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Worldwide, the majority of small islands not connected to the main grid is still dependent on fossil fuels. From an economic and environmental point of view, this condition is no more sustainable given the high costs for electricity generation and the high level of pollutant emissions. Furthermore, the dependence on fossil fuel represents a risk for the security of the supply of several small developing Countries since they are obliged to import those resources from foreign Countries. The introduction of renewable energy sources in small islands represents a valid solution to solve these problems. In this context, the paper investigates the case of Lampedusa, a small Italian island whose electrical power system is currently totally supplied by diesel power plants. In the paper, the authors investigate the transition toward an economically and technically feasible generating system based on solar, wind and sea wave plants, to achieve specific targets of decarbonization. Commercial technologies are adopted for the exploitation of solar and wind sources, while sea wave plants are based on an innovative device, currently under development at the University of Palermo. A mathematical model is proposed to find the optimal energy mix that can satisfy a fixed share of annual electricity production from renewables, considering the Levelized Cost of Electricity. Finally, the proposed solution is analyzed in order to check the dynamic stability of the power system. The paper shows that, for replacing the 40% of the current electricity demand of Lampedusa, an optimal energy mix comprising 1509 kW from photovoltaic plants, 2100 kW from wind turbines and 640 kW from wave energy converters is needed. In this way, the actualized cost for the electricity production could be reduced to 0.260 €/kWh from the current value of 0.282 €/kWh. • The paper investigates the energy sector in a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. • The case study reveals a strong energy dependence on fossil fuels. • Economic feasibility of a renewable energy mix is proved. • LCOE is introduced as criterium to size the energy mix. • Grid stability is analyzed in case of a small grid with a high share of renewables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (RSER) is a virtual special issue (VSI) dedicated to the three conferences on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) held in 2018. These included the 13th SDEWES Conference (30 September to the 4 October in Palermo, Italy), the 3rd South East European SDEWES Conference (30 June to 4 July in Novi Sad, Serbia and the 1st Latin American SDEWES Conference (28–31 January in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). In line with the RSER's policy, this VSI published two types of articles, either high quality review papers or original research papers with a strong review component. The guest editors invited 55 extended articles presented at the 2018 SDEWES conferences. These articles went through rigorous peer review process, and a total of 17 articles were finally accepted and published in this VSI. This editorial overviews these articles and examines their contribution to the field. In addition this editorial also provides an overview of the SDEWES 2018 conference series in order to reflect the continuous research efforts of the SDEWES research community and knowledge body on topics such as sustainable mobility, energy storage systems, various sustainability assessments, renewable energy source (RES) potential and biorefineries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several countries have recently realized that the present development paradigm is not sustainable from an environmental and energy point of view. The growing awareness of the population regarding environmental issues is pushing governments worldwide more and more to promote policies aiming at limiting harmful effects of human development. In particular, the rapid increase of the global temperature, especially in the polar regions, and the management of human wastes, mainly plastic in seas, are some of the main points to be addressed by these novel policies. Several actions must be implemented in order to limit such issues. Unfortunately, the recent COP 24 Conference was not successful, but hopefully an agreement will be established in 2020 at the COP 26 Conference. The effort performed by policymakers must be mandatorily supported by the scientific community. In this framework, this paper aims at showing that countries worldwide are trying to negotiate an agreement to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition, in this paper all the researchers reported can provide quantitative measures of the actions to be implemented in order to address a sustainable and efficient use of energy. Here, innovations in terms of novel efficient and environmentally friendly technologies mainly based on renewable energy sources have been also investigated. The study also highlights different sectors that have been involved for this aim, such as energy conversion systems, urban areas, mobility, sustainability, water management, social aspects, etc. In this framework, specific conferences are periodically organized in order to provide a forum for discussion regarding these topics. In this area the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conference is the most ordinary conference. The 13th Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems Conference was held in Palermo, Italy in 2018. The current Special Issue of Energies, precisely dedicated to the 13th SDEWES Conference, is based on three main topics: energy policy and energy efficiency in urban areas, energy efficiency in industry and biomass and other miscellaneous energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]