Development Of Renewable Sources Research Articles

Toward a physical Dodge City high voltage direct current (HVDC) electricity hub

A physical Dodge City high voltage direct current (HVDC) electricity commodity hub would foster the kind of risk transfer that would invite the full participation of the financial industry in an interstate transmission system essential to the speedy development of renewable electricity and complementary storage technologies. Obstacles lie in the way of such a vision, however. Chief among them, paradoxically, is the administrative system that has evolved since the late 1990 s to promote regional electricity markets. That system abstracts from investment risk and the nation’s uneven geography of renewable resources. It lodges a kind of monopoly planning and scheduling power in a small group of bureaucratic centralized system operators that mimics a command economy in their own distinct regions, not the kind of market economy that has traditionally driven investment in US interstate energy infrastructure. And yet, in dealing with the vexing transmission constraints faced by the renewable generating sector (the “queue”), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) continues to pursue ever greater authority for those regional transmission organizations (RTOs). Such FERC action regarding its RTOs in 2022–23 represents a highly evident case of path dependency—a problem—that state or federal policy makers wishing to speed the entry of large-scale renewable generation, and complementary storage technologies, will have find a way either to confront directly or to work around.

Does the change in incentive policies promote renewable energy power generation in China?

ABSTRACT To reduce the financial burden brought by the feed-in tariff (FIT) policy, China is shifting its renewable energy support policy to the renewable portfolio standard with tradable green certificates (RPS/TGC). Moreover, the two policies are being implemented in parallel in the transitional period. In this context, this study investigates the game between renewable energy power plants (REPPs) regarding electricity outputs and tradable green certificate (TGC) prices under different renewable energy support policies practiced in China. We focus on analyzing the impact of policy changes on the competing REPPs’ decisions and the renewable electricity market with TGCs. The results show that implementing the RPS/TGC policy inhibits the development of renewable electricity unless the subscription of TGCs is promoted. Government subsidy arrears significantly affect electricity outputs and TGC subscriptions. The low subscription rate of TGCs is caused not by the subsidy-based TGC pricing mechanism but by government subsidies. This suggests that the government should implement the RPS/TGC policy, and demand-side power consumption responsibility weights should also be strengthened to promote TGC subscriptions.

Residents' willingness to pay for renewable electricity can bridge the gap in financing for renewable electricity development in China

The current state in China is characterised by an increased demand for renewable electricity due to energy shortage and emission reduction targets. This study utilises the contingent valuation method (CVM) to investigate provincial residents' willingness to pay (WTP) for renewable electricity and employs the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to analyse the spatial heterogeneity of influencing factors. The average WTP for renewable electricity among Chinese residents is 0.85 yuan/kWh, surpassing the current electricity price of 0.5 yuan/kWh. Reducing air pollution and the occurrence of haze is prioritised by residents (66.89%), followed by saving fossil energy and avoiding energy crises (10.09%), and reducing carbon emission and mitigating climate change (22.04%). Chinese residents pay more attention to the immediate impacts of renewable electricity on personal well-being and quality of life. Factors such as economic status, education background, air quality, health concerns, and environmental crisis awareness significantly influence WTP, with spatial disparities further compounding these effects. Sensitivity to economic level and air quality was observed in the southeast, while the southwest showed sensitivity to air quality, and the northwest exhibited sensitivity to environmental awareness. These findings suggest that residents' adoption of renewable electricity could partially alleviate China's funding gap in this sector. Recognising the factors that shape WTP provides a strategic pathway to enhance residents' financial support for renewable electricity initiatives.

Systematic Approach to the Synthesis of Cobalt-Containing Polyoxometalates for Their Application as Energy Storage Materials.

New energy storage materials are an object of study within the framework of the global energy transition. The development of renewable sources is being boosted thanks to stationary energy storage systems such as redox flow batteries (RFBs). This work reports the synthesis of the cobalt-containing Keggin-type polyoxometalates [CoW12O40]6- (CoW12) and [Co(H2O)SiW11O39]6- (CoSiW11), which have previously been shown to have applicability in RFBs. These procedures were reassessed to meet the strict requirements associated with the further implementation of RFBs, including fast and affordable synthetic procedures with high reaction yields. In contrast to the lengthy and complicated synthetic approaches published to date, the optimized synthesis reported in this work enables the isolation of the pure crystalline salt of the CoW12 anion with a 75% reduction of the time of the whole reaction procedure, eliminating tedious steps such as the recrystallization and including a 20% increased yield. The control of the stoichiometry, fine-tuning of reaction conditions, and the identification of intermediate species, as well as the acidic equilibria taking place during the process, were monitored via thermal, spectroscopic, and structural analyses. In the case of the CoSiW11 anion, its preparation was based on a simple and highly efficient procedure. Moreover, promising electrochemical properties were observed with the use of the one-pot synthetic approach, in which the stoichiometric amounts of the starting reagents are dissolved in the supporting electrolyte to be directly implemented as the electrolyte for a RFB.

