Renewable Policy Research Articles

Air Quality Benefits of Renewable Energy: Evidence from China’s Renewable Energy Heating Policy

This paper examines the impact of renewable energy heating on air quality in China, using the Qinling Mountains–Huaihe River line as a quasi-natural experiment to distinguish between regions with central heating and those without. Employing a difference-in-differences approach and analyzing panel data from 298 cities between 2014 and 2022, our findings indicate that the renewable energy heating policy has significantly improved air quality. Specifically, the policy led to substantial improvements in air quality, reducing concentrations of key pollutants: SO2 by 28.31%, CO by 7.57%, NO2 by 5.72%, and PM2.5 by 7.15%. The policy’s effects are most pronounced in regions with lower temperatures and in the eastern parts of the country. Further analysis emphasizes the critical role of energy transition, environmental regulations, and government investment in technology as key drivers of these air quality improvements.

Back and Forth from Urban Renewal: The Spatial Parameters of Affordable Housing in Two Cities

This study examines the impact of spatial parameters on urban well-being by comparing the urban design and housing policies of Roosevelt Island in New York City and Bat Yam in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, Israel. Despite their distinct political and cultural contexts, these cities exhibit similar urban design approaches that integrate physical well-being parameters—such as density, building height, open spaces, and walkability—alongside social well-being parameters including age distribution, income levels, and ethnic diversity. The research traces the evolution of affordable housing through various historical phases, including Urban Renewal, Community Development, and Neoliberal Urbanism, and explores how different residential ownership structures have influenced demographic shifts, gentrification, and neighborhood transformation over the past decades. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines historical analysis with spatial and demographic data, this study highlights the contrasting impacts of Roosevelt Island’s affordable housing program and Bat Yam’s state-led urban renewal policies. The results illustrate how distinct housing models affect community resilience, social stability, and overall urban well-being. By uncovering parallel narratives and extracting valuable insights, this analysis offers lessons for other cities navigating similar market-led pressures and policy shifts. The findings underscore the importance of understanding the interplay between spatial design, housing policies, and ownership structures in shaping the long-term sustainability and quality of life in urban neighborhoods.

From Potential to Power: Advancing Nigeria’s Energy Sector through Renewable Integration and Policy Reform

Nigeria is a nation endowed with both abundant renewable and non-renewable energy resources. Despite its vast potential, Nigeria struggles with a consistent power supply due to various systemic issues, such as inadequate funding, infrastructural decay, corruption, technical skill shortages, and macroeconomic instability. These challenges hinder the effective harnessing and distribution of energy resources, particularly renewable ones like wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower. This study assesses the existing energy policies and their efficacy in promoting sustainable energy development towards achieving universal electricity access by 2030. It highlights the necessity for a just energy transition that integrates a substantial proportion of renewable energy into the national grid, aiming to meet up to 60% of the country’s energy demands with clean sources by 2050. This transition is critical not only for energy security and reducing the environmental impact but also for fostering socioeconomic equity. Recommendations include overhauling the legal and regulatory frameworks to support renewable energy growth, particularly in off-grid areas, to ensure clean, affordable, and secure energy access. Strategic investments, enhanced infrastructure, and robust public–private partnerships are essential to overcome the current barriers and realize Nigeria’s energy potential. This paper calls for a comprehensive approach that addresses both the technical and socioeconomic dimensions of the energy crisis, laying the groundwork for a sustainable and prosperous energy future for Nigeria.

Trends of fully alcohol-attributable mortality rates before and during COVID-19 in the Baltic and other European countries.

