Effects Of Energy Use Research Articles

Impacts of Urbanization on Energy Consumption in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Zone

Energy resources play a vital role in the process of urbanization, and the high level of energy consumption has significantly created an alarming situation for environmental degradation. Increased demand for energy consumption in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) zone is a core concern for decreasing the existing reserves of energy, especially nonrenewable energy, when the growth of urbanization is increasing also. This study investigates the impacts of urbanization on energy consumption in this region by identifying factors that influence energy use. We employed globally used econometric techniques to examine the relationship between energy use and urbanization. The results of the study indicate that all the independent variables used in the model (except urban population growth) were statistically significant with a 99% level of confidence. In addition, the findings of this study recognized three long-run causalities running from the GDP (gross domestic product) to energy consumption, energy consumption to GDP, and energy consumption to the industry’s share of the countries’ GDP. We recommend (i) taking the initiative to invest in renewable energy, (ii) implementing green energy-efficient technologies in the industrial sector, and (iii) raising public awareness of the negative effects of energy use on the environment through education.

Role of energy efficiency in energy transition: A decomposition analysis of energy use

The use of energy-efficient technologies tends to reduce the overall energy use of a country and foster the energy transition pathways. However, a change in energy can occur either due to a change in activity effect, intensity effect, or structural effect. The objective of the study is firstly to examine and measure the magnitude of change in energy use and identify the factor responsible for the change in energy use in the selected sectors. Secondly, the paper aims to analyze the impact of the Norwegian economy on the three effects of energy use. The study contributes significantly to identifying the sector that experiences a reduction in energy use due to energy efficiency and examining the impact of the economy on energy use. The overall energy use between 1990 and 2017 is decomposed into three different effects for selected energy-intensive sectors by deploying the ‘Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index’ (LMDI) method. Further, the impact of the Norwegian economy is examined on the three effects of energy use. It is observed that in each Phase, the key driver for change in energy use in all three Phases is the transport sector. Post-recession, the energy use in the transport sector was due to structural effects. Consumer behavior and limitations of sources of finance are the challenges for the deployment of electric vehicles even after technological breakthroughs in energy efficiency. Finally, the policies to enhance energy efficiency in energy-intensive sectors, such as the transport, and services sector must be undertaken to efficiently visualize energy efficiency-driven energy transition.

An Approach for Hybrid Optimal Power Flow Strategies with Optimal Allocation of Distributed Generators for a Power Network

The OPF difficulties are characterized by the presence of four distinct objective functionswhich are: active powerlosses,fuel operating costs and voltage variations. The volatile and variable nature of distributed generator (DG) sources contributes to the convolutionof the optimum power flow (OPF) issue. This paperemployed bat algorithms to tackle the issue of optimumpower flow (OPF)and PSO algorithm to optimal allocation of DG. The goal was to enhance the effectiveness of energy use, environmental sustainability, and cost efficiency of the electricity grid. The test cases include a wide range of scenarios, including the existence of Distributed Generation (DG), different locations of DG within the network, various kinds of load expansion, and occasional breakdowns of transmission lines. These possibilities are considered in order to address the problem presented by the suggested solution OPF. The incidents are assessed utilizing bus systems, such as the 30 bus systemin MATLAB.

Analysis of renewable energy and economic growth of Germany

The study aims to investigate the effect of energy use, renewable energy consumption, nuclear energy consumption and air transport freight on CO2 emissions in Germany. Auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique was used to establish the short and long-term correlations between the dependent (CO2) and independent variables (Energy use, nuclear consumption, renewable consumption, air transport freight) on a time series data from 1970 to 2021. The results demonstrated the dependence of energy use on non-renewable energy sources by revealing a significant and positive relationship between short and long-term energy use and CO2 emissions. Similar to energy use, nuclear energy use and air transport freight was also found to be positively correlated with CO2 emissions. On the other hand, despite the fact that there is a strong negative connection between carbon dioxide emissions and renewable energy, the results reveal that the correlation between the two is not statistically significant. The study aims to investigate the effect of important economic factors on Germany’s CO2 emissions in order to move further in a sustainable manner. The data reveals an astonishing increase in the usage of nuclear energy for power generation between 1965 and 1985, which was followed by a fall in 2012 as a result of the Fukushima tragedy and growing social unease in Germany, which ultimately led to the phase-out of nuclear power. Nonetheless, BAU projections revealed that even with 200 nuclear power plants, CO2 emissions would still be reduced to 278 by 2070, in part because of the additional power produced by other energy sources.

