National Energy Goals Research Articles

Preserving competition and economic welfare in Israel's PV market

Despite global efforts, many countries struggle to meet renewable energy targets. In 2022, Israel's renewable energy accounted for only 10% of its electricity generation despite its abundant solar resources. This study analyzes the outcomes of three tenders for photovoltaic (PV) facilities aimed at advancing national renewable energy goals. The results reveal lower production costs but increased market concentration, with a 50% reduction in the number of winning firms, consolidating around major players. While efficiency has improved, the exit of smaller, less competitive firms raises concerns about long-term dominance. Cournot oligopoly simulations predict rising concentration and market power.

Empowering Sustainability: Understanding Determinants of Consumer Investment in Microgrid Technology in the UAE

This study aims to analyze the determinants that influence the consumers’ disposition to invest in microgrid technology in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This research offers valuable insights for policymakers on investors’ motivations to develop strategies to foster microgrid technology adoption through end-user investments leading to a reduction in microgrid high capital cost. The study employed descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analyses to analyze the responses of a sample of property owners to a quantitative survey. The study examines such variables as strategic alignment, profitability, digitization, renewable energy utilization, CO2 emission reduction, and disaster recovery readiness. The data collected reveal a moderate level of understanding and cost-awareness of microgrid technology among the respondents, with a mean of 2.46 out of 5. Notably, the data highlight the significant influence of strategic alignment with the UAE’s national energy goals on the respondents’ inclination to invest in microgrids, with a strong positive correlation of 0.942 at the 0.01 level (two-tailed). By comparison, profitability and disaster recovery have a comparatively weaker correlation. Furthermore, based on the data collected during this study, it has been determined that there is a strong value added by the microgrid initiatives considering the UAE’s strategic direction and the positive influence of reduced CO2. The regression models used were highly significant at F = 85.690. There is an acceptable level of multicollinearity with VIF values ranging from 1.087 to 2.155. UAE Strategy has low collinearity. UAE Strategy emerges as the only significant predictor of willingness to invest (p < 0.001) in the stepwise regression analysis. The analysis shows that villa and townhouse owners are willing to invest in community microgrid given that it is aligned with UAE strategy and leads to CO2 emissions reduction.

Water availability for bioenergy in Kazakhstan: Review, preliminary results, and key points

In transitional countries with arid climates, water stress is rising as the demand for water rises with population, economic growth, and intensive development of agriculture and energy and change in climate environment. In this regard, transitional nations plan in national programmes and policies alternative energy sources, sustainable food development, and circular water resource usage. However, these nations frequently approach current water, energy, and food planning without taking interactions of these resources and their impact on each other into account. This paper intends to demonstrate the significance of the water, energy, and food nexus approach for Central Asian countries in transition. Kazakhstan is used as an example of a resource-rich, transitional economy in Central Asia. Kazakhstan has set a goal of reaching a 50% share of renewable and alternative energy sources in electricity generation by the year 2050 to reduce water and energy poverty, improve water and energy efficiency, achieve carbon neutrality, and rank among the top 30 developed nations. To meet the water and renewable energy goal, bioenergy plantation is anticipated to develop between 2030 and 2050. The findings of paper show that total withdrawals for bioenergy increase from the reported data of 15503.68 m3 in 2020 to 32182.16 m3 in 2050 under a bioenergy-intensive scenario. The average total increase, or 75.5%, would be 16678.48 m3. As such, policymakers and stakeholders in Central Asian region and Kazakhstan needs to carefully design its national energy goals given its future increase of water withdrawals, and shortage environment.

Stronger together: The value impacts of hybridizing distributed wind

While over 1400 GW of distributed wind potential has been documented in the United States, less than 0.01% of that has been deployed to date. Significant amounts of renewable resources will need to be deployed in coming years to meet national clean energy goals, making the identification of opportunities and barriers to deployment for this resource a topic of high interest. Wind resource variability, which can cause uncertainty and instability in the grid and affect the number of attainable and beneficial applications the resource can pursue, is often a common hurdle to deployment. Pairing distributed wind with other technologies, such as solar photovoltaics and/or energy storage, however, has the ability to alleviate this issue through generation complementarity and increased dispatchability. Both characteristics have the potential to increase project value across a range of applications from bulk energy to ancillary services. Understanding where and how value differs under various hybrid configurations (e.g., distributed wind with solar, distributed wind with solar and storage) can overcome barriers to deployment and improve the economic vitality of projects. In this study, we describe the potential value impacts of adding solar photovoltaics and/or energy storage to a distributed wind energy installation, provide a qualitative ranking system for each value stream that might be available for the new hybrid power system, and present quantitative results for the potential dollars per year that might be possible for select value streams. From a benefits perspective, we find that hybridizing has the potential to add value to all value streams, with the addition of energy storage providing greater value impact than that of solar photovoltaics.

