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Abstract Simulation and modelling allow a range of offshore wind farm stakeholders to test and improve a project's viability in a cost-effective and safe manner. This paper presents a model developed to conduct detailed financial analysis of an offshore wind farm. It extends the current state of the art by employing stochastic time-series simulation modules performing in-depth analysis of the technologies, strategies and procedures applied during the installation, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning phases of a wind farm lifecycle. The model was designed for versatility and can consider both fixed and floating technologies, a wide variety of strategies, and any site specified by the user. Results include energy production, costs and the duration of activities at each stage. These populate financial spreadsheets, which calculate key performance indicators including the Levelised Cost of Energy. The model has been successfully validated against real-life case-studies where possible; published data; and uses sensitivity analysis to ensure the model is working as expected. Through a case-study, the paper demonstrates how 1) the model enables the identification of key cost and time drivers, facilitating scenario optimisation; 2) the stochastic nature of the model considers the impact of uncertain variables on results such as weather conditions and wind turbine failure rates; 3) the model can be used to assess different business models and financing structures. This comprehensive range of abilities means that the model is suited to a variety of end-users and meets the demands of a growing industry, striving to achieve further cost-reductions across a range of site conditions, technologies and markets. Highlights • A validated model that performs in-depth financial analysis of offshore wind farms. • Designed for versatility, it can consider both fixed and floating technologies. • The model identifies key cost and time drivers, facilitating scenario optimisation. • It considers the impact of uncertain variables on results such as weather conditions. • With a comprehensive range of abilities, it is suited to a variety of end-users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The present paper presents the methodology and development of a planning tool for the installation of marine renewable energy systems, which enables the identification of suitable areas for this purpose. The marine spatial planning is one of the challenges of the offshore renewable energies. This is one of the reasons to write this paper, because there are areas where the energy potential is great but with real limitations for installing an offshore renewable energy farm. This methodology is based on the development of automated and interactive GIS tools in order to enable the user to change inputs according to his research objectives. The developed tools are applied to a case study referring to the Portuguese coast and the obtained results enable the identification of several areas, suitable for the development of marine renewable energies projects. The methodology and the developed tools intend to be a contribution for the Maritime Spatial Planning of the Portuguese coast and can be applied to other countries as well whenever the necessary information is available. Highlights • Methodology and development of a planning tool for marine renewable energy. • Identification of suitable areas of installing. • GIS tools to change inputs according to his objectives. • Maritime Spatial Planning of the Portuguese coast. • Results identify suitable areas for marine renewable energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption has promoted a continuous development for economy and society, but it has also brought serious environmental pollution problems which endanger public health. In order to focus on the impact of PM 2.5 emissions from future energy consumption on human health better, this paper estimated PM 2.5 emissions caused by energy consumption in Beijing in 2020,2025 and 2030 by setting the baseline scenario, emission reduction scenario, intensified emission reduction scenario and the data of the base year 2015, which will be 162.6 thousand tons, 195.9 thousand tons and 235.9 thousand tons in the baseline scenario, 143.1 thousand tons, 151.8 thousand tons and 160.9 thousand tons under the emission reduction scenario, and 132.6 thousand tons, 130.2 thousand tons, 127.9 thousand tons under the intensified emission reduction scenario. Finally the paper measured the number of different health effect ends caused by PM 2.5 emissions and the economic loss. The results showed that there was a rapid increase, a mild increase and a moderate decrease in energy consumption and PM 2.5 emissions in Beijing under the three scenarios from 2015 to 2030. Besides, under the same scenario and the same concentration level baseline, the number of the internal medicine (over the age of 15) was the largest, and the economic loss caused by total death rate was the biggest. This article provides suggestions to reduce PM 2.5 emissions and public health effect ends for Beijing in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the use of an electrostatic device to improve the performance of MEMS piezoelectric harvesters in the presence of manufacturing uncertainties. Different types of uncertain parameters have been considered and randomised according to their experimentally measured statistical properties. It has been demonstrated that manufacturing uncertainty in MEMS harvesters results in a lower output power. Monte Carlo Simulation is used to propagate uncertainty through the MEMS mathematical model. It has been found that the uncertainty effects can result in two sets of samples. The first set of samples are those with resonance frequency higher than nominal values and the second set includes samples with resonance frequencies lower than the nominal value. The device proposed in this paper can compensate for the effects of variability in the harvester by tuning the resonance frequency to the nominal design. This device is composed of a symmetrical arrangement of two electrodes, which decrease the resonance frequency from its nominal value. However, achieving precise symmetrical conditions in the device on a micro-scale is not feasible. Therefore, the effects of an unsymmetrical arrangement due to manufacturing variability are also investigated. The device includes two arch-shaped electrodes that can be used to increase the resonance frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper first estimates the energy-related carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions and carbon intensity of China's 30 provinces from 2000 to 2015. By constructing a 4-variable Panel Vector Auto-regression (PVAR) model, the paper quantitatively analyzes the dynamic relationship among urbanization, industrial structure, energy and carbon intensity in China during urbanization and industrialization stage. The results show that urbanization process and the advancement of industrial structure are consistent with the optimization goals of energy and carbon intensity. In the long term, energy and carbon intensity will decline with the development of urbanization and the advancement of industrial structure. But urbanization process has an inverted U-shaped effect on energy and carbon intensity, while the influence of industrial structure advancement on energy and carbon intensity increases over time. In contrast, the positive impact of energy intensity on carbon intensity is mainly reflected in the short term. This paper confirms the importance of urbanization and upgrading of industrial structure in the goal of energy saving and emissions reduction. Thus, this paper suggests that each province should adopt the upgrading of industrial structure as one of the policy goals, and constantly promote new urbanization process, following their own development characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the regulatory policies, feed-in tariffs (FIT) and renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are the most popular to promote the development of renewable energy power industry. This paper uses system dynamics (SD) to establish models of long-term development of the renewable energy power industry under FIT and RPS schemes, and provides a case study of China's wind power industry by using scenario analysis method. The model, on the one hand, not only clearly shows the complex logical relationship between the factors but also reveals the process of coordination between the two policy tools in the development of the renewable energy power industry. On the other hand, it provides a reference for scholars to study similar problems in different countries, thereby facilitating an understanding of the renewable energy power's long-term sustainable development pattern under FIT and RPS schemes, and helping to provide references for policy-making institutions. The results show that the integrate implementation of FIT and RPS can promote long-term and rapid development of China's wind power industry given the constraints and actions of the mechanisms of RPS quota proportion, the tradable green certificates (TGC) valid period, and fines. In addition, in the period of the construction of the TGC market, RPS quota growth rate and fine have a no