Marginal effect of electricity generation on CO2 emissions: Disaggregated level evidence from China by KRLS method and high-frequency daily data

The effect of energy use on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has been frequently studied in the literature. These studies have mainly concluded that countries should decline (increase) the use of fossil fuel (clean) energy. However, the literature suffers from a significant shortcoming as it does not focus on the marginal effect of a 1 % increase for each energy generation source on sectoral CO2 emissions. Therefore, a detailed analysis is conducted in this study to examine the relationship between electricity generation (EG) and CO2 emissions at a disaggregated level. The focus is on China, the world's leading country in terms of CO2 emissions and energy use. Thus, the study considers source-based EG and sector-based CO2 emissions, uses high-frequency daily data between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2022, and applies the kernel-based regularized least squares (KRLS) method. The outcomes show that (i) the effects of EG sources on sectoral CO2 emissions follow a nonlinear structure, suggesting that the marginal effect varies by sector, EG sources, and estimation models (either incremental or degressive). Therefore, there are certain externalities among alternative EG sources for the effects of CO2 emissions in the sectors; (ii) the statistically significant effects of EG sources on CO2 emissions vary by sector and constructed models, showing that some EG sources are much more important for CO2 emissions in some sectors. For this reason, not all EG sources have the same importance for sectoral CO2 emissions; (iii) the KRLS method has a higher estimation ability of CO2 emissions, reaching ∼99.8 %, which provides novel outcomes and allows researchers to argue various policy options based on the obtained results. The study thus highlights varying marginal impacts of EG sources on sectoral CO2 emissions. The changing marginal influence is a crucial point that should be considered by Chinese policymakers when formulating energy-related environmental policies.

Relationship between Energy and Economic Growth: Evidence from a Panel Nonlinear ARDL Model

In this article, we study the heterogeneous relationship among energy consumption and economic growth by incorporation gross fixed capital formation, foreign direct investment, international trade and finance development as control variables in a selected sample of 11 countries of the Middle East and North Africa over the period 1980-2020 using a panel nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model. Empirical results show the presence of an asymmetric long run relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in the group of countries. The Pooled Mean Group estimates indicate that positive and negative changes in energy consumption have positive and significant effects on output growth in the long term, whereas both Mean Group and Difference Fixed Effect estimates report that only negative changes in energy consumption have positive and significant effect on long-term economic growth in the selected sample of countries. In addition, the short run individual effects of energy use on economic growth are positive and significant for only three countries (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia). These results are very important for the design of energy policies and sustainable economic growth. Energy-saving policies are suitable for long-run economic growth for the entire sample, while they are only suitable for eight countries out of eleven in the short-run.

The impact of industrial transformation on green economic efficiency: New evidence based on energy use

Developing a green economy is key to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This paper uses the SBM-GML index, which includes non-desired outputs, to measure the trend of regional green economic efficiency changes and analyze the impact mechanism and realization path of industrial transformation on green economic efficiency. The research results show that advanced industrial structure has a positive influence on green economic efficiency nationwide, while energy utilization structure and energy utilization efficiency have positive partial intermediary effects in the influence path; industrial structure rationalization is also significantly positively related to green economic efficiency nationwide, and the mediating effect of energy utilization is positive. The impact of industrial transformation on green economic efficiency has regional heterogeneity, and the mediating effect of energy use also differs. Among them, the impact effect in the eastern region is basically consistent with the national sample, but is negative in the central and western regions. This paper proposes countermeasures in terms of adjusting the industrial structure, improving energy efficiency, and perfecting industrial and energy policies, which can provide theoretical and practical references for promoting the transformation and upgrading of regional industrial structure, optimizing energy utilization, and advancing the efficiency of the national and regional green economy.

