Industry Leaders’ Perceptions of Residential Wood Pellet Technology Diffusion in the Northeastern U.S.

In the context of growing global climate change awareness and intensifying environmental degradation, technological innovation in renewable energy has become a key realization method for sustainable development. This paper uses data samples from 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China (excluding Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan due to data availability) from 2007–2022, constructs an SFA model to measure carbon emission efficiency, and innovatively investigates the U-shaped impact of technological innovation in renewable energy on carbon emission efficiency along with the moderating effects of informatization level and fiscal decentralization. The empirical findings reveal the following: (1) Technological innovation in renewable energy demonstrates a U-shaped impact on carbon emission efficiency, with a negative impact before inflection point 2.596605 and a positive impact after the inflection point. (2) The informatization level plays a positive regulating role in the impact of technological innovation in renewable energy toward carbon emission efficiency, while fiscal decentralization exerts a negative regulating effect. (3) The impact of technological innovation in renewable energy concerning carbon emission efficiency varies depending on regional differences, industrial structure levels, and technological innovation levels in renewable energy. The conclusions of this paper are helpful for promoting the development of technological innovation in renewable energy, improving carbon emission efficiency, and advancing sustainable socio-economic development.

Innovation diffusion is important for both firms’ profitability and countries’ economic growth. For these reasons, policies that aim to reduce the main barriers to innovation diffusion are a relevant issue on the agenda of most policy makers. Although the importance of this topic is widely recognized, few studies explore public policies that aim to enhance innovation diffusion. This article attempts to fill this literature gap. Specifically, the study aims to clarify the role of policy makers in promoting new technology diffusion, to identify the barriers that affect the process of innovation diffusion and that are relevant for public policy makers and to analyze potential policies to overcome the main barriers to the diffusion of new relevant technologies. This study shows that public policies must simultaneously address the most relevant barriers to the diffusion of a new technology to be effective. Focusing on only specific barriers by developing policies with a too narrow scope may lead to poor results. The study explores a topic that is almost neglected in the innovation management literature. On the one hand, the article provides a conceptual framework for analyzing public policies. On the other hand, it proposes an overview of the repertoire of policies that policy makers can use to overcome the most relevant barriers to the diffusion of a new technology. In doing so, it also contributes to the debate about the role of the policy maker in the process of innovation development and diffusion.

Addressing the urgent global concern of transitioning to sustainable energy sources involves navigating a complex landscape of opportunities and challenges. Factors such as the growing global population, dwindling fossil fuel reserves, inefficient energy consumption, and the adverse impacts of climate change, all contribute to the need for renewable and green energy solutions. The emissions linked to energy are currently at record levels, with the energy sector being accountable for nearly three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions. Innovation in technology, corporate processes, and regulations is vital for the energy transition to thrive on all levels. Investing funds into renewable energy technology and practices may enhance future energy systems’ resilience, equity, and sustainability. The advantages of renewable energy include minimal environmental impact, a stable supply of energy even in harsh weather conditions, and the ability to effectively reduce pollutants. Renewable energy has several benefits such as boosting economic growth, creating jobs, and improving energy security. However, there are some challenges related to renewable energy storage, which scientists are working to address. Public education is key to creating an environment that supports the expansion of renewable energy sources. Keeping up with technological advancements, industry trends, and policy updates is crucial to adjusting techniques and strategies in response to changing challenges and opportunities. To evaluate the effectiveness of innovative solutions and guide future decision-making, it is recommended to establish monitoring and evaluation systems that track the performance, impact, and outcomes of renewable energy innovations.

Does an environmental policy bring to green innovation in renewable energy?

This research investigates the role of fossil fuel energy, renewable energy, and education in terms of years of schooling and mean years of schooling on the economic growth of 19 selected Sub-Saharan African countries. The primary objective is to assess whether renewable energy and educational attainment serve as viable long-term drivers of economic development in a region still heavily reliant on fossil fuels. We employed the newly developed and robust econometric estimators, including “Residual Augmented Least Squares (RALS) co-integration”, to estimate long-term links among the facets of study. Moreover, “Pooled Mean Group–Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (PMG-ARDL) and Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag (QARDL)” econometric estimator was employed to estimate the long and short coefficients of the antecedents of study. The estimations obtained from the PMG-ARDL and QARDL estimators provide evidence that the coefficients of fossil fuel energy and renewable energy on economic growth are positive. But surprisingly, the magnitude of renewable energy is greater than fossil fuel energy in Sub-Saharan countries that still depend on fossil fuels. Moreover, human capital and capital stock boost economic growth in the countries studied. The outcomes reveal that not only quality but also quantity of education play a vital role in boosting economic development. To deepen the understanding of the observed effects, the study also explores the transmission channels through which renewable energy and education foster economic growth. Renewable energy contributes by lowering the marginal cost of electricity, encouraging green industrial transformation, and serving as a catalyst for technological innovation. Concurrently, improvements in education—measured by both expected and mean years of schooling—elevate labor productivity and facilitate the absorption and diffusion of new technologies across sectors, thereby stimulating sustained economic performance. The empirical results provide valuable insights for government officials and policymakers in specific Sub-Saharan African countries.

