Renewable Energy Expansion Research Articles

Nuclear power as part of the Greek energy mix: Far better to be cost effectively proactive than unconditionally inactive

This position paper advocates preparatory actions for the incorporation of fission energy into the Greek mix, should this be necessary within the foreseeable future. To this end, and first of all, a concise understanding of the current Greek energy mix and its perspectives is essential in connection to the potential problems due to the expansion of renewable energy. Present and future inefficiencies could be avoided to a manageable extend, mainly by energy savings, mostly applicable for buildings consumption and also by upgrades towards a much denser grid, capable of reversing flows, along with energy storage facilities. In parallel, an assessment of the introduction potential of nuclear power could be examined. The assessment could involve political parties, scientists and other stakeholders, pro and against, and might reasonably result to justified arguments capable of raising public awareness. The country's preparedness to go nuclear could depend more or less on the degree of local energy market regulation framework, on the local and broader investment and financial environment, on the power plant construction and operation insurance possibilities, on the review and introduction of applicable law for licensing and regulating nuclear power and on the local scientific potential in the nuclear engineering field. Parameters like construction of related major engineering parts locally should also be examined along with compensatory benefits to the domestic economy and the local societies in the vicinity of the reactor sites. It is proposed that this work could be accomplished by an adequate task force without particular costs and within reasonable time.

A representative day selection method based on forward–backward sweep in generation expansion planning

Due to computational limitations, generation expansion planning often selects representative days to ensure computational efficiency. The optimality of the generation expansion planning solution greatly depends on the accuracy of the selected representative days. At present, the selection of representative days mostly adopts historical data. This method is essentially to separate the selection of representative days from the planning. We get the planning results according to the selected representative days, and then operate the simulation under the representative days. This method is feasible without considering the renewable energy expansion planning, because the net load curve does not change before and after the planning. However, in the context of the increasing penetration of renewable energy, this method of selecting representative days cannot represent the actual operating situation of the system. The net load data before and after the planning changes, and the representative days before the planning cannot reflect the actual running situation after the planning. Based on the above questions, this paper has proposed a representative day selection method based on forward–backward sweep that provides three advantages: the target level of net-load curve is captured, the representative days can reflect the future situation in reality, and a linear relaxation method to enhance computational effectiveness is designed. This method can effectively reduce the error of traditional methods and the effectiveness has been demonstrated in XJTU-ROTS test system.

Determinants of international development investments in renewable energy in developing countries

International development organizations and financial institutions provide financing for renewable energy expansion in developing countries. The eligibility for and success of these investments depend to a great extent on the regulatory, economic and sociopolitical environment in the recipient countries. This research explores what role these characteristics of developing countries play in attracting investments from international development financing sources. The study uses panel data from 2010 to 2017 for 86 developing countries from different regions of the world. It also explores the heterogeneity of the drivers in countries of different levels of economic development. The study finds that the regulatory support for renewable energy plays a significant role, as do FITs, tendering and public investments. Lack of access to electricity or clean cooking energy, or low levels of renewables in the energy composition do not attract development funds. High energy dependence however has a positive impact. Policy instruments and country characteristics affect the inflows of loans and grants differently. The findings have implications for policy makers in both the donor and recipient countries, regarding how development funds can be channeled more effectively to attain SDG 7 and climate goals in the developing countries.

전력계통 운전환경 분석을 통한 계통안정화 ESS 배터리 수명 산정기준 수립

KEPCO is pursing 970MW ESS(Energy Storage System, 전기저장장치) for system stabilization in order to maintain stable frequency due to expansion of renewable energy and to alleviate power generation constraints on the East Coast. The ESS battery charging and discharging usage pattern depends on the frequency variation trend and the frequency of generator dropout, and the battery life is calculated according to the usage pattern and the appropriate installation quantity is calculated based on this. In this paper, the battery life calculation standard suitable for ESS stabilizing power system is established considering the frequency in the steady state and the generator dropout in the transient state. It is expected that large-scale ESS will be constructed efficiently and operated stably by calculating and applying appropriate ESS battery installation quantity which has best value for actual operation.

