Renewable Energy Growth Research Articles

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.

Optimizing Thermal Energy Sharing in Smart District Heating Networks

The constant attention to sustainability aimed at reconciling economic and social development with environmental protection is the driving force of the continuous growth of renewable energy in the energy sector. Among the numerous actions taken by the European Commission (EC) in this direction, an important initiative towards the complete decarbonization is represented by the Renewable Energy Communities (RECs). According to the EC, “energy communities enable collective and citizen-driven energy actions to support the clean energy transition. They can contribute to increasing public acceptance of renewable energy projects and make it easier to attract private investments in the clean energy transition”. At the European level, numerous energy communities are emerging, although they are all based on photovoltaic production and, consequently, focus only on electricity flows. The aim of this paper is to define a thermal energy community in which thermal energy sharing can be achieved by exploiting the concept of the smart district heating network. Starting from a small existing district heating network, its conversion into a smart one will be analyzed and optimized with the aim of studying the sharing of thermal energy between the various prosumer and non-prosumer users connected to the district heating network.

Convergence Analysis and Testing of Regional Effects of Green Finance on The Growth of Renewable Energy

ABSTRACT A paradigm shift in energy production and use is essential in the pursuit of carbon peaking and neutrality, and the expansion of renewable energy is a cornerstone of such a shift. This article first proposes an index that comprehensively measures renewable energy development in 30 provinces in China from 2010 to 2022. Then, the σ and β convergence models are applied to investigate the uniformity of renewable energy development. Furthermore, a spatial Durbin model is estimated to examine the spatial impact of green finance on renewable energy development. The results show that from 2010 to 2020, China has witnessed a significant increase in renewable energy use in its eastern, central and western regions, with the western region accelerating faster than its counterparts. During the same period, a remarkable trend of high convergence in renewable energy development has been observed, despite a slowdown in the spatial convergence rates between the central, eastern, western and national levels. The positive spatial spillover effect of renewable energy has increased significantly. The growth of renewable energy in the region and its surrounding areas is positively influenced by the growth of green finance.

The Impact of Renewable Energy; Financial Development and Economic Growth on Carbon Emission: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

This research investigates the impact of renewable energy; financial development, economic growth, nonrenewable energy and natural resource rents on carbon emissions in Pakistan. An annual data series ranging from 1990 to 2022 is used; while Pesaran’s et al. (2001) cointegration test is utilized and empirical results confirm that renewable energy, financial development, nonrenewable energy and economic growth have long run cointegrating relation with carbon emissions. The results further provide evidence that utilization of clean energy combats carbon emission while financial development, economic growth and unclean energy promote carbon emission. Natural resource rents also help in combating carbon emission but only in long run. These results are reliable as guided by diagnostics used in this research. This research suggests that both clean energy and natural resources must be promoted to combat carbon emissions while financial development; economic growth and nonrenewable energy may be escalated carefully because these are promoting environmental pollution in Pakistan.

Exports, FDI Inflows, Renewable Energy and Economic Growth: An Empirical Evidence from Singapore

The present study captures the impact of exports; FDI inflows and renewable energy on economic growth of Singapore economy by covering time period 1989-2022 in the context of Cobb-Douglas production function. This study applies ARDL approach for obtaining empirical results. The estimated results will further be tested by taking most of the diagnostic tests to make check whether the results are robust or not. The findings of this study reveal that exports; FDI inflows and renewable energy have a positive and statistically significant impact on the economic growth. However, short run impact of renewable energy is witnessed as insignificant while exports and FDI inflows contribute significantly in boosting economic growth. Moreover, labor and capital also play a positive role in enhancing economic growth. Based on these findings; this study suggests that exports; FDI inflows, and renewable energy may be given more importance by expanding their size if domestic production in Singapore is required to be increased.

