Renewable Energy Deployment Research Articles

Research on the impact of green finance and renewable energy on energy efficiency: The case study E−7 economies

This study analyzes the impact of green finance and renewable energy on energy efficiency in E−7 economies. We analyzed the nonlinear and asymmetric effects of green finance and renewable energy on energy efficiency. We collected data from 1985 to 2017 and applied the NARDL and 2SLS methods. The results reveal that the differences in green finance development in the E−7 region are as follows: China (0.61), Brazil (0.55), India (0.53), Indonesia (0.49), Mexico (0.37), and Russia (0.39). In 2019, the Gini coefficient was the largest in Russia (0.57), followed by Turkey. Based on empirical findings, the largest barrier to green energy efficiency is insufficient private and governmental investment in the energy sector to improve access to power, to increase energy security and promote economic growth in an environmentally sustainable manner. The findings point to a promising but vulnerable future for renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment in E−7 countries. This paper emphasizes that green financing and renewable energy policy limitations must be addressed to realize the funding potential of energy efficiency in E−7 countries.

Understanding government policies on renewable energy deployment and climate change mitigation in Nigeria since the russia-ukraine crisis

The global energy sector remains affected by the Russian-Ukraine crisis. Prior to the crisis, the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has energy transition plan from fossil fuel to renewable sources, a measure aimed at addressing climate change by the year 2030. However, while the Russian-Ukraine belligerent relationship was not predicted, it has served as a catalyst for energy transition across the world given the increase in the price of fossil fuel. The study addressed the question; Is the effect of Russia-Ukraine crisis on fossil fuel accessibility enhancing renewable energy deployment in electricity generation in Nigeria? The study analyzed how the effect of Russia-Ukraine crisis on fossil fuel accessibility in enhancing renewable energy deployment in electricity generation in Nigeria. The underlying assumption of the study is that the Russia-Ukraine crisis will not catalyze the transition of electricity generation from fossil fuel to renewable sources in Nigeria. The theoretical framework of the study is public choice theory and it is applied from the perspective that government instrument instead of market force allocate certain need. The study adopted descriptive research design and Nigeria transition to renewable energy was case studied. Information were obtained from purposively selected government documents and website pages of concerned agencies. Information gathered were content analyzed. The study noted that electrical energy continued to be sourced from non-renewable sources in the country despite the extant policies of government on transition to renewable energy in the country. The study concluded that politics rather than emergency situation drives energy transition. Key words: Climate Change, Electrical Energy, Fossil Fuel, Russia-Ukraine Crisis, Nigeria

Does green finance and ICT matter for sustainable development: role of government expenditure and renewable energy investment.

Green financing and renewable energy growth are commonly influenced by public expenditure on health and R&D; however, data supporting this claim is scarce, especially in the 65 countries that are part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The study applied Augmented Mean Group (AMG) analysis on panel data from 2005 to 2018 for BRI nations to look at the interplay between R&D and health budgets, GDP growth, FDI, carbon emissions, green finance, and renewable energy deployment. This study uses the two models for green finance and renewable energy development. In the light of the first model, economic growth, public expenditures on health and R&D, and foreign direct investment cause to increase the level of green finance in BRI economies, while the emissions cause to reduce the level of green finance. Similarly, renewable energy development uses another explained variable by this study and found the positive contribution of growth, public expenditures, and FDI inflows to renewable energy development. In contrast, environmental pollution decreases the level of renewable energy development. In order to obtain the desired level of green finance and renewable energy development, policies are suggested by the study.