Defining and conceptualising energy policy failure: The when, where, why, and how

Energy policy failure is complex and to date there is a lack of a clear definition as society advances to a low-carbon world. Here a new definition is proposed, where energy policy does not meet local, national, and international energy and climate goals across the activities of the energy life-cycle and where just outcomes are not delivered. Energy policy failure is a major problem given the global aim of a low-carbon society, thus this paper conceptually sets out and defines energy policy failure in light of the energy transition, the 2015 Paris Agreement and the necessity of meeting energy and climate commitments. This conceptual research marks a first in connecting the current extensive energy justice literature with that of energy failure and under the premise of the climate emergency (announced by the United Nations in 2020). The direction here is both from a legal and an interdisciplinary perspective which is vital to energy research. The paper highlights the key literature on energy failures such as collapsed incentives, abandoned projects, mistakes, wrong paths, and bad decisions. It analyses some of the key causes and consequences of these energy policy failures, and aims to offer a solution for resolving them that meets the requirements of the just energy transition. At the heart of the paper's solution is the aim of furthering more fairness, equality, equity and inclusiveness into energy project decision-making, so that justice is at the centre of energy project development. Ensuring that this is the case will reduce a whole variety of project risks, result in successful project completion and reduce the possibility of energy policy failure, as society moves from the energy transition into net zero frameworks.

All urban areas\u2019 energy use data across 640 districts in India\xa0for the year 2011

India is the third-largest contributor to global energy-use and anthropogenic carbon emissions. India’s urban energy transitions are critical to meet its climate goals due to the country’s rapid urbanization. However, no baseline urban energy-use dataset covers all Indian urban districts in ways that align with national totals and integrate social-economic-infrastructural attributes to inform such transitions. This paper develops a novel bottom-up plus top-down approach, comprehensively integrating multiple field surveys and utilizing machine learning, to model All Urban areas’ Energy-use (AllUrE) across all 640 districts in India, merged with social-economic-infrastructural data. Energy use estimates in this AllUrE-India dataset are evaluated by comparing with reported energy-use at three scales: nation-wide, state-wide, and city-level. Spatially granular AllUrE data aggregated nationally show good agreement with national totals (<2% difference). The goodness-of-fit ranged from 0.78–0.95 for comparison with state-level totals, and 0.90–0.99 with city-level data for different sectors. The relatively strong alignment at all three spatial scales demonstrates the value of AllUrE-India data for modelling urban energy transitions consistent with national energy and climate goals.

Prospects and Constraints to Attaining Universal Access to Modern Energy in Malawi: A Review

The Malawi Government regards energy as a life blood of the economy and as such a number of national policy documents have emphasized energy as one of the national priority areas that demand urgent intervention by the government and stakeholders. There is also a consensus that ensuring universal access to modern energy in an energy deficit country will also help improve living standards of people in line with national and global goals. Through a 2018 National Energy Policy, Malawi effectively domesticated the Sustainable Development Goal Seven and the Sustainable Energy for All objectives which among others seek to ensure universal access to modern energy by the year 2030. However, now in the last decade of the 2030 agenda, the country is not yet on the path to achieving the universal access to energy goal despite of having numerous opportunities for reversing the energy poverty trends. Doing a post-mortem is of essence in order to determine prospects and constraints to achievement of the national energy goals and objectives regarding universal access to modern energy. Therefore, this paper seeks to discuss the status of energy access to modern energy in the country, the prospects and constraints in relation to energy policy, regulatory environment, institutional capacity, energy resource, capital investment, technology and human resource.

Effects of technology complexity on the emergence and evolution of wind industry manufacturing locations along global value chains

Wind energy can contribute to national climate, energy and economic goals by expanding clean energy and supporting economies through new manufacturing industries. However, the mechanisms for achieving these interlinked goals are not well understood. Here we analyse the wind energy manufacturing global value chain, using a dataset on 389 component supplier firms (2006–2016) that work with 13 original equipment manufacturers. We assess how technology complexity, that is, the knowledge intensity and difficulty of manufacturing components, shapes the location of suppliers. For countries without existing wind industries, we find evidence of the emergence of suppliers for only low-complexity components (for example, towers and generators). For countries with existing wind industries, we find that suppliers’ evolution, that is, changes in their international supply relationships, is less likely for high-complexity components (for example, blades and gearboxes). Our findings show the importance of understanding technologies along with firms and countries within global value chains for achieving policy goals. Clean energy technology manufacturing relies on global value chains, yet the patterns of these chains are poorly understood, obscuring the underlying drivers. Surana et al. analyse data on wind power global value chains to assess how technology complexity shapes the location of suppliers and evolves over time.