An empirical investigation of the impact of energy consumption, globalization and natural resources on ecological footprint and economic growth, evidence from China, Japan, South Korea and China Taiwan

Natural resources are regarded as important indicators that make great contributions to reducing environmental pollution and promoting growth in today's era of globalization. Thus, a more rigorous assessment of the complexity of determining growth and ecological footprint is critical. This study examines the dynamic linkages between globalization, natural resources, renewable and non-renewable energy use, ecological footprint and growth in Taiwan, Japan, China, and South Korea from 1975 to 2020. In terms of the certainty of cross-sectional dependence of panel variable data, this study uses second-generation panel unit root, cointegration, long-term elasticity, and two-way causality estimation tests to obtain reliable and valid results. The findings explore the fact that environmental degradation is substantially mitigated by the using of renewable energy sources, while other underlying factors, such as non-renewable energy sources, natural resource rent (NRR), economic growth, and globalization, exacerbate environmental pollution. In addition, the use of renewable and non-renewable energy, NRRs and globalization drive economic progress. Globalization and ecological footprint have a bilateral causal association. The research analysis supports the feedback hypothesis based on a bidirectional causal relationship between renewable energy use and ecological footprint. Based on the empirical findings of the current study, various policy endorsements are proposed to scare and control environmental damage without hampering growth in specific East Asian economies.

The relationship between CO2 emissions, renewable energy and economic growth in the US: evidence from symmetric and asymmetric spectral granger causality analysis

The relationship between CO2 emissions, renewable energy and economic growth in the US: evidence from symmetric and asymmetric spectral granger causality analysis

AI-Driven Solutions for a Low-Carbon Transition: Evaluating Effectiveness and Limitations in Climate Change Mitigation

Climate change, primarily caused by human activities, poses a significant global challenge. Countries worldwide are integrating efforts to combat climate change through initiatives such as the Paris Agreement and setting targets to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. This paper explores the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) as a promising solution to address climate change, particularly through the analysis of mass data. AI can aid in environmental decision-making processes, optimize renewable energy use, and accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon economy. Using public data from the OECD, the study investigates the effectiveness of AI in promoting a low-carbon economy by examining its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, carbon footprint, investment in research and development, renewable energy production, and recycling rates. The findings suggest that AI has been considerably effective in supporting the growth of renewable energy and recycling while restraining gas emissions and carbon footprint. However, the study also identifies potential limitations, such as the carbon release from AI itself, and suggests further improvements to AI models.

The role of agricultural innovations, renewable energy and economic growth in the CO2 emissions of Nepal: an empirical evidence from the environmental Kuznets curve

The role of agricultural innovations, renewable energy and economic growth in the CO2 emissions of Nepal: an empirical evidence from the environmental Kuznets curve

Energy saving and flexibility analysis of combined heat and power systems integrating heat-power decoupling technologies in renewable energy accommodation

World energy is undergoing a decarbonization transformation with the rapid growth of renewable energy. Combined heat and power, with its abundant stock and efficient characteristics, can support decarbonization. This study focuses on enhancing the energy saving and flexibility of combined heat and power systems decoupled by the vapor compression heat pump and electric boiler. The characteristics of the governing valves and the governing stage are confirmed as key factors influencing energy saving. A general modeling method is proposed to accurately determine the characteristics of the governing valves and the governing stage. The valve-point effect is obtained from the formation mechanism. With a reference case, applying the heat-power decoupling technologies results in a maximum reduction of power load of up to 70 MW, greatly enhancing the operation flexibility. The fuel saving per unit peak shaving ranges from 0.1355 kg·kWh−1 to 0.1382 kg·kWh−1 in the system decoupled by the electric boiler and from 0.2284 kg·kWh−1 to 0.2481 kg·kWh−1 in the system decoupled by the vapor compression heat pump. The maximal variation ranges of fuel saving per unit peak shaving, with and without the valve-point effect, are 0.0197 kg·kWh−1 and 0.0055 kg·kWh−1, respectively. After considering the valve-point effect, the range of fuel saving per unit peak shaving is tripled. Additionally, there are higher energy-saving regions near valve points. It is recommended to operate the decoupling systems under these working conditions, with governing valves opened at an appropriate opening degree. The energy-saving potential of these systems can be further exploited by accommodating the valve-point effect in the integration of renewable energy.

Hydrothermal–pumped-storage scheduling considering renewable energy uncertainty by improved cheetah optimization

The growth of renewable wind and solar energy in modern power systems affects the short-term scheduling of hydrothermal power generation. This article presents the optimum day-ahead scheduling of wind–solar–hydrothermal systems with pumped-storage plants (PSPs). To assess the contribution of PSPs in decreasing the generation costs of a renewable integrated power system, a scheduling model is formulated that considers different security constraints. An improved cheetah optimizer (ICO) is implemented on a renewable integrated test power system to solve the short-term optimum wind–solar–pumped-storage plant–hydrothermal scheduling (OWSPHTS) problem, taking into account all thermal, hydraulic and network constraints. Optimum solutions are obtained with different objectives considering renewable uncertainties. The proposed ICO solution method is compared with the similar algorithms in terms of optimal fuel costs, emissions, convergence success rate and computation time. The comparative solutions show that the introduced optimization technique is efficient for solving the real-world OWSPHTS problem.