Review of underground hydrogen storage: Concepts and challenges

The energy transition is the pathway to transform the global economy away from its current dependence on fossil fuels towards net zero carbon emissions. This requires the rapid and large-scale deployment of renewable energy. However, most renewables, such as wind and solar, are intermittent and hence generation and demand do not necessarily match. One way to overcome this problem is to use excess renewable power to generate hydrogen by electrolysis, which is used as an energy store, and then consumed in fuel cells, or burnt in generators and boilers on demand, much as is presently done with natural gas, but with zero emissions. Using hydrogen in this way necessitates large-scale storage: the most practical manner to do this is deep underground in salt caverns, or porous rock, as currently implemented for natural gas and carbon dioxide. This paper reviews the concepts, and challenges of underground hydrogen storage. As well as summarizing the state-of-the-art, with reference to current and proposed storage projects, suggestions are made for future work and gaps in our current understanding are highlighted. The role of hydrogen in the energy transition and storage methods are described in detail. Hydrogen flow and its fate in the subsurface are reviewed, emphasizing the unique challenges compared to other types of gas storage. In addition, site selection criteria are considered in the light of current field experience. Cited as: Hematpur, H., Abdollahi, R., Rostami, S., Haghighi, M., Blunt, M. J. Review of underground hydrogen storage: Concepts and challenges. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2023, 7(2): 111-131. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2023.02.05

Review of Regional Renewable Energy Investment Projects: The Example of EU Cohesion Funds Dispersal

The study aimed at reviewing the European Union funds’ distribution mechanism supporting investments in renewable energy deployment in Poland, its effects and the relationship between the value of each investment and its location, location area characteristics, the type of investing entity, and the type of RE to be utilized once the investment is completed. The study fills a gap in the literature on the regional dispersal of cohesion funds. The presented findings are novel and contribute to a better understanding of the use of funds to support local investment projects and improve planning and implementation of evidence-based policies aimed at increasing renewable energy utilization in the European Union. The applied methods included multiple linear regression and cartograms. The data on the renewable energy investments were obtained from the SIMIK database for the years 2007–2015, while the characteristics of counties were gathered from Statistics Poland. The results show that the European Union cohesion funding was essential in overcoming the major barrier to solar renewable energy utilization, which was the cost of the initial investment. There were significant differences in the dispersal of the analyzed investments–most of them cumulated in north-eastern and eastern Poland. Although the funding distributed through operational programs was accessed by a variety of applicants, the municipality self-governments and small and medium-sized enterprise contributed most to the increased share of energy generated from solar renewable energy. The largest number of projects involved solar and wind energy, allowing applicants to lower operating costs by reducing energy bills.

Identifying the key factors to China's unsustainable external circulation through the accounting of the flow of embodied energy and virtual water

In 2020, China launched the Dual Circulation Strategy to tackle difficult international trade situations and COVID-19. To examine the environmental pressure induced by China's domestic and international trade from the perspective of dual circulation, this study quantifies the flows of embodied energy and virtual water in China's domestic and international trade and analyzes the driving factors to the net outflow, using the multi-regional input-output model and spatial structural decomposition method. The main findings of this study are: (1) Domestic trade of China alleviated the pressures of both energy and water shortage through the flow of embodied energy from Northern to Southern and Eastern regions and the flow of virtual water from Southern to Northern regions. In contrast, international trade yet increased China's environmental burden and tends to be unsustainable. (2) Production structure effect was the key factor to the net outflow of embodied energy (contribution degree: 58%) and virtual water (contribution degree: 46%) to major economies. For China, the export scale effect and export structure effect played an important role in increasing the net outflow of China's embodied energy, with contribution degrees of 17% and 23%, respectively, while the export structure effect and water efficiency effect reduced the net outflow of virtual water, with contribution degrees of −23% and −19%, respectively. Multidimensional Policies, including industrial structure transition, renewable energy deployment, resource efficiencies improvement, trade pattern upgrade, and regional free trade promotion, are suggested for implementing the Dual Circulation Strategy, considering environmental sustainability and industrial competition advantages.

