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This paper presents the editorial for the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews joint special issue devoted to the research work discussed and presented at the 11th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES), held from the 4th September to the 9th September 2016 in Lisbon, Portugal and the 2nd South East European (SEE) SDEWES Conference held from June 15th to June 18th, 2016 in Piran, Slovenia. This special issue is in line with the journal's aim of publishing research from across the ever-broadening field of renewable and sustainable energy with a strong review element. Previous SDEWES conference special issues have gathered a significant knowledge base in the field of sustainable development that reflects the continuous research efforts of the SDEWES research community. Therefore, this editorial provides not only an overview of the papers published in this particular special issue, but also a wider overview of the current trends in the domain of sustainable and renewable energy. This year's special issue focuses particularly on the benefits of the bio-based economy, energy security issues, fossil fuel thermal plant alternatives and environmental constraints, district heating and cooling together with cross sector energy efficiency and energy conservation issues. Sustainable transport systems, the issue of fuel poverty in urban neighbourhoods and renewable energy to support development of peripheral rural areas, optimising passive building design for hot climates and solar-powered heating and cooling are further topics featured in this special issue. In the process of selecting papers for this special issue, the guest editors invited in total 23 extended manuscripts for consideration for publication. After a rigorous review process by expert reviewers overseen by the guest editors a total of 16 articles were accepted for publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The study investigates HRES sizes to achieve NZEB status for a hotel building. • An optimization analysis of a hotel's grid-connected HRES is presented. • The PV/wind grid-connected system has the lowest NPC and LCOE. • The electricity price of the proposed HRES, at 2.1 ¢/kWh. • The Egypt's retail electricity prices of 6.9 ¢/kWh. The tourism sector is a key source of national income, and the use of renewable energy resources promotes green and sustainable tourism. In addition, ensuring a reliable supply and efficient use of clean energy is a primary objective of Egypt's Vision 2030, as it has a significant impact on the sustainable development and growth of the tourism sector in Egypt. Net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs) are a promising decarbonization effort as they reduce energy consumption while increasing the share of renewable energy. Therefore, it is worth investigating the opportunities for NZEBs applications in tourism sector. This paper presents an optimization analysis of a hotel's grid-connected hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) based on its technical, economical, and environmental prospects. Seven scenarios are considered for on-site generation to match the energy requirements of the specific hotel building. The proposed hybrid systems incorporate photovoltaic (PV), wind turbine (WT), and biogas generators into a grid-connected system for supplying power to a tourist hotel. The size of the microgrid system is optimized to decrease the net present cost (NPC) and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The results reveal that the PV/wind grid-connected system, with renewable energy generators consisting of 143 kW of photovoltaic modules and one 20 kW wind turbine with a hub height of 18 m, has the lowest NPC and LCOE. This hybrid energy system has a net present cost of 388 k$, which is significantly lower compared to the electricity grid's cost of 873 k$. The electricity price of the proposed HRES, at 2.1 ¢/kWh, is highly competitive with Egypt's retail electricity prices of 6.9 ¢/kWh. Moreover, grid-connected HRES can lower the pressure on the electricity grid arising from the feed-in of electricity from HRES. Furthermore, the proposed HRES will help slow climate change by reducing GHG emissions and fossil fuel usage. Finally, this study will provide valuable guidance for the practical application of NZEBs in Egypt as well as similar global zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few years, there has been a growing global consensus related to the importance of renewable energy to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases. The solution is an increase in the number of renewable power plants but unfortunately, this leads to a high dependence on climate variables which are already affected by climate change. Brazil is one of the largest producers of electricity by renewables through its hydro-dominant power generation system. However, hydro-generation depends on water inflows that are directly affected by climate change that consequently affect the electricity production. Therefore, these changes need to be considered in the operation and planning of a hydro-dominant power system. In this paper, we present the effects of different climate scenarios in the water inflows produced by the regional Eta climate model. Normally, studies use an optimization model to make decisions in case of a hydro-thermal scheduling problem and use the assured energy to evaluate the hydro-production. In this analysis, water inflows used in the optimization process consider different trends according to its associated climate scenario. Our paper shows that climate change may drastically impact the system assured energy and consequently, the system's capability to supply load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Biomass has often been regarded as a promising renewable energy resource to mitigate climate change. However, what will be the impact on global surface temperature if biomass replace fossil fuel remain unclear. This paper, through a case study in Uttar Pradesh, India address this issue by assessing biomass resource potential to reduce fossil fuel demand and mitigate climate change. Impact of biomass power related GHG emissions on global surface temperature is estimated using the Absolute Global Temperature change Potential (AGTP) climate metric. Uttar Pradesh can produce 71 Mt surplus biomass annually, equivalent to 7298 MW power. Power density of biomass range between 0.10 and 0.25 Wm-2. Significant amount of GHG emissions reduction is possible if biomass replace fossil fuel as a power source in the region. Annual GHG emissions associated with 1 MWh of power derived from coal, natural gas and biomass would cause 4.10 × 10−7, 2.40 × 10−7 and 1.25 × 10−7 mK rise in global surface temperature, 100 years after an initial emission, indicating potential of biomass power to mitigate climate change. Variation in spatio-temporal distribution and low power density could be delimiting factors in large-scale deployment of biomass power. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Biomass resources and power potentials are assessed for Uttar Pradesh, India. • GHG emissions from biomass power is assessed and compared with fossil fuels. • Climatic impact of power generation is assessed via novel climate metric. • Biomass power can mitigate climate change by replacing fossil fuels. • Spatio-temporal variability and low power density are limitations of biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar cells are considered as one of the prominent sources of renewable energy suitable for large-scale adoption in a carbon-constrained world and can contribute to reduced reliance on energy imports, whilst improving the security of energy supply. A new arrival in the family of solar cells technologies is the organic-inorganic halide perovskite. The major thrust for endorsing these new solar cells pertains to their potential as an economically and environmentally viable option to traditional silicon-based technology. To verify this assertion, this paper presents a critical review of some existing photovoltaic (PV) technologies in comparison with perovskite-structured solar cells (PSCs), including material and performance parameters, production processes and manufacturing complexity, economics, key technological challenges for further developments and current research efforts. At present, there is limited environmental assessment of PSCs and consequently, a methodologically robust and environmentally expansive lifecycle supply chain assessment of two types of PSC modules A and B is also undertaken within the context of other PV technologies, to assess their potential for environmentally friendly innovation in the energy sector. Module A is based on MAPbX 3 perovskite structure while module B is based on CsFAPbX 3 with improved stability, reproducibility and high performance efficiency. The main outcomes, presented along with sensitivity analysis, show that PSCs offer more environmentally friendly and sustainable option, with the least energy payback period, as compared to other PV technologies. The review and analysis presented provide valuable insight and guidance in identifying pathways and windows of opportunity for future PV designs towards cleaner and sustainable energy production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central strategy for climate change mitigation is expanding electricity generation from renewable energy sources, with an increasing share of decentralized generation. Some of these sources are variable renewable energy (VRE) sources, such as wind and solar resources. Measures have to be enacted to integrate VRE into an existing power supply system. One approach is switching from grid electricity supply towards direct demand of VRE generation to reduce grid transportation requirements and variable electricity grid feed-in. Within this context, energy flexibility control of manufacturing systems can be used to match energy demand of manufacturing systems with on-site VRE generation. Nonetheless, due to their inherent dynamic behavior, interlinked manufacturing systems provide additional operational and technical challenges such as maintaining throughput when energy control actions are executed. Further, stochastic influences from, for example, VRE generation and manufacturing system behavior constitute the requirement for a real-time approach on the level of manufacturing execution systems. Consequently, this paper presents a method for real-time control of manufacturing systems with several processes and intermediate buffers to increase utilization of (on-site) generated VRE without compromising system throughput. An initial method for an energy flexibility control logic is presented and a simulation prototype to evaluate its effectiveness is implemented. A case study is used to demonstrate the effectiveness and to test sensitivities to system parameter changes. Impact on direct VRE demand and additional operational indicators is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evidence of relationships between climate change induced by greenhouse gases of anthropogenic origin, and energy-economic issues (inappropriate use of fossil fuels and technologies, uncertainty in fuels price and demand trends, etc.) asks for the adoption of a holistic approach in order to re-orient the anthropogenic activities’ system towards a configuration that harmonizes environmental protection, economic growth and security of energy supply. In this framework, energy system sustainability represents one of the major challenge the EU is facing and its implementation passes through a path of coordinate actions carried out by local governments in which objectives of sustainable development become integral part of strategic programming. The aim of this research is to provide local administrations with an analytical support tool to guide key strategic decisions in energy and climate planning on the medium-long term, assessing the possible role of local energy systems in the achievement of sustainable objectives at national/European scale. This paper focuses on the implementation of a partial equilibrium TIMES-generated model in a real case study, the regional energy system of Basilicata region (Southern Italy). First, it describes the adopted methodology. Second, it is provided a step-by-step description and characterisation of the reference energy system and the model’s data input which represents the first step for an in-depth knowledge of the present energy system on which to build effective and sustainable local energy and climate plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy crisis and climate change are being the global challenge for the present debate since the world is in need of a green, efficient, carbon-neutral energy source to replace fossil fuels. Bio- gas, produced by biomethanation from organic materials, contributes to durable, reliable and renewable energy. Production of bio methane from vegetable wastes provides a flexible carrier for renewable energy; methane can be used as a substitute fuel for both heat and power production. In this context, the Indian Government invited the support of the private sectors as before, for the development and utilization of Eco-friendly new and renewable sources of energy to cover the demand. The paper also reviews the current state of vegetables purposes for bio methane production, including their preparation methods and performance. The vegetable wastes for bio methane production are presented and their main advantages described in comparison with the other available method of mixture of vegetable wastes for methane production. The waste generated may cause health hazards, so, setting up a waste treatment plant based on biomethanation process is the solution to use the technology to generate electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed energy resources (DER) are emerging rapidly. New engineering technologies, materials, and designs improve the performance and extend the range of locations for DER. In contrast, constructing new or modernizing existing high voltage transmission lines for centralized generation are expensive and challenging. In addition, customer demand for reliability has increased and concerns about climate change have created a pull for swift renewable energy penetration. In this context, DER policy makers, developers, and users are interested in determining which energy technologies to use to accommodate different end-use energy demands. In this paper, we present a two-stage multi-objective strategic technology-policy framework for determining the optimal energy technology allocation for DER. The framework simultaneously considers economic, technical, and environmental objectives. The first stage utilizes a production frontier estimation model for each end-use to evaluate the performance of each energy technology based on the three objectives. The second stage incorporates factor efficiencies determined in the first stage, capacity limitations, dispatchability, and renewable penetration for each technology, and demand for each end-use into a bottleneck multi-criteria decision model which provides the Pareto-optimal energy resource allocation. For demonstration purposes, we apply the framework to a dataset constructed for a typical commercial building located in the Northeastern United States and discuss the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]