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• Renewable energy assessment methods used in 12 GBRSs are analysed and compared. • Methods used in green neighbourhood rating system are also introduced. • Evaluation way, renewable energy types, building characteristics, etc. are analyzed. • The effects by using different methods in one building are analysed. • Suggestions are provided to improve the renewable energy assessment. Green buildings and neighborhoods can help mitigate impacts of buildings on the environment, society and economy. Many rating systems or tools have been developed worldwide to assess and certificate green buildings or green neighborhoods. Renewable energy plays an important role in achieving green buildings/neighborhoods or zero energy buildings/neighborhoods by reducing fuel consumption and pollution emissions. However, substantial differences exist in assessing or quantifying the renewable energy in green building/neighborhood rating systems. This paper therefore provides a comprehensive review on renewable energy assessment methods adopted in green building/neighborhood rating systems, which would be very helpful to understand and then improve the rating systems. These methods are analyzed and discussed regarding to the calculation way, involved renewable energy types, building characteristics and energy conversion. Then a case study is conducted to quantitatively illustrate the difference of typical renewable energy assessment. Suggestions are summarized to improve the assessment methods. This paper will help investors, users and policy makers understand the rating systems more thoroughly and promote the development of green buildings and green neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract African countries are in a unique position to reap the socio-economic and environmental benefits of renewable resources as a means for meeting increasing energy demand in a sustainable way. A critical obstacle for the deployment of renewable energy technologies in Africa is the difficulty of attracting sufficient and affordable finance. This paper compares the impact of financial conditions on the cost of electricity generation across six renewable and three fossil-based technologies in 46 African countries. The results show large cost variations and highlight the extent to which renewables are disadvantaged by current financial practices. The energy-economy-environment model TIAM-ECN is used to show how lowering financing costs results in a much higher deployment of renewables. For example, solar PV could account for 10–15% of total electricity generation by 2050, even without explicit climate policy, thanks to financial de-risking programmes. The results demonstrate that changes in financing schemes could outweigh the impact of technology learning. This paper also demonstrates that, once ambitious climate policies are in place, reducing financing costs for renewables could be an efficient way to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Financial de-risking is thus a key ingredient for unlocking the renewable energy potential in Africa. Highlights • We show how renewables are disadvantaged by today's financial practices in Africa. • We show how lower financing costs result in a higher deployment of renewables. • PV can account for 10–15% of electricity generation by 2050 without climate policy. • Changes in financing schemes could outweigh the impact of technology learning. • Financial de-risking is key for unlocking the renewable energy potential in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper provides a comprehensive review of 48 studies on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biogas production from 2006 to 2018 (13 years). The scope of the study, type of feedstock and impact categories used in the reviewed studies were discussed. Although various studies have been carried out to assess the efficiency and potential of wastes for biogas production, however, little attention has been paid particularly in the developing countries to conduct comprehensive analysis related to the environmental performance of biogas generation based on the LCA methodology. In Malaysia, the utilization of palm oil mill effluent (POME) as the source of energy has recently been expanded due to its abundant production at the palm oil mills. Therefore, this paper also highlights and discusses the feasibility of LCA approach on biogas production from POME as well as the opportunities and challenges from the Malaysian perspective. Highlights • Utilization of biogas production from organic waste to provide a clean energy. • Environmental performance of biogas as a renewable energy using an LCA methodology. • The trends of LCA approach in biogas production was reviewed worldwide. • The opportunities of biogas production from POME in Malaysian was discussed. • The feasibility of LCA approach on biogas production in Malaysian was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tackles the process of energy transition from a transactional perspective. It addresses the governance of energy transition by studying its local actualizations, moving beyond purely technical and normative readings. The paper shows that through the local socio-technological energy systems, sustainability governance filters down to the level of individual, everyday behavior, thus questioning the link between public and private spaces, especially regarding the issue of housing. Going beyond the results commonly yielded by transition studies, which favor large-scale analysis, it details how the discourse of citizen involvement, which often boils down to a mere call to control one's individual energy consumption, conceals environmental inequalities, confirming the socioeconomic divide materialized in deprived areas such as public housing estates or remote rural areas. From a methodological standpoint, the analysis is based on four case studies in Northeast France, in more or less privileged areas, and in both urban and rural environments: the renovation of a heating network in the public housing estate of Cité de l'Ill, north of Strasbourg; the solar energy systems designed for property owners in Plobsheim, a residential suburb of Strasbourg; the energy-efficient equipment set up in a public housing estate in the city of Saint-Dié, in the Vosges; and citizen participation in a cooperative program to finance wind turbines in the small Alsacian city of Saâles, in a mountain rural area. The paper draws on the results of these sociological investigations, carried out using field observations, questionnaires and interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Numerous studies have investigated how small vulnerable territories are adapting to climate change, particularly non-interconnected islands with focus on Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and self-sufficiency. A key to success is an energy plan with appropriate policy tools. This paper first presents a discussion on barriers to RES deployment. Then, we present the energy situation and the legislative energy framework in Reunion Island. Are the legislative and policy frameworks sufficient to achieve the energy transition? This paper proposes an original view discussing the potential of a territory and available tools to develop RES. Energy transition is also view as an opportunity. Highlights • Reunion Island's potential for achieve the energy transition. • A complex legal context: town planning and energy planning not in phase. • A set of barriers identified and analysed isolated island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although FRT capability is claimed in Japanese grid code for RE, DVS capability is not. In some European countries, not only FRT but also DVS is claimed. Whether this choice of our grid code is pragmatically adequate or not? To answer the question, it is necessary to evaluate FRT and DVS capabilities. But the past studies only evaluated qualitative merit of FRT and DVS, or evaluated quantitative merit on fictional system models. Since the authors intend to evaluate FRT and DVS capabilities in existing power system of Japan, some method for the evaluation must be invented. For the evaluation, values of FRT and DVS capabilities are evaluated by reduction amount of stabilizing equipment (i.e. SVC in the paper). The evaluation based on strict optimal SVC disposition is quite difficult, because existing power system must be adequately modeled, because number of SVCs is large and because every power flow conditions must be considered. However, semi‐optimal SVC disposition can be calculated as shown in the paper. As the result, value of FRT is quite larger than value of DVS. And then, our grid code is proved as pragmatically adequate, except some flaw in claimed FRT design that is introduced in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The transition to a 100% renewable energy system based on variable renewable energy raises technical but also institutional questions. The smart energy system concept integrates variable renewable energy by addressing the technical challenges through the integration of different energy sectors, but integration of variable renewable energy also entails a change in the cost structures, especially related to electricity. The effect of this change in cost structures on market prices is investigated. This is done through simulation of a 100% renewable energy system that utilises a large degree of cross-sector integration but maintaining the current electricity market structure. The paper uses a 100% renewable energy system scenario for a 2050 Danish energy system. This is reflected in the use of wind energy as the primary renewable