Modeling public acceptance of renewable energy deployment: a pathway towards green revolution

Renewable energy adoption is a complicated process that is influenced by a multitude of different factors. Previous studies seldom examine the social acceptance of renewable energy from the Chinese perspective in Shandong province. To bridge this gap, comprehensive research is crucial to find the public attitude towards renewable energy. We extended the theory of planned behavior by incorporating three additional factors, i.e., risk perception, environmental concern, and belief about renewable energy costs. A questionnaire survey was conducted in the four major cities of Shandong province. The Logit model was used to determine possible factors affecting public acceptance. Research findings reveal that residents significantly support renewable energy regarding its positive environmental impact. Individuals’ education, personal income, awareness and belief of renewable energy consumption cost positively affect their intention to utilize renewable energy, as the willingness to pay increases with an increase in these factors while decreasing with individuals’ age. Young people with higher education and income are willing to pay extra for green energy. Research results emphasized the importance of enhancing public awareness and highlighting renewable energy benefits to win public acceptance of renewable energy deployment.

Assessing synergies and trade-offs of diverging Paris-compliant mitigation strategies with long-term SDG objectives

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement are the two transformative agendas, which set the benchmarks for nations to address urgent social, economic and environmental challenges. Aside from setting long-term goals, the pathways followed by nations will involve a series of synergies and trade-offs both between and within these agendas. Since it will not be possible to optimise across the 17 SDGs while simultaneously transitioning to low-carbon societies, it will be necessary to implement policies to address the most critical aspects of the agendas and understand the implications for the other dimensions. Here, we rely on a modelling exercise to analyse the long-term implications of a variety of Paris-compliant mitigation strategies suggested in the recent scientific literature on multiple dimensions of the SDG Agenda. The strategies included rely on technological solutions such as renewable energy deployment or carbon capture and storage, nature-based solutions such as afforestation and behavioural changes in the demand side. Results for a selection of energy-environment SDGs suggest that some mitigation pathways could have negative implications on food and water prices, forest cover and increase pressure on water resources depending on the strategy followed, while renewable energy shares, household energy costs, ambient air pollution and yield impacts could be improved simultaneously while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, results indicate that promoting changes in the demand side could be beneficial to limit potential trade-offs.

Do energy and environmental taxes stimulate or inhibit renewable energy deployment in the European Union?

The modern lifestyle and economic development of the European Union countries are closely connected to high energy consumption and environmental pollution. Renewable energy has arisen as one solution to this problem, even though the obstacles and challenges regarding the deployment of renewable energy lie in high costs, technology and legislation. The investigation of the determinants of renewable energy has become very attractive and popular because of the Sustainable Development Goals and COP26 targets. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the role of energy taxes and environmental taxes in addition to that of economic and environmental indicators in renewable energy development for the panel of EU countries by applying reliable and robust econometric techniques to the annual data from 1995 to 2019. The empirical results suggest that an increase in economic growth and oil prices supports renewable energy while environmental taxes and energy taxes have a negative impact on renewable energy deployment in EU countries. Thus, it is crucial to reform the structure of taxes to support the use of renewable energy. In addition, increasing environmental taxes to transform EU countries into energy-efficient economies will require additional EU policy adjustments.

Potential of Small-wind Turbine for Power Generation on Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms in Malaysia

On most of the offshore oil and gas platforms, the current means of generating power are through the use of generators i.e. gas turbines and diesel power generators, or micro-generators for some smaller equipment. These generator sets are less reliable, especially on unmanned platforms. Hence, the deployment of renewable energy, such as the use of wind turbines, would be better for energy security, economic development and also protection of the environment. Instead of using wind power to power up the whole platform, small wind turbines can be utilised to power up some utilities and instrumentations on the platform, while having generators as back up, as the wind speed is beyond control. However, the capability of a small wind turbine in generating enough power is constantly under doubt as it is yet to be widely employed and only meagre data is available. This is caused by the issue of having insufficient studies regarding the implementation of small wind turbines for power generation on offshore oil and gas platforms. Hence, this paper studied the capability of small wind turbines for power generation on offshore platforms in Malaysia. Several models of small wind turbines were selected and their abilities in generating power to fulfil the annual energy consumption on a typical offshore platform were examined through precise calculations. The common offshore locations in Malaysia were identified and the average wind speeds from 2017 to 2019 at these locations were analysed. The result shows that certain models of small wind turbines are able to provide a significant amount of power for an offshore platform especially to power up the low power machineries. It was found that Kerteh, Terengganu is the most suitable offshore location to harness wind power due to its averagely high wind speed throughout the year. The highest amount of energy that can be produced was around 1445kWh per annum at Kerteh by the small wind turbine with the largest swept area and the lowest cut-in speed. This paper aims to serve as numerical validation on the plausibility of integrating small wind turbines for the generation of electricity on offshore platforms in Malaysia while also providing the recommended locations that are suitable for this region.