Smart component monitoring system increases the efficiency of photovoltaic plants

Abstract Due to the increasing expansion of renewable energy, especially the widespread installation of solar power plants worldwide, to better exploit and increase the efficiency and quality of power generation, we need to closely monitor the performance of important components of the plant. In this study, using an innovative smart monitoring system and electronic sensors, we monitored components such as power in photovoltaic (PV) arrays in real time, including the phenomenon of hot spots as an example of power loss in PV panels. Detection of hot spots is very difficult to deal with in a large power plant. The results also demonstrated smart monitoring that increased detection speed and increased the efficiency rate per supervisory technician by ≤36% compared with the previous efficiency rate, which was 10% per technical staff, and increased the quality of the operation of each solar power plant. In this paper, meteorological data were coordinated with research data to validate the research. Furthermore, to compare the results of using the smart monitoring method with the conventional observation method, a complete diagram of a 5-kW solar system in MATLAB® 2018 was simulated and output diagrams were presented. Finally, to provide a comprehensive validation, our research results were compared with technical data obtained from a local 5-kW solar power plant located in Sari, Iran (36°33ʹ48″N, 53°03ʹ36″E) with an average annual irradiation of 1490 kWh/m2. When the simulation results and research are analysed, it is clear that the smart and real-time monitoring approach brings various benefits to solar power plants.

Change and path dependency in expanding energy systems: Explaining Peru's energy transition beyond a North–South divide

Energy research often differentiates between energy systems in the Global South and the Global North. We argue that this differentiation, which shifts the focus on deficiencies for systems in the Global South, hampers the identification of opportunities for change towards sustainable energy supply and limits our understanding of energy transition processes. We argue that from a socio-technical perspective immanent characteristics of energy systems instead of predefined country categories should guide empirical research. Subsequently, we develop and test the conception of expanding energy systems, which stand for systems with an increase in electricity generation and territorial coverage. We argue that these expansion processes in combination have important implications for energy transition. We integrate the conception of expansion in a socio-technical, neo-institutional understanding of energy systems. To test the applicability, we analyse change and path dependency in the energy system of Peru. We explore different processes of renewable energy expansion: a massive distribution of solar home systems, a projected expansion of large-scale hydropower, and a local niche of the production and use of solar water heaters. The results show how embedded actors and institutions strive for continuity and shape expansions. However, the results also indicate in what way the momentum of expansion is a window of opportunity for socio-technical change. We see a valuable contribution of the differentiation of expanding energy systems to the understanding of energy transitions and advocate for a further development of the concept.

Accounting impacts of renewable energy expansions on ecosystem services to balance the trade-offs

Renewable energy systems and ecosystem services, both vital for human society, are often at odds. The land cover change brought about by renewable energy expansions tends to degrade ecosystem services. An effective approach for appraising the effects of renewable energy expansions on ecosystem services is therefore urgently needed. Faced with recent acute power shortages, Pakistan has embarked on renewable energy expansions to meet its future energy demands. These expansions, in turn, will degrade ecosystems in the country, leading to a further decline in the value of its already dwindling ecosystem services. To quantify this decline, I combine spatially explicit modeling and ecosystem services valuation techniques to monetize the impacts of the potential expansions of three energy systems: solar, wind, and hydro. The results show that 18.35 % of Pakistan's total area is suitable for potential renewable energy expansion, with 14.83 % of that total appropriate for solar, 3.48 % for wind, and 0.04 % for hydropower. The average value of ecosystem services from the areas of impact by potential expansions of solar, wind, and hydropower energy systems are respectively $2026, $2160, and $2824 per hectare per year (in 2020 U.S. dollars). Furthermore, the permanent loss of ecosystem services from the expansions decreases in the order of hydropower > solar > wind. The renewable energy expansions based on the potential energy mix for the year 2030 will cause a total impact of up to $9617 million per year thereafter, with a complete loss of $1259.4 million per year in ecosystem services values. These results can help achieve a finely balanced trade-off between renewable energy expansions and ecosystem services in the country. This novel approach for assessing the environmental footprints of energy expansions can be a trailblazer for countries and regions aiming at transitioning to renewable energy systems.

The Economics of Renewable Energy Expansion for Rural Households

The Economics of Renewable Energy Expansion for Rural Households

Re-evaluating the impacts of green innovations and renewable energy on carbon neutrality: Does social inclusiveness really matters?

This study explores the impact of green innovation and renewable energy on carbon emissions, considering the mediating role of social inclusivity for a panel of 24 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1994 to 2019. The empirical strategy is framed in a generalized method of moments dynamic panel, which is novel for assessing the short- and long-term relationships among the variables. By controlling for confounders, we assessed the mechanism by which green innovation and renewable energy contribute to carbon emissions. Furthermore, for consistency with prior empirical research, we extended the analysis using alternative statistical specification by Hausman–Taylor and the feasible generalized least squares, which controls for potential endogeneity issues and cross-panel correlation. Our results are relatively mixed: our analysis suggests that green innovation and economic growth are positive and statistically significant predictors of carbon emissions. However, renewable energy and social inclusiveness were both negative and significant predictors of carbon emissions. These results suggest that renewable energy and social inclusiveness can serve as remedies for promoting environmental quality and reducing carbon emissions in OECD countries. Therefore, we recommend promoting the expansion of renewable energy at a lower cost to unserved and underserved communities and promoting social inclusiveness to achieve a net zero emission target.