Energy Consumption, Energy Distribution, and Clean Energy Use Together Affect Life Expectancy

Background: Energy use per capita is a measure of the wealth of a population. A minimum of wealth or energy is certainly needed to achieve good living standards and a healthy life. Life expectancy at birth might be used as an indicator of overall health and well-being. We hypothesized that the effect of energy use on life expectancy does reach a limit, above which further energy use does not further increase life expectancy. Methods: We used global World Bank data for the years between 1972 and 2014 on national energy use and life expectancy and applied non-linear models searching for a threshold. We also controlled for distribution inequalities. Results: There is a clear upper threshold for the effects of energy use, but this threshold did not remain completely constant over the years. Conclusions: While a certain level of wealth and energy use is necessary for health and well-being, there is a certain threshold beyond which additional energy consumption has no beneficial effects. A more even distribution of wealth and energy within a population and the use of cleaner energy sources might, above a certain level, be more important than the average use of energy.

Energy efficiency in the South African mining sector: A case study at a coal mine in Mpumalanga

Energy efficiency is a cost-effective way of both bolstering energy security and limiting the harmful effects of energy use on the environment. Mining is an inherently energy-intensive activity, and the 2008 revision of South Africa's National Energy Efficiency Strategy (NEES) set a target of a 10% reduction in energy consumption by 2015 for the mining sector. In this study, we investigate the effectiveness of the NEES in improving energy efficiency in the South African coal mining sector by surveying energy intensity at a number of operations, and analysing energy efficiency trends and energy use by process and energy carrier at an underground coal mine in Mpumalanga. Most mines surveyed exhibit an increase in energy intensity over time. At the case study mine, the increase was primarily due to increased energy use in the beneficiation and discard reclaiming processes. Trends in energy consumption are a poor reflection of trends in energy intensity, as a decline in energy consumption is most easily achieved by reducing production. A more appropriate metric for energy efficiency at coal mines is energy intensity, defined as energy use per unit of saleable product, relative to a multi-year baseline. The evidence suggests that the NEES has been ineffective in promoting energy efficiency in South African coal mines. We propose that greater success could be achieved by monitoring and reporting on energy intensity at the process level, and by incentivizing energy efficiency gains.

Revisiting rebound effects of energy use and pollutant emissions: The role of technological change

Measuring the rebound effect (RE) of energy use and pollutant emissions is fundamental to characterizing the effects of technological progress on energy conservation and emissions reduction. This paper presents a total-factor RE model that combines the Fixed effects (FE) model, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and Luenberger Productivity Indicator (LPI). The proposed model takes into account two types of disposability for variable-specific decomposition for LPI. The model includes two general indices, static inefficiency performance and dynamic inefficiency performance, which can be used to assess performance in the industrial sector and measure technological change and RE. The results show that switching from natural to managerial disposability improves energy RE by 12% but reduce RE of NOx and SO2 emissions by 22% and 24%, respectively. These findings suggest that cleaner energy expansion can promote energy RE, while reducing environmental RE.

A way toward green economic growth: Role of energy efficiency and fiscal incentive in China

China faces the challenge of balancing economic development with environmental sustainability as one of the largest economies and the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases. This study investigates the role of fiscal incentives and energy efficiency in fostering green economic growth in China. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model is used in the analysis, which spans the years 2010 to 2021, to assess the effectiveness of energy use and the influence of financial incentives on environmental sustainability. The results show that increasing energy efficiency reduces environmental deterioration and improves resource utilization, positively contributing to green economic growth. The study also demonstrates the critical role financial incentives, such as tax breaks and subsidies, play in encouraging investments in sustainable practices and clean technology development. These results underline how crucial it is to implement targeted fiscal policies and energy efficiency measures to promote green economic growth in China.

Anodic oxidation of sulfamethoxazole paired to cathodic hydrogen peroxide production

A double chamber electrochemical system is developed consisting of a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode and a graphite cathode, which not only degrades sulfamethoxazole (SMX) but also simultaneously generates hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The degradation of SMX is carried out by (in)direct oxidation at the BDD anode and H2O2 is produced by two electron oxygen (O2) reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode. The effect of different parameters on the kinetics of both mechanisms was investigated. The performance of the system at the optimized conditions (pH 3, 0.05 M Na2SO4 as electrolyte, and 10 mA as applied current) showed that after 180 min of electrolysis, SMX was almost fully degraded (95% removal and ∼90% COD reduction) as well as about 535 μM H2O2 was accumulated. With the help of LC-MS, five intermediates formed during SMX electrolysis were properly identified and a degradation pathway was proposed. This study advocates methods for improving the effectiveness of energy use in advanced wastewater treatment.