Multiple Benefits through Smart Home Energy Management Solutions—A Simulation-Based Case Study of a Single-Family-House in Algeria and Germany

From both global and local perspectives, there are strong reasons to promote energy efficiency. These reasons have prompted leaders in the European Union (EU) and countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to adopt policies to move their citizenry toward more efficient energy consumption. Energy efficiency policy is typically framed at the national, or transnational level. Policy makers then aim to incentivize microeconomic actors to align their decisions with macroeconomic policy. We suggest another path towards greater energy efficiency: Highlighting individual benefits at microeconomic level. By simulating lighting, heating and cooling operations in a model single-family home equipped with modest automation, we show that individual actors can be led to pursue energy efficiency out of enlightened self-interest. We apply simple-to-use, easily, scalable impact indicators that can be made available to homeowners and serve as intrinsic economic, environmental and social motivators for pursuing energy efficiency. The indicators reveal tangible homeowner benefits realizable under both the market-based pricing structure for energy in Germany and the state-subsidized pricing structure in Algeria. Benefits accrue under both the continental climate regime of Germany and the Mediterranean regime of Algeria, notably in the case that cooling energy needs are considered. Our findings show that smart home technology provides an attractive path for advancing energy efficiency goals. The indicators we assemble can help policy makers both to promote tangible benefits of energy efficiency to individual homeowners, and to identify those investments of public funds that best support individual pursuit of national and transnational energy goals.

Final and primary energy use for heating new residential area with varied exploitation levels, building energy performance and district heat temperatures

Abstract There is great potential to build new energy-efficient building blocks in combination with efficient energy supply systems. Such a development will contribute to achieve national energy and climate goals as well as the overall aim for a sustainable development. Here, we analyze final and primary energy use for heating a new residential area by using district-heating. The area, located in Vaxjo, in south Sweden has potentially varied land exploitation levels, energy performance of buildings and district heat supply/return temperatures. The results show that the district heating demand will be reduced by about 52-56% if buildings in the area meet the Swedish passive house criteria instead of the Swedish building code. The exploitation levels of construction in the area strongly influence the total heating demands. A dense instead of a low exploitation will increase the area’s heating demand more than four times. But, the heat demand density of the residential area has quite a small impact on the total heat losses of the distribution network in contrast to changed supply and return temperatures. The distribution heat losses could be reduced by up to 50% with lower supply/return temperatures. However, a reduction of district heat supply/return temperatures to 50/20oC increases electricity use for boosting hot water temperature to avoid the risk of legionella bacteria. This causes a shift from district heat production to electricity production and increases the primary energy use. The results of this study can be used for further considerations of costs and benefits of energy supply options for new residential areas.

The Regional Governance of Energy-Neutral Housing: Toward a Framework for Analysis

Regions are expected to play a key role in realizing international, European, and national climate and energy goals. Also regions in the Netherlands are working toward these goals, taking initiatives toward an energy-neutral built environment by 2050. However, it remains unclear how such efforts and other socially innovative activities can best be described and how variation between them in terms of governance can be explained. In this article, we develop a framework for analyzing the governance of regional energy-neutral housing initiatives. We ask what factors shape regional climate and energy governance, particularly regional efforts to increase the efficiency of urban dwellings. We answer this question using a subnational comparative method and a most similar case design, focusing on three Dutch regions: Utrecht, Noord-Brabant and Drenthe. Based on document analysis and 24 semi-structured interviews, we find that the regional governance of energy-neutral housing initiatives is primarily driven by existing social networks in the regions, and less determined by local characteristics of the built environment. Thus, regional governance seems to have generated solutions that are supported by regional actors. Nonetheless, as these solutions are not entirely tailored to the regional situation, functionally speaking, a key question for future research is how effective these solutions will be.