Evaluating the cost impacts to meet China’s renewable electricity portfolio standard target in 2030

ABSTRACT The power sector plays a pivotal role in China’s carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets. To build a low-carbon power system, it is important to develop wind and solar. This study aims to evaluate the economic impacts of the newly launched renewable portfolio standard in 2030 in China using a cost minimization model and an input-output model. The results show that to accomplish the renewable electricity portfolio standard in 2030, the installed wind and solar capacity will have to reach 1451.9 gigawatts (GW) in 2030. The Northeast, Northwest, and North regions will deploy the most installed capacity, and Inner Mongolia will take on the most renewable energy generation tasks. The annual cost of wind and solar development is expected to be 506.6 billion CNY in 2030, 94.7% of which are new construction costs and storage costs. Renewable energy growth will result in a national average electricity price increase of 5.4 CNY¢/kWh compared to 2019, and Heilongjiang, Gansu, and Shanxi are the most affected. The rapid development of renewable electricity in the next decade will increase the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by 0.4%, Producer Price Index (PPI) by 0.9%, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator by 0.5% in 2030. Based on the results, we propose to improve the electricity market mechanisms, enhance the electricity transmission stability, and develop policies appropriate to local conditions.

Waste management, quality of life and natural resources utilization matter for renewable electricity generation: The main and moderate role of environmental policy

Since the last three decades, the world has been facing three consecutive challenges global warming, fuel import dependency, and rising electricity demand, and policymakers have tried their best to meet the standards of the green energy system. However, green electricity generation (REG) for daily use has received an exceptional focus from policy analysts in the development agenda. Similarly, electricity generation from waste management has shocked the world, and most economies are following the same pattern. Therefore, the current study tries to introduce the leading factors of REG: waste management, quality of life, environmental policy (EP), natural resources utilization, and population growth. The current study employs a series of estimation techniques to investigate the desired study's objectives in 15 waste-recycled economies from 2000 to 2020. Investigated outcomes show the significant contribution to REG by population, waste management, and environmental policy. In contrast, the quality of life and natural resource utilization (NRU) do not significantly contribute to renewable electricity generation. Furthermore, the moderate role of EP on waste management, quality of life, and NRU significantly promotes renewable electricity development. On behalf of outcomes, the environmental policy is being suggested as the best policy for electricity generation.

Long-Term Scenario Analysis of Electricity Supply and Demand in Iran: Time Series Analysis, Renewable Electricity Development, Energy Efficiency and Conservation

Electricity plays a vital role in the economic development and welfare of countries. Examining the electricity situation and defining scenarios for developing power plant infrastructure will help countries avoid misguided policies that incur high costs and reduce people’s welfare. In the present research, three scenarios from 2021–2040 have been defined for Iran’s electricity status. The first scenario continues the current trend and forecasts population, electricity consumption, and carbon dioxide emissions from power plants with ARIMA and single and triple exponential smoothing time series algorithms. As part of the second scenario, only non-hydro renewable resources will be used to increase the electricity supply. By ensuring the existence of potential, annual growth patterns have been defined, taking into account the renewable electricity generation achieved by successful nations. The third scenario involves integrating operating gas turbines into combined cycles in exchange for buyback contracts. Economically, this scenario calculates return on investment through an arrangement of various contracts for the seller company and fuel savings for the buyer.

Feed-in tariffs and the carbon emission trading scheme under China's peak emission target: A dynamic CGE analysis for the development of renewable electricity

Thermal power industry is one of China's leading sources of carbon emissions. China has launched a national carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) and renewable energy incentive programs to achieve its peak emission target by 2030. However, since 2021, China no longer provides a central feed-in tariff (FIT) for new centrally located solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants, commercial and industrially distributed PV projects, and newly approved onshore wind power projects. This change in policy may threaten China's carbon reduction targets and economic development. Using a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, we assess the combined effects of carbon ETS and FIT on China's electricity sector, carbon emission peak target, renewable energy and economic development. In terms of policy overlap and integration, we analyze the impact of these policies and estimate how to coordinate FIT and carbon ETS policies to ensure their effectiveness. Results show that the overall effects of FIT subsidies are superior to phasing-out FIT scenarios. The fiscal pressure caused by FIT is lower than its actual expenditure because it stimulates economic activity and boosts government revenue. However, considering the multiplier effect of the FIT on promoting government revenue growth and GDP growth, the most effective FIT should be terminated in 2025, followed by subsidies ending in 2030 and 2035.