Terrorism and green innovation in renewable energy

This study examines the short- and long-term effects of various economic, environmental, and policy factors on renewable energy production (REP) in Saudi Arabia from 1990 to 2024, using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) techniques. The analysis focuses on fossil fuel consumption (FFC), renewable energy investment (REI), carbon emissions (CEs), energy prices (EPs), government policies (GPs), technological advancements (TAs), socioeconomic factors (SEFs), and economic growth (EG) as determinants of REP, measured as electricity generated from solar power sources in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Short-term findings reveal a positive momentum effect, where prior REP levels significantly influence current production, driven by factors such as learning by doing, economies of scale, and consistent policy support. However, FFC negatively impacts REP, highlighting resource competition and market dynamics favoring fossil fuels. Positive short-term influences include REI, CEs, EPs, GPs, TAs, SEFs, and EG, which collectively enhance renewable energy adoption through investments, technological innovation, policy incentives, and economic development. Long-term analysis underscores a strong negative relationship between FFC and REP, with a 7503-unit decline in REP associated with increased fossil fuel dependency. Conversely, REP benefits from REI, CEs, EPs, GPs, TAs, and EG, with significant contributions from technological advancements (3769-unit increase) and economic growth (9191-unit increase). However, SEFs exhibit a slight negative impact, suggesting that rapid urbanization and population growth may outpace renewable infrastructure development. Overall, the study highlights the complex interplay of factors shaping renewable energy production, emphasizing the importance of sustained investments, supportive policies, and technological innovation, while addressing challenges posed by fossil fuel reliance and socioeconomic pressures. These insights provide valuable implications for policymakers and stakeholders aiming to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in Saudi Arabia.

Can CDM projects trigger host countries’ innovation in renewable energy? Evidence of firm-level dataset from China

This work empirically analyzes the drivers of RETI from a financial perspective, using panel data from China’s provincial-level regions from 2013 to 2022. The results indicate that green financial development can significantly promote renewable energy innovation, which still holds after a series of robustness tests. Analysis of the mechanisms shows that green finance drives renewable energy technological innovation (RETI) by easing financing limitations and promoting the green transformation of industrial sectors. Furthermore, threshold effect analysis indicates a significant threshold effect regarding the influence of green finance on technological innovation within the renewable energy sector. Specifically, when the level of technological innovation in renewable energy surpasses a certain threshold value, the facilitating effect of green finance on this innovation becomes markedly stronger. Further analysis also reveals that technological innovation in renewable energy can significantly drive the low-carbon transformation of the energy consumption structure.

Understanding the influencing factors of carbon dioxide emissions is an essential prerequisite for policy makers to maintain sustainable low-carbon economic growth. Based on the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) and error correction model (ECM), this paper investigates the causal relationships between economic growth, carbon emission, financial development, renewable energy consumption, and technology innovation in the case of China for the period 1965–2018. Our empirical results confirm the presence of a long-run relationship among the underlying variables. Our long-run estimates show that financial development has negative significant impacts on carbon emissions, whereas renewable energy and technology innovation have limited impacts on carbon mitigations. In addition, the short-run Granger causality analysis reveals that renewable energy consumption has a bidirectional Granger causality with carbon emissions and technology innovations. In the short run, we find that financial development can positively affect China’s carbon mitigation efforts indirectly via the channels of renewable energy sources and technology innovations. Our results have three following policy implications for Chinese policy makers to maintain sustainable low carbon economic development: (i) establish a green finance market to mobilize the social capital into green industry; (ii) continue the environmental law enforcement to control for carbon emissions among energy intensive industries; (iii) provide government fiscal incentives to promote renewable energy sources on both supply and demand sides of the market.Key wordsChina carbon emissionsFinancial developmentRenewable energyChina

Development of a test facility to evaluate performance of a domestic wood pellet boiler