When national defence meets decarbonization: Arming India's just transition with military assistance

With increased environmental concerns due to the use of fossil fuels, as well as the societal concerns emerging from the process of transition to renewables, “just transition” is gaining prominence among stakeholders. The involvement of one such stakeholder, namely the military, has been considered here for India's journey towards just transition. While military activities may result in an adverse environmental impact, it is not a necessary outcome. It is argued that the role of the military towards a socially beneficial renewable energy expansion can be considerably significant, through its potential in research, technological advancement, and access to harsh geographies. With mutual cooperation between the military, the stakeholders, the society, and the tenets of just transition, it is possible for India to effectively realize the Sustainable Development Goals. This can allow for a major beneficial restructuring within the local and global economies.

에너지 위기 시대의 에너지 안보 확립을 위한 법적 과제

Although energy security is a crucial issue for realizing national security, whenever an energy supply & demand crisis occurs, discussions on overcoming the crisis have been fragmentary. This is not irrelevant to the understanding and approach of energy security from a traditional viewpoint as saving energy sources. The energy crisis can come again anytime due to various factors, such as the climate crisis and changes in external situations. At this point, when uncertainties surrounding energy supply & demand are increasing, energy security can no longer be established with the same approach. Therefore, an in-depth discussion is needed on the change of approach to the concept of energy security and the arrangement of the legal basis to establish energy security through this change. In general, energy security is “guaranteeing sufficient energy supply at an appropriate price,” so, availability and affordability of the energy are critical. However, since energy security is also part of the national energy policy, it should not be understood differently in its direction. Given that Korea and the rest of the world have set common policy goals in the energy sector to respond to the climate crisis and achieve carbon neutrality, it is necessary to consider 'Environmental Sustainability' in establishing energy security. Countries that are not rich in energy resources, such as Germany and Japan, are already seeking measures to establish energy security, such as stockpiling fossil fuels, diversification of supply chains, and expansion of renewable energy. In this process, it is worth noting that the relevant countries are systematically approaching the short-term and mid- to long-term perspectives in connection with their energy policies and are arranging applicable laws and regulations necessary to establish energy security. Korea's energy security- related legislation, centered on individual laws, makes it difficult to respond effectively to the uncertain energy resource market due to its disconnected approach, such that it has fundamental limitations not being able to view the overall supplementation among energy sources. In addition, the current energy security legislation is focused on the means of post-counteraction rather than prevention of energy crises. In order to solve these problems, in addition to the arrangement of individual laws, a system for overall energy-related laws and integrated legislation to establish energy resource security, and distributed energy activation legislation should be enacted simultaneously considering the expansion of renewable energy.

Drawing transformation pathways for making use of joint effects of food and energy production with biodiversity agriphotovoltaics and electrified agricultural machinery

The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals is being pursued worldwide. While energy production and consumption are to be oriented towards renewable energies, ecologically and socially sustainable agriculture is also a target for science and society. Due to the expansion of renewable energies, agricultural land in particular is the focus of various interest groups, from food production to energy production. In this interdisciplinary study, we show the opportunities and limits of joint synergies from the nexus of food production, energy production, energy consumption, biodiversity protection and social acceptance of renewable energies in a scenario. Biodiversity agriphotovoltaics, i.e. agriphotovoltaics in combination with biodiversity protection measures, such as flower strips, can make a valuable contribution to promoting biotope connectivity in addition to significant energy production. We show this in a GIS-based regional assessment for Lower Saxony in northern Germany. This rough spatial assessment is followed by a modelling of energy production and consumption during the cultivation of a characteristic agricultural field in the loess region of Lower Saxony. Our focus here is on the possibilities of using cable electricity or battery storage for carrying out the cultivation. In an accompanying survey of farmers regarding the use of agriphotovoltaics, we collected and evaluated their prior knowledge, experiences, and attitudes towards this technology. Finally, we show which advantages agriphotovoltaics and electrified agricultural machinery can also have for the sustainable transformation of agriculture and which challenges exist for a truly sustainable use of these technologies.