Phasing out coal power in two major Southeast Asian thermal coal economies: Indonesia and Vietnam

The phase-out of unabated coal power is crucial for meeting climate agreements in coal-dependent economies such as Indonesia and Vietnam. Despite both countries committing to the 2021 Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement, translating phase-out pledges into action poses considerable challenges. Drawing insights from interviews with government, civil society, and industry experts, this study identifies the key barriers hindering coal phase-out in each country. Concerns about potentially escalating electricity prices and power shortages loom large, with the former being more prominent in Indonesia and the latter more prominent in Vietnam. The obstacles appear particularly significant in Indonesia for reasons including its higher coal dependence. We conclude that prioritizing renewable energy growth, as well as halting the construction of new coal plants, would be the most practical and viable way forward for both countries rather than an oversized early focus on coal plant closures. The analysis is of high relevance to informing plans under the two countries' Just Energy Transition Partnerships.

How causality impacts the renewable energy, carbon emissions, and economic growth nexus in the South Caucasus Countries?

Renewable energy is essential for boosting economic expansion and lowering carbon dioxide emission (CO2) to achieve carbon neutrality. This study's objective is to investigate the relationship between the use of renewable energy, economic growth, and CO2 for South Caucasus Countries. For analysis purposes, time series methods were applied on the panel data. Second-generation unit root and cointegration tests were used to test the cross-sectional dependence. Afterward, panel causality and panel VAR techniques were performed to examine the relationship between the variables. Based on feedback hypothesis, results of our causality analysis revealed a bidirectional causality relationship between growth and renewable energy consumption. Moreover, we revealed unidirectional causality from CO2 to renewable energy and from growth to CO2 emission. We also found that the effect of a shock in renewable energy on growth is increasing, and on CO2, it is decreasing implying that renewable energy consumption will trigger growth and have a reducing effect on CO2 emissions. We portrayed significant workable implications for policymakers, regulation bodies, companies, stakeholders, and managers. Results from this study should be extrapolated with caution since their applicability is limited to the South Caucasus Countries. In addition, the research heavily depends on summaries, which may obscure regional differences. In the future, researchers may want to dig deeper into the data and examine the subtle effect of renewable energy policy nationally. Moreover, including socio-economic aspects and technical improvements in the research might give a more thorough picture of the dynamics at play.

Renewable energy and economic growth

Renewable energy and economic growth

The change of renewable energy and zero-carbon economy in an anthropogenically warming climate

Anthropogenetic global warming has led to increasingly significant environmental issues, biodiversity losses, and socioeconomic impacts. There is a rising demand for transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy (RE), reducing carbon emissions, and thus realizing zero-carbon economy. Nevertheless, it remains a challenge to achieve the carbon-free economy and mitigate global warming, without fully understanding the ongoing RE development. The major objectives of this research are to (1) investigate the changes of different RE types compared with fossil fuels in the U.S., U.K., Mexico, Canada, and China; (2) examine the relationships between RE, temperature anomalies, and GDP; and (3) propose potential strategies for zero-carbon economy and climate change. The annual mean energy, temperature, and GDP data in these five selected countries during 1980 to 2021 are collected for analysis, and their relation-ships are addressed through Pearson's correlation analysis, along with significance test. The results suggest an increasing trend of RE and rising RE-fossil fuels ratio during the past four decades. All five countries either showed exponential or linear increasing trends in GDP and RE. The correlation analysis suggests a significantly positive correlation between RE and GDP in both countries. For example, different from the U.S., the synchronized growth in RE and fossil fuels in China leads to a significantly positive correlation between these two. All five countries provide their unique data of renewable development, which can stimulate the research and enable further study. This study will shed light over possible strategic plans for an optimized use of renewable energy, ensuring below 1.5C temperature rise, and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.