significant effect on industrial development, however, with TGC market game becoming more and more fierce, both of them have a significant positive impact on the long-term development of the industry. TGC valid period has little effect on industrial development in our study. At the end of the paper, policy implications are offered as references for the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental impact of the energy sector and the security and economics of energy supply and utilisation have been raising increasing concerns, stimulating the search for innovative solutions for a sustainable use of resources. This article provides an overview of published research in this area, with a focus on papers contributed in special issues of leading journals dedicated to the series of Conferences on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES), including the articles in the current special issue. Based on this review, research trends are identified and achievements supporting the energy transition are highlighted. The studies that focused on regional or urban energy planning have aimed at (a) increasing penetration of renewable energy sources, (b) optimizing the mix of centralized and distributed technologies (c) introducing additional flexibility in the power sector and (d) identifying solutions for sustainable heating. Conversely, researches focused on single plants or users have targeted the development of technologies for efficient energy use in industry and buildings, with emphasis on multi-generation and waste heat utilisation. The review highlights that future scenarios based on sustainable energy systems are viable, although their implementation will require further efforts by researchers and investors and active involvement of consumers. • Research trends on energy transition and the associated technologies are reviewed. • Literature review examined the Special Issues of journals dedicated to SDEWES Conferences. • Challenges posed by increased share of renewables are solvable by cost-efficient solutions. • Power-to-heat and district heating are key-technologies for sustainable energy supply. • Energy saving in the building and industrial sectors contributes to sustainability of energy sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meeting the growing electricity demand in many developing countries is a major challenge as there is a shortage in power generation. This paper proposes a novel strategy for mitigating the effect of weather intermittency on the scheduling power interruption of residential houses. The proposed method involves optimal scheduling strategy for the electricity supply of these houses in a distribution grid and weather temperature prediction using a probability paper plot is deployed. Data training is achieved through the Monte-Carlo Simulation, and the prediction model is validated through error analysis. Using this method, novel power interruption schedules, based on maximizing houses’ accessibility to electricity and considering consumers’ fairness of accessing electricity services on hourly basis, have been designed. The design considers two optimization problems, scheduling electricity supply and validating the schedule in the power distribution grid by ensuring no violations of grid operational requirements. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis has been conducted to investigate the effect of scaling up the demand from the house context on enabling electricity access to such houses. The effect of conservative voltage reduction schemes on energy consumption reduction has also been explored. The studied results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in enabling electricity access of new regions accommodated in the grid by up to 47.6% which increases the profit of the power utility from residential electricity bill payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of providing property tax assessment incentives within the green building sector has been empirically documented to encourage the growth of green buildings. However, no definite and uniform basis has been adopted in the development of these incentive models. Additionally, these incentives require local authorities to bear the implementation costs. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to develop property tax assessment incentive models through the evaluation of their effects on the tax revenue of local authorities and the amount of tax imposed on properties for the taxpayers. There are two incentive models developed in this paper, namely the property tax assessment exemption model and the reduction model. Cost-Benefits analysis between the amount of tax assessment increment and the annual energy savings conveyed by the green envelope components were conducted to determine the appropriate percentage of reduction. Through the exemption model, local authorities do not experience any increment on their existing tax revenue, and taxpayers do not have an increased amount of tax imposed on their properties. However, through the reduction model, local authorities do experience a tax increment of $4 to $9 on their existing tax revenue. As for the taxpayers, annual energy savings conveyed by the green envelope components compensate the amount of their tax increment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about the reliability of electricity supplies have motivated researches to investigate the possibility of electrical consumers to take a more active role in the operations of the power system. The work in this paper looks into the potential of an industrial chemical plant to provide support to the electricity grid by means of demand-side response (DR) programs. To do so, this paper proposes a method to assess the flexibility of the plant to provide electrical power reserves while ensuring that the production demand is satisfied, as well as an economic analysis of the plant operations incorporating DR programs to quantify the incentives the plant should receive in order to participate in these programs. Therefore, the current study presents a novel optimization framework which integrates production scheduling with DR programs, with the aim to determine optimal decisions for the operating conditions within the plant while safely providing services to the electricity grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper is devoted to elaborating the status of different energy policy planning studies and the evaluation of various GHG mitigation studies. It includes, some of the major developments in global energy scenario, status of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, issues in the implementation of Kyoto protocol and GHG mitigation, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and energy scenario especially pertaining to the residential, industrial and commercial energy sector in the initial sections. The later part of this paper highlights the salient contributions in various literatures pertaining to energy demand forecasting in residential, commercial and industrial sector, GHG estimation methodologies, and GHG mitigation studies in various sectors. The success and difficulties in implementing various policy planning practices were also discussed in the paper. Most of the prominent literature in the area of energy demand and consumption analysis towards effective implementation of GHG mitigation is described. In the end, a comprehensive comments and recommendations based on the study were furnished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Among the various agri-food sub-sectors, sugar production is specifically ranked among the top energy-intensive industries in which massive amounts of various fossil energy carriers are used during sugar beet processing jeopardizing the environmental sustainability of the whole industry. Among the various solutions introduced to date, using renewable energies to supply power to this industry could be regarded as a promising approach to reduce the environmental concerns faced by this sector. In such context, energy from waste could be the most favorable alternative to meet power requirements of the industry. This review paper starts with reviewing the latest situation of sugar production and sugar beet cultivation around the world. Principal sugar beet processing stages as well as different waste-to-energy (WTE) techniques are also reviewed and discussed. In order to evaluate the impacts of the proposed solution, i.e., WTE for power generation in beet sugar industry, two factories located in Iran were considered as case studies and subsequently, the implementation of a kind of waste-oriented electricity as an alternative to fossil-based electricity (conventionally consumed in the factories) was investigated. Moreover, the environmental hotspots in the sugar beet processing factories were determined for further possible improvements. Overall, it was found out that implementing renewable bioelectricity in the studied sugar factories could considerably reduce the environmental burdens; i.e., 14.11–15.41% in human health, 1.49–1.54% in ecosystem quality, 4–4.4% in climate change, and 4.18–4.87% in resources damage categories. Highlights • Latest situation of sugar and sugar beet cultivation around the world was reviewed. • Current global situation of beet sugar industry was reviewed. • Environmental impacts of using waste-oriented electricity in