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Paper has shaped society for centuries and is considered one of humanity's most important inventions. However, pulp and paper products can be damaging to social and natural systems along their lifecycle of material extraction, processing, transportation, and waste handling. The pulp and paper industry is among the top five most energy-intensive industries globally and is the fourth largest industrial energy user. This industry accounts for approximately 6% of global industrial energy use and 2% of direct industrial CO 2 emissions. The pulp and paper industry is also the largest user of original or virgin wood, with deleterious impacts on both human health and local flora and fauna, including aquatic ecosystems. This critical and systematic review seeks to identify alternatives for mitigating the climate impacts of pulp and paper processes and products, thus making the pulp and paper industry more environmentally sustainable. This study reviews 466 studies to answer the following questions: what are the main determinants of energy and carbon emissions emerging from the pulp and paper industry? What are the benefits of this industry adopting low-carbon manufacturing processes, and what barriers will need to be tackled to enable such adoption? Using a sociotechnical lens, we answer these questions, identify barriers for the pulp and paper industry's decarbonization, and present promising avenues for future research. •This review identifies carbon-intensive processes in the pulp and paper industry. •Presents decarbonizing practices, potential transformations and innovations. •Presents promising avenues for future research. •No agreed consensus on the most promising technologies to achieve net-zero in the pulp and paper industry. •Pulp and paper products are associated with other sociotechnical systems that create compelling interdependencies among industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional petrol vehicles emit a substantial quantity of greenhouse gases, leading to increasingly serious global warming problems. The expansion and development of renewable power generation technologies is conducive in promoting the use of electric vehicles, which are more environmentally friendly. This paper proposes a multi-objective power expansion model considering renewable energy policy objectives. The model regards the problem as a multi-period optimisation task, taking the newly installed capacity and the power generation capacity of each power generation technology as decision variables, and simulating the uncertain factors in the planning process using Geometric Brownian Motion and Monte Carlo approaches. The optimisation objective of the model is to minimise expected costs, reduce risk and environmental impacts, and incorporate changing policy objectives into the constraints to meet policy makers' expectations for renewable energy development. Then, a decentralised target search-based multi-objective evolutionary algorithm is proposed to solve the model. Its effectiveness is verified by a numerical example using real data from the Chinese power system. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm exhibits improved performance compared with benchmark algorithms and provides high quality and diverse Pareto-optimal solutions to decision makers. Finally, the optimal plans for power expansion and generation mix under different preferences and policy objectives are discussed and corresponding recommendations are made. [Display omitted] • Planning for the expansion of power generation under uncertainties is determined. • Strategies for the expansion of power generation towards renewable energy are optimised. • A novel multi-objective evolutionary algorithm with a constraint handling method is developed. • The impact of multiple renewable energy policies on power generation expansion planning is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a lack of empirical analysis of macro-level energy policy through a gender lens, and there exists a research gap in tools for such analysis. This paper proposes a novel empirical approach to explore the gender dimension of the language used in energy policy documents such as the National Energy and Climate Action Plans (NECPs) of European Union (EU) member states. We first review the literature to identify existing approaches that analyse the energy/gender nexus. We then describe how we adapt Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to quantify the degree to which the language used in the NECPs is male or female associated. Our work shows the gap in suitable tools. We demonstrate using NLP that all EU NECPs tend to use more male associated language than female. In a ranking of EU member states, the Portuguese NECP demonstrated the most bias, while the Slovenian demonstrated the least. Our work provides novel insights using NLP to understand the genderised use of language, and contributes a methodology to conduct empirical analysis of energy policy documents. [Display omitted] • Review of methods used in energy/gender nexus analysis. • Empirical approach to analyse energy/gender concepts in the Global North. • Measurement of a gender dimension (bias) of the language used in European Union National Energy and Climate Plans. • Identification of Energy Domain NLP training corpora and vocabulary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition towards a more decarbonised, resilient and distributed energy system requires local initiatives, such as Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES), which lead communities to gain self-sufficiency and become electricity islands. Although many SLES projects have been recently deployed, only a few of them have managed to be successful, mostly due to an initial knowledge gap in the SLES planning and deployment phases. This paper leverages the knowledge from the UK's largest SLES demonstrator in the Orkney Islands, named the Responsive FLEXibility (ReFLEX) project, to propose a framework that will help communities to successfully implement a SLES. First, this paper describes how the multi-services electrical SLES implemented in Orkney reduces the impact of the energy transition on the electrical infrastructure. We identify and discuss the main enablers and barriers to a successful SLES, based on a review of SLES projects in the UK. Second, to help future communities to implement SLES, we extend the Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM) into a comprehensive multi-vector Smart Local Energy Architecture Model (SLEAM) that includes all main energy services, namely power, heat and transport. This extended architecture model describes the main components and interaction layers that need to be addressed in a comprehensive SLES. Next, to inform successful deployment of SLES, an extensive list of key performance indicators for SLES is proposed and implemented for the ReFLEX project. Finally, we discuss lessons learnt from the ReFLEX project and we list required future technologies that enable communities, energy policy makers and regulatory bodies to best prepare for the energy transition. [Display omitted] • Framework that assists local communities to deploy smart local energy systems. • Extension of Smart Grid Architecture Model to Smart Local Energy Architecture Model. • Comprehensive list of smart local energy systems key performance indicators (KPI). • Lessons learnt from ReFLEX, one of the UK's largest local energy system demonstrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

This paper examines initiatives that assisted energy poor and energy vulnerable households in Ontario, Canada during 2003–2018. Providing a conceptualization for energy poverty and vulnerability, which lack a formal legislative definition in Canadian policy, the paper discusses the history of Ontario's energy sector and the levels of 'energy burden' that brought energy prices to the fore of the public debate. It then reviews 40 initiatives that have assisted energy poor or energy vulnerable households, largely within broader policy areas of energy efficiency and energy savings, housing provision, poverty reduction, healthcare, and climate change mitigation. These initiatives are categorized into three main thematic areas of 1) financial support, 2) energy efficiency and savings, and 3) consumer protection. Further analysis shows that the initiatives largely address short-term needs and focus on the symptoms of energy poverty and vulnerability, rather than on preventative measures. The paper concludes that a more comprehensive approach is needed to address the underlying causes of energy poverty, to develop, target and evaluate effective solutions. • Examines initiatives on energy poor and energy vulnerable households in Canada. • Conceptualizes energy poverty which lacks a legislative definition in Canada. • Reviews 40 initiatives on energy, housing, poverty, health, and climate change. • Initiatives largely address short-term needs and focus on energy poverty symptoms. • A comprehensive approach is needed to target underlying causes of energy poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing transformation of the world's energy system requires detailed power-system models that help plan a cost-effective and reliable integration of variable renewables and demand-side resources. The quality and depth of the results of these models depend on the existence of trustworthy, complete, and high-resolution data on extant electric power assets and the demand they serve, wind and solar resources, and projections on costs and performance of technologies that could be developed during the next three decades. This paper assesses the quality of China's power system's publicly available data compared to the U.S. It concludes that despite growing use of power system models to inform and analyze Chinese energy policy, the availability of necessary data is still a significant barrier that severely limits the transparency, replicability, relevance, and usefulness of their results. • Ongoing energy system transformation requires detailed power-system models. • Usefulness of models' results depends on reliable, complete high-resolution data. • Paper proposes criteria to assess the quality of publicly available data for models. • Publicly available data for China's electric power system is scant and low quality. • Filling data gaps will inform decisions for a sustainable electric power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To stop the spread of COVID-19, governments have implemented confinement measures unprecedented in modern society. One of the main consequences has been the paralysis of commercial and industrial sectors worldwide, primary electricity consumers. This paper examines the impact of these measures on the electricity sector through a literature review accompanied by fieldwork on the impact of COVID-19 in Ibero-America and its energy regulatory response. First, we will review the causes of the reduction in electricity demand due to the confinement measures and their technical and financial consequences in the electricity sector. Second, we will examine the impact of COVID-19 on the wind and solar PV energy sectors, mainly affected by the paralysis of production and export of materials and components. Third, we will revise the regulatory measures implemented by the countries to avoid the interruption of electricity supply to households. This paper will end by reviewing economic recovery plans and their relationship to the energy transition. Although there are no fundamental differences between developed and developing countries in their regulatory reaction to this crisis in the energy sector, there are significant differences in economic recovery planning. While developed countries aim for a green economic recovery and the creation of green jobs, developing countries are allocating least resources to social protection and general economic stimulus programs, postponing