Pathways of carbon emissions reduction under the water-energy constraint: A case study of Beijing in China

China is striving for carbon peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060 (“Dual Carbon” strategy). Dual Carbon strategy is a complex systematic work involving the whole society, particularly the energy system and water resources system, and cities play a key role in the strategy. Using LEAP-WEAP-Beijing model, this paper examines the pathways of carbon emissions reduction for 2020–2030 under the water-energy constraint in Beijing. It is found that Beijing has large potential to reduce carbon emissions, and that the deployment of local gas-fired power has the greatest emissions reduction effect. Nevertheless, it is not advisable to prioritize local gas-fired power as it would undermine the water resources security. Instead, renewable energy deployment and optimization of imported power structure should be prioritized. Further, it is not appropriate to eliminate conventional energy sources at an early stage as diversification of energy sources is the guarantee of energy security. On the energy consumption side, although electrification is recognized as an important measure to reduce emissions, it should be pushed forward in a stepwise way. Partial electrification is the optimal pathway in terms of both emissions reduction and energy security level. Building on these findings, specific recommendations to policy makers are provided.

Review of the U.S. Policies, Codes, and Standards of Zero-Carbon Buildings

The global issue of climate change has accelerated the international commitment to net-zero carbon emission development. Decarbonizing the building sector has been put on several governments’ sustainable development agendas. To provide a reference for decarbonizing the building sector, this paper summarizes the U.S. experience in zero-carbon buildings (ZCBs) from the aspects of policies, codes, and standards at the federal and local levels and those of professional societies. Based on the definition and boundaries of ZCBs, this paper introduces policies on building energy efficiency, electrification, on-site renewable energy deployment, and “buy clean”, illustrating highlights in building phases, energy systems, materials production, and fiscal incentives. The synergic efforts and coordination between federal and local levels and with professional societies are also introduced. Successful experiences in policy and standard implementation are summarized, including the systemic work of multilevel governance, clearly defined goals and stringent policies, constant upgrades of codes and standards, transparency in reporting and information sharing, and increased financial and investment opportunities. This paper provides concrete recommendations for developing zero-carbon building policies.

“Cooperative is an oxymoron!”: A polycentric energy transition perspective on distributed energy deployment in the Upper Midwestern United States

Load management is the practice of adjusting demand in an electricity system through remote control of—or incentives to operate—grid-edge technologies in alignment with system goals. Although load management functions as a distributed energy resource (DER) and can play a critical role in cost-effective deployment of renewable energy toward economy-wide deep decarbonization, there has been little energy transitions research on how electric grid actors initiate and manage DER deployments over time. We use interviews and archival research to compare case studies of electric cooperatives in the United States, tracing how cooperatives deployed more than 600,000 load management devices over 70 years. Using polycentricism as a frame, we find that DER deployments comprise common pool resources that are strategically created and negotiated across scales by different centers of decision-making over time. Our findings rebut the assumption that DER deployments are solely the result of policies or markets, showing that DER deployments are instead polycentric acts of cooperation and competition. DER deployments require diverse intermediaries within and across levels of deployment, from policy to users, over many years. We show that polycentric governance that builds vertical coordination across local and regional actors can support broad, deep, and distributed energy transition.