beet sugar factories were assessed. • Implementing renewable bioelectricity in sugar factories could reduce environmental burdens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Urban areas provide strategic settings for attaining more sustainable urban systems. This paper provides fivefold contributions to the literature based on the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems City Index. A comprehensive benchmarking of 120 cities is undertaken of which the first three cities are found to be Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses are conducted by comparing the original ranking with those based on Monte Carlo simulations and three aggregation schemes with and without the use of the geometric mean. The ranking of cities that take place in the 95% confidence interval and strong coefficients of correlation are found to suggest aspects of index robustness. As the third contribution, a scenario that represents the cross-sectoral strategy of utilizing residual energy in the urban vicinity from the industry, thermal power generation, wastewater, and urban biowaste is applied to 60 cities. The integration of data from the Pan-European Thermal Atlas provides additional practical value to local decision-makers who can assess possible improvements in city performance through such an approach. Fourth, 13 city pairs of 3 or more cities with the same above or below average performances across the dimensions of the index are identified as another means of supporting policy-learning opportunities. The fifth contribution synthesizes the original results of the research work to discuss the need for integrated urban transitions and proposes a vision for cities to envision the sustainable development of urban energy, water and environment systems. The research work provides analytical support to cities in a time when local actors are tasked with a mission that is nothing less than leading the transition to net-zero emissions by mid-century. Highlights • An original benchmarking of 120 cities with a composite indicator is provided. • Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of the city rankings suggest assessment quality. • A scenario that is representative of a cross-sectoral strategy is evaluated for 60 cities. • Pairs with similar performance across the dimensions of the index are identified. • The implications are discussed based on the need for integrated urban transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a diverse region characterized by rapid economic growth, demographic change and urbanization. The dominance of energy supply from non-renewable resources in the region means that the increasing energy demand has implications for energy security, as well as adverse local and global environmental effects. Climatic conditions in the region are favorable for renewable energy (RE) resources, especially but not only wind and solar technologies. ASEAN countries differ strongly in terms of their national policy frameworks and progress in renewable energy development; the overall target of 23% renewables by 2025 is very ambitious under current policy frameworks. This paper identifies a gap between these national policies and local governance, especially in urban areas, which requires attention to ensure future target fulfilment. By employing a new combined correlation and decomposition approach at country and city levels, we investigate the determinants of RE expansion and explore the trend drivers in ASEAN countries from 1995 to 2013. An Impact Matrix is developed to position and interpret the relative push (e.g. policy) and pull (e.g. market) impacts on RE development, and to derive policy recommendations for countries and sectors. The results highlight that urban areas should be the focus of RE policy and governance in addition to rural areas. The tremendous impact of economic growth creates a great impetus for renewable energy development, but urbanization is the second pull for renewable energy extensions. Since the two effects are located in the first quadrant of the Impact Matrix, if strategists affect these factors, they will create the most powerful incentive for renewable energy growth. This confirms that if the strategic aim is to promote renewable energy market development, through policy and governance measures, the focus should be on urban areas, non-electricity sectors and the demand side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The worldwide electricity mix has become diversified, mainly through the exploitation of endogenous and green resources. However, doubt has been cast on the much-vaunted advantages of renewables due to some of their characteristics, such as availability, security and affordability. In fact, growth in the installed capacity of renewable energy has increased electricity prices, which raises the question of how households have withstood the cost of energy transition. The main aim of this study is to empirically assess and discuss: (i) whether different types of household have suffered dissimilar effects from the promotion of renewables; (ii) the consequences of promoting renewables on household income; and (iii) if the promotion of renewables has reduced the risk of poverty and social exclusion. A panel data of European countries has been analysed using Kao's residual cointegration test, and an Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach, to assess the relationships. This paper proves that both income and risk of household poverty are directly linked with renewable energies, in both the short- and long-run. The energy transition to renewables has had negative consequences for households. Thus, the disadvantaged households should be helped to meet the increased cost arising from the energy transition. Highlights • The impact of deploying renewables on income and the risk of poverty for households. • The Kao test verifies the long-run relation between renewables and risk of poverty. • The ARDL technique takes into consideration both short- and long-run effects. • Solar PV deployment has increased the overall risk of poverty for households. • Policies are required to mitigate the negative effects of RES on society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The vibration energy of suspension system transformed from the driving kinetic energy has significant influence on vehicle performance during the driving process. Therefore, the analysis of energy flow mechanism inside the active suspension system is of great significance for the research of vehicle ride comfort and system energy recovery. In this paper, different control strategies for electromagnetic active suspension are designed based on the system energy flow mechanism, so that the compatibility between ride comfort and energy recovery efficiency is achieved under different road conditions. In this mechanism, not only the energy transmission path inside suspension system is considered, but also the vibration energy induced by road roughness is investigated. Subsequently, overall system performance under different strategies and the corresponding energy flow are analyzed, and comprehensive correlation coefficient γ is proposed to further evaluate performance varying. Furthermore, hardware-in-the-loop experiment is also implemented to verify corresponding control strategy and the results demonstrate that the proposed strategies have advantages over traditional strategies with single performance optimization, which can reduce system energy consumption by at least 14.51% and recover 2.45% extra energy while outputting active force, and meanwhile the ride comfort improvement rate can reach at least 13.75% when energy is regenerated. Highlights • Energy flow analysis of electromagnetic active suspension. • Two novel control strategies are proposed. • The comprehensive correlation coefficient is proposed. • Strategy CSER reduces energy consumption at least 14.51% under premise of ensuring comfort. • Strategy ESER improves comfort at least 13.75% based on efficient energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The European Union has set specific targets for reducing energy consumption, shifting the main focus of European energy policy towards a firm commitment to enhancing energy efficiency. In light of the limited progress reported in Greece's energy efficiency action plan, the objective of this paper is to help redesign the near-term national policy framework. In this respect, a risk-oriented optimisation model is developed to support the optimal budget allocation to energy efficiency measures, with a view to achieving the 2020 national targets. The transdisciplinary methodological framework initially builds on the Energy Efficiency Action Plans for Greece and involves stakeholder engagement, multiple-criteria decision making and portfolio analysis. The evaluation of the policy instruments is based on two criteria, namely energy savings and implementation risk, under a set of technical and financial constraints. Finally, the robustness of both the optimal policy portfolios and the individual policies composing these portfolios is assessed. The results indicate that, given the financial and technical constraints, the 2020 target cannot be achieved. By stochastically analysing the impact of external uncertainty, three policies emerge as the most robust, while portfolios achieving savings of more than 1000 kTOE until 