapid expansion of SHP technologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As Taiwan has a dense population and only limited natural resources, the government began actively establishing a Taiwan''s sustainable development indicators (TSDI) system in 2003, which was developed with reference to the Pressure–State Response (PSR) framework to evaluate the progress towards sustainability. Energy is a very important factor in leading to sustainable development at the national level. However, there are only two indicators concerning the energy sustainability in the TSDI system. This paper summarizes the current status of energy supply, energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and renewable energy production since the year 2000. The updated information on the TSDI was also addressed and analyzed to imply the progress towards energy sustainability during 2000–2008. Finally, the weighted-sum method was proposed to make an analysis of energy sustainability from Taiwan''s renewable energy production, showing that this country has experienced a significant progress toward energy sustainability in recent years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sustainable energy development is a complex multi-dimensional concept that can vary in meaning based on the context it is applied in and the perspective of the user. The role of energy in achieving sustainable development was recognized when the concept was first put forward in 1987. However, what that role consisted of was not made clear. Since then, the concept of sustainable energy development has developed to become a prominent policy objective on the international agenda, as evidenced by the introduction of the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 7 on energy. This paper presents an overview of the history of the concept as well as its emerging themes. Through a citation analysis, the most cited open-access publications relevant to the concept were identified. A thematic analysis of these most cited publications led to the identification of four interrelated themes of sustainable energy development; access to affordable modern energy services, sustainable energy supply, sustainable energy consumption, and energy security. The overarching goal of sustainable energy development was defined as furthering sustainability. Equitable access to affordable and reliable modern energy services is integral to sustainable development. A transformation of the current energy system is necessary to reduce its harmful impacts, both on the supply and demand side. This transformation is not possible unless it is economically viable through, for instance, cost-competitive technologies and changes in energy pricing to reflect the external costs of energy. • Sustainable energy development is a young multi-dimensional concept. • Common themes of sustainable energy development are identified. • Access to modern energy services for all is essential to further sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]