Mitigation and adaptation emissions embedded in the broader climate transition

Climate change necessitates a global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while adapting to increased climate risks. This broader climate transition will involve large-scale global interventions including renewable energy deployment, coastal protection and retreat, and enhanced space cooling, all of which will result in CO2 emissions from energy and materials use. Yet, the magnitude of the emissions embedded in these interventions remains unconstrained, opening the potential for underaccounting of emissions and conflicts or synergies between mitigation and adaptation goals. Here, we use a suite of models to estimate the CO2 emissions embedded in the broader climate transition. For a gradual decarbonization pathway limiting warming to 2 °C, selected adaptation-related interventions will emit ∼1.3 GtCO2 through 2100, while emissions from energy used to deploy renewable capacity are much larger at ∼95 GtCO2. Together, these emissions are equivalent to over 2 y of current global emissions and 8.3% of the remaining carbon budget for 2 °C. Total embedded transition emissions are reduced by ∼80% to 21.2 GtCO2 under a rapid pathway limiting warming to 1.5 °C. However, they roughly double to 185 GtCO2 under a delayed pathway consistent with current policies (2.7 °C warming by 2100), mainly because a slower transition relies more on fossil fuel energy. Our results provide a holistic assessment of carbon emissions from the transition itself and suggest that these emissions can be minimized through more ambitious energy decarbonization. We argue that the emissions from mitigation, but likely much less so from adaptation, are of sufficient magnitude to merit greater consideration in climate science and policy.

Rural–Urban Differences in Solar Renewable Energy Investments Supported by Public Finance in Poland

The deployment of renewable energy (RE) needs to be policy-driven and supported by public funds. Hence, the aim of this study was to find out whether urban and rural areas benefit from public funds for RE deployment equally and whether factors determining other types of investments also determine investments in RES. To do so, we carried out: (i) comparative analyses of qualitative and quantitative data describing 2642 investments in solar RE supported by the European Union funds and carried out in Poland under operational programmes in 2014–2020; (ii) multiple linear regressions, evaluating the predictions. Findings showed that principles of supporting solar RE investments were the same for all kinds of beneficiaries in both urban and rural areas. However, in rural areas, most RE investments cumulated in eastern, north-eastern and south-eastern parts of Poland, and depended only on few socio-economic characteristics. RE investments in urban areas were dispersed all over the country rather evenly and did not depend on any of the socio-economic characteristics. Individual households appeared to be important silent partners to RE investments carried out by local governments. Thus, future policies should focus on them more to increase the deployment and use of solar RE.

Subsidized renewables’ adverse effect on energy storage and carbon pricing as a potential remedy

Large-scale energy storage is viewed as a key complementary technology in a power system fed by a large share of intermittent renewable energies (RE). However, subsidies for RE – a well-intended market intervention – may distort price signals, thereby adversely undermining the profitability of energy storages, and thus, adequate investment incentives. This study provides novel causal estimates supporting this notion, using an econometric instrumental-variables framework and data on Austrian pumped storages, operating in the German–Austrian electricity market, characterized by a large share of generously subsidized RE. The findings show that RE significantly depress storage profitability and that further deployment of RE will intensify this effect. This may pose an obstacle against adequate investment in bulk energy storage capacity. Moreover, the results indicate that intensifying carbon pricing would significantly counteract the problem via a market-based price signal. This study contributes to the general debate on the design and effects of environmental regulation and particularly shows that a non-market-based policy for a green technology may adversely affect complementary technologies.

Advances on a free-piston Stirling engine-based micro-combined heat and power system