Exploring the potential health and ecological damage of lead–zinc production activities in China: A life cycle assessment perspective

Lead and zinc are indispensable nonferrous metals in the current industrialized society because of their position as raw materials for various industrial products. However, the massive environmental burden imposed by the activities of the lead–zinc industry will trigger potential social impacts. This study systematically evaluated the environmental and social economic burden of lead–zinc production activities at the national level during the entire industrial chain via life cycle assessment coupled with economic assessment method. China, the world's largest lead and zinc metal producer, was used as an example. Results demonstrated that in 2018, the national values of the potential threats to human health, ecosystem quality, and social economy were 3.55 × 105 DALY, 1.27 × 104 species. yr, and 3.90 × 1010 $, respectively. The potential social economic impact of China's lead–zinc production increased by 49% from 2008 to 2018. Direct emission was the primary contributor in most environmental impact categories (i.e., freshwater ecotoxicity, particulates formation, non-carcinogens, and carcinogens), except for global warming, in which electricity generation was the main contributor. Heavy metals emitted during the mining and dressing stage provided the predominant contribution to ecosystem quality degradation. Copper discharged into water was identified as a key substance that accounted for 59% of the overall potential threats. Henan, Hunan, and Yunnan provinces were the dominant provinces contributing to the overall social economic impacts of lead–zinc smelting. Additionally, association analysis indicated a significant correlation between the lead–zinc smelting activities and multiple cancers (e.g., stomach, brain, liver, and colon cancers). Adopting environmentally-friendly and cost-effectiveness wastewater treatment technology (e.g., adsorption) or water reuse is recommended to reduce heavy metal emissions. The development of renewable electricity and implementing cross-regional electricity transmission options have important benefits for reducing the environmental and social economic burden of the lead–zinc production activities. The application of long-term marginal power would alleviate the environmental burden in global warming category by 32.1%. The dust removal technologies of selective catalytic reduction, electrostatic precipitator, and wet flue gas desulfurization are implemented in combination to remove carcinogenic heavy metals from the air to reduce health risks and socio-economic losses.

A novel post-combustion CO2 capture design integrated with an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)

Fossil fuel-based power plants are the significant sources of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere that significantly affect global warming. While these power plants provide the robustness of the grids, even with the fast development of renewable electricity, utilization of CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies is one of the best solutions to reduce their emissions and environmental risks. However, one of the most significant drawbacks of these technologies is their highest costs related to their energy consumption as well as the specific requirements of the solvents, which prevalently impact their adaptation. Among these technologies, Post-Combustion CO2 Capture (PCC) processes are widely used in the case of the power plant. This research develops an onshore Aqueous Post-Combustion CO2 Capture (APCC) process with water as a physical solvent to achieve a high CO 2 capture ratio with low energy consumption. The flue gas stream from a power plant flows into APCC, which can capture 72 kton/year of CO2. About 97.4% of CO2 was captured in the process with a 49.5% electricity production to consumption ratio (22.74 MWh/ton CO2) The captured CO2 is then delivered into a CO2 injection well to be used for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) purpose with 15Mpa, 30 °C, and 80 mol% purity. Two scenarios were considered to decrease the external power requirements (1) the electricity production to consumption ratio is increased to 58.2% by adding a Hydro-Pump to the process; (2) coupling an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) with R125 working fluid to the process and using sensitivity analysis to gain the best thermodynamic conditions to increase the power production to consumption ratio to 80%. By considering both scenarios, the parasitic power is decreased by 52.78–28.44% and the net power production from the NGCC power plant is increased to 18.604 MW. Finally, Pinch Design Method (PDM) is used to reduce the Operating Cost of the process by the best utility selection from 2.48 M$/year to 0.945 M$/year, and the best Heat Exchanger Network (HEN) design in terms of the lowest Capital Cost at 4.71 M$/year was designed.

Determinants of renewable electricity development in Europe: Do Governance indicators and institutional quality matter?