Foreword

At the recent Paris Climate Summit in December 2015, global leaders forged a landmark deal with the ultimate goal of reaching a new global climate change agreement. This new agreement will include commitments to reduce GHG emissions, adaptation to the impacts of climate change and will also provide assistance to countries that need it. Countries worldwide have taken initiatives in developing alternative energy scenarios and strategies aimed at a more sustainable and cleaner energy future. Renewable energy (RE) has been accepted as a promising and important alternative in the energy and generation mix in our carbon-constrained world and the development worldwide has been very encouraging.Centre for Renewable Energy, CRE, at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (The National Energy University) has been actively spearheading R&D in RE since its inception in 2004. CRE directly contributes to our nation's goal to fine new renewables as alternative to the conventional fossil energy sources. CRE's mission and strategy are focused on advancing our nation's energy goals, in line with the 5 Fuel Strategy of the National Energy Policy and the subsequent enactment of the RE Act 2011.This conference is organized by CRE, in collaboration with UNITEN’s Power Engineering Centre (PEC) and the Institute of Energy Policy Research (IEPRe), to provide a platform for researchers, industries and stakeholders to analyse and explore the future options that are available through advancements in research and enabling technologies for application of renewable energy as a viable and cost-effective energy supply in the future. This conference is expected to benefit the researchers, relevant authorities and industries aspiring to provide an effective solution for the future of sustainable and clean energy.On behalf of the organizing committee, I wish to thank the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water Malaysia, UNITEN, Tenaga Nasional Berhad and the Energy Institute United Kingdom on the support given for this conference. I wish to acknowledge the efforts of the keynote speakers and all the authors of papers for their valuable contributions to the conference, and session chairs for organization and execution of the technical sessions. A warm welcome is especially extended to the overseas participants for their interest in this conference, and their time and effort spent in particpating.Finally, I extend special words of thanks to the members of the organizing committee, and all those who have contributed for this conference. A remarkable amount of effort was expended by everyone to ensure that this conference was a success.Thank you.

Comprehensive investigation on energy retrofits in eleven multi-family buildings in Sweden

Rapidly growing energy use in the building sector is considered a serious problem by both the European Union (EU) and Sweden. Reducing energy demand in the building sector is important for Sweden in order to reach national energy goals for reduced energy use and CO2 emissions in the future. This project aims to find energy efficiency potential in multifamily buildings in the Gävleborg region, which is a cold climate region in Sweden. Measurements and simulations have been made on eleven multifamily buildings from the whole region. The results include different energy efficiency measure packages, profitability analysis of individual measures and packages, and primary energy use analysis. The paper also includes CO2 emissions reduction analysis based on different methods. The project shows that the multifamily buildings in the Gävleborg region have good potential to reduce their energy use by more than 50%, which in turn will contribute to 43% primary energy reduction and 48% CO2 emissions reduction.

Energy Systems Integration: An Evolving Energy Paradigm

Energy systems integration is intended to combine energy carriers such as electricity, thermal pathways, and fuels, with infrastructures such as communications, water, and transportation, to maximize efficiency and minimize waste. How these energy components, sub-systems, and systems are integrated together is a key opportunity to pursue in the quest to optimally utilize newly developed technologies and reach our nation's energy goals.

Current Energy Resources in Kazakhstan and the Future Potential of Renewables: A Review

Kazakhstan is rich in natural resources including coal, oil, natural gas and uranium and has significant renewable potential from wind, solar, hydro and biomass. In spite of this, the country is currently dependent upon fossil fuels for power generation. Coal-fired plants account for 75% of total power generation leading to concerns over greenhouse gas emissions and impacts on human health and the environment. Recent economic growth in Kazakhstan has driven increased demand for energy services making the construction of additional generating capacity increasing necessary for enabling sustained growth. In this context, renewable energy resources are becoming an increasingly attractive option to help bridge the demand-supply gap. Despite significant wind, solar, hydro and biomass potential, these resources have not been sustainably captured and deployed due a range of technical, institutional, social and economic barriers. This article reviews the current energy situation in Kazakhstan including fossil energy and renewable resources and investigates policy drivers for the energy sector. The barriers to adoption of renewables are analysed within the context of national climate and energy goals. Recommendations are presented for the promotion, development and implementation of renewable energy resources in Kazakhstan.

Energy plus standard in buildings constructed by housing associations?

In order to achieve national, European and international energy goals, energy efficiency strategies in the building sector have to be implemented. The passive house standard and low energy standards are already successfully established in single dwelling houses. These high performance standards are starting to penetrate into the sector of housing associations. A case study about an apartment building constructed by a housing association is presented here. It describes the monitoring concept and the results of the 1st year of monitoring. Depending on the definition of the zero energy building standard (extent of loads included in the balancing), the building could be classified as an energy plus building or as a building, which uses more energy, than is supplied by on-site generation. If the building's total energy use (including user specific loads) is defined as load, only 34.5% of these loads were provided by the net energy output of the PV system. If only the heating energy demand is defined as load, the PV system even yielded a surplus of 45.6% of the energy load.