Environmental conflict and the expansion of renewable energy in Central America: exploring Canadian participation

ABSTRACT As capacity to generate and distribute renewable energy expands across Central America, environmental conflict is on the rise, with communities confronting dispossession of water and territory. Renewable energy holds a central position within the extractivist economic model in the region, but little is known about the involvement of Canada in Central American renewable energy sectors. This paper addresses that gap by asking what role Canada plays within a scenario of expanding and conflictual renewable energy projects across Central America. We combine Canadian public records with data from projects, including GeoComunes and the Environmental Justice Atlas, to analyze 726 renewable energy and 162 traditional extractive projects in Central America, and to connect 156 of these projects to evidence of conflict with surrounding communities. While Canadian private companies own very few renewable energy projects in Central America, we argue that this does not imply an absence of Canadian involvement. Instead, the paper explores Canadian participation at multilateral venues, support for energy projects by the federal government, and the benefits that renewable energy expansion presents to the Canadian private sector. The invisibility of the Canadian presence in Central American renewable energy, we suggest, serves to obscure Canadian responsibility for a scenario defined by high levels of conflict.

The asymmetric and long-run effect of energy productivity on environmental degradation in the United Kingdom

Energy efficiency offers a vast, low-cost energy resource for the economy, but only if the nation can craft a comprehensive and innovative approach to unlock it. One of the most viable options is to invest in energy productivity. This study examines the asymmetric and long-run effects of energy productivity on environmental degradation while controlling for renewable energy, economic growth, and financial development, utilizing the nonlinear autoregressive distributive lag model and other robust econometric techniques in the United Kingdom during the period 1990Q1–2020Q4. The United Kingdom is one of the world's wealthiest countries; its environment is being severely strained and is challenged in boasting massive investments to reduce CO2emissions to 78% by 2035. Given the important scenarios for energy efficiency, this study outcome indicates that (a) energy productivity has been beneficial for reducing carbon emissions; (b) renewable energy sources significantly mitigate carbon emissions in the United Kingdom, and (c) economic growth and financial development cause to increase carbon emissions in the United Kingdom. Given the findings, some policy recommendations abound. The negative statistically significant coefficient of renewable energy is an indication that the expansion of renewable energy is essential to achieving clean and sustainable growth. Furthermore, policymakers should enact new environmental laws that prioritize R&D and embrace cleaner technologies.

Green Energy Optimization in Dinajpur, Bangladesh: A Path to Net Neutrality

Bangladesh has endured a significant power crisis as its economy grows. Hence, it is crucial to investigate the 40% expansion of renewable energy to attain the 2041 renewable energy goal as delineated by the government of Bangladesh. The study explores the current agricultural waste situation in rural areas of the Dinajpur District to propose a feasible alternative and integrated waste management system to meet the energy policy targets for animal waste and crop residues. It analyzed the spatial distribution of feedstocks, identified the optimal sites for the locations of biogas plants based on socioeconomic and environmental criteria and geographic information, and evaluated biogas production to satisfy electricity demand using geographic information system (GIS) suitability analysis and hotspot analysis by proposing six different scenarios. The results show that 2.81 million tons of total agricultural residues are sufficient to produce 11.31 million m3 per year of biogas in the study area. Furthermore, it is found that 21 biogas-based power plants using cattle manure and rice straw are spatially and technically feasible to produce 6389.14 kW of electrical energy per year, which meets 5.73% of the demand of the district in 2019. From the 6 proposed scenarios, number 4 can produce the maximum electricity, 3047.41 kW/year. The findings support the target of achieving a clean, green, sustainable energy system in Bangladesh while improving agricultural residue management. Estimating substrate availability and location is one of the first steps in promoting biogas-based energy from cattle manure and rice straw, which demands comprehensive technical, economic, and social policy reforms. Moreover, bioenergy expansion in Dinajpur District via biogasification represents a commitment to long-term investments in rural areas of Bangladesh.

Balancing renewable energy and river resources by moving from individual assessments of hydropower projects to energy system planning