climate objectives. In Latin America, this adds to the high levels of debt faced by utilities and the possible resurgence of social crises that were stopped by the COVID-19 outbreak, making a green recovery even more difficult. [Display omitted] • The reduction in electricity demand has caused technical challenges in the grid. • Electric utilities are facing growing and long-term financial problems. • Renewable energy projects have been delayed and financially harmed. • The measure to ban disconnection for non-payment has been implemented worldwide. • Latin American social crisis tempered by COVID-19 could hinder economic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To stop the spread of COVID-19, governments have implemented confinement measures unprecedented in modern society. One of the main consequences has been the paralysis of commercial and industrial sectors worldwide, primary electricity consumers. This paper examines the impact of these measures on the electricity sector through a literature review accompanied by fieldwork on the impact of COVID-19 in Ibero-America and its energy regulatory response. First, we will review the causes of the reduction in electricity demand due to the confinement measures and their technical and financial consequences in the electricity sector. Second, we will examine the impact of COVID-19 on the wind and solar PV energy sectors, mainly affected by the paralysis of production and export of materials and components. Third, we will revise the regulatory measures implemented by the countries to avoid the interruption of electricity supply to households. This paper will end by reviewing economic recovery plans and their relationship to the energy transition. Although there are no fundamental differences between developed and developing countries in their regulatory reaction to this crisis in the energy sector, there are significant differences in economic recovery planning. While developed countries aim for a green economic recovery and the creation of green jobs, developing countries are allocating least resources to social protection and general economic stimulus programs, postponing climate objectives. In Latin America, this adds to the high levels of debt faced by utilities and the possible resurgence of social crises that were stopped by the COVID-19 outbreak, making a green recovery even more difficult. [Display omitted] • The reduction in electricity demand has caused technical challenges in the grid. • Electric utilities are facing growing and long-term financial problems. • Renewable energy projects have been delayed and financially harmed. • The measure to ban disconnection for non-payment has been implemented worldwide. • Latin American social crisis tempered by COVID-19 could hinder economic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the editorial for the virtual special issue (VSI) of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (RSER) dedicated to 4 SDEWES Conferences held in 2020, namely: (i) the 2nd Latin American Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (LASDEWES 2020) held from February 9 to 12, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina; (ii) the 1st Asia Pacific Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (APSDEWES 2020) held from April 6 to 9, 2020 in Gold Coast, Australia; (iii) the 4th South East European Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SEESDEWES 2020) held from June 28, 2020 to July 2, 2020 in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina, and (iv) 15th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES 2020) held from September 1 to 5, 2020 in Cologne, Germany. The VSI collected both high quality review papers and original research articles presented at the 4 SDEWES conferences in 2020 belonging to the aims and scope of RSER. After a scrutinizing peer review process, 20 articles were accepted and published. These articles fall into four main areas: renewable energy cutting edge technologies, energy storage, energy modelling techniques and, climate and energy policy and impacts. Cross-areas articles belong to this Special Issue covering almost all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). • The VSI SDEWES 2020 covers four main areas. • An overview of the renewable and sustainable energy challenges to be dealt. • Cross-areas studies help addressing SDGs. • The advances and the novel findings for the successful achievements of ambitious policy targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of Energy System Analysis (ESA) has experienced exponential growth in the number of publications in the last two decades. This paper presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis on ESA by employing different statistical techniques to investigate the underlying science's structure, characteristics, and patterns. The focus of results is on quantitative indicators relating to the number and type of publication outputs, collaboration links between institutions, authors and countries, and dynamic trends within the field. The five and twelve most productive countries have 50% and 80% of ESA publications, respectively. The dominant institutions are even more concentrated within a small number of countries. A significant concentration of published papers within countries and institutions was also confirmed by analysing collaboration networks. These show dominant collaboration within the same university or at least the same country. There is also a strong link among the most successful journals, authors and institutions. Within the field, the Energy journal has had the most publications, its editor-in-chief is the author with both the highest overall number of publications and the most highly cited publications. In terms of the dynamics within the field in the past decade, recent years have seen a higher impact of topics related to flexibility and hybrid/integrated energy systems alongside a decline in individual technologies. This paper provides a