Regional biomass planning – Helping to realise national renewable energy goals?

Biomass will make a vital contribution to the EU renewable energy targets, however large amounts need to be mobilised to achieve policy goals. To promote action, the European Commission sent a firm call to member states for coordinated biomass strategies and plans, and engagement of sub-national actors. This paper examines how regional level biomass planning can benefit national planning and EU target achievement, and addressing of broader concerns of increased bioenergy production. It assesses a set of regional biomass action plans and their linkages to national level plans. The study indicates that regional and national planning address measures to reach targets in several ways, but that impacts related to the increased bioenergy production are often weakly assessed. Regional level strengths appear to include mobilisation of new biomass resources and involvement of stakeholders, while matters related to the sources of biomass and implementation details are better delineated by national plans. Areas with scope for improvement exist at both levels and include consideration of other uses of biomass and clarification of linkages between various targets. The paper concludes that regional planning clearly has the capacity to contribute to the concretisation of national level actions as well as enhancement of local economy and expertise; however at present, national level planning does not adequately link to such planning efforts. Further, the study indicates that the value of national planning work can be enhanced if efforts are made to recognise regional planning strengths and competence to bring about the planned changes.

Recommendations for implementation of energy strategy of the Republic of Croatia

The Energy Strategy of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in 2009 for the period until 2020 in order to harmonize national energy goals with goals and time framework of strategic documents of the European Union. The adoption of the Energy Strategy Implementation Program with associated measures is still in process. The goal of the Strategy was to create sustainable energy system that will make a balanced contribution to the security of energy supply, competitiveness and environmental protection in Croatia. In this paper an overview of the energy production, final energy consumption and planned development of energy infrastructure is given. The intention of the paper was to research and stress out the abilities and opportunities of Croatian energy system and to give recommendations for Energy Strategy implementation and practical realization of planned energy infrastructure projects for improvement of security of energy supply and competitiveness of energy system of the Republic of Croatia.

Expanding the US Cornbelt Biomass Portfolio: Forester Perceptions of the Potential for Woody Biomass

With the strong emergence of the bioeconomy in the US, there is growing interest in the ability of biomass production systems to meet the legislated demand for cellulosic biofuels. While corn grain will continue to comprise the primary feedstock for biofuel in the Cornbelt, it is unlikely that a single biomass feedstock will suit all the needs of an evolving bioenergy market; thus, the potential contribution of woody biomass should be considered. To meet informational needs, we conducted structured interviews with state-employed professional foresters along the Mississippi River corridor in five Corn Belt states (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin). Foresters were queried regarding the types of woody materials available, ecological considerations, the likely silvicultural systems that might support a biomass market, and their experiences with landowner management decisions as related to removing currently low-value material. Results suggest noteworthy interest in expanded woody biomass market systems within our study area. Furthermore, substantial opportunities exist to capture trimmings, small-diameter, and low-quality material in conjunction with on-going intermediate stand treatments or sawtimber harvests that are common in the region; capturing social and economic value while potentially contributing to long-term forest health. Costs for removing this material are estimated to range between $185–494/ha ($75–200/ac) depending on site conditions and accessibility. Such a wide range in costs (and therefore break-even biomass prices) suggests that some properties throughout the study region may be priced out of the market, at least in the initial stages of market development. Markets are distinctly lacking at present, however, and our interviewees suggested that market-pull will be required to organize a well-rounded infrastructure to harvest, process, store, and transport woody materials. This and future studies will be significant because they inform the enhancement of agricultural prosperity on small-to-medium farms and contribute to regional and national energy goals in ways that ideally improve, rather than diminish, the ecosystem services provided by woodlands in rowcrop-dominated landscapes.

Power from Perspective: Potential future United States energy portfolios

This paper presents United States energy portfolios for the year 2030, developed from seven different Perspectives. The Perspectives are characterized by different weights placed on fourteen defining values (e.g., cost, social acceptance). The portfolios were constructed to achieve three primary goals, energy independence, energy security, and greenhouse gas reductions. The portfolios are also evaluated over a comprehensive set of secondary criteria (e.g., economic growth, technical feasibility). It is found that very different portfolios based on very different defining values can achieve the three primary goals. Commonalities among the portfolios include reliance upon cellulosic ethanol, nuclear power, and energy efficiency to meet year 2030 energy demands. It is concluded that the US energy portfolio must be diverse and to achieve national energy goals will require an explicit statement of goals, a strong role for government, and coordinated action across society.