2020 are found highly vulnerable to underlying uncertainties. Highlights • Greece strives to achieve its national energy efficiency targets in the near-term. • We propose a risk-oriented framework to support the redesign of the national policy. • Given the financial and technical constraints, the 2020 target cannot be achieved. • Three policies appear to be robust and contribute the most in the optimal portfolios. • Policy portfolios achieving more than 1000 kTOE are highly vulnerable to uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Policy makers are increasingly supporting the development of renewable electricity power generation projects not only for environmental concerns but also for economic reasons. Several studies have indeed documented that renewable electricity can be a viable economic alternative to electricity power generation based on non-renewable sources. Yet, most of the existing studies are based on microeconomic cost-benefit analyses which disregard the existence of large macroeconomic effects. This paper develops a novel method to evaluate the macroeconomic impact of renewable electricity power generation projects. Economic theory is used to identify the potential effects of these projects on the vector of macroeconomic variables affected by their implementation. A structural vector autoregression model is thus estimated using a novel dataset of quarterly macroeconomic and energy data for Portugal. The estimated impulse-response functions suggest that renewable electricity power generation projects have positive effects on real economic growth in the medium run, through both the investment and the operations phases. Import substitution is the key driver of the overall positive impact. Highlights • A new method to evaluate the macroeconomic impact of REPG projects is proposed. • Economic theory is used to identify the vector of variables affected by REPG projects. • A structural vector autoregression is estimated using a novel dataset for Portugal. • REPG projects are found to have positive effects on real economic activity. • Import substitution is the key driver of the positive impact of REPG projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract More/all-electric aircraft is one of the most promising development directions for aircraft. However, the performance of the turbine engine will be strongly affected by the high electric power fraction when the electric power is extracted from the main engine. In order to improve aero-engine performance and electric power fraction, the turbojet engine integrated with an interstage turbine burner (ITB) and solid oxide fuel cell (ITB-SOFC engine) is proposed in this paper. Turbojet engine provides thrust for propulsion and SOFC provides electric power for electrical equipment. In order to evaluate the performance of the ITB-SOFC engine, the thermodynamic analysis model of the engine performance is developed. Analysis results show that the ITB-SOFC engine has advantages in thermal efficiency and specific thrust over the turbojet engine, the increments of these two parameters can reach 2.94% and 23.87% respectively. There is a limitation in pressure ratio for the ITB-SOFC engine, which is 24. The electric power fraction of the ITB-SOFC engine can vary in a wide range. The specific thrust increment over a turbojet engine is high up to 24.07% if the electric power fraction is high up to 0.2. Highlights • The scheme of the turbojet engine integrated with an ITB and SOFC is proposed. • The electric power fraction of the ITB-SOFC engine can vary in a wide range. • The specific thrust increment over a turbojet engine is high up to 24.07%. • The ITB-SOFC engine has advantages in thermal efficiency and specific thrust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The paper examines the potential regional economic benefits of the development of unconventional gas. Wales (UK) represents an interesting lens through which to examine the expected effects of unconventional gas developments. In spite of significant resource endowments the region has found it difficult to internalise the economic benefits from prior energy developments. We examine whether possible commercial exploitation of unconventional gas in Wales will be any different from recent rounds of resource and energy investment. We address the challenges for resource peripheries in embedding economic activity linked to unconventional gas and show that there are dangers in generalising economic impact evidence from other states. Highlights • Unconventional gas development in Wales may have limited regional economic benefit. • Region shown to have difficulty internalising economic benefits. • Supply side constraints in local economy critical. • Scenario analysis reveals limited employment benefits from any sector growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement of thermal performance of a solar air heater can be obtained by enhancing the rate of heat transfer. Thermal efficiency of matrix solar air heater is higher in comparison to conventional type. Number of studies has been reported in the literature on the performance of matrix air heater with different material packing and elaborated various parameters such as design; heat transfer enhancement, flow phenomenon and pressure drop in the duct. Majority of the studies revealed an increase in the thermal efficiency for matrix collector as compared to conventional plane solar air heater. This review paper presents an extensive study of the research carried out on matrix solar air heater. Based on literature review, it is concluded that the solar air heaters performed well when packed with porous medium and this is due to the geometrical parameters of porous material. In addition double pass porous bed solar air heaters performed better than single pass. Various types of matrix materials used in the literature and correlations developed for heat transfer and friction factor by different researchers have been presented. Much attention has been devoted in this paper to portrait the development of various types of solar air heaters over the years. The merits and demerits of different models evolved by many researchers have been critically analyzed. Finding in a nut shell is that the drawbacks associated with conventional nonporous solar air heaters such as high heat loss to the ambient, decreased convective heat flow from plate to air, etc. can be overcome by the use of an effective design of porous bed solar air heater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PV/T technology attracted numerous researchers and professionals during the last decades. There are many review papers in the literature evaluated the R&D aspects of PV/T collectors. In fact, there are abundant of case studies discussed the parameters of climate, design and operational conditions affected the PV/T collector performance. But, a comprehensive compilation of the information of those case studies is still a missing link in the literature. Hence, this paper intended to review thoroughly the information regarding the parameters affecting the PV/T collector performance mainly and PV module performance partially. The parameters are supported with the most available R&D to measure the accurate influence of each parameter on the performance. The outcomes from the study are highlighted in lessons learned section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights the specificities of the patterns of low carbon energy technological innovations in selected Asian emerging economies. China and the members of ASEAN-4 (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines) are included in this analysis for their identical structure of developing economy. We outline a synthetic framework to cluster together the technologies with similar characteristics and analyse the changes of these characteristics over time. This is in order to elucidate the scope of sectoral composition and specialisation of the selected economies, and thereby understand the relative impact of science-based low carbon energy technologies on the niches of technological excellence. The findings show that China was keen to pursue its diversification strategy and develop its capability in low carbon energy technologies since the turn of the millennium. However, China has been gradually losing its momentum in more traditional areas like biomass, hydroelectric power, natural gas and fossil fuels. The ASEAN-4 economies, on the other hand, are showing interest in building a number of niches of technological excellence. This highlights a contrasting relative technological advantage between larger and smaller economies. Our findings also indicate that many of the low carbon technologies in selected economies have yet to attain strong scientific grounding for development. The findings of this paper are expected to provide some insights into low carbon energy technological development of emerging economies, and be useful for other developing economies to establish their strategic moves for energy technology development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comprehensive review on various maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms based on Perturb and Observe, Incremental Conductance, Soft Computing and other techniques along with the real time hardware implementation of photovoltaic (PV) system. In this review, the complete