energy source. It is concluded that the current electricity market structure is not able to financially sustain the amounts of wind power necessary for the transition to a 100% renewable energy system. Since earlier research shows that neither electricity production costs nor the total system costs is higher for the renewable path than the fossil-based alternatives, the conclusion in this paper points towards a need for reshaping the institutional structure of electricity trade. Highlights • Calculates electricity prices in a renewable energy system with current market design. • Calculates private profitability of wind power investments within such system. • The market design cannot financially sustain wind power in a renewable energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small island developing states of the Pacific suffer from both the high cost of fossil fuel imports and from numerous climate-related disasters. These vulnerabilities will worsen unless there is a substantial global shift away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy (RE) sources, coupled with significant improvements in energy efficiency. Apart from traditional biomass-fuelled cooking, the most substantial uses of RE in the Pacific in 2016 were hydropower in some of the hillier island countries and the thousands of household photovoltaic (PV) systems in the remoter parts of island countries. This paper considers also the prospects for grid PV, geothermal, and biofuels – all of which have good technical potential in at least some islands. Barriers to wider use of RE in the region are mostly institutional and financial, but also include opportunity costs, environmental factors, and the limited skills base in small island states. The paper examines the mixed progress since the 1990s towards overcoming these barriers. The Fiji Electricity Authority has a reasonably realistic plan to have 81% of its supply from RE by 2020, drawing on hydropower (~ 50% in 2015), biomass (including bagasse), and some solar and wind. Tonga has its Renewable Energy Roadmap with clear milestones. Several other Pacific Island countries have ambitious RE targets but some are rather vague about how they are to be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As the smart grid paradigm is capable to encourage the active consumers for efficacious participation in increasing system efficiency, demand response programs (DRPs) have attracted much interest in the worldwide recently, especially in optimization of smart microgrids (MGs). Under this context, this paper proposes an integrated method relies on cleverly cooperation of time rate-based DRP and heterogeneous distributed energy resources (DERs) deployment with aim to reliability-oriented planning of multiple MGs. To do this, a novel two-stage decision making model is exploited in which at the first stage the MGs construction is formed by optimal dynamic planning of hybrid DERs simultaneously with section switch allocation considering a reliability criterion for MGs as loss of load expectation (LOLE) constraint. Subsequently, at the next stage the critical energy peak pricing-based program accomplishes in order to flatten the load profile as well as diminishing the investment costs of MGs. Besides, owing to the unpredictable nature pertaining to renewable power production, the uncertainty modeling is inevitable where in this paper, a novel pragmatic robust optimization approach has been employed to deal with intense uncertainty of the problem. Numerical results obtained from an illustrative case study elucidate how the proposed MGs planning and utilized DRP pairing significantly increases the expected profit of system and ameliorates the reliability of end-users. Highlights • An innovative two-stage framework is developed for DRP and MGs planning pairing. • A time-rate based DRP is employed to reduce and postpone the investment costs of MGs. • Dynamic model is used to design of multiple MGs considering reliability criterion. • A pragmatic robust optimization is proposed to cope with uncertainty of the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

District Heating (DH) systems will play an important role in future sustainable energy systems. Existing networks can be optimized by lowering primary return temperatures in order to improve the use of geothermal resources. This can be done by installing triple-pipe systems. This paper defines the concept of triple-pipe configurations as it is understood in France. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the relevance of those configurations for optimizing geothermal DH system efficiency. A dynamic thermal-hydraulic model was developed using the programming language Modelica. A generic case study is modeled considering the extension of an existing network. It is shown that triple-pipe configurations offer lower return temperatures and gas consumption, while increasing of the renewable energy share in the network energy mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union targets for 27% renewable energy share by 2030. At the same time, all new buildings should be nearly zero energy buildings from 2020 onwards. A major obstacle to these objectives is a combination of current economic stagnation and limited investors' confidence, which leads to low investment proportion. Despite many renewable energy technologies are already at a competitive level, the implementation rate in buildings is still low. In this paper, we focus on advances in efficient mechanisms to overcome non-technical barriers to the increase of renewable energy applications in buildings, such as Energy Performance Contracting (EPC). Tertiary sector holds a huge untapped potential for such applications, especially in Southern Europe. The Trust-EPC-South European initiative, implemented in six southern EU countries with a mix of beginner and intermediate energy service markets, aims at encouraging the financing of sustainable energy solutions in the tertiary sector, by creating a framework for standardization, assessment and benchmarking, thus improving trust and confidence in the financing parties. This paper presents three case studies in Greece, a Mediterranean family resort hotel, a resort and spa hotel and an office building. The installation of renewable energy measures, including photovoltaic systems, solar thermal systems and heat pumps, was examined and their EPC potential was rated, by using the described standardization and benchmarking methodology. Their economic savings range from 3 to 23% on yearly energy costs, at a discounted payback of 3–6 years, depending on the measure. A sensitivity analysis shows the impact of the variation of technical and economic parameters on the EPC projects feasibility. The standardization practice applied is expected to support the project actors in securing appropriate financing and eventually proceed with the renewable energy installations through the EPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of energy transition amidst the energy crisis and how policymakers can drive down emissions while focusing on energy security are critical. Given the geo-political situation, energy crisis volatility, energy shortage and climate change all affect the green transition and the short-term priorities for energy companies and policymakers. Energy security is not an isolated issue but has widespread implications as various sectors depend on energy supply to function properly. Governments around the world are faced with this trilemma, how to balance energy security with energy sustainability while also considering energy affordability. Sustainability has been in focus for about a decade. However, energy security is suddenly becoming one of the most important priorities that policymakers need to consider. Unfortunately, the renewable energy infrastructure is not yet ready to replace the growing volume of energy demand from hydrocarbon, which the world has been dependent on. This means, for now, a surge in energy generation through hydrocarbon to meet the existing energy demand deficit. However, it is important not to lose focus on the challenge of energy sustainability and climate change adaption and mitigation. Where trends like carbon capture and storage; solar, wind, hydro, green hydrogen, etc.; renewable energy infrastructure and integrations, with supply chain and engineering services consideration [in aspect for the growing market in this space] need better attention with regards to investment and full-scale implementation. This paper aims to analyze this 1st energy crisis of green transition with a priori on energy poverty with consideration of major influences and associated impacts. Furthermore, it proposes a specific framework for inclusive investigations, which considers the entire energy ecosystem with consideration of major influences, to enable the policymakers to better drive the green transition. This involves formulating energy policies that are not entirely conservative towards renewable energy sources but instead promote investments in both green and relatively more environmentally benign energy sources compared to high emission hydrocarbons. In this regard, this paper renders exhaustive prospects and recommendations. • The nexus between energy transition, energy poverty and their impacts are investigated. • Influence of climate change, COVID-19, geo-politics, and energy infrastructure on energy transition. • Exhaustive prospects and recommendations are rendered. • Requirement for inclusive investigations and recognition of energy poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EKC literature has ignored the importance of natural resources on environmental degradation. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the impact of renewable energy consumption and the abundance of natural resources on CO2 emissions for a panel of 82 countries by using quantile regressions. Empirical results show that renewable energy consumption reduces CO2 emissions and its effect increases in higher quantiles. The impact on carbon emissions of natural resource abundance is negative at lower quantiles but positive at medium and higher quantiles. Also, the validity of the EKC hypothesis is confirmed for all quantiles, and an increase in trade openness and urbanization increases environmental degradation in lower and middle quantile levels; however, these determinants have negative impacts on carbon emissions at higher quantiles. Policy implications related to this outcome are further discussed in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental problems, combined with a finite supply of fossil fuels, have made the use of renewable energy sources necessary. Biomass is a renewable source of energy that has played a very important role in energy production in recent years. Because there are a number of technologies that can be used to convert biomass into energy, it is important to select the best option. The fact that multiple options are available that need to be evaluated based on a set of decision-making criteria makes this a multicriteria decision-making problem. This paper takes the first step in proposing an evaluation framework and identifying the importance of the relevant decision-making criteria in biofuel production technology selection. To determine the importance of the selection criteria, experts were asked to respond to an online questionnaire based on the best–worst method. The results indicate that air pollution, land use change, and human expertise are the three most important criteria for selecting the best biofuel production technology in our case country, Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected economic activities in the various sectors due to different levels of lockdown like border closure, stay at home, and social distancing. In this regard, energy use patterns are bound to change. The objective of this paper was to analyze the changes of energy supply and energy consumption in Taiwan through the official database due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020. In addition, some governmental measures were addressed in response to COVID-19 impacts on renewable energy development, especially in off-shore wind power and solar photovoltaic (PV). It was revealed that the results of the change analysis in energy supply and energy consumption were in line with those in the literature. The Taiwan’s energy supply and energy consumption showed a decrease by 4.7% and 4.3% on a year-on-year basis (YoY), respectively. More consistently, the petroleum consumption per capita indicated a decreasing trend at this period, but the electricity consumption per capita showed an upward increase over the Q1 of past decade (2010–2020). However, the electricity consumption slightly increased by 2.2% mainly due to the increase of the electrical and electronic machinery industry in the industrial sector for the strong demand in overseas markets. In addition, the electricity consumption in the residential sector also increased by 5.1% in response to the lockdown measures like stay-at-home learning and working. Apart from the epidemic prevention measures for assisting the off-shore power project constructions, some financial and economic relief measures have been taken to mitigate the COVID-19 impacts on the renewable energy (RE) development, especially in solar PV system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Growth in global energy demand, with major fossil fuel consumption, has induced detrimental environmental and social impacts. Therefore, in recent years, technologies focused on renewable energy utilization, including biomass energy, have evolved to meet the energy requirements. Bioenergy‐based power generation systems are among the best‐unutilized configurations to diminish reliance on fossil fuels. However, it is difficult to select a biomass‐based configuration for economical, sustainable, and reliable power generation. Understanding different possible configurations of biomass‐based energy systems, design parameters, system research gaps, and integration challenges in biomass‐based energy systems are important for further development and propagation. This paper presents a critical review of biomass‐based different hybrid configurations with solar, wind, fuel cell, micro‐hydro, geothermal, and diesel generator, and various designing parameters, challenges, and gaps with future scope. To restrict the scope of the review, only the gasification and anaerobic digestion related biomass electricity generation systems are considered. The analysis indicates that the biomass‐based hybrid energy systems can provide an eco‐friendly and cost‐effective solution, especially for off‐grid rural electrification. The solar radiation, load demand, fuel price, capacity shortage, interest rate, wind speed, biomass quantity, and electricity rate are among the most critical designing parameters in biomass‐based energy systems. The study provides valuable information to designers, researchers, and policy makers on the latest design constraints and relevant policies relating to biomass‐based hybrid energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study develops a tourism-pollution model for G20 economies. • Results show that a 1% increase in tourism decreases CO 2 emissions by 0.05% in long run. • Renewable energy was having supportive role in CO 2 emissions from G20 economies. • There was an inverted U-shape relation between CO 2 emissions and real GDP. Tourism appears as a catalyst for growth and development; however, recent studies have documented that this sector heavily depends on energy sector and as a consequence, entire tourism industry has been blamed for CO 2 emissions. This study aims to investigate the impact of tourism develop, renewable energy and real GDP on CO 2 emissions for G20 economies during the period of 1995-2015. In the presence of panel unit root, Pedroni and Kao methods confirm long-run cointegration among variables. FMOLS results show that a 1% increase in tourism development decreases pollution emissions by 0.05% in long run. The results show that the increase in renewable energy consumption reduces pollution emissions. A 1% increases in renewable energy reduces pollution emissions by 0.15% in long run. There was an inverted U-shaped relation between pollution and real GDP in long run confirming the validity of environmental Kuznets curve. Paper concludes that tourism development can be driving force for CO 2 emissions reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salalah is known for its Al-Khareef unique weather that is marked by influx of tourists into the community resulting in high electrical load demand during the Al-Khareef season. This paper investigates the viability of two hybridised energy systems for application in Salalah community. The result demonstrated that the Photovoltaic, Wind and Battery combination is more cost effective in terms of energy consumption, initial cost and renewal price, in comparison to the other hybrid energy system. The Homer Pro software, return on investment and internal rate of return analysis showed that the Photovoltaic/Wind/Battery scheme commands higher economic and environmental viability, presenting the Photovoltaic, Wind and Battery scheme as a better option to meet the power demand for Salalah city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MoS 2 is one of the most lucrative 2D materials for the NGs. • Single-layered MoS 2 is most suitable structure for the NGs. • MoS 2 based NGs have drawn a great attention in recent years. • MoS 2 based NGs are lucrative for wearable electronic applications. • Need intensive strategic research to mature the technology for practical application. Energy consumption and structure have changed in the new era along with the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence, and the power sources for billions of dispersed gadgets and sensors have sparked attention globally to protect the environment. Due to the rising usage of non-renewable energy sources and the resulting environmental damage, researchers are investigating alternative energy systems that can harness energy from the environment. Therefore, self-sufficient small-scale electronic systems will be possible through the use of underutilised natural waste energy sources collected in nanogenerators (NGs). The features of the materials used have a significant impact on how well NGs work. In this regard Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2), a 2D material, is one of the compounds that is discussed vastly nowadays due to its exceptional characteristics that made it useful in a variety of applications. Many research papers on the advancement and implementation of MoS 2 materials have been published, but this article will give an in-depth overview. It offers an introduction and interpretation of the main properties of 2D MoS 2 nanomaterials, starting with their current state, properties, and various synthesis processes. Later, the review concentrates on MoS 2 applications and energy-harvesting capabilities and gives a comprehensive study of piezoelectric, triboelectric and thermometrical nanogenerators based on 2D MoS 2 nanocomposite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy (RE) plays a crucial role in global energy transformation, and a thorough study of the potential impact of RE on regional carbon emissions is of