We tested the polarization hypothesis, which postulates that during times of crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, alcohol consumption increases among the heaviest drinkers but decreases among most other drinkers, resulting in an overall decrease in consumption among the population. We posited the increase in heavy drinking would lead to increases in 100% alcohol-attributable (AA) mortality. Furthermore, based on the high level of alcohol consumption in the Baltic countries compared to other European countries, we predicted that the increases in AA mortality would be more pronounced in these countries. Data for 100% AA deaths were obtained from the World Health Organization for the period 2010 to 2022, and standardized to the regional age distribution for 2010. Parametric and non-parametric tests were used to test the study hypotheses. The mean age-standardized 100% AA mortality rate increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in the 19 European countries with data by 3.12 deaths per 100,000 population, constituting an 18% increase (tested against no change: t = 2.52; df = 18; p = 0.021). This increase was higher in the Baltic countries (mean difference = 13.41 deaths per 100,000 population; standard deviation (SD) = 7.44; 46% increase) than for other European countries (mean difference = 1.19; SD = 1.55; 8% increase). The increases in 100% AA mortality were associated with decreases in the level of alcohol consumption in the majority of countries. As predicted, 100% AA mortality increased in 19 European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Baltic countries seeing a higher increase. Renewed alcohol control policy efforts should be considered.

Renewable Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Prescriptive Analysis of Ghana

This study assesses the state of play of renewable energy in Sub-Saharan Africa through the lens of the Ghana renewable energy sub-sector. Adopting a sector diagnostic approach, the study assesses the legal framework, institutional arrangements, emerging developments, and challenges of renewable energy development in Ghana. The study further prescribes key renewable policy instruments necessary to propel Ghana to achieve its 10% renewable energy target by 2030. Recommended amendments for the Renewable Energy Act are also proffered in this paper. The study provides innovative directions for policymakers and regulators while revealing new perspectives to the renewable energy puzzle in Africa.

Digital financial inclusion role to promote renewable energy technology innovation in Chinese Prefectural cities: Moderating role of environmental governance

Renewable energy technology innovation is not only an important technical component of Chinese construction of low-carbon energy systems but also a key way to realize long-term, sustainable development. Digital inclusive finance plays an indispensable role in this process. Using panel data of 275 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2022, a two-step systematic methodology is used to assess the impacts and mechanisms of digital financial inclusion and the moderating role of different environmental governance models on qualitative and quantitative renewable energy innovation. The results indicate that digital inclusive finance has an incentive effect on both qualitative and quantitative renewable energy innovations, with a stronger incentive effect on qualitative behavior. This effect can act on renewable energy technology innovation by reducing financing constraints and incentivizing information disclosure mechanisms. Moreover, different forms of environmental governance have a positive, moderating effect, while the effect of top-down environmental governance is more manifested in quantitative renewable energy innovation. Furthermore, heterogeneity analyses show that the incentive effect of digital financial inclusion is more pronounced in the PV sector and the eastern regions. The findings provide a theoretical basis and practical insights that enable policy-makers to formulate relevant renewable energy technology innovation policies and promote low-carbon energy transition.

WITHDRAWN: The impact of renewable energy development on regional carbon emission reduction: Based on the spatio-temporal analysis of 30 provinces in China

The development of renewable energy has become an important means for the world to cope with climate change, ensure energy security and protect the ecological environment. Using the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2013 to 2021, this paper used the mediating effect model and the spatial Durbin model (SDM) to explore the mechanism and spatial effects of renewable energy development on carbon emission reduction. The results show that: (1) The results of mechanism analysis show that renewable energy development reduces carbon intensity by improving energy structure, promoting industrial structure optimization and industrial structure upgrading. (2) Renewable energy development can not only reduce the local carbon intensity, but also have a positive spillover effect on the carbon intensity of neighboring regions. (3) Further analysis shows that renewable energy development has a dynamic effect on carbon emissions. The heterogeneity analysis shows that compared with the Yellow River basin, renewable energy development significantly influences carbon emission reduction in the Yangtze River Economic Belt region. Energy-rich areas fall into the "resource curse", which makes renewable energy development’s carbon emission reduction effect not significant. This paper has certain reference significance for promoting reasonable decomposition between regions and formulating renewable energy development policies.