As governments and non-state actors strive to minimize global warming, a primary strategy is the decarbonization of power systems which will require a massive increase in renewable electricity generation. Leading energy agencies forecast a doubling of global hydropower capacity as part of that necessary expansion of renewables. While hydropower provides generally low-carbon generation and can integrate variable renewables, such as wind and solar, into electrical grids, hydropower dams are one of the primary reasons that only one-third of the world’s major rivers remain free-flowing. This loss of free-flowing rivers has contributed to dramatic declines of migratory fish and sediment delivery to agriculturally productive deltas. Further, the reservoirs behind dams have displaced tens of millions of people. Thus, hydropower challenges the world’s efforts to meet climate targets while simultaneously achieving other Sustainable Development Goals. In this paper, we explore strategies to achieve the needed renewable energy expansion while sustaining the diverse social and environmental benefits of rivers. These strategies can be implemented at scales ranging from the individual project (environmental flows, fish passage and other site-level mitigation) to hydropower cascades to river basins and regional electrical power systems. While we review evidence that project-level management and mitigation can reduce environmental and social costs, we posit that the most effective scale for finding balanced solutions occurs at the scale of power systems. We further hypothesize that the pursuit of solutions at the system scale can also provide benefits for investors, developers and governments; evidence of benefits to these actors will be necessary for achieving broad uptake of the approaches described in this paper. We test this hypothesis through cases from Chile and Uganda that demonstrate the potential for system-scale power planning to allow countries to meet low-carbon energy targets with power systems that avoid damming high priority rivers (e.g., those that would cause conflicts with other social and environmental benefits) for a similar system cost as status quo approaches. We also show that, through reduction of risk and potential conflict, strategic planning of hydropower site selection can improve financial performance for investors and developers, with a case study from Colombia.

The Investment Effects of Market Integration: Evidence From Renewable Energy Expansion in Chile

We study the investment effects of market integration on renewable energy expansion. Our theory highlights that market integration not only improves allocative efficiency by gains from trade but also incentivizes new investment in renewable power plants. To test our theoretical predictions, we examine how recent grid expansions in the Chilean electricity market changed electricity production, wholesale prices, generation costs, and renewable investments. We then build a structural model of power plant entry to quantify the impact of market integration with and without the investment effects. We find that the market integration in Chile increased solar generation by around 180%, saved generation costs by 8%, and reduced carbon emissions by 5%. A substantial amount of renewable entry would not have occurred in the absence of market integration. Our findings suggest that ignoring these investment effects would substantially understate the benefits of market integration and its important role in expanding renewable energy.

Enabling factors for the development of mini-grid solutions in Mozambique: A PESTLE-based analysis

Electricity is crucial for each country's economic and social development. More than half of the population in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) lack access to energy, which has dire consequences for the local population's living conditions, as well as affecting the local economy and increasing poverty. Renewable energy-based mini-grid (REBM) systems are the promising solution to mitigate the issue of energy access in rural areas, however, the expansion of renewable energy (RE) systems and the rate of energy access are both advancing at a slow pace. This study used PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental) in the context of Mozambique, a SSA country, to identify the most important categories and factors to support decision-making processes by breaking down existing barriers and hurdles in the energy sector enabling them to plan and implement measures, subdivided in primary, secondary and tertiary for the development of REBM in remote settlements. Even though PESTLE analysis is rather often worldwide applied to the energy sector, its application to the Sub-Saharan context is rare, while its application to the Mozambique energy sector is absent in scientific literature. Besides, within our study, energy experts from different professional backgrounds and nationalities have been interviewed using an online questionnaire: 62 energy experts (48 Africans, and 14 Non-African) from 14 different countries assessed the categories and factors. The experts questioned identified the political category as the most crucial for policy-makers to prioritize, with the top three global weighting factors being, Clear Government policies (plan, regulation, priority, strategy) 5.79%, National financial scheme for RES investments 4.93%, and cost of investment 4.86%. The findings can support policy-makers breakdown barriers in the energy sector, planning and implementing measures for the REBM development, and contribute to achieving the SDG7 target.

Renewable Energy Expansion and Sustainable Development

Renewable Energy Expansion and Sustainable Development

Development of Energy Flexible and Sustainable Operation Strategies of Air Conditioning Systems for Industrial Production Environments

The increasing expansion of renewable energies and the shortage of fossil fuels lead to rising and increasingly fluctuating energy prices. To benefit from these significant fluctuations and to become less dependent on fossil energy sources, this paper shows how the electricity demand of cooling supply systems for industrial room air conditioning can be flexibly adapted to the volatile energy supply. For this purpose, an energy-flexible air-conditioned climate room with a smart chiller and thermal storage units was built as a demonstrator at the ETA research factory at the Technical University of Darmstadt. To determine the energy flexibilization potential and to develop flexible operating strategies, a thermal simulation model of the climate room was also created in the simulation environment Dymola and experimentally validated. In addition, an energy-flexible operation of the climate room was validated on the real system and the economic potential was determined as well as the impact on sustainability was derived. The demonstrator shows that in the application scenario of air conditioning of cold storage facilities 26.3 % of electricity costs and 20.6 % of CO2 emissions can be saved by the developed energy-flexible operating strategies. The findings can be transferred and scaled to different cooling supply systems for industrial air conditioning.