Energy Use, Financial Development and Pollution in Selected African Countries

The consequences of environmental pollution on human life have continued to exacerbate in recent times, especially in African countries. This has spurred research interest among researchers to find out how nations can keep carbon emissions in check. In this regard, this study focuses on some selected African countries between 1981 and 2019 to investigate the effect of energy use, financial development and carbon emission. The study employs the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) based on the framework of the co-integration regression method to analyze the panel data. The result reveals that energy use positively and significantly affects carbon emissions in energy-dependent African countries. Financial development positively affects carbon emissions, while the mediating role of financial development between energy use and carbon emission causes carbon emissions to reduce. Therefore, the study recommends that energy-dependent African countries strengthen their financial sector to ensure credit availability for green supportive investment.

Understanding the bearable link between ecology and health outcomes: the criticality of human capital development and energy use

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries share a common context of critical ecological issues and trans border conflicts that threaten the quality of life and long-term stability of the region. The lack of water and arable land in particular has been a significant aspect of the region's history, but in more recent times, these pressures have grown in correlation with development patterns. Previous studies in this regard based on MENA countries data have failed to capture the holistic impact of the environmental risk factors on health outcomes. This study examines the bearable link between ecology and health outcomes, accounting for the criticality of human capital and energy use in the MENA region. The study employs second generation econometrics methods - system GMM, panel quantile regression via moments, and Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test on panel data covering 2008–2017. The empirical results establish a trade-off between the ecological factors and health outcomes. Specifically, ecological footprint as a measure of environmental quality is positively related to health outcomes, while biocapacity is negatively and insignificantly associated with health outcomes. Both effects of the two environmental factors are undesirable. Furthermore, the results show that human capital has the desired positive and significant effect on health outcomes, while the effect of energy use is negative. Based on the findings, the study provides several policy options that would help to deescalate the pressure on the natural resources.

The effect of GDP, renewable energy and total energy supply on carbon emissions in the EU-27: new evidence from panel GMM.

The vast usages of sources of energy that pollute the environment have resulted in major problems of global warming in the world. Global warming and greenhouse effect causes droughts, hunger, and starvation among many other health problems. In this research, the effect of energy use, economic, growth, and renewable energy on carbon emissions, in the European Union region from 1990 to 2019, is examined. The current study differs from previous researches, in that it specifies "effective capital" which is the interaction between energy and capital (a product of energy and capital) in the model. Effective capital is inevitable in the production process because physical capital such as machinery, without power or energy to fuel it, is dysfunctional. The current research employs the Generalized Method of Moments which is strong over endogeneity and overcomes heteroskedasticity, serial, and autocorrelation problems. The findings of this research support past studies that renewable energy reduces carbon emissions and gross domestic product exacerbates carbon emissions. Effective capital and energy use are observed to promote carbon emissions, whereas capital and population size reduces carbon emissions in the European Union.

Rethinking social change: Does the permanent and transitory effects of electricity and solid fuel use predict health outcome in Africa?

One of the greatest global challenges of this 21st century is electricity deprivation, which involves extending access to electricity to hundreds of millions of people, while simultaneously trying to improve the quality of life and maintain their good health. Electricity deprivation combined with poor health systems and social circumstances can be a problem as it tends to expose the population to greater health risks. While the opponents of energy use almost never deny that electricity use is necessary for health, instead, they failed to admit that a lack of readily available electricity could mark the difference between life and death. This is because reliable electricity supply is required for basic socioeconomic needs such as home cooking and storage, water supply, lighting and reduction of indoor air pollution that may arise from solid fuel usage. This study examines the permanent and transitory effects of electricity and solid fuel use on health in Africa. The empirical strategy combines the van praag transformation and advanced econometrics based on Mundlak methodology. By using the Mundlak statistical procedure, the study breaks down the permanent and transitory effects of energy use (electricity and solid fuel use) on health. The study also corrects for potential endogeneity problem using the Hausman -Taylor statistical procedure. It further strengthened the analysis by correcting for cross panel correlation using the Feasible GLS methodology. The findings revealed that having access to electricity reduces health risks associated with burning solid fuels in Africa.