great significance. This is particularly relevant to China, which needs to clarify its path to carbon reduction. Using the sample data of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2021, this paper uses the Granger causality test to verify the causal relationship between carbon emission intensity (CEI) and other factors. It builds a mediation effect model on this basis to explore the direct impact effect and indirect transmission path of renewable energy utilization (REU) on CEI. The results show that REU has a one-way causal relationship with CEI. REU can directly and indirectly reduce CEI by improving social wealth and changing the direction of energy investment. In addition, REU indirectly increases CEI through the transmission paths of investment in the energy industry - social affluence and industrial level-social affluence. The CEI is indirectly reduced through the conduction paths of (social affluence-Urbanization rate), (Investment in the energy industry-Urbanization rate), (Industrial level-Urbanization rate), and (Industrial level-Investment in the energy industry). These conclusions will assist policymakers in exploring targeted pathways for low-carbon power development, providing a reference for strategic and sustainable carbon reduction policies. [Display omitted] • Enrich the view of renewable energy's indirect impact on carbon emissions. • Renewable energy's carbon emission reductions go beyond replacing fossil fuels. • Constructed a mediating effect model between renewable energy and carbon emissions. • Renewable energy can promote or inhibit carbon emissions through various pathways. • Research helps develop more effective renewable energy sustainability strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of federal and state regulations and financial incentive programs have been enacted in recent years to promote renewable energy systems integration in new buildings. This requires designers to analyze the initial and lifecycle costs of feasible renewable energy systems in order to optimize their integration in buildings during all design phases. The goal of this study is to support designers in generating optimal building schematic designs to maximize the integration and generation of onsite renewable energy. To accomplish this goal, this paper presents the development of a novel multi-objective optimization model that can be used during the schematic design phase to identify optimal building design decisions including dimensions, orientation, location on site, solid-to-void ratio, and the type and size of onsite renewable energy systems. The optimization objectives of the developed model focus on maximizing the generation of onsite renewable energy, maximizing savings-to-investment ratio of all integrated renewable energy, and minimizing both construction and renewable energy costs. An application example of optimizing the schematic design of a 6500 m2 building was analyzed to highlight the model original contributions and its novel capabilities. The results of this analysis highlight the original contributions of the developed model and its novel capabilities that can be used to maximize the generation of onsite renewable energy and its savings-to-investment ratio while minimizing building cost by optimizing building schematic design and renewable energy (RE) technology decisions. • Optimizing building schematic design with renewable energy integration. • Maximizing RE generation, savings-to-investment ration, and minimizing bilding costs. • Complying with building design requirements and renewable energy constraints. • Optimal building design parameters and renewable energy technologies. • Analyzing the impact of design decisions on renewable energy and building costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the research topics of China's energy transition policy and predicting future research trends are crucial for policymakers to make informed decisions and advance the energy transition. This study applied the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to extract 26 major research topics from the 13,976 abstracts of Chinese policy research papers in web of science (WOS), conceptualized the five most popular topics and used the ARIMA model to predict trends over the next 36 months. The results show that except for Economic and Environmental Impact of Renewable Energy Consumption (Topic13), which will first experience unanticipated fluctuations and then show strong growth capacity, all other topics will continue to remain positive growth trend. Research and Development (Topic3) is driven by the urgency of China's energy transformation. Economic and Environmental Impact of Renewable Energy Consumption (Topic13) is driven by the potential for the development of renewable energy. Economic Impact of Climate Change (Topic26) is driven by the climate change debate. Economic Growth, Urbanization, and Energy Consumption (Topic7) is driven by a discussion of their relationship and the mechanisms influencing them. Regional Efficiency and Productivity Analysis (Topic19) is driven by regional differences in China's energy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the relationship between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy production and consumption patterns in 122 countries over the period from 1990 to 2020. Particular attention is paid to the role of different types of energy, including renewable, hydro and nuclear energy, as well as oil, gas and coal, in shaping GHG emissions. Unlike previous studies, the paper analyzes the full range of energy resources and focuses on different quantiles of data using the quantile-quantile regression (QQR) method. The results of this approach are compared with traditional quantile regression (QR) to assess its validity. Among the findings of this study are: (1) different parts of the energy mix have a heterogeneous impact on GHG emissions in different quantiles; (2) energy consumption patterns play a more significant role in shaping GHG emissions than production patterns; (3) increasing production and consumption of fossil fuels does not necessarily increase GHG emissions; (4) similarly, the development of renewable energy sources is not always accompanied by a reduction in GHG emissions. Our general conclusion is that existing climate policy requires significant diversification to not be focused only on renewable energy, which impact on GHG emissions is not as homogeneous as it usually considered, and which cannot solve the problem of raising emissions solely. Instead of this, it could be more rational to focus on the searching the ways of hydrocarbon industries sustainable development and support them in this journey, especially in the field of Scope 2 and Scope 3 operations management. • Impact of energy consumption and production on GHG emissions were analyzed for 122 countries in 1990–2020. • Quantile and Quantile-on-Quantile regression were used to catch the specifics of energy consumption and production patterns. • Two temporal breakpoints (1999/2000 and 2009/2010) were introduced to catch shifts in variables dependencies. • The influence of fossil fuels on GHG emissions is not homogeneous as it usually considered, the same is fare for renewables. • A promising option to reduce GHG emissions is carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transnational power cooperation contributes to promoting the large-scale use of renewable energies in Asia, but how to develop the structure of power transmission network deserves careful investigation. This paper thoroughly investigates the structure of power investment and transmission network in China and neighbouring countries, aiming to promote the large-scale use of renewable energies around Asia. Various power-generation and power-transmission technologies are considered in detail, and transnational power interconnection risk cost and carbon emission cost are embedded into a bottom-up optimization model. The future power-generation structures and networks installed under various policy scenarios are analysed in detail, and the corresponding economic, carbon emission reduction and renewable energy consumption benefits are evaluated. The results show that power transmission between China's internal regions and neighbouring countries can save $56.7 billion for the entire power system through the large-scale grid integration of renewable energy. The installed capacities of wind power, solar power, and hydropower renewable energy power generation could be increased by 141 GW, 163 GW, and 58 GW, respectively. The construction of transnational transmission lines from Central Asia to Northwest China, Mongolia to North China, the Russian Far East to Northeast China, and Northeast China to South Korea could effectively promote the utilization of renewable energy in the Russian Far East, Mongolia and Central Asia and further reduce carbon emissions in China, Japan and South Korea. • It examines how to construct a power investment and transmission network in Asia. • Various technologies, risks and costs are considered based on bottom-up model. • Huge benefits exist for power transmission between China and neighbouring countries. • Various power-generation structures and networks installed are analysed in detail. • Suggestions about power investment and transmission are given for Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global shift to renewable energy is conducive to carbon reduction, but its impact on the economy is still uncertain. Unlike existing research focusing on the effect of domestic renewable energy (RE), this paper considers the global RE connection among countries and examines the impact of global RE development