To reduce the flow of greenhouse gas emissions in the twenty-first century in Europe, there is a need to promote renewable electricity development. It is to this end that we contribute to the literature by investigating the determinants of renewable electricity development for a panel of 35 countries in Europe over the period 2000–2018. The determinants were sub-divided into macroeconomic, socio-economic, governance indicators and institutional quality factors, which previous studies had failed to consider. We sub-divided the determinants because studies have shown that the renewable energy sector operates within the environment of these determinants. Therefore, investigating the role that they play in the process of renewable electricity development in Europe provides insight to area policies that need to be strengthened. A battery of econometric techniques was employed to achieve the objective of this study. The cointegration results suggest that there is a long run equilibrium relationship between renewable electricity development and its determinants. The main findings from the results of fully modified ordinary least squares and dynamic ordinary least squares reveal that the long-run coefficients of control of corruption, the rule of law, voice and accountability and institutional quality have a statistically significant and positive impact on renewable electricity development. A majority of the determinants have a bidirectional causal relationship with renewable electricity development (except for real gross domestic product per capita, land, gross fixed capital formation, foreign direct investment and voice and accountability, that differ. This implies a dependence between most of the determinants and renewable electricity development. The system-generalized method of moments results show that government effectiveness, regulatory quality, the rule of law and institutional quality do not have a statistically significant or positive/negative impact on renewable electricity development, while the impact of other determinants differ. Policy implications are discussed in the conclusion section of the study.

Electricity Generation and Renewable Energy Policy in Nigeria: Resolving the Regulatory Challenges

Since the 1960s, inadequate electricity generation has been the bane of economic developments in Nigeria. The introduction of reforms and policies in the electricity sector, for the purposes of exploring renewable energy in electricity generation, is yet to bring about increased electricity generation. This paper examines the challenges of renewable electricity in Nigeria from the regulatory perspective. Studies have shown that the failure of Nigeria to have a regulator specifically for renewable energy is closely linked with the history of electricity generation in Nigeria. Till date, Nigeria does not have a regulator with specific mandates for the development of renewable energy even though there are many regulators with overlap of functions over the development of renewable electricity. Moreover, the power of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission over the promotion of renewable energy is limited to renewable technologies of certain capacities. This paper will analyse the history of electricity generation in Nigeria in the context of the law and the policy to ascertain how the country has approached the development of renewable energy for electricity generation. The aim is to identify regulatory impediments to the development of renewable electricity from the law and the policy in Nigeria. Recommendations will be made for the establishment of a renewable electricity regulator independent of the existing bodies

Combining game theory concepts and system dynamics for evaluating renewable electricity development in fossil-fuel-rich countries in the Middle East and North Africa

Renewable electricity development is not a critical concern in fossil-fuel-rich countries in the Middle East and North Africa, where fossil fuels are abundant and accessible. As a result, the growth of fossil-fuel electricity generators reduces renewable electricity competitiveness and slows its development. Since renewable electricity has an insufficient market share (less than 5% of total electricity generation in these countries, according to global statistics), its development should become a priority due to fossil-fuel depletion and demand growth in the future. The present study investigates various scenarios to examine the energy sector's development in countries facing severe competitiveness challenges of renewable electricity. Then, it recommends the most appropriate policies through evaluating the proposed plans' effectiveness. In this regard, a comprehensive framework has been developed by integrating system dynamics modeling, agent-based modeling logic, and game theory concepts. This systemic modeling procedure has several advantages, including formation of a macro policymaking perspective, the analysis of renewable electricity development trends, and the simulation of competitors' and investors' reactions and decisions. In this case, Iran is chosen for the study due to being a representative of these countries, and its data have been used to validate the proposed model. Model validation showed less than 9% error between simulation results and real data. Besides, the simulation results indicated that establishing a competitive market and enacting targeted support policies could stimulate the development of renewable electricity up to the year 2060. A presumed combined policy based on efficient simulated scenarios could increase renewable electricity capacity and market share 5-fold and 6-fold by 2035, respectively. Also, it could improve capacity and market share 8-fold and 10-fold by 2060, respectively.

Exploring pathways to deep de-carbonization and the associated environmental impact in China’s ammonia industry

China is the largest producer of synthetic ammonia, accounting for one-third of the world’s total production. Ammonia is mainly used to produce fertilizer and is also considered as a potential fuel and new energy carrier for the future. Concomitantly, the ammonia industry is the largest energy consumer and CO2 emitter in China’s chemical industry. In this study, we developed the MESSAGEix-ammonia model with detailed process descriptions to evaluate the energy-saving and emission reduction potential that can be generated by energy efficiency (EE) improvement, as well as the transition path and emission characteristics in the context of deep emission reduction. Results show that the cost-effective EE measures implemented under the EE scenario could reduce fresh water, fuel coal, and electricity consumptions by 7%, 25%, and 16%, as well as reduce CO2, PM2.5, SO2, and NOx emissions by 33%, 24%, 24%, and 24%, respectively, by 2060. Regarding the exploration of the deep de-carbonization path, carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) increases the CO2 reduction potential to 62%, but it requires additional electricity. Meanwhile, electrolysis technology not only saves additional fresh water and fuel coal, but also reduces CO2, PM2.5, SO2, and NOx by 80%, 84%, 86%, and 84%, respectively. Furthermore, the integration of electrolysis technology and CCS can bring 98% carbon emission reduction, which is close to net-zero emission status. With the development of renewable electricity, sufficient, clean, and affordable electricity can be provided for electrolysis devices. Our recommendation to policy makers is that electrolysis of water to produce ammonia using renewable electricity is a feasible deep de-carbonization pathway.