Strategies to enhance energy sustainability in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 (affordable and clean energy): case of Ghana

Purpose Human activities in recent years with the excessive emission of greenhouse gases have had a negative impact on increasing global temperatures. In this regard, one of the best ways to control it is to move toward sustainability with more use of renewable energy. Therefore, this study aims to assess the indicators of sustainable energy, explore benefits of sustainable energy and evaluate strategies to enhance energy sustainability in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative research strategy was adopted. Questionnaires were developed and administered through convenience and snowball sampling techniques to professionals in the energy sector. Data collected was validated by using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and discriminant validity, whereas objectives were analyzed by using the relative importance index, mean score ranking and Kruskal–Wallis test. Findings From the findings, the significant indicators of sustainable energy were as follows: reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, use of renewable energies and policies on proper utilization of energy resources. Furthermore, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, less harm caused to the environment and an increase in the economic and social development process were the major benefits of sustainable energy. Finally, the findings of the study revealed that a strong and accounted policy program, adopting sustainable energy indicators and strategic communication are the significant strategies needed to be put in place to enhance energy sustainability. Practical implications The study serves as a reminder to policymakers of the crucial role they have to play in enhancing energy sustainability by putting in place suitable policy programs and methods. Originality/value The originality of this study is that it is arguably a pioneering study in Ghana and contributes to the body of knowledge on energy sustainability.

Assessment of Colombian renewable energy auctions policy: Enabler or barrier for concentrating solar power plants

Auctions are an alternative for introducing renewable energy (RE) projects into electricity markets at competitive prices. Colombia added 2.2 GW capacity of RE through this mechanism. Nevertheless, 94% of the awarded generation is allocated between 12 a.m. and 5 p.m. because of a lack of low-cost storage. Integrating concentrating solar power plants (CSP) could be relevant in tackling this issue. Therefore, a preliminary step is to determine if Colombian instruments benefit the deployment of CSP and trigger the discussion about its future in the country. In this work, we evaluate how auction mechanisms and fiscal incentives (FI) influence the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for two CSP configurations. The results indicate that FIs reduce capital expenditures between 17.11% and 19.45%, reaching similar LCOEs to those reported internationally. However, energy prices higher than USD 150/MWh are required to achieve an adequate IRR. Regarding the auction design, it is observed that a “security criterion” leads to a significant loss of competitiveness for CSP as it neglects its possibility to support demand at night. Policy suggestions are provided for a level playing field where low-cost solutions can coexist with dispatchable renewable power generation.

Renewable energy policy performance and technological innovation in Africa: A Bayesian estimation

This paper examines the effect of renewable energy policy performance on innovation activity in the renewable energy sector in a sample of thirty-three African countries during the period 2010–2021. The policy performance we use covers carbon pricing, incentives for grid-connected and distributed renewable energy generation, fiscal incentives for renewable energy, legal framework for renewable energy, off-take risk, network connection and pricing, and policy design attributes. Using patent data and renewable policy performance to fit a Bayesian negative binomial, our results generally show that renewable energy policy in the region supports technological innovation in the sector. Policy initiatives focused on market-based incentives (auctions and tariffs), renewable portfolio standards, risk mitigation, network connection and pricing are largely responsible for a strong and statistically significant relationship between renewable energy policy and innovation activity. We also find evidence that intellectual property rights, renewable energy capacity, electricity prices, affordability of renewable energy, and openness to trade proxies are important drivers of innovation activity in the renewable energy sector. Our analysis finds no evidence that research and development is a significant determinant of renewable energy innovation in African countries. Our results serve to inform policymakers on the areas in which specific policy actions are most effective at promoting innovation in the renewable energy sector.

Investigating the impact of housing price increases on consumption: heterogeneity by age, tenure and housing quality

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the distributional impact of house price increases on consumption in the context of the energy transition.Design/methodology/approachThis study draws from two micro cross-sectional datasets, the English Housing Survey (EHS) and the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCFS) to study the Marginal Propensity to