holistic overview of two decades' research output and enables interested readers to obtain a comprehensive overview of the key trends in this active field. • A review of more than 12,000 papers in the field of Energy System Analysis (ESA). • Five countries with 50% of publications: USA, China, UK, Germany, Italy. • Strong link among the most successful journals, authors and institutions. • Collaboration networks predominantly include only institutions within the same country. • Strong Nordic influence related to region's energy culture and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systematic review of participatory methods used in energy system modelling and planning. It draws on a compiled database of fifty-nine studies at a local, regional, and national level detailing analysis on full energy systems down to sectors, modes, and single technologies. The initial aim of the paper is to consolidate and present this growing body of literature, providing a clear understanding of which stakeholder groups have been engaged and what methods have been used to link stakeholder engagement with quantitative analysis. On from this, the progress to date in democratising key decision-making processes is discussed, reflecting on the benefits and challenges of a participatory approach, as well as highlighting gaps within the current body of literature. During the review, two differing spatial levels at subnational (cities, municipalities, or regions) and national scale emerged as separate groups for analysis. A clear distinction between the two groups was the motivation for involving stakeholders. At a subnational level, researchers hoping to build local capacity to bring about real-world change engaged with community representatives, whereas national level studies concerned with generating more impactful energy policy measures involved industry, policymaking, and academic experts. One key finding from the review was that only ten out of the fifty-nine studies reviewed noted some form of collaboration with non-academic stakeholders, and moreover 36% of studies involved just a single interaction with participants. This indicates a lack of progress to date in process democratisation within energy system modelling and planning research. • The use of participatory methods in energy system modelling and planning are reviewed. • The range of qualitative and quantitative methods are explored. • The key benefits and challenges of pursing a participatory approach are outlined. • There is still work to be done to with regard the democratisation of energy system modelling and planning processes. • Emergent research directions are discussed in light of the findings from the review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy system modeling has a central role in assessing the future energy system and helping policy makers to set targets and subsidizing mechanisms. In the years, different energy system models have been developed with the aim of supporting political decision-makers in the design of energy policies. It is relevant to compare and cross-validate these models in order to add robustness to the final results and technical feasibility of the identified transition pathways. Two main methods to compare these models exist i) comparison of the technical features and characteristics of the models and ii) comparison of the final results. While there are several reviews focusing on the comparison of models based on their technical characteristics and features, to the authors' knowledge, no review article exists on comparison techniques based on final results. The scope of this paper is to carry out a review of existing methods and techniques to compare energy system frameworks, models, and scenario results regarding their final results. • Review of techniques for comparisons of frameworks, models and scenario results. • Comparison indicators in economy, energy, environment and computation are obtained. • A challenge of the comparison of models is the analysis of the four resolution fields. • Advanced comparisons should include statistical techniques to assess result deviations. • Most comparisons neglect sector-coupling, while it is of increasing importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, market-mediated financial incentives for energy-efficient construction drawn from information policy, including energy performance certificates (EPC), have been intensively researched. While hedonic-based research seems to confirm a positive correlation between residential prices and EPC ratings, opinion-based studies have found that these ratings have a negligible effect on price formation. This paper explores whether insufficient control of non-energy-related architectural attributes in hedonic specifications is responsible for such a divergence. To achieve this, a case-by-case quality assessment is performed for a sample of listed apartments in Barcelona. Then, architectural assessment is introduced as a control in the context of hedonic analysis. The results suggest that EPC ratings show a positive correlation with prices (1.8% price increase for each EPC increment) only when location, general architectural attributes, and basic quality attributes are controlled. Conversely, when architectural quality is thoroughly controlled, such a correlation disappears. However, EPC rating remains as a price driver (7.5% price increase for A/B/C ratings) for the upper tier of apartments in central and affluent zones. Such findings have relevant implications for developers and energy policy. • The concomitance of housing energy performance with its quality attributes is problematic. • Strict control of housing quality attributes leads to a zero energy premium. • Only upper-tier dwellings (A/B/C) in affluent districts receive a 7.5% energy premium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting and contextualizing alternative policy approaches within any scientific discipline or context requires considering the multiple trans -boundary and trans -disciplinary characteristics of the different research and innovations paths and actors, disciplines, and global contexts. However, the implications of the stakeholder's perspective, which provides relevant outcomes for an integration of a technological system in a process where the actors' opinion forms a fundamental element of the methodology, are not sufficiently explored in recent literature. Therefore, the general question this paper deals with is how to incorporate alternative policy approaches - such as responsible research and innovation (RRI) - in the discipline of innovation in renewable energy in a non-European context. This is achieved using the implications of the stakeholder's perspective and the socio-technical transition approach as an evolution of innovation theories. Based on an analysis of the results of an original survey involving researchers, we examine the deployment of socio-technical approaches, obtaining the imprints of the responsible approaches in the strategies for innovation in the field of solar technology in Chile. The survey process, consistent in a series of semi-structured interviews and an online survey, was undertaken with 10 researchers (answering 9 with final N = 8) for the interview process and 78 targeted researchers (with 44 completing the surveys with average final N = 34) from the Chilean Solar Research Centre (SERC-Chile). Findings showed that systemic approaches were found prevailing when it comes to considerate social dimensions, which were described in terms of economic, institutional, and regulatory features. However, a growing deployment of socio-technical approaches was found in terms of the incorporation of new actors, engagement with the community, real appropriation, cultural integration, social licence to operate, and the valorisation of alternative approaches, such transdisciplinarity and co-construction of knowledge, resulting in implications for innovation and energy policy. • RRI contextualization for a non-European research domain. • RRI integration in renewable energy research and innovation. • Outline of the real characteristics of the countries to generalize innovation and policy approaches. • RRI perspective in Chilean Solar energy researchers assessment. • Alternative policy approaches integration feasibility confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting and contextualizing alternative policy approaches within any scientific discipline or context requires considering the multiple trans -boundary and trans -disciplinary characteristics of the different research and innovations paths and actors, disciplines, and global contexts. However, the implications of the stakeholder's perspective, which provides relevant outcomes for an integration of a technological system in a process where the actors' opinion forms a fundamental element of the methodology, are not sufficiently explored in recent literature. Therefore, the general question this paper deals with is how to incorporate alternative policy approaches - such as responsible research and innovation (RRI) - in the discipline of innovation in renewable energy in a non-European context. This is achieved using the implications of the stakeholder's perspective and the socio-technical transition approach as an evolution of innovation theories. Based on an analysis of the results of an original survey involving researchers, we examine the deployment of socio-technical approaches, obtaining the imprints of the responsible approaches in the strategies for innovation in the field of solar technology in Chile. The survey process, consistent in a series of semi-structured interviews and an online survey, was undertaken with 10 researchers (answering 9 with final N = 8) for the interview process and 78 targeted researchers (with 44 completing the surveys with average final N = 34) from the Chilean Solar Research Centre (SERC-Chile). Findings showed that systemic approaches were found prevailing when it comes to considerate social dimensions, which were described in terms of economic, institutional, and regulatory features. However, a growing deployment of socio-technical approaches was found in terms of the incorporation of new actors, engagement with the community, real appropriation, cultural integration, social licence to operate, and the valorisation of alternative approaches, such transdisciplinarity and co-construction of knowledge, resulting in implications for innovation and energy policy. • RRI contextualization for a non-European research domain. • RRI integration in renewable energy research and innovation. • Outline of the real characteristics of the countries to generalize innovation and policy approaches. • RRI perspective in Chilean Solar energy researchers assessment. • Alternative policy approaches integration feasibility confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both policymakers and the technology industry need to do more to combat the ever-growing demand for data and its associated energy impacts. In this study, based on novel corporate data, expert interviews, focus groups with members of the public, extensive site visits across Greenland, Iceland and Norway and a literature review, we look at the energy and climate impacts of existing and proposed datacenters, both quantitatively and in terms of stakeholder and public perceptions. The paper examines datacenter management and sustainability practices in the Nordic region. It explores what community impacts occur, and how communities manage conflicting objectives. It investigates the technical and policy options that can make datacenters more sustainable and/or lower-carbon and it explores associated stakeholder and public views in the three countries. In exploring these themes, our study examines the shifting energy governance of datacenters, including patterns of electricity consumption and cooling but also circular economy operations and power densities. We also analyze a series of 40 solutions