on economic growth (EG) using China as a sample. In addition, we apply a novel wavelet-based quantile-on-quantile method, which can estimate the local influence of the α-quantile of global RE on the β-quantile of the EG in different periods. The finding shows that the upper quantiles of RE promote EG , and this effect is greater at the upper quantiles of EG in the medium- and long-term. This is mainly because China plays a leading role in RE development and has an advantage in exporting RE -related products with the development of global RE. The finding proves the growth effect, indicating that RE is a blessing for China's EG. However, in the short term, a higher level of global RE development impedes China's EG due to high upfront costs of RE production, fierce competition from other countries, and insufficient energy supply when significant investment shifts from non-renewable energy to RE. The empirical results provide important policy implications to balance RE 's short-term inhibitory effect and long-term promoting effect on EG in the process of the global energy transition. • The global RE connection and the impact of global RE development on economic EG. • Applying wavelet-based quantile-on-quantile method can estimate the local influence of global RE on EG in different periods. • Upper quantiles of RE promote EG is greater at the upper quantiles of EG in the medium- and long-term. • The growth effect indicating that RE is a blessing for China's EG. • Balance RE's short-term inhibitory effect and long-term promoting effect on EG in the process of energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the stochastic characteristics of wind, keeping high-quality power into the grid-dependent hybrid wind energy systems is important for effective energy utilization, especially when there are non-linear loads involved. In this paper, a dual layer random features kernel mean p-power (MRFKMP) adaptive control for the grid interfaced converter of a DFIG-PV based hybrid energy system is implemented for the purpose of maintaining power balances and quality power at both the source and grid ends while operating at unity power factor. The introduced control extracts the weight of stator and load current components with finer convergence and lower computational complexity, excluding complex reference transformations. The dual layer adaptive control improves grid side converter functionality by improving power quality, interruption of loads, taking into account reactive power and harmonic remediation under steady-state and dynamic scenarios. In the secondary step, to achieve optimal DFIG-PV control response, the stability of the DC-link, which is the main coupling element for power transfer between DFIG, solar PV, and battery energy storage (BES), is reinforced by tuning the DC link voltage controller with the white shark optimization (WSO) algorithm. Under the worst-case scenario of large step wind change, the primacy of the envisaged WSO algorithm for tuning DC-link PI controller has been evidenced. It is discovered that WSO tuning positively affects the settling time and oscillatory response of the DC-link voltage not just at the outset, but also throughout the subjugated dynamic wind speed change. Power flow to the grid is stable due to optimized DC-link voltage performance. WSO parameter tuning improved efficiency is validated using MATLAB simulation results and compared to GA and PSO techniques in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study offers a novel perspective on the utilization of renewable energy as a means of hedging against international oil prices. Countries with limited reserves of traditional energy sources, such as crude oil, are susceptible to the risks associated with international energy prices due to geopolitical factors. This paper examines the interplay between energy consumption, economic growth, and international oil prices through panel analysis. The data employed in this study encompasses 25 net oil-importing countries from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) between 1990 and 2019. Our long-run vector estimation results suggest that oil prices can pose an economic risk that diminishes gross output, while renewable energy consumption can mitigate the risk associated with oil prices. The Granger causality results among the variables support the feedback and conservation hypotheses for energy and renewable energy, respectively. Moreover, our findings indicate that oil prices may drive the expansion of renewable energy due to concerns about external risks. Policymakers should contemplate the utilization of renewable energy as a means of hedging against the risks associated with traditional resources. This study contributes to the extant literature on the energy-growth nexus by providing a fresh perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple geographically dispersed data center buildings have been increasingly positioned in renewable-rich areas due to their high energy consumption. This paper proposes an optimal multi-energy portfolio for zero carbon data center buildings in the presence of proactive demand response programs. In the data center buildings, the complementarities of hydro-solar-wind hybrid renewable energy sources (RESs) are fully exploited via multi-energy conversion and storage devices, which are modeled as 100% renewable energy hubs for zero carbon multi-energy supplies. In order to exploit the hub-internal operational dispatchability and flexibility, a comprehensive energy consumption model of data center buildings is proposed to facilitate the demand response in terms of available serves, while the variable speed pumped storage (VSPS) is modeled to capture its dynamic operational characteristics. The energy‑carbon production, conversion, storage, and consumption are formulated as an energy‑carbon matrix, which are solved via a two-stage method to obtain the optimal portfolio. Case studies on southwest China data center buildings are implemented to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed methodology on cost-effective accommodation of RESs. Simulations results show that the system portfolio cost can be reduced by at most 17.8% with a higher operational flexibility. • A cost-effective data center building is proposed to accommodate zero carbon targets. • Hydro-solar-wind 100% renewables are formulated for multi-energy supplies. • VSPS and data center energy consumption are modeled to exploit inherent flexibility. • The energy-carbon production, conversion, storage, and consumption are optimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the deployment and penetration of renewable energy is considered to be the fundamental way to solve environmental problems, but whether higher penetration of renewable energy means higher energy efficiency remains to be empirically tested. To reveal the relationship between cleanliness and efficiency in the energy sector, this paper first uses the three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA)method to measure the total factor energy efficiency (TFEE) of 30 provinces in China, and then applies static and dynamic panel threshold regression (PTR)models to estimate the nonlinear effect of renewable energy share on TFEE. The results show that renewable energy is usually beneficial for improving TFEE, but there are prominent heterogeneity and nonlinear characteristics in net electricity exporting and net electricity importing provinces. Renewable energy in low rather than high regimes can significantly improve energy efficiency, indicating that provinces with lower levels of economic development and energy consumption receive higher marginal energy efficiency and are more likely to achieve sustainable development goals. More renewable energy quotas should be given to economically developed and high energy consuming provinces, and comprehensive energy efficiency guarantees and improvement measures must be provided to achieve optimal emission mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the premise that an increase in the use of energy determines a corresponding economic growth, this article aims to determine if at the community level of the European Union there is a causality between energy consumption and economic performance. Thus, using the multiple regression analysis, we sought to determine if, at the level of all 28 member states of the EU, the economic performance, measured through GDP, can be explained by the simultaneous variation in the consumption of the 5 types of primary energy: solid fuels, electricity, natural gas, oil and renewable energy. The results, of particular importance in the development of measures through the European energy policy, show a significant impact of the use of electricity, oil and renewable energy on the European GDP, while the influence of coal and natural gas consumption has a low intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic development of any country is closely linked with the consumption of energy. Therefore, international policies encourage increasing penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) into the electrical grid in order to reduce CO2 emissions and cover ever-increasing demands. However, high variance of RES complicates their integration into power systems and complicates their transition from central to distributed energy sources. On the other hand, increasing the penetration of RES in electrical networks stimulates the demand for large capacity for energy storage. This paper presents a new approach to optimize the size of on-grid renewable energy systems integrated to pumped storage system using Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA). This