Analysis of international practice in the use of renewable energy sources (RES)

The work analyzed the development of renewable energy sources, taking into account various factors and components. Based on the results of the study, the regions leaders in the development of renewable sources were identified, their relationship with the reliability and uninterrupted power supply and environmental friendliness was determined. Based on the results of the study, conclusions and recommendations were made for the introduction of renewable energy sources in industry.

The ECOWAS supportive framework for renewable energy and off-grid electricity: current status, challenges and future prospects

<section class="abstract"> This article analyses the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Act (RENP Act) 2013 to determine the extent to which it addresses the financial and capacity barriers to the development of Off-grid Renewable Electricity (OGRE) in West Africa. It finds that while some of its provisions have crystalized into effective measures useful for addressing the mentioned barriers; some constrain its effectiveness in this context. The favourable provisions of the RENP Act include a clear context, targets, subsidies, financial risk management system, etc. However, it was argued that the absence of a mandatory obligation on Member States to adopt and implement national targets, non-mandatory nature of the relevant provisions of the RENP Act on measures for addressing the barriers to the development of OGRE constrains its effectiveness. Drawing from the EU Directive experience for Renewable Energy 2009, recommendations will be made on how the RENP Act will be strengthened in this context. </section>

Development of renewable electricity in ASEAN countries: socio-economic and environmental impacts

Development of renewable electricity in ASEAN countries: socio-economic and environmental impacts

Renewable Electricity Development in China: Policies, Performance, and Challenges

Since 2006, China has experienced an unprecedented expansion of its wind and solar power generation capacity and associated manufacturing industries. This rapid growth was supported by large subsidies that resulted in a significant and increasing government subsidy debt to renewable investors as well as a high curtailment rate for renewable electricity. This article reviews China’s renewable electricity development and policies between 2006 and 2020. First, we examine how China’s fixed feed-in tariff subsidies for wind and solar power generation under its planned electricity system distorted investment incentives and led to both the high subsidy debt and the high rates of curtailment. Then we discuss how and why the government shifted its renewable subsidy policy from fixed feed-in tariffs to auctions. We conclude with a discussion of additional policy reforms to support the continued development of renewable electricity in China.

Renewable Portfolio Standards: Do Voluntary Goals vs. Mandatory Standards Make a Difference?

AbstractThis research investigates whether an obligation to meet a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) target in U.S. states affects the policy effectiveness, which is defined as the RPS‐related renewable electricity capacity additions. A voluntary RPS target can serve as a political device for signaling commitment to certain goals, though there is no penalty if the goal is not met. Alternatively, mandatory RPS targets have varying stringency and uneven enforcement. Our results indicate that the compulsoriness of a state RPS is an insignificant determinant of RPS‐related renewable electricity capacity additions. Factors other than whether an RPS target or goal is compulsory are more important in influencing renewable electricity development, including policy stringency. If a state seeks a modest level of renewable electricity development, setting a voluntary goal can sometimes be effective and more efficient. Nonetheless, a mandatory RPS may be required to accomplish a more significant level of renewable electricity deployment.

Economic analysis for renewable electricity development with professional disaggregation: The case of Taiwan

The Taiwanese government has set an ambitious goal of increasing the penetration of renewable energy in the power sector from 4.8% in 2016 to 20% by 2025. The enormous investment required to achieve these goals is expected to have wide ranging economic benefits. For example, the move toward a green economy will create a large number of new jobs and provide additional economic stimulus through on-going development. This study employs the input-output method in conjunction with questionnaire surveys to elucidate these effects.The sectors that are expected to see the greatest economic benefits include iron/steel/miscellaneous metals, electrical equipment and mechanical equipment. The accumulated economic output is expected to increase by 5.89 trillion NTD; meanwhile, employment in renewable electricity sectors is expected to increase by 142 thousand jobs. Note that 51.90% of the job increment will be for professionals and technical specialists. At present, the cultivation of special skills is dependent on in-house training. Industrial parks specializing in renewable energy should be established to promote the exchange of talent and technological innovations. In the manufacturing sector, 55.55% will be for craft related workers and elementary labourers. These changes will necessitate a reorganization of the workforce through government-academia-industry cooperation.