for eco-friendly design or green datacenter management across the entire lifecycle. We conclude with implications for energy and climate policy as well as future research. • Despite its ubiquity, the internet and its digital practices have negative sustainability impacts. • More needs to be done to combat the ever-growing demand for data and its associated energy impacts. • We look at the energy and climate impacts of existing and proposed datacenters, and examines management and s practices. • We analyze a series of 40 solutions for eco-friendly design or green datacenter management across the entire lifecycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the market for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure; it focuses on the types of existing charging, the main functions and actors in the market and the future policy actions required for widespread expansion. Electric vehicles represent a key technology in the mitigation of transportation greenhouse gas emissions and ambitious EV adoption targets have been set by many governments by 2030 and beyond. The rollout of EV charging infrastructure is vital in achieving this goal, as the uptake of EVs is linked to the level of coverage of EV chargers. To date, both the public and private sectors have been involved in the provision of charging stations and it is timely to consider the roles of the different actors in this market. We consider whether EV charging infrastructure is a public good or private asset and address the issues of the location of future chargers, the deployment models needed to develop, operate and own charging infrastructure, and finally the policy context for the development of charging infrastructure. We find that clear roles should be assigned to the individual public and private actors and funders, in order to achieve efficient development of the required infrastructure for large-scale EV deployment. • A review of the market for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. • We focus on the types of existing charging, the main functions and actors in the market and the future policy actions required for widespread expansion. • The roles of the different actors (public and private) in the charging market should inform EV infrastructure policy. • The location of future chargers, the deployment models needed to develop, operate and own charging infrastructure, and the policy context are discussed. • Clear roles should be assigned to the public and private funders to develop the infrastructure for large-scale EV deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As more distributed energy resources are deployed on electric grid systems across the world, it is important to identify, characterize, and quantify the value elements of different types of distributed energy resources so that policymakers, developers, and utilities can make informed energy deployment decisions. This paper focuses on the value of wind energy as a distributed energy resource (i.e., "distributed wind"). Because of a lack of distributed wind-specific valuation studies, in this review we document the current state of distributed energy resource valuation, analyze a wide array of distributed energy resource valuation metastudies, and identify several value elements for which we recommend developing more robust and standardized calculation methodologies for their potential inclusion in distributed wind valuation. These value elements are ancillary services and locational, resilience, reliability, and resource diversity benefits. This work lays the foundation for a future comprehensive framework for distributed wind valuation studies. • Detailed review of current state of DER valuation. • First specific examination of valuation of wind as a distributed energy resource. • Identification of important value elements for distributed wind valuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor access to electricity remains a major hindrance to the economic development in Central Africa sub-region. To address this issue the Central African Power Pool (CAPP) has been established with the vision to create and manage a regional cross-borders exchange of electricity based on the development of the sub-region's enormous hydropower potential. However, the implementation of this vision is struggling with poor visibility on information related to the potential and the state-of-the-art of the development of hydropower in the member states. The objective of this work is to review the literature and data pertaining to the potential of hydropower and state of development in Cameroon, in the perspective of full access to energy in Central Africa as targeted by CAPP. The reviewed documents include both research articles and reports of investigative works carried out in the field of hydropower by various technical commissions since 1970s. This encompasses conventional hydropower at large and small schemes, storage dams and, pumped-storage for which a comprehensive synthesis of the available data and information appears crucial. A better understanding of the current state of hydropower in the country is provided as well some policy recommendations for a hydro-based development of the power sector in the whole sub-region. It is hoped that this paper contributes to synthesising the various assessments of Cameroon's hydropower potential, so as to address the issue of lack of visibility on data and information in the sector, as this has hitherto been a handicap to the fulfilment of the pool's vision. • The present situation and upcoming development of Central Africa Power Pool is discussed. • The pivotal role of Cameroon in achieving Central Africa Power Pool's objective is highlighted. • Many large hydropower and storage plants in Cameroon might feed the Inga-Calabar power highway. • Small-hydropower and pumped-storage are showing good prospects for electrifying many remote areas in Cameroon. • A few hydropower projects are under construction while most of them are still awaiting financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linking the external costs of the production of fossil fuels to the generating sources to reduce carbon emissions is gaining momentum around the world. The main goal of the pricing initiative is to reduce carbon emissions, and attract new investment to clean energy projects. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of national level policies that have been in place since 2005 including: countries in the EU emissions trading system, nationwide carbon tax policies and hybrid policies. The selected countries following these policies were compared to countries where no national carbon policies were implemented during the same period. As the results show, the per capita greenhouse gas emissions increased in all countries examined during the study period including countries where carbon pricing mechanisms were implemented, although to a lesser extent. These changes were mainly independent of the type of policy applied. When the increase of the emissions due to gross domestic product per capita and the volume of exports of goods and services were separated, the emissions still increased regardless of policy types, except in those countries which apply a hybrid policy. These results highlight the need to improve on the current greenhouse gas reduction programs to meet COP21 climate targets. • Total and per capita carbon dioxide emissions continued to rise despite the growth of carbon pricing mechanisms. • The separated emissions (from GDP/capita and export volume) still increased, except applying hybrid (ETS + CTS) policies. • The economic and social structure strongly determine the CO2 emissions and focussing only on reductions are not sufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at assessing energy inequality, which is at the center of SDG7, in the Eurasian Economic Union – a recently created international organization with arguably the closest integration in the energy sphere for all member states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. The research was performed with the use of cross-disciplinary methods, including literature review, analysis of policy documents (applied policy analysis), and two quantitative tools widely used for energy policy analysis – the decomposition of energy consumption based on the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index and the inequality estimation by using the Theil index. The study identified contribution of three types of factors to energy consumption of the entire Eurasian Economic Union: economic growth − the increase of GDP, the relative structural changes in the economy, and energy intensity shifts. Theil index allowed determining the level of inequality in the region's energy consumption. The quantitative analyses demonstrated that in 2000–2017 the increase of GDP and energy intensity in the region were the main reasons that had determined the growing energy consumption. Theil index analysis showed that inequality of GDP-related energy consumption is decreasing, whereas the population-related inequality is increasing. Additionally, policy implications for inclusive and sustainable energy integration in the region are discussed. The required policy changes range from introducing amendments to the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty and structural changes to very precise science and technology policy tools. • GDP increase and energy intensity determine the growing EEU energy consumption. • To assess energy inequality EEU states divided in two groups - energy rich and poor. • EEU energy inequality is due to 'between' groups factors in 2000–2008. • After 2008 the inequality is reduced and the 'within' groups contribution prevails. • Additional SDG7 indicators required to measure energy inequality and affordability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper maps the research on environment-related stranded assets. It finds that the stranded assets field emerged due to the uptake of carbon budget concept by business and policy research and growing concerns over the knock-on effects of massive value destruction within the fossil fuel industry. The field then evolved into six research streams: unburnable carbon; the scale of stranded assets; stranded assets and financial markets; recognition of stranded assets; divestment; stranded assets and carbon lock-in effect in energy infrastructure. Key findings are as follows. First, the research into stranded assets is relatively narrow in scope; a sectoral and geographical imbalance is evident in the literature. Second, stranded assets are mostly discussed in grey literature with little connection to work in other research domains. Third, the existing literature has a strong focus on highlighting the magnitude of the stranded assets problem; however, its implications for climate-sensitive sectors have received little consideration. Fourth, the stranded assets research has mostly focused on calculating the cumulative amount of assets that may become stranded in the long term. Fifth, a disconnect between value destruction and value creation aspects of the transition to a low-carbon economy may be present. Sixth, there seems to be a dearth of empirical studies to answer many questions about the market implications of stranded assets, particularly in the energy sector. Therefore, more advanced studies are needed to develop a deeper understanding of macro-and microeconomic impacts of stranded assets which is a promising avenue for further research. • Maps the citation network in the stranded assets field. The field emerged due to. • The uptake of carbon budget by business research and concerns over knock-on effects of. • Massive value destruction within the fossil fuel industry. • The field has evolved into five main research streams. Advanced studies are needed to. • Develop a deeper understanding of macro- and microeconomic impacts of stranded assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]