Editorial for the special issue on Sustainable Energy and Green Technologies ( SEGT 2018)

Abstract

Green energy underlines the sustainable development of modern commercial and industrial activities that support economic and global population growth. However, much of the energy consumed today comes from fossil fuels that negatively affect human health and the environment. The discovery and advancement in sustainable energy and green technology will help to bring humanity closer to a sustainable future. There are various forms of sustainable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biofuels, wave, tidal, and others) that can be incorporated by countries to minimize the use of fossil fuels. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable energy resources’ share is expected to reach 30% by 2024. The cost of solar and wind power continues to fall, making them increasingly competitive in the power generation market. In addition to sustainable energy generation, getting a promising solution to store sustainable energy is a crucial issue. Battery energy storage is a good option for small independent power systems to store small amounts of excess renewable electricity for short durations. For long-term energy storage, hydrogen production via a power-to-gas system has been shown to be the most cost-effective approach. To conclude, the increasing deployment of sustainable energy and green technology is important to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, reduce air pollution, and expand energy access. The International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Green Technology 2018 (SEGT 2018) was held on 11-14 December 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was jointly organized by the University of Malaya, University Tunku Abdul Rahman, National I-Lan University, National Cheng Kung University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Qinzhou University, National Taipei University of Technology, National Dong Hwa University, University of Hong Kong, and City University of Hong Kong. SEGT 2018 was also supported by the UM Centre for Energy Sciences, UKM Solar Energy Research Institute, IET Malaysia Chapter, and ASHRAE Malaysia Chapter. The conference aims to promote research in the fields of sustainable energy, green technology, environment, and climate change and to facilitate the exchange of new ideas in these fields among academicians, engineers, scientists, and practitioners. SEGT 2018 with the theme “Innovations for Green-Energy Technologies” has drawn over 370 participants (with more than 270 oral presentations and posters) from more than 20 countries around the world. It has covered plenary, keynote, and invited speeches (with speakers from academy and industry), oral presentations, and poster sessions on different aspects of energy research. Eight distinguished plenary, keynote, and invited speakers from internationally reputed institutes have presented state-of-the-art research, development, innovative advances, and its related issues in sustainable energy and green technology. Relevant discussions were fostered in the various fields related to bioenergy and biofuels, renewable energy, and smart energy systems, energy efficiency and green building, energy and environmental policy, environmental and climate science, and mitigation technology, green material, design, products and manufacturing processes, and other energy conversion technologies. We would like to thank the SEGT 2018 advisory board members, organizing and scientific committees, speakers, authors, session chairs, and all attendees, whose contributions and efforts have made this conference a success. This special issue is a dedicated compilation of recommended papers from SEGT 2018 and some invited papers. All papers in this special issue on “Sustainable Energy and Green Technologies” were subjected to another round of peer-to-peer review process for further quality improvement prior to publication. We believe that this special issue will make a significant contribution to the vast fields of energy research. We greatly appreciate the support and contributions of all contributing authors and reviewers. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Prof Dr Ibrahim Dincer and the editorial team of Wiley, all contributing authors, reviewers, and our assistants for their efforts that have made this special issue a true success.