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In view of the current geopolitical situation, the EU and its Member States are accelerating efforts to reduce their dependency on fossil fuel imports, while simultaneously tackling the climate crisis. With heating in buildings accounting for a large share of the energy consumption in the EU, policies to phase-out fossil fuels for heating and to switch to renewables are key elements. In the context of the proposed actions to phase-out fossil fuels at EU level, this article provides a systematic analysis of current and planned phase-out regulations for fossil fuel boilers in the EU Member States. The paper quantifies the share of energy consumption for heating that is addressed by such regulations and finds that the current regulations only address about 10% of the total fossil energy consumption for heating in the EU. The share increases to almost 30% when considering the planned regulations, reflecting the fact that large energy consumers such as Germany and the Netherlands have announced such regulations. The analysis shows that several Member States with high energy consumption for heating have neither implemented nor announced plans to introduce phase-out regulations for fossil fuel heating. The study concludes that immediate policy action is needed both at EU and at Member State levels. At EU level, the proposed introduction of an end-date for stand-alone fossil fuel boilers needs to be substantiated and implemented into the legislative framework. At the national level, phase-out regulations for fossil fuel boilers need to be expanded both in quantity and scope. [Display omitted] • Systematic analysis of phase-out regulations for fossil fuel boilers in the EU. • Only 10% of the EU fossil energy used for heating is covered by phase-out regulations. • Including planned regulations, the share of heating energy covered by phase-out regulations increases to almost 30%. • Comparison of different approaches for implementing regulations for phasing out fossil fuel boilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local authorities are key actors for implementing innovative energy efficiency technologies (retrofitting) to reduce end-use energy demand and consequently reduce negative effects of high energy use such as climate change and public budget deficits. This paper reports the results of a large-scale survey of German municipalities by assessing drivers and barriers for deploying LED street lighting as an example of innovative retrofits. The results indicate that competencies and capacities, transparency of the underlying technology base, and a clear proposition of savings are crucial drivers for municipal retrofitting engagement. Most significant barriers include lack of experience, the tendency to wait for future improvements of innovative energy efficiency technologies, and existing contracts with energy suppliers, manufacturers, or other conventional retrofitting contractors. Investments in municipal competency building (both regarding technologies and procurement) as well as diffusing standard tendering criteria and (public) monitoring of their effectiveness are highly recommended to accelerate the municipal modernization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Industry represents a very promising application area for solar thermal technology, since it accounts for 27% of the total final energy consumption in Germany and uses 74% of its energy consumption as thermal energy. In order to develop this application area, it is necessary to know which industrial sectors have the highest potential and which processes within these sectors are most suitable for the integration of solar heat. For this paper the industrial heat consumption in Germany was analyzed, which leads to the selection of the most promising sectors within industry. Furthermore, the quantitative potential for Germany in total and for 11 selected sectors, that were identified to be most promising for the use of solar heat, was calculated. These are Chemicals, Food and beverages, Motor vehicles, Paper, Fabricated metal, Machinery and equipment, Rubber and plastic, Electrical equipment, Textiles, Printing and Wood. These sectors are analyzed to identify suitable processes for the integration of solar heat. In total the theoretical potential of solar heat for industrial processes below 300°C in Germany accounts for 134TWh per year, the technical potential being 16TWh per year or 3.4% of the overall industrial heat demand. This is the highest share of the European potential of 72TWh per year. The results of this study facilitate the prioritized application of solar thermal energy in industrial sectors and processes for Germany and other countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The share of renewables in the primary energy demand of Germany has increased from 1.3% in 1990 to 11.7% in 2013. The plans are to increase it further, by the year 2050, to 50% or even 100%, by carrying out the national Energiewende (energy change/switch) programme. In this paper we analyze the current energy scenario and recall goals of the Energiewende programme. We also identify infrastructural and technological bottlenecks which are likely to affect the programme execution. By doing so, the enormous scale of this national venture becomes apparent and it is clear that its execution will last for several generations and perhaps even for a century or two. Additionally, we introduce an idea of Exclusively Green Energy Communities (EGECs) as an Energiewende mile-stone. Due to the dimensions of the tasks, the energy change/switch programme will last for several generations and perhaps even for a century or two. Realization of this overwhelming national venture has to proceed through milestones and demonstration projects. We propose demo-projects, called Green Energy Communities (GECs), to examine with what efforts and under what