procedure, the implementation methodology and their effects in the PV output were discussed in detail for each algorithm. Further, MPPT algorithms for PV systems with partial shading condition were reviewed and reported. This paper is intended to serve as a suitable reference for future work in PV based power generation and its related research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric energy transport theories are still a debatable subject regarding their validity and applicability in various aspects. This paper includes a comparative study of the group of theories which are categorized as instantaneous theories as opposed to periodic-averaged ones. As a preliminary review this paper presents first the three apparent power definitions in order to emphasize the difference between them. A discussion regarding their accuracy for energy metering of various conditions such as multiphase and non-sinusoidal environments is presented. Instantaneous theories are then reviewed and compared with periodic averaged theories. The review focuses mainly on p-q theory ( PQT ) and its derivative, instantaneous multi-phase theory. The legacy application of this theory for active filtering is briefly presented and the new idea of using the theory for multi-load and multi-source theory is presented as well. The comparison identifies the similarities and differences between the instantaneous and periodic averaging theories, and their inter-relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to UNDP Policy Note 2014, only 23% of Yemen rural community have access to electricity – having connected to national grid or use small isolated generating units – while the country is one of the richest in solar energy with over 3000 h per year clean blue sky. The objectives of this paper is to concentrate on the utilization and the cost effectiveness of photovoltaic solar energy for electrification of Yemeni rural and desert communities, which will result in enhancing education, culture, science, medical services, and improve the living conditions in rural areas. Otherwise, energy poverty that is a facet of a multidimensional poverty in Yemen will persists because the possibility of connecting rural communities to the national grid, even in the next ten years, is invisible due to major political and financial problems that the country is facing. Moreover, PV energy is environmentally clean and has proved to be one of the best solutions for rural electrification in many countries worldwide due to noticeable drop of PV systems prices with the advance in PV technology. Accordingly, it should be the best solution for rural electrification in Yemeni as well. The paper demonstrates the cost effectiveness and the design procedure of utilization of solar energy for rural and desert communities in Yemen using a number of subsequent cases typical to Yemeni communities and provides also a practical study to support Bedouin backpackers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan is among the 10 countries that face the worst energy crisis of the world. As the country struggles with a number of financial, political and social issues, the transition from a conventional fuels based economy to a green economy is not an easy one. Pakistan has been blessed with immense potential of clean renewable sources of solar, wind and biomass but they have not been exploited yet. Renewable energy technology sector has not penetrated the energy mix and is currently an emerging market. This paper highlights the steps the country has taken in the past and the steps that are being taken at present to emerge out of the prevailing energy crisis when even the most urban areas suffer from power outages of 12 h per day. Until 2009, no single grid interconnected wind farm existed but now the situation has changed considerably and wind farms contributing to the national grid are a reality now. Three grid interconnected farms have been inaugurated and many others are in pipeline. The national policy regarding wind power systems has recently changed after unexpected setbacks to ongoing projects. This paper reviews the developments in the wind power sector of the country and lists some suggestions that can help improve the wind power penetration in the national energy mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that the first industrial revolution was based on Steam Engine (coal as energy source), and the second on oil and electricity, where both these revolutions are actually "high carbon" revolutions, it is logical to expect that the third industrial revolution should be based on systems of renewable energy sources (RES), in order to minimize the problems arising from climate changes and to achieve sustainable development. However, the usage of the RES technologies and daily/weekly storage of energy and their connection to smart grids is not enough for the expected third industrial revolution. The start of this revolution would require technologies that have a great potential for further development and ability to supply, at any time, the necessary energy and power to a settlement/city, as well as drinking water, meeting the peak load requirements, continuously throughout the year, and independently of external sources of energy and drinking water. This would be provided from intermittent RES energy (solar, wind, etc.) and sea or other unclean source of water as natural resources. In that context, this paper presents a radically new technological solution: Key Engine which uses only natural resources: the sun, sea and gravity, in order to continuously and simultaneously supply a consumer with energy, power and drinking water. This solution has all the essential features required to start a third industrial revolution. The basic unit of Key Engine consists of the solar thermal (ST) generator with parabolic trough collectors through which sea water flows directly, absorbing thermal energy of solar radiation. After the separation of steam from seawater, the steam drives turbines and generators and produces electricity that is delivered to Pump Storage Hydroelectric (PSH) facility with seawater, which balances the daily and seasonal surpluses and shortages of energy, thus ensuring a continuous supply of electric power and energy to a consumer. At the same time, the water that comes out of the turbine, passes through the water treatment unit and is stored in drinking water reservoir, enabling continuous supply of the same consumer with drinking water. The paper presents theoretical aspects of Key Engine, model for optimal sizing and practical formulas for the calculation of characteristic values of the system, which could be the basis for further scientific research, development and innovative solutions that would help engineers in practice for numerous and diverse applications of Key Engine. In order to verify the derived mathematical relationships and models for optimizing the Key Engine in real conditions, the case study of the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea, Croatia, has been considered, along with total annual irradiance of 1575 kW h/m 2 a, total annual electric energy consumption of 20 GW h and drinking water consumption of 453,382 m 3 . The obtained results: power of ST generator of 52 MW, working volume of the upper reservoir of 7 hm 3 , total annual electric energy production of 62 GW h/a, and drinking water production of 480,754 m 3 /a, clearly show that the new technology can fully meet the needs of the considered consumer for energy and drinking water. As the basic idea of Key Engine relies on the use of natural resources, i.e. RES energy and sea, the paper presents only the starting solution, whereby, apart from the sun, RES can be wind, or other renewable sources, that can perform separation of vapor from seawater and thus produce drinking water, as well as energy simultanously. Also, energy storage may not be performed solely by the PSH technology, but also by any other technology that can provide seasonal balancing of energy. All this suggests that the Key Engine can be understood as an open-source for RES technology development and thus bring changes in all three aspects of sustainable development: economy, society and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a three-year low valley caused by Fukushima nuclear accident, China finally restarted the approval of new coastal nuclear projects followed by the gradually matured new generation nuclear reactor technology and increasingly more supporting policies. Under this major shift of policy environment, China׳s nuclear power development would certainly stride on a new stage. This paper simulated the growth rate, development scale and evolvement path of China׳s nuclear power by establishing system dynamics models in the new-round construction. Under the background of changing nuclear power policy, this paper is helpful to master the dynamic development pattern of China׳s nuclear power system. These dynamic analyses also have reference meaning to the prediction of nuclear installed-capacity, nuclear generation, uranium import and other relevant factors. Further, the simulation results of this paper provide the Chinese government with suggestions of planning China׳s nuclear push, and deciding the strategy of uranium supply in order to secure the safe and steady nuclear power supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the impact assessment of optimally placed different types of distributed generations (DGs) such as DG-1(T 1 ), DG-2 (T 2 ), DG-3 (T 3 ), and DG-4 (T 4 ) with different load models (DMLs) by using genetic algorithm (GA) in distribution power systems (DPSs) from minimum total mega volt ampere (MVA) intake viewpoint of main substation. This paper also presents the impact assessment of optimally placed same kind of DGssuch as DG-2(T 2 ) and DG-4(T 4 ) operating at different power factors (varies from 0.80 to 0.99 leading and lagging, respectively) with DLMs by GA in DPSs from minimum total MVA intake viewpoint of main substation. Different power system (PS) performance indices such as minimization of real power loss, minimization of reactive power loss, improvement of voltage profile, reduction of short circuit current or MVA line capacity and reduction in the emission of environmental greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen oxide (NO x ) and particulate matters and in emergency like conditions such as under fault, sudden change in field excitation of alternators or load increased in DPSs are calculated. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is illustrated on IEEE-37 bus distribution test system. This research article is very much useful for practitioners working on the implementation of renewable and building of future electricity grids and also includes the different PS performance indicators from better social welfare, reduced in the environmental pollutants emission, improved the technical issues, reduced the economical burden, and betters the security viewpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy not only can effectively alleviate the depletion of traditional energy sources, but also meet the need for building development. At present, the applications of renewable energy in buildings are still facing many problems. This paper presents a review of the application of renewable energy systems in buildings, and describes how to make good use of renewable energy for the sustainable development in the hot-summer and warm-winter region of China. The effective measures would improve the calculation methods, design the building and energy system with locality, develop integrated design of renewable energy systems, establish evaluation indexes of renewable energy applicability in buildings, and strengthen project management. Discussion results presented in the paper can provide a guideline for better to apply renewable energy systems to buildings in the hot-summer and warm-winter region of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reusable launchers have been studied under CNES contracts for more than 30 years, with early concepts such as STS-2000 or Oriflamme, more recently with very significant efforts devoted to Liquid Fly Back Boosters as with the Bargouzin project led with Tsniimash, TSTO with the Everest concept studied by Airbus-DS as prime contractor or the RFS Reusable First Stage concept of a large first stage associated to a cryotechnic second stage. These investigations, summarized in the first part of the paper, enabled CNES to identify clearly the technology requirements associated to reusability, as well as cost efficiency through detailed non-recurring costs and mission costs analysis. In parallel, CNES set in place development logic for sub-systems and equipment based on demonstrators, hardware test benches enabling maturation of technologies up to a TRL such that an actual development can be decided with limited risk. This philosophy has been applied so far to a large number of cases, such as TPTech and TPX for Hydrogen turbo pump, GGPX as demonstrator of innovative gas generator, HX demonstrator of modern cryotechnic upper stage with a dozen of different objectives (Thermal Protection, 20K Helium storage, measurements …). This virtuous approach, “learn as you test”, is currently applied in the phased approach towards scaled down reusable booster stage, whose possibility to be used as first stage of a microlaunch vehicle is under investigation. The selected technologies allow paving the way towards reusable booster stages for Ariane 6 evolutions or main reusable stage for a further generation of heavy launchers. The paper describes the logic behind this project, together with the demonstration objectives set for the various sub-systems as well as operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2010 China has faced a worrying phenomenon “wind curtailment” in the development and operation of the wind power industry. This phenomenon has resulted in sharp decline of the utilization hours of the wind power equipment, seriously affected the economic benefits of the wind farms and caused serious energy waste. The wind curtailment in China is seemingly caused by the volatility of the wind power technical characteristics. However, judging from a deep level, the planning, networking management and policies play a critical role. With analysis this paper makes such a conclusion: it is not practical to solve the wind curtailment of China solely with the technical solutions and comprehensive measures must be taken. The paper offers strategies from the planning, policy and technical levels to solve the wind curtailment problem according to the actual situation of China and by referring to experiences of developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction of renewable energy sources (RES) in insular areas is growing on different islands of various regions in the world and the large-scale deployment of renewables in island power systems is appealing to local attention of grid operators as a method to decrease fossil fuel consumption. Planning a grid based on renewable power plants (RPP) presents serious challenges to the normal operation of a power system, precisely on voltage and frequency stability. Despite of its inherent problems, there is a consensus that in near future the RES could supply most of local needs without depending exclusively on fossil fuels. In previous grid code compliance, wind turbines did not required services to support grid operation. Thus, in order to shift to large-scale integration of renewables, the insular grid code ought to incorporate a new set of requirements with the intention of regulating the inclusion of these services. Hence, this paper discusses grid code requirements for large-scale integration of renewables in an island context, as a new contribution to earlier studies. The current trends on grid code formulation, towards an improved integration of distributed renewable resources in island power systems, are addressed. The paper also discusses advanced grid code requirement concepts such as virtual wind inertia and synthetic inertia for improving regulation capability of wind farms and the application of energy storage systems (EES) for enhancing renewable generation integration. Finally, a comparative analysis of insular grid code compliance to these requirements is presented in the European context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a global consensus on making full use of renewable energy because of human concern for energy security and environmental deterioration. Power generation with large-scale renewable energy such as solar and wind energy has become the trend of modern power systems, and the resulting impacts on power systems are more and more prominent. Therefore, there is great concern from academic and engineering areas of all countries. In China, as the fastest growing country in the photovoltaic (PV) industry in the world, these problems are particularly outstanding. This paper extensively reviews the present research and application status of large-scale PV (LSPV) power generation in China, discusses the modelling and simulation techniques of LSPV, explores impacts of LSPV integration on dynamic and static characteristics of power systems, and describes key technologies about LSPV power generation delivery and consumption from the perspective of power system planning, simulation, dispatching and control. Additionally, this paper also refines academic and engineering problems, and recommendations are proposed for future research and development of LSPV power generation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of alternative energy sources has become a necessity as fossil energy resources are declining. At the same time, energy demand is rapidly increasing, putting the world on the verge of a global energy crisis. Moreover, the extensive use of conventional energy sources is polluting the environment and causing global warming. On the other hand, wind and other renewable energy sources are viable and clean alternatives to fossil fuels. Low operating cost and extensive availability make wind one of the most advantageous and effective renewable energy sources. This paper provides an exposure to the necessity for deployment of renewable energy sources and the worldwide installed capacity of wind power as well as a review of various wind technologies in conjunction with their applications and devices of operation. Furthermore, this paper discusses the cost of electric generation in wind power plants as well as the economic and environmental policies that advocate the installation of wind energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total energy consumption per capita of any country is a critical input for the