approach allows the examination of various energy sources and their combination to handle the optimal configuration of the hybrid system. The simulation and optimization process of the studied system have been carried out by MATLAB programming. The impact of the system under study on the grid is examined according to the power exchange values between the system and the grid. Moreover, different scenarios have been introduced for optimal operation. The simulation results indicate that these hybrid systems can reduce power exchange with the grid and ensure that the proposed system is economically and environmentally feasible. Furthermore, the results indicate the technical feasibility of seawater hydroelectric power plants in increasing the capacity of the electric grid to allow for high penetration of RES. Finally, the results showed that the best minimum value of the objective function is 3.9113 and showed that CO2 emission can be reduced about 29.65% per year compared to the conventional power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency thought further: the energy activated building envelope as part of the process chain Public discussion on energy system transformation often takes place exclusively in the context of electrical energy. In the industrial sector in particular, thermal energy plays another important role. Rather than following the purely dogmatic approach of 'saving' energy, our intent is to truly comprehend the energy system and to identify the energetic dependencies within it. The guiding principle and the ETA factory concepts derived from it are targeted toward using the necessary quantity (ultimate energy demand) of the appropriate form of energy (primary energy demand) at the right time (flexible energy supply) and the right location (efficient infrastructure). In practice, instead of the previously isolated optimization of individual components (e. g. machine tools, cooling systems, building insulation), the system of a production factory was considered as a whole and a model factory was built on the TU Darmstadt campus, in which building, building services and machinery were synergetically linked to one another through the three level of building automation system. A significant contribution to increase energy efficiency is made by the thermally activated building envelope made from concrete, which includes a water‐bearing capillary‐like piping network close to the surface. These multifunctional wall and roof elements combine the functions load‐bearing, insulating, enclosing and thermally interacting and act as large heating and cooling surfaces. The paper is a continuation of the article from Bautechnik 03/2014 and presents the results achieved in the research project ETA‐Fabrik with focus on the constructional implementation. Background and objectives of the project are taken up from the previous article, the research boundary conditions are described and the results of the energy saving potentials are presented. In addition to a brief description of the implemented thermal networking and the building envelope, the thermal performance of façade and roof elements and their contribution to achieve comfort criteria in the production hall are explained. The architectural concept and a critical appraisal of the interdisciplinary cooperation within a networked factory round off this series on the subject of the ETA model factory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the Energy Packet Network (EPN) to investigate an optimal energy distribution problem for the computer-communication system which is powered by intermittent renewable energy sources. The objective is to find an optimal energy distribution to minimize the proposed cost function which computes penalty costs caused by the overall average response time of jobs and the energy loss. In this EPN system, we consider the energy can be lost through storage leakages, or due to empty workstations which will consume energy even no job needs to be processed. Related numerical examples with different sets of parameter values are presented in the paper to evaluate the system performance and to examine the obtained analytical solution. Then a special case is considered to study the optimal system performance when the total energy harvesting rate is sufficiently large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity powered vehicles/Electric vehicles using renewable energy are becoming more and more popular, since they have become an effective way to solve energy shortage, and environmental pollution. Battery electric vehicles with zero emission characteristics are being developed on a large scale. With the scale of electric vehicles, electric vehicles with controllable load and vehicle-to-grid functions can optimize the use of renewable energy in the grid. This puts forward the higher request to the battery performance. The energy density of the batteries and renewable energy conversion efficiency have greatly also affected the application of electric vehicles. This paper presents an overview of the research for improving lithium-ion battery energy storage density, safety, and renewable energy conversion efficiency. It is discussed that is the application of the integration technology, new power semiconductors and multi-speed transmissions in improving the electromechanical energy conversion efficiency, and the issues and challenges of increasing battery energy density. In order to improve the safety, it is analyzed how to improve the estimation accuracy and temperature control performance of the battery management system. As the demand for fast charging and renewable energy of electric vehicles increases, the latest developments and technical challenges of on-board rapid charging technology are introduced. • We present an overview on energy storage density and energy conversion efficiency of electricity powered vehicles. • Methods to increase the energy storage density of electricity powered vehicles are proposed. • Efficient inverter and multi-speed transmission improving renewable energy conversion efficiency are discussed. • The integration improves the energy efficiency of electricity powered vehicles. • Integrated fast charging and coordinated charging for renewable energy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an investigation of the potential for coordinated charging of electric vehicles to i) reduce the CO 2 emissions associated with their charging by selectively charging when grid carbon intensity (gCO2/kWh) is low and ii) absorb excess wind generation in times when it would otherwise be curtailed. A method of scheduling charge events that seeks the minimum carbon intensity of charging while respecting EV and network constraints is presented via a time-coupled linearised optimal power flow formulation, based on plugging-in periods derived from a large travel dataset. Schedules are derived using real half-hourly grid intensity data; if charging in a particular event can be done entirely through use of renewable energy that would otherwise have been curtailed, its carbon intensity is zero. It was found that if 'dumb' charged from the current UK mainland (GB) grid, average emissions related to electric vehicle (EV) charging are in the range 35–56 gCO2/km; this can be reduced to 28–40 gCO2/km by controlled charging – approximately 20–30% of the tailpipe emissions of an average new petrol or diesel car sold in Europe. There is potential for EVs to absorb excess wind generation; based on the modelled charging behaviour, 500,000 EVs (20% of Scotland's current car fleet) could absorb around three quarters of curtailment at Scotland's largest onshore wind farm. • Electric vehicle (EV) charging is scheduled for minimum carbon intensity. • EVs' potential to absorb excess renewables by charging selectively is investigated. • Real GB grid carbon intensity (gCO 2 /kWh) and wind curtailment data used. • Scheduling can reduce EV emissions from 35 to 56 gCO 2 /km to 28–40 gCO 2 /km. • 500,000 EVs can absorb 75% of curtailment at GB's largest onshore wind farm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uncertainty has been one of the main obstacles in the operation of distribution systems with renewable energy resources whose power generation is, by nature, highly intermittent, often resulting in the unbalanced conditions of distributed networks. This unbalance degrades voltage profiles and, thus, aggravates power loss consumed in distributed networks. In this sense, the pragmatic coordination scheme between day-ahead and real-time optimization to achieve economic and stable operation is presented in this paper. At the day-ahead optimization stage, the objective aims to minimize operation costs by controlling the energy storage system such as battery systems. This stage is based primarily on historical data about the daily profiles of power demands or renewable distributed generations, so uncertain elements are always inevitable in operational procedures. The real-time monitoring system plays a pivotal role in computing present operating conditions on a real-time basis sufficient to address these uncertainties of renewable energy resources. The operating conditions are, then, utilized to formulate the objective function and relevant constraints to calibrate control orders once decided at the day-ahead optimization stage. This paper explains the proposed coordination scheme with real-time monitoring capability and, then, presents the test results of numerical experiments with a 15-bus test distribution system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global depletion of fossil fuels, growing awareness on the effects of carbon emissions and greenhouse gases and, the need