Towards powerful knowledge: an Australian case study of prospective teachers’ knowledge and dispositions for sustainability education

Preparing school teachers goes beyond equipping them with instrumental knowledge of curriculum, pedagogy, and experiences of how this can be enacted in practice. They must be prepared to understand and encompass compelling social issues of justice, equity, and sustainability. To do this they need to understand pressing environmental issues as a forerunner to incorporate sustainability into their teaching. This paper uses survey data from a sample of 136 Australian pre-service teachers to gauge their knowledge and beliefs about sustainability, as well as their level of concern and their inclination to teach about it. The results show sound levels of knowledge of the biophysical environment, knowledge about the consequences of unsustainable practices and the effects of energy use and its contribution as one cause of climate change. Some also hold misconceptions about the causes of climate change. Most prospective teachers are ready to take action to protect earth systems through personal actions, and teaching and advocating within their school community, and less likely to undertake political activities beyond the school. Results from this sample are used to set out a challenge to use the concept of powerful knowledge in tandem with everyday knowledge to improve sustainability instruction in teachers’ preparation programs to capitalise on their potential to contribute to Education for Sustainable Development.

Role of energy consumption and trade openness towards environmental sustainability in Turkey.

The growth of financial services has been critical in Turkey's pursuit of economic growth objectives throughout the last two decades. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that it has a negative impact on environmental quality. Based on this, in the current paper, the effect of energy use, trade openness, and financial development on the load capacity factor (LCF) is explored for Turkey between 1965 and 2018. In doing so, a series of quantile approaches such as quantile cointegration (QC), quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR), nonparametric causality-in-quantiles (NCQ), and quantile regression (QR) are used. The results generated from the QQR and also validated by the QR reveal that in the majority of the quantiles, primary energy use, trade openness, and financial development impact the LCF negatively. These results suggest that primary energy use, trade openness, and financial development damage environmental quality. Furthermore, the findings gathered from the quantile causality disclose that all primary energy use, trade openness, and financial development can forecast LCF in the majority of the quantiles. Based on the research outcomes, policies, which may aid to solve the damaging environmental effects of the primary energy use, trade openness, and financial sector development in Turkey are recommended.

Energy use and environmental degradation in Europe: evidence from panel nonlinear ARDL

This study examines the nonlinear effect of energy use including coal, gas, oil, and electricity on CO2 emissions in European Union (EU) countries. Annual panel data of twenty-one European Union countries i.e. Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Netherland, Norway, Spain, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Ukraine from 1990 to 2018 is used, while panel nonlinear ARDL methodology is applied for examining the long and short run association. Findings showed that an increase in the coal, electricity, and oil usage increase carbon dioxide emissions, while a reduction in coal, electricity, gas, and oil usage reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the long run. Results of panel nonlinear ARDL (NARDL) model prove the existence of asymmetric impact of energy usage including coal, electricity, and oil on CO2 emissions in European countries. Bidirectional causality exits among positive partial sum of gas usage and CO2 emissions, as well as among partial positive component of oil usage and CO2 emissions in the short run. Pollution needs to be controlled by using new and efficient technologies by making research and development centers more efficient and productive, while the usage of renewable energy resources should be promoted by replacing the traditional energy resources to reduce emissions. ENERGY STAR strategy can be used to improve the energy performance of commercial buildings and industrial plants as well as government has to formulate policies of production which are environment friendly.

Comparative analysis of the growth impact of pollution and energy use in selected West African nations.

We adopt the FMOLS and Granger causality technique to analyse the effect of energy use and carbon emissions on output growth in selected West African economies, which includes Nigeria, Gambia and Ghana, from 1970 to 2019. Findings confirm that energy use enhances growth in the three selected West African economies. But in terms of significance, energy consumption is significant in Nigeria and Gambia at a 1% level of significance while it is insignificant for the Gambia. CO2 emission positively and significantly propels economic growth for the three selected West African economies. For Nigeria, causality evidence shows no direct influence among the variables. For Ghana, we find a bi-causal association between output growth and carbon emissions and a unidirectional causality from pollution to energy consumption. For Gambia, economic growth causes CO2 emissions. We recommend that the West African government reinforce their stand on a sustainable growth path through energy conservation.