Examining the dynamic impact of carbon emissions, renewable energy and economic growth on healthcare expenditure in Asian countries

This study aims to examine the impact of renewable energy, carbon emissions, and economic growth on healthcare spending in 36 Asian countries during 2000–2019. Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) models have been applied to the panel data for 36 Asian countries. The study's findings show that CO2 emissions in Asia increased due to public and private health spending, with the commercial health sector having a larger negative influence on CO2 emissions than the public sector. According to FMOLS and DOLS findings, carbon emissions and GDP are positively related to health spending, indicating that high economic growth through energy-intensive production processes leads to increased carbon emissions, but on the contrary, renewable energy consumption has decreased healthcare expenditure. This study advocates new policies to reduce carbon emissions and hospitalisation without jeopardising national economic growth. In order to achieve sustainable health services and an environmentally friendly future in Asia, health administrators must raise state and private healthcare spending while implementing an effective cost-service and energy-efficient management plan.

Harmonizing renewable energy and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: the transformative potential of ICT

Harmonizing renewable energy and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: the transformative potential of ICT

The Economic Benefits of Renewable Energy: Impact on Traditional Energy Markets

This paper examines the transformative impact of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power on global economic growth and traditional energy markets. The research delves into the dual role of renewable energy as both a catalyst for economic development and a disruptive force in traditional energy sectors. Through a comprehensive literature review and analysis, this study highlights the significant job creation and industrial development opportunities presented by renewable energy. It also explores the varied economic impacts across different global regions, emphasizing the distinct challenges and strategies in developed and developing countries. A critical analysis is conducted on how renewable energy influences traditional energy markets, particularly fossil fuels, by altering market dynamics and driving technological innovations. The paper discusses the policy implications of this transition, underscoring the need for balanced strategies that consider the socio-economic impacts on regions reliant on traditional energy sources. The findings reveal that renewable energy can stimulate economic growth by diversifying energy sources, enhancing energy security, and providing access to energy in underserved areas. However, the transition from traditional energy sources to renewable energy presents complex challenges, including the need for significant investment in infrastructure and technology, and the management of intermittent energy supply. The paper concludes that the transition to renewable energy offers substantial economic opportunities while necessitating a comprehensive approach to manage its impact on traditional energy markets. Future research directions are suggested, focusing on the evolving relationship between renewable energy and economic growth in the context of emerging technologies and global market dynamics. The study advocates for collaborative efforts, innovative policies, and international cooperation to ensure a just and equitable energy transition towards a sustainable future.

Repowering feasibility of Indian wind energy sector: A case study

Repowering wind farms entails upgrading or replacing old turbines with more efficient, capable, and profitable ones. This technique has the potential to boost energy production, improve grid integration, and lower operational costs. Repowering also makes use of the most recent breakthroughs in wind energy technology, ensuring that wind farms stay economically viable and contribute to the growth of renewable energy. The majority of the wind farms that are located in India were constructed in early 2000, and their capacity ratings range from 200 kW to 800 kW. The lifespans of these wind farms have finally come to an end. Repowering wind farms is a viable alternative in these regions due to the significant wind capacity that exists there. In order to find the wind potential in the site wind resource assessment is needed. This paper proposes a repowering scheme for the existing wind farm located in Kayathar, Tamil Nadu. The reduction in power loss due to the wake effect in the existing wind farm is analyzed using WAsP software and repowering scheme is proposed to increase the Annual Energy Production (AEP), Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF). The Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP) is utilized in order to carry out the site’s wind resource evaluation. After the wind resource assessment, individual turbine wake loss is identified, and the viability of repowering the wind farm by raising the hub height of high wake-affected turbines was investigated. Another repowering study is also carried out by installing high-capacity turbines in place of the existing turbines.

From powerpoint to powerplant: evaluating the impact of the U.S.-China Sunnylands commitment to tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030

In the Sunnylands statement, China and the U.S. committed to supporting efforts toward a global tripling of renewable energy by 2030. Despite unprecedented recent renewable energy growth, the world is currently off track by a substantial margin: 3,432 GW in 2030, a lacuna roughly equal to the world’s combined renewables capacity in 2022. Closing this gap requires vastly increased ambition and cooperation. The U.S. would need to significantly raise its domestic renewables ambitions. Meanwhile, both China and the U.S. would need to launch new efforts to collaboratively accelerate financial, technological, and capacity-building support for renewables development elsewhere in the world. Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care, for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. - Attributed to the Buddha