constraints such communities can operate using exclusively renewable forms of energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Meeting the energy goals of the European Union requires new ways of managing energy. Decentralized energy management, cross-commodity energy production and usage optimization are promising means. Future neighbourhoods will include multiple forms of energy such as electricity, heat, and cooling. According to our vision, the smart neighbourhoods, can optimize energy across different vectors by sharing resources in a controlled way. The first contribution of this paper is a comprehensive review on market, regulatory and technological status to support the transition towards distributed cross-commodity energy management with focus on Germany and Finland. Markets disruption could lead to more decentralized structures. Mechanisms therefore have been proposed, but mostly without sector integration. Clean Energy Package includes legislation that is supportive towards cross-commodity energy sharing solutions. Corresponding implementation in Germany and Finland may be successful in both countries even though it differs. Regarding technology, the article identifies required technical components (IoT, AI and blockchain) focusing on their support decentralized and cross-sector energy systems. Key components of IoT are wireless communication and interoperability middleware. AI provides key technologies for modelling and optimization of sector-integrated and distributed energy systems. Even if there has been lots of research, practical implementations are still lacking. Furthermore, many technical challenges still exist for blockchain based solutions in decentralized energy systems. Moreover, organizational, and legal responsibilities need to be clarified to support the adoption of blockchains in decentralized energy systems. Finally, the article gives recommendations regarding an increasing implementation of cross-commodity sharing and how it can contribute to the energy transition. • Giving an overview of cross-commodity energy sharing in Finland and Germany. • It is shown how recent energy market development support energy transition. • Comparing the regulatory framework for smart components in energy markets. • Combination of IoT, AI and Blockchain to enable decentralized energy markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it is generally accepted that our fossil fuel-dominated energy systems must undergo a sustainable transition, researchers have often neglected the potential impacts of this on water and land systems. However, if unintended environmental impacts from this process are to be avoided, understanding its implications for land use and water demand is of crucial importance. Moreover, developed countries may induce environmental stress beyond their own borders, for instance through extensive imports of bioenergy. In this paper, Germany serves as an example of a developed country with ambitious energy transformation targets. Results show that in particular, the politically-driven aspiration for more organic farming in Germany results in a higher import quota of biomass, especially biofuels. These imports translate into land demand, which will exceed the area available in Germany for bioenergy by a factor of 3–6.5 by 2050. As this will likely bring about land stress in the respective exporting countries, this effect of the German energy transformation ought to be limited as much as possible. In contrast, domestic water demand for the German energy system is expected to decrease by over 80% through 2050 due to declining numbers of fossil-fuelled power plants. However, possible future irrigation needs for bioenergy may reduce or even counterbalance this decreasing effect. In addition, energy policy targets specific to the transport sector show a high sensitivity to biomass imports. In particular, the sector-specific target for greenhouse gas reductions will seemingly promote biomass imports, leading to the above-described challenges in the pursuit of sustainability. • Implication of the German energy transition for land use and water demand analysed. • Potential stress in land use beyond Germany due to biomass imports analysed. • More organic farming in Germany can result in higher biomass imports. • Land for biomass imports exceeds Germany's available land by 3–6.5x by 2050. • Declining fossil power generation leads to lower water stress in Germany by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU27 countries exert significant influence on the global patterns of the CO 2 -Emissions-Water-Energy (CWE) nexus. However, whether the associated benefits are similar for all countries is unclear. In this paper, an EU27 multiregional input-output model, at a sector level to identify the inter-regional and -sectoral CWE flows, and clarify the regional, sectoral and worldwide patterns of EU27 CWE network is presented. The results revealed an environmental inequality across the EU27 and impacts on the rest of the world. The EU27 countries contributed 1.4 Gt less CO 2 emissions, 64.5 Gm3 less water utilisation and 49 EJ less energy consumption, compared to the rest of the world while generating the equivalent economic output in 2014. This has dramatic effects upon the global environment. Germany, France and Italy are the biggest beneficiaries in the CWE nexus in the EU27. It is recommended that the EU27 provide more technical support to upstream countries in the EU and elsewhere to strive to improve their resource utilisation efficiencies. • The critical Carbon-Water-Energy (CWE) flows across the EU27 are analysed. • The regional, sectoral and worldwide patterns of EU27 CWE network are clarified. • An environmental inequality across the EU27 and impacts on the rest of the world. • Germany, France and Italy are the biggest beneficiaries in the CWE network of EU27. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]