This dissertation examines the impacts of energy and climate policies on the energy and forest sectors, focusing on the case of Finland. The thesis consists of an introduction article and four separate studies. The dissertation was motivated by the climate concern and the increasing demand for renewable energy. In particular, the renewable energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of the European Union were driving this work. In Finland, both forest and energy sectors are in key roles in achieving these targets. In fact, the separation between forest and energy sector is diminishing as the energy sector is utilizing increasing amounts of wood in energy production and as the forest sector is becoming more and more important energy producer. The objective of this dissertation is to find out and measure the impacts of climate and energy policies on the forest and energy sectors. In climate policy, the focus is on emissions trading, and in energy policy the dissertation focuses on the promotion of renewable forestbased energy use. The dissertation relies on empirical numerical models that are based on microeconomic theory. Numerical partial equilibrium mixed complementarity problem models were constructed to study the markets under scrutiny. The separate studies focus on co-firing of wood biomass and fossil fuels, liquid biofuel production in the pulp and paper industry, and the impacts of climate policy on the pulp and paper sector. The dissertation shows that the policies promoting wood-based energy may have unexpected negative impacts. When feed-in tariff is imposed together with emissions trading, in some plants the production of renewable electricity might decrease as the emissions price increases. The dissertation also shows that in liquid biofuel production, investment subsidy may cause high direct policy costs and other negative impacts when compared to other policy instruments. The results of the dissertation also indicate that from the climate mitigation perspective, perfect competition is the favored wood market competition structure, at least if the emissions trading system is not global. In conclusion, this dissertation suggests that when promoting the use of wood biomass in energy production, the favored policy instruments are subsidies that promote directly the renewable energy production (i.e. production subsidy, renewables subsidy or feed-in premium). Also, the policy instrument should be designed to be dependent on the emissions price or on the substitute price. In addition, this dissertation shows that when planning policies to promote wood-based renewable energy, the goals of the policy scheme should be clear before decisions are made on the choice of the policy instruments.

We are faced with chronic water and energy vulnerabilities. Some argue that we will face two crises in the 21st century: a water crisis and an energy crisis (Brown 1998, 2003, Flavin 1999, Feffer 2008). Water will become increasingly scarce as water tables drop due to over-consumption and water quality will continue to deteriorate as a result of excessive contamination. Further, the present energy regime’s dependence on non-renewable sources has added considerable stress to the environment, including the prospect of climate change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007). We are amidst a situation where we could be easily blamed for compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This paper first briefly describes a need for understanding the integrated considerations of water and energy in resource planning, especially during droughts. After introducing a conceptual framework of the water-energy integration, this paper reviews the results of a national survey of energy and water departments to see how these synergic benefits are explored at the state level. Lessons learned from our case studies serve as useful guidelines for state water-energy planning and program development. Finally, as an example case of the water-energy nexus, the concept of desalination is introduced with its implication on energy demand.

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis has been vastly explored by academics over the last 30 years. This chapter tries to expand the EKC hypothesis's validation for selected developed countries, specifically for G-7 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States), during 1992-2016. Additional explanatory variables are considered, such as renewable energy consumption, energy innovation and foreign direct investment (FDI). Through the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) econometric technique, a U-inverted linkage between economic growth and environmental degradation for the selected panel is observed, validating the traditional EKC hypothesis. Moreover, evidence of the positive impact of renewable energy innovation on the environmental correction process is offered. The results show significant evidence of the role of FDI and renewable energy innovation as driving forces of the environmental correction process. Finally, the empirical results offer a battery of policy recommendations for policymakers in designing broad environmental policy. This chapter covers previous literature gaps and confirms the positive role of energy efficiency measures for achieving sustainable economic growth in G-7 countries. Thus, some advances in the empirical literature are offered due to the fresh evidence of the positive effect of promoting renewable energy and the necessity of regulation for attracting clean business in selected G-7 countries.

The escalating apprehensions regarding climate change and environmental deterioration have rendered sustainability a pivotal concern for international authorities. Although renewable energy and technology breakthroughs are frequently regarded as essential solutions for minimizing ecological footprints, their actual efficacy differs throughout nations due to variations in economic frameworks, policy execution, and demographic factors. Notwithstanding increasing pledges to sustainability, the degree to which these factors aid in reducing ecological footprints is still contested in scholarly discourse, underscoring the necessity for additional empirical investigation. This study examines the correlation among renewable energy use, technical advancements, economic growth, and ecological footprint in G-7 nations utilizing panel econometric methods. This study offers a detailed examination of these elements, highlighting their interdependencies and causal relationships, in contrast to earlier studies that examined them in isolation. The data indicate that although renewable energy significantly mitigates environmental deterioration, the effects of technology improvements differ by country, occasionally leading to increased resource use. Furthermore, economic growth and demographic changes affect ecological footprints variably among nations, highlighting the need for tailored policy frameworks for each country. These findings enhance the literature by offering new empirical evidence about the influence of renewable energy and technology innovations on ecological sustainability. The report provides policy recommendations, promoting customized tactics that correspond with the economic and environmental contexts of each country to improve sustainability results.