economic and social development. But nowadays, the current energy production systems are not sustainable and they are not environment friendly. Increased fossil energy consumptions in manufacturing, transportation and standard of living in the growing population have the highest impact on the environment in terms of global warming potential and air pollution. Also fossil fuel prices are increasing because of shortening of fossil fuel sources. Sustainable development improves standard of life economically and environmentally over the long term in a way that must be supported by the industrial structure of the country. In order to sustain energy availability and keep environment livable for future generations, finding new alternatives is necessary. Increased awareness of society about environmental issues and fossil energy sources depletion support new clean alternatives. These alternatives are one of the important and determinant policy areas for the countries, and should include both short and long term energy policies. This paper discusses the environmental pollution caused by energy consumption, and the role of conventional and renewable energy technologies as one component of the effective sustainable development and solution. Also, renewable energy potential of Turkey for assessment of the green energy systems is investigated in terms of sustainable development, environmental impact and prices. All the given results in this paper will be useful to researchers, engineers, decision and policy makers in industry and government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adsorption refrigeration technology has established enhanced significance in last three decades, due to its noiseless, non-corrosive and environment friendly operation by the utilization of low grade heat sources, especially solar energy. A plethora of adsorption cooling systems had been developed but still these cooling systems are not ready to compete with the traditional vapor compression cooling systems. This paper aims to provide fundamental knowledge on the adsorption systems and presents a comprehensive literature review of the past efforts in the field of their solar energy utilization. This paper also presents a brief of various related researches conducted in India. A survey of developments in the market trends is also presented in this paper. It shows that a number of attempts have been made by various companies to enhance the performance of adsorption refrigeration systems and maintain their presence in market but limitations regarding their technical and economic aspects seem difficult to overcome. Nevertheless, adsorption cooling systems driven by solar energy not only lowers down the daily electricity consumption but also reduces the global warming potential due to its environment friendly nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increased acknowledgment of global climate change and warming, governments, consumers, and firms are responding collectively to create today's low-carbon economy. Carbon footprint labeling has developed as a meaningful instrument to motivate greenhouse gas emission reductions. This paper reviews existing research and implementation examples to understand the development of carbon labeling. This includes discussing the evolution of the carbon labeling concept, and different measurement methodologies and standards for carbon labels. These methods and standards include life cycle assessment, Public Available Standard 2050, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and International Organization for Standardization 14067. The review also considers carbon label implementation in different countries and the potential impacts of carbon labeling schemes. The paper closes with recommendations for carbon label implementation, summarizing the advantages and drawbacks of carbon labeling approaches. Governments, consumers, and firms may use this review to adjust their strategy for future carbon label implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the conventional energy resources are limited and environmental problems are becoming increasingly prominent, new energy resources, being environmental friendly and renewable, are paid more and more attention by all the countries. At present, the development and utilization of new energy resources in China has made progress. However, due to the factors such as the international energy competition situation, China׳s productivity level and its development phase, and the lagging of related system and mechanism reforms, China׳s new energy has been faced with constraints in the aspects of the system, efficiency, supply, region and technology. If related reforms were not implemented, the development of new energy in China would be severely hindered for a long period of time in the future. In view of this, this paper reviewed the development status of China׳s new energy industry, and analyzed five aspects of constraints. Moreover, a discussion was carried out from four aspects of the system, consumption, production, technology reforms in order to break the corresponding constraints. Finally the future development planning of new energy was presented. All in all, the deep investigation into China׳s new energy development status, constraints, reforms and planning in this paper is aimed at promoting the reform of new energy resources production and utilization modes, improving the policy system continuously, addressing the deep-rooted institutional contradictions of the new energy industry, and providing the reference and advice for the transformation of China׳s energy structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an enquiry into the role of State policies in influencing wind installed capacity. The paper studies the impact of policies on deployment of wind potential across the States of India over two decades. Aggregate indices are computed for each of the seven wind resourceful States of India indicating attractiveness for installed capacity of wind energy. For computing the indices, four policies, Feed-in-Tariff, Renewable Purchase Obligation, Banking facility, and Wheeling charges are considered. Panel data techniques are then employed to investigate the impact of the policy differences on wind potential deployment over the 19 year period (1993–2012) after controlling for three State-specific factors. The controlling factors include per-capita income of the State, power deficit, and ratio of installed capacity of wind to geographic potential indicating unmet capacity. The results show that that policy index positively impacts wind deployment whether control variables are included or not. Moreover, the control factors like the per-capita income of the State and unmet capacity have positive influence over the investment in wind energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green and renewable, wind is one of the major ways to produce power. However, natural wind used for tunnel ventilation is often neglected. Natural wind is usually regarded as resistance. Every year, unchanging ventilation mode and unreasonable control strategy lead to huge energy consumption and economic loss In China. This paper mainly discusses and analyzes the current situation of energy consumption in extra-long tunnel operation ventilation in China. It proposes the natural wind utilization in extra-long segmented tunnels. Therefore, a scientific and theoretical calculation method for extra-long tunnels located in climate separation zone is presented in this paper. Principles of natural wind in each tunnel section are obtained based on long-term monitored meteorological factors. A feasible optimized energy-saving ventilation strategy is put forward, which utilizes natural wind and will minimize the operation energy consumption. It is concluded that, the results about operation energy consumption from this paper can provide useful technical supports in design, operation and management for tunnels all over the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan is facing increasing power shortage from the last two decades. The Government of Pakistan (GoP) has taken various remedial measures and is offering incentives for private investment to generate electricity at cheap rates. New hydropower dams were proposed in the past, such as Kalabagh Dam, but could not be commissioned to date. Fossil fuels are depleting and oil has to be imported for oil-fired power plants, which is highly expensive and a burden for the country's economy. This scenario has raised serious concerns among citizens. In this frustrating situation, there is dire need for exploration and installation of alternate renewable energy resources, in particular, wind energy and solar energy to augment the existing power generation and distribution apparatus. These then need to be integrated with the national power grid. Pakistan has enormous wind energy potential, especially in three of its four provinces namely, Khyber Pakhtun Khwa (KPK), Sindh and Balochistan. The country's multifarious terrain includes coastal and hilly areas suitable for installation of large wind turbines. The GoP has taken active steps towards measuring wind speed statistics in various parts of the country. In this paper, the authors analyze wind speed data for the mentioned three provinces. The fourth province, Punjab, has very limited wind energy potential and hence is not