Search

Although renewable energy has been emphasized to mitigate carbon emissions, energy policies may require rearrangement. This paper aims to suggest the possibility of needs in energy policy rearrangement by revealing if the mitigation impact of the renewable energy supply has been diminished with a case study on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Adopting the idea of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, the study investigates the nonlinear relationship between the renewable energy supply and carbon emissions. We collected the longest panel data possible for 34 OECD countries from 1971 to 2019. While the cointegrating equation results suggest that renewable energy has contributed to carbon mitigation, nonlinear estimation and quantile regression propose that the marginal mitigation impact from renewable energy might be weakening. 1% increase in renewable energy supply and the share of renewable in energy mix has mitigated carbon emissions by 0.134% and 1.260%, respectively. The empirical results insist that policymakers discover alternatives to decarbonize the energy sector, other than renewable energy expansion. Options to achieve carbon neutrality include heat expansion via unused heat, that is, national energy system innovation towards wasted energy utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to accelerate the transition from carbon fuels to renewable energy sources, it is essential to extend our knowledge of the resources' availability to further improve or adjust the design of extraction devices. In the present paper, a first characterization of the tidal stream resource along the coast of The Netherlands is performed using a high-resolution unstructured grid implementation of the Thetis model. Extensive validation of the sea surface elevations was done by comparing with existing networks of tide gauges in the North Sea. The simulations from this study show that the highest tidal current intensities are generated mainly at Den Helder and Oost Vlieland, reaching values > 1.5 m s − 1 and power density estimates that are most frequently close to 300 W m − 2 and that can reach values ≥ 900 W m − 2 . Given the relatively reduced depths where these "hot spots" are found, most existing stream turbines will require further development to operate. Nevertheless, the existence of higher current intensities zones, along a commonly considered "low energy" coast, opens the door to include the tidal stream resource in near future plans to diversify the energy supply in The Netherlands. [Display omitted] • First tidal stream resource assessment for The Netherlands. • Identification of high energy sites for potential extraction. • Investigation on the persistence and magnitude of Dutch "hot-spots". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper investigates the potential of renewable energies utilization in detail through three in-house developed strategies to increase the renewable power generation share until the year 2050 assuming either an optimistic 100% or a practical 50% based on the national policies. Solar, wind, and waste energy are the most feasible alternative energy resources in Iran. In the first strategy, power plants are phased out according to their lifetime and replaced by renewable resources in 5-year time steps. The second strategy employs a 3% replacement rate to reach a 100% renewable power generation in 2050. In the third strategy, the national plan of the power ministry is utilized to adopt a more practical pathway for increasing the renewable power generation share up to 50%. Pollution and water shortage crises are also considered within the framework of this study. The following work can lay the foundation for future studies of its kind in Iran as well as other countries all over the world. Developing the presented results can lead to the practical implementation of the study, which will vastly benefit the residents. Moreover, it will provide a great investment opportunity for foreign and domestic companies working on the field. Highlights • Approach applied to renewable penetration in the power system of Iran. • Three strategies are proposed for transition to 100% renewable. • The storage cost for three scenarios for the year 2050 are calculated. • The storage problem was addressed for various regions of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Evaluation of reliability performance in every power system has to be done within a cost–benefit framework. This approach, however, is a very time consuming task, especially for systems that contain a large number of possible configurations, so simpler techniques referred to the calculation of reliability indices are used. In small autonomous power systems (SAPSs), such an evaluation uses mainly deterministic criteria. This approach, however, cannot be applied in SAPS that contain only renewable energy sources, due to the intermittent nature of the provided energy. In this paper, a complete reliability cost and worth analysis is implemented for these systems, combined with the calculation of some basic probabilistic indices, in order to discover their performance and propose the appropriate of them as a criterion of optimal system configuration. This paper proposes that normalized energy reliability indices as system minutes and energy index of unavailability can be used as adequate criteria of system''s optimal performance. This conclusion is validated through a large number of sensitivity analysis studies that are based on different maximum annual loads and different mix of load types. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The important energy requirements for the desalination process impose especially in autonomous and decentralized plants supplied by Renewable Energy Sources (RES). In this paper, five alternative energy generation topologies of Reverse Osmosis desalination process are evaluated. The proposed topologies assessed in terms of economic, environmental, technological and societal indices are compared using multi-criteria analysis, namely the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE). Ranking of topologies resulted in the selection of direct connection and hybrid configuration as optimum solutions. In case economic priorities prevail diesel generation should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper assesses the energy and environmental performance of two solutions designed to complement renewable energy (RE) technologies, in stand-alone power system (SAPS) configuration typical of minor Mediterranean islands, by converting the available RE surplus. The studied SAPS, based on the Ventotene island demographic, meteorological and load data, features high renewable energy penetration onto the load power demand, i.e. up to 55.25% share of peak power capacity. Transient models have been developed to simulate the storage process of winter renewable energy surplus and the time-dependent matching among SAPS electric demand and the stochastic renewable power contributions combined with energy surplus conversion systems. The study compares a hydrogen-based system and a desalinated water-production system, proposed as two effective alternatives for renewable energy seasonal buffering in an island context. The comparative analysis of the time-dependent system''s behaviour has been investigated with an hourly distribution over the period of one reference year, in terms of fuel consumption and hydrogen system energy storage or desalination capacity. The assessment is carried out by taking performance indicators, SAPS fuel savings, as well as stored and dump power data. The study demonstrates the suitability of both the models for the winter renewable energy buffer, in order to improve to the matching of peak energy and water demands. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Energy policies may lead to important industrial outcomes. This paper investigates the impacts of energy policies on industry growth in renewable energy. Research tools employed include the commercialization process, value chain analysis, and empirical case studies. Different renewable energy technologies and geographical regions are considered covering over 50% of the world markets of the technology fields considered. Market deployment measures that enhance home markets of domestic industries will in most cases lead to growing industrial activities. Irrespective of the domestic market situation, pure investment or R&D support alone to already strong industries in related fields may be powerful to help with diversification into sustainable energy business. Several exogenous factors such as timing, size factors, geography, etc. will influence both the industrial and policy positioning in practice. The results indicate that there are increased industrial opportunities in renewable energy to be captured not only by large countries or through large public resources, but also smaller countries can gain success through clever policies and optimal managing of the commercialization process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]