As a promising supplement to traditional central electric generation technologies, a distributed combined heat and power (CHP) system is conducive to renewable energy deployment and mitigation of carbon emissions. Among the candidate technologies, the free-piston Stirling engine (FPSE)-based CHP technology is competitive in micro- or small-scale applications. In this work, the performance of a FPSE-based micro-CHP system is improved through a combination of numerical optimization and experimental validation. First, by using a third-order model and thermoacoustic analysis, the impact of regenerator length, displacer moving mass, and force factor of the alternator on the free-piston Stirling generator (FPSG) inside acoustic field, supplied thermal power and exergy loss is studied numerically. The numerical results indicate a rational increase of the force factor, the regenerator length as well as the displacer moving mass is positive for improving the CHP performance. Based on the numerical optimization, the FPSG prototype is updated accordingly, and adequate measurements of the internal acoustic field of the FPSG have been deployed. Then, a series of experiments are conducted to evaluate the CHP performance of the refurbished FPSG prototype. The experimental results show that the highest CHP efficiency reaches 95.7%, the output electric power is 4.03 kW, and the corresponding thermal-to-electric efficiency is 32.2% when the average temperature of supply and return water is as high as 75 °C. Compared with the work before upgrade, the output electric power and CHP efficiency are improved significantly by 39% and 9.4%, respectively. An insight into the impact of the temperature difference between supply and return water indicates that it has a slight impact on electric power generation, especially under higher charge pressure. In contrast, thermal production exhibits an apparent negative correlation with the temperature difference.

The COVID-19 Boost for Clean Electricity: Accelerating Clean Energy Development Through Pandemic-Era Measures

The unprecedented pandemic raises a number of uncertainties and implications in achieving the goal of a clean electricity future. During the peak of COVID-19, more than 100 countries implemented full or partial lockdowns to contain the pandemic. The lockdowns had significant impacts on global renewable energy deployments. This article analyzes data collected from countries and regions around the world, from prepandemic to postpandemic times. We also analyze the challenges and opportunities for clean energy development brought by the pandemic. Visions and suggestions for postpandemic development are also presented. To provide the readers with a quick overview of the global clean energy development progress, we summarize the latest goals and achievements of different countries and regions in <xref ref-type="table" rid="table1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Table 1</xref> . More details are articulated in the following discussions.

Energy security as new determinant of renewable energy: The role of economic complexity in top energy users

Promoting the development of renewable energy sources is crucial for sustainability. This paper explores the impact of energy security risks and economic complexity on expanding renewable energy sources, accounting for trade openness and economic growth for the top 23 energy consumers. The period of observations spans from 1997 to 2017. The study was conducted using panel quantile regression methods with fixed effects. The empirical outcomes indicate that economic complexity has a significant negative effect on renewable energy at low quantiles but a positive effect at medium to high quantiles. Furthermore, economic complexity has a greater impact on middle-income countries than on high-income countries. Energy security risks positively and significantly impact renewable energy development. However, for middle-income countries, the impact of energy security risks on renewable energy is unstable. The impact is at its peak between the 60th and 70th quantiles and then declines to its lowest level between the 80th and 90th quantiles. The robustness tests confirm the earlier findings. Based on empirical outcomes, policy prescriptions are suggested to address renewable energy deployment against the backdrop of sustainable development concerns. The policy implications suggest that the government should actively promote trade openness and increase economic complexity. Greater energy security risk index shocks increase the use of renewable energy.

The use of Green Nano Hydrogen as Fuel and its Effect

Renewable energy is now considered a more desirable source of fuel compared to nuclear power due to the absence of safety risk and disasters. Considering that the major component of greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide, there is a global concern about reducing carbon emissions to minimize the problem of climate change. In this regard, different policies could be applied to reducing carbon emissions, such as enhancing renewable energy deployment and encouraging technological innovations. Two possible solutions may be implemented to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and hence to overcome the problem of climate change: replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources as much as possible and enhancing energy efficiency. In this paper, we discuss alternative technologies for enhancing renewable energy deployment and energy use efficiency keeping into consideration of climate conditions in Libya, Green Nano hydrogen is a universal, light and highly reactive fuel, through a chemical process known as electrolysis. This method uses an electric current to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water, If this electricity is obtained from renewable sources, we will produce energy without emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, but on Earth it does not appear pure in nature, and requires energy to separate. The most common method is to extract hydrogen from water, which is made up of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen (hence H2O). Doing so is fairly simple. You can use heat and chemical reactions to release hydrogen from organic matter such as fossil fuels. However, this is considered very polluting.