for renewable energy, has increased the attention towards biocoke research and active engagement with various research groups and industrial players. Biocoke production and utilisation is crucial as it contributes to the efficient management of agricultural residue and municipal solid waste. The technologies involved in the biocoke production and the viability of Malaysia's agricultural waste as a feedstock was described in this paper. In addition, the paper provided background information about the biocoke characteristics and the feedstocks that dictate quality. Comparisons of commercial coal coke and biocoke production technologies that may be applicable to Malaysia were also addressed. Moreover, the paper demonstrated the challenges towards Malaysia's biocoke commercialisation despite its viability from biomass feedstocks characteristics, availability, and evidence of calorific value estimations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are possible synergies between the decision to invest in energy efficiency measures and to adopt renewable energy, in the sense that the former reduces energy demand so that the latter can further cut future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and which has great potential in the residential sector. Much work has been done in the residential sector on demand for clean energy and on investment in energy efficiency, but to our knowledge there is no specific study that investigates the relationship between the two. This paper fills a gap in the literature, and first shows theoretically that there are relationships of substitution or complementarity between the two decisions depending on the threshold of the cross effect related to the environmental motivation of the consumer. Second, the paper empirically shows that the two decisions are positively interrelated due to unobserved characteristics that determine both decisions. Third, the paper provides differential impact of energy poverty, split incentive problem, dwelling characteristics, commitment and trust on the two decisions. Finally, the paper investigates household characteristics that significantly affect the joint adoption of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies. This contribution can serve to define incentive policies to advance the energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esteban, M.D.; López-Gutiérrez, J.S.; Negro, V; Laviña, M., and Muñoz-Sánchez, P., 2018. A New Classification of Wave Energy Converters Used for Selection of Devices. In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 1286–1290. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Wave is one of the marine renewable energy sources with the greatest potential. Currently, the technology is not completely prepared for a commercial development and its levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is still high. In fact, there are numerous types of wave energy converters (WECs) in the development phase. Given the differences between them, there are several classifications based on different aspects such as the location in relation to the distance to the coast and the bathymetry, the position relative to the sea level, the size and orientation, and the energy capture principle. However, none of the existing classifications considers the operating range at rated power according to the power matrix of the devices. This paper includes a new proposal for classification of WECs, named OPERAWEC (Operation Waver Energy Converters), with the aim of covering that gap. A methodology to implement the classification to different WECs is proposed, and that methodology is applied to ten different existing WECs (Wave Dragon, Pelamis, Aquabuoy, Archimedes Wave Swing, Oyster, Oceantec, OE Buoy, Pontoon, Seabed AB and Wavebob), classifying them into six different groups (Group I, Group II, Group III, Group IV, Group V and Group VI). Most of them belong to the Group IV and/or Group V, and some of them are categorised into several groups. The paper ends showing how to apply OPERAWEC classification as a part of a screening process for WECs selection in the Spanish Atlantic coast. Wave resource is assessed in two specific locations (Estaca de Bares and Golfo de Cádiz), considering four WECs (Pelamis, Aquabuoy, Archimedes Wave Swing, and Oyster). According OPERAWEC classification, Group II WECs for Estaca de Bares, and Group I and Group II WECs for Golfo de Cádiz are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During its operation, a photovoltaic (PV) panel is exposed to various and in general, stochastic thermal and wind conditions, which have a significant influence on the PV panel operating temperature. The increased PV panel operating temperatures normally have an unfavorable effect on the PV panel performance and lifetime, thus various cooling methods were proposed in order to increase the photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency. A reasonable step before the consideration of a specific cooling strategy is to obtain a PV panel performance analysis with respect to its surroundings (specific geographical micro location) for various operating conditions. This paper presents such a study, which was conducted through an experimentally validated numerical model. Numerous CFD simulations regarding heat and fluid flow around a monocrystalline PV panel coupled with a heat flow simulation inside the PV panel elements were conducted. The aim of the paper was to investigate an effective heat transfer field and the variations in the PV panel temperatures with respect to various wind velocities and heat source conditions. A detailed study regarding pressure, viscous and body (buoyancy) forces as well as their effects on flow separation was also conducted. The study also investigated the changes in the effective heat transfer near the PV panel. The gained results in this study turned out to be useful for the consideration of a specific cooling strategy for PV panels, which can ultimately lead to an increase in PV panel efficiency and lifetime. Additionally, the conducted study could be used to improve the delivered electricity prediction from the PV system at a selected location defined by specific wind velocities and solar insolation distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an empirical analysis of CO2emissions and economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and energy consumption over the period 1975–2014 in Germany. This paper uses the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach of cointegration test and vector error-correction models. The unit root and cointegration tests show that the long-run relationship between CO2emissions and its determinants. The empirical results show that the findings do not support the environmental Kuznets curve between real GDP and CO2emissions. To estimate the shocks of renewable energy consumptions, the study applies the dynamic test of Impulse Response Function (IRF) under the VAR method. The increasing portion of renewable energy consumption in electricity generation would have no impacts on the environment. However, the hikes of renewable energy sources would incur more cost to electricity producers and shrivel up the growth of economies through the expansionary effect of industry’s consumption and private capital spending in the Germany’s economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel research work on the potential benefits of using, a unique and sustainable energy source - the human-power. The paper discusses the benefits and the practicality of using human-power as a domestic energy source to power electrical and electronic devices and explores the benefit of its use in a more diverse perspective for possible change in behaviour and energy savings for improved sustainability in the society. The economic and sustainability gains of using Human-Powered Products (HPPs) are investigated. Two studies have been conducted, the first is a study which involves assessing the environmental impact of a human-powered products via Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); and the second is a case study called Home User Study (HUS), where the technology is experimentally tested. The human-powered system is used to explore the real benefits and life-cycle analysis towards assessing the sustainability of such products. The Home User Study (HUS) has been conducted to explore the in-situ use of human-powered systems using a new prototype that has been built and deployed. The study has used a monitoring device to measure the outcome of the interaction between the user and human-powered products. The results interestingly have revealed various other forms of benefits beyond renewable energy that could add extra motives for using human-powered products, such as health benefits. The paper also puts an emphasis on the opportunity of using Human-Powered Products which can be perceived as a great viable solution against counter measuring social issues such as physical inactivity and increasing sedentary behaviour. The results of the theoretical study indicate that Human-Powered Products (HPP) do not offer significant financial savings. The results of the HUS indicate that using human-powered products for health prospective outweigh the benefit gained from the prospective of energy savings and renewable energy. Based on the findings of this study, the paper suggests an approach that shows how the implementation of Human-powered systems could provide the opportunity to sustainable energy generation and energy savings, but in all cases they can be retained through a motivational drive in improving the health benefit via encouraging physical activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a