considered. Wind speed data for Jiwani (a reference site in Balochistan) was obtained from Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) as a case study. The paper attempts to assess how much wind energy can be harnessed from the three provinces. It then focuses on Jiwani whose specific power density is estimated for wind turbine sizing. Lastly, a practical scheme is proposed for integration of wind power output (from windy sites) with the national power grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy hybrid power systems have been proven through their ability to address the limitations of single renewable energy system in terms of power efficiency, stability, and reliability while operating at minimum cost. In this regards many research and practical experiences have been done. The present paper reviews the different hybrid PV–Wind renewable energy hybrid systems used for electrical power generations. Different criteria of sizing the different system components of hybrid renewable energy power plant at the most preferable logistical environmental and economical considerations have been discussed. Also, the paper discussed some of the optimization approaches which are used to compare the energy production cost and performance of different hybrid system configurations using simulation techniques. Based on the fact that, potential of the wind and solar energy is not equal in Oman, this paper will discuss the optimum sizing process of two proposed hybrid PV–Wind plants in Oman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A concentrating solar power (CSP) system converts sunlight into a heat source which can be used to drive a conventional power plant. Thermal energy storage (TES) improves the dispatchability of a CSP plant. Heat can be stored in either sensible, latent or thermochemical storage. Commercial deployment of CSP systems have been achieved in recent years with the two-tank sensible storage system using molten salt as the storage medium. Considerable research effort has been conducted to improve the efficiency of the CSP system and make the cost of electricity comparable to that of the conventional fossil-fuel power plant. This paper provides a comprehensive summary of CSP plants both in operation and under construction. It covers the available technologies for the receiver, thermal storage, power block and heat transfer fluid. This paper also reviews developments in high temperature TES over the past decade with a focus on sensible and latent heat storage. High temperature corrosion and economic aspects of these systems are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of the two-phase closed thermosyphons (TPCTs) is increasing for many heat transfer applications. This paper reviews the most recent published experimental and theoretical studies on the TPCT. After a description of the TPCT operating principle and the performance characteristics, the heat transfer analysis in condenser and evaporator sections that depends on the complex two-phase process are described. The influence of the affecting parameters on the performance of TPCTs such as the geometry (diameter, shape and length), the inclination angle, the filling ratio (FR), the working fluid, the operating temperature and pressure analyzed by various researchers is discussed. The various operating limits occurring in a thermosyphon includes viscous, sonic, dryout, boiling and flooding are also analyzed. Considering the application of TPCTs, the paper presents a review of experimental tests and applications. This paper can be used as the starting point for the researcher interested in the TPCTs and their renewable energy applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses competing outlooks for energy mix in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), highlighting the paradox of its fossil fuel-dominated outlooks when contrasted with its aspirations to move toward a green energy mix, and reviews green energy strategies using the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis method. The paper argues that despite the looming brown outlooks due to the expected surge of coal, the ASEAN region has many advantages in providing cleaner energy for its green vision. However, reduction of CO 2 emissions has not been explicitly set in the region’s policy agenda and thus green energy potential is underdeveloped. To achieve a greener energy mix, ASEAN needs to make further efforts such as cleaner use and removal of subsidies of fossil fuels, promotion of renewables and energy efficiency, regional market integration and connectivity, and execution of existing plans by nations. Ultimately, each of these strategies will require sustained leadership, political determination, and concrete actions from stakeholders, in particular, national governments across the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an overview of the Kuwaiti energy sector characteristics is presented to include its generating capacity as well as its end-use consumption over the last two decades. Moreover, a detailed analysis of the total and end-use energy consumption attributed to various building types is provided. The paper presents the specific regulations of the building energy conservation code of practice using its original version of 1983 and its revised version of 2010. The code enforcement mechanism is also outlined. Based on a detailed review of the reported literature, the potential energy savings opportunities and their cost-effectiveness for Kuwaiti buildings are discussed. Using a comprehensive review for reported analyses, the paper summarizes the economical and environmental benefits of improving energy efficiency for both new and retrofitted buildings in Kuwait. It is found that the 2010 revised version of the energy conservation code of practice can provide an additional 23% savings compared to the original version of the code developed and implemented in 1983. The implementation of an energy efficiency program to achieve the energy savings level set by 2010 energy conservation code of practice can achieve. It is found that without a gradual reduction of energy subsidies, the establishment of a mandatory energy efficiency retrofit program in Kuwaiti through implementation of basic energy efficiency measures and improved operating strategies for the existing building stock can provide significant economical and environmental benefits to Kuwait as well as the creation of significant job opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable lithium batteries are widely used in both hybrid and pure electric vehicles. Graded materials have structural heterogeneity and anisotropy which allows for these materials to have excellent energy storage capabilities. These important capabilities are why these materials are so fundamental in search for safe, renewable energy storage. As the development of graded materials used in battery development has increased rapidly, the effect of degradation on these batteries has emerged as an issue of international concern. In academic settings specifically, research efforts are focused equally on the capacity degradation of lithium batteries and the security of energy storage. This paper will describe recent advancements in understanding lithium battery performance degradation. To accomplish this goal, this paper will include theoretical characterization models and microscale experimental techniques. In the section that outlines our laboratory work, the impact of coupled degradation effect on the safety of lithium battery is highlighted. The theoretical and experimental analysis section will show that the relationship between degradation (such as dislocations, holes and pores) and energy storage safety is reflected so as to deepen the understanding of the issue’s nature. By discussing battery security and predicting battery performance, this paper evaluates the impact of battery degradation and the corresponding control strategies, offering scientific basis and technical support for the development of sustainable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the scope and challenges for the development of residential microgrid (MG), formation of its architecture, load sharing possibilities between residential consumers, load sharing between MG and utility grid during excess power generation and also deficit demand conditions. This paper also describes how best the regional renewable resources can effectively be utilized for powering the MG to supply fixed and deferrable loads. Communication between residential consumers during energy transfer through MG and communication between MG to utility grid is also emphasized. A case study is presented to show the demand and load patterns of selective residential consumers. The outcome of the study shows that the considered site has abundant wind and solar resource and it also has additional resources to increase the capacity addition of the MG. The study also recommends potential opportunities to develop solar photovoltaic (SPV), wind, hybrid models and their suitability to power the residential consumers in India which helps the nation to reduce the dependency on fossil fuel based power generation. The results of the study emphasize the key constraints and their possible solutions in the design, development and implementation of MG projects in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]