comprehensive real-time dispatch model considering renewable uncertainty based on dynamic load flow (DLF) is proposed. Through DLF, the primary and secondary frequency regulation amount caused by the variation of renewable energy as well as the line flow when primary and secondary regulation are deployed can be obtained easily. Not only the frequency constraints, but also the regular constraints like generator production limits and line flow limits are respected under both primary and secondary frequency regulation. To solve the dispatch problem with renewable uncertainty, chance-constrained programming based on cumulants and Cornish-fisher expansions (CCP-CMCF) is adopted to get the probability of holding the chance constraints and then the real-time dispatch model can be transformed into a quadratic programming. The simulation results show that the dispatch model proposed in this paper can deal with both primary and secondary regulation well and has a fast computation speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability transition of electricity sectors is a matter of competition between multiple emerging renewable systems and dominant, established conventional systems. These transitions are multi-dimensional and are featured with non-linear and causal interactions between social, technical, economic and political components. Understanding the dynamic of transitions, i.e. how transitions unfold, can inform effective policy interventions. This paper aims to present a narrative-modelling approach to improve the understanding and description of transition dynamics in electricity sectors. The central ideas of the paper are: (1) the use of qualitative transition narratives helps to capture the co-evolving nature of society and technology which are simplified in modelling approaches; (2) narratives, with concepts from the sustainability transitions field, also guide the development of a model structure; and (3) computational models, in return, reproduce the complexity of transition dynamics, i.e. feedback loops, non-linearity, and time delays—the features which are impracticable to analyse with transition narratives alone. We use the historical transition of India's electricity sector to demonstrate the implementation of our proposed approach. First, an overview of the transition narratives is presented and the model structure, developed based on the narratives, is explained. Then, it is argued how the coupling of the narratives and model improves our understating of the positive impacts as well as the side-effects of stable feed-in tariffs and accelerated depreciation on the penetration levels of wind and solar electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy demand in China has risen rapidly and reached an unprecedented level due to the high-speed economic growth and modern development. As a result, the Chinese government faces a growing pressure to address the energy shortage and environmental deterioration, mainly resulting from an over-dependence on fossil energy. China has become both the largest energy consumer and CO 2 emitting country in the world in 2015. Utilization of potential for renewable energy is necessary for changing inappropriate energy consumption structure, protecting environment and achieving sustainable economic and social development. In view of such mentioned situation, this paper firstly introduces the energy structure as well as the development status of renewable energy in China, which includes hydropower, wind power, solar power, biomass power and other renewable energy. Besides, based on the current situation in China, the paper makes a preliminary prediction of the development of renewable energy in the country for the future decades, and proposes targeted countermeasures and suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this paper, a novel system to enhance the performance of a solar‐driven finite speed alpha‐type Stirling engine is proposed and evaluated. Part of the concentrated solar energy is used to drive an ejector refrigeration system. The cooling produced in the ejector cooling cycle is used to cool the Stirling engine to enhance its efficiency. Model equations to describe the systems are proposed and solved numerically. The results indicate that the new system produces averagely 3.3 times electrical power more than the conventional one. Moreover, the proposed system improves the Stirling engine efficiency by up to 46% in comparison with 19.15% for the conventional Stirling engine under solar radiation intensity of (1 kW/m2). Also, the results showed that the solar radiation intensity and wind speed are the most influential parameters that affect the proposed system efficiency. The new system is recommended to use in desert climates where high average daily solar radiation intensity, low wind speeds, and water shortage exist. Economic analysis is carried out to determine the feasibility of the proposed system under different economic parameters. It is found that, for instance, the simple payback period is 4.64 years for the new system when the selling price of electricity is 0.35 $/kWh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Wind energy conversion system, aiming to convert mechanical energy of air flow into electrical energy has been widely concerned in recent decades. According to the installation sites, the wind energy conversion system can be divided into land‐based wind conversion system and offshore wind energy conversion (OWEC) system. Compared to land‐based wind energy technology, although OWEC started later, it has attracted more attentions due to its significant advantages in sufficient wind energy, low wind shear, high power output and low land occupancy rate. In this paper, the principle of wind energy conversion and the development status of offshore wind power in the world are briefly introduced at first. And then, the advantages and disadvantages of several offshore wind energy device (OWED), such as horizontal axis OWED, vertical axis OWED and cross axis OWED are compared. Subsequently, several major constraints, such as complex marine environment, deep‐sea power transmission and expensive cost of equipment installation faced by offshore wind conversion technology are presented and comprehensively analysed. Finally, based on the summary and analysis of some emerging technologies and the current situation of offshore wind energy utilization, the development trend of offshore wind power is envisioned. In the future, it is expected to witness multi‐energy complementary, key component optimization and intelligent control strategy for smooth energy generation of offshore wind power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote areas and islands isolated from the main electric power system ensure reliability and stability of power supply using diesel generation. Due to the high purchase and transportation costs of diesel fuel, isolated communities are exploring other options for efficient and reliable power supply. Renewable energy sources can reduce operating costs, although are unable to achieve high penetration without expensive and complex enabling technologies such as energy storage. Furthermore, the stochastic and intermittent nature of renewable sources (i.e., wind and solar) makes the control system complex, decreasing power system reliability and requiring highly qualified personnel in local control centres. The problem becomes particularly acute when diesel engines are forced to operate at partial load, resulting in poor combustion efficiency and potential engine damage. This paper suggests a fuel-efficient control strategy, adopting low load diesel application to reduce fuel consumption and improve renewable energy penetration without overcomplicating the control architecture. A mathematical model is initially developed, then validated against real data, to facilitate comparative assessment of various control approaches. Optimised control methodologies are shown to deliver fuel savings of 16.7%, with a 14% increase in renewable energy penetration, in comparison to conventional management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sagar Island which is located in the world's largest delta, the Sunderban, in the eastern coast of India faces severe power crunch. Due to its isolated location, the power infrastructure is underdeveloped. This has led to very unreliable power supply and frequent power cuts. The island being economically weak, power is inaccessible to most of its residents. Thus, the per unit energy consumption of the area is low and it has led to the lowering of the human development index of the area. However, Sagar Island, owing to its location, has huge solar and wind power potential. This paper discusses the prospect of developing a solar-wind hybrid power plant to supply power to the area. The developed hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) power plant will provide uninterrupted power to the island. Results show that the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from the proposed power plant is 0.03707 $/kWh, which is lower than the LCOE from the available grid. Lowering the cost of electricity will make electricity accessible to most of the inhabitants of the island. This will, in turn, increase the per unit energy consumption and hence the human development index. The proposed power plant will also help the environment by reducing CO2 emissions by 1894.08 tonnes annually. It will also save 587.39 tonnes of coal in its lifetime. Hence, the HRES power plant will make power accessible and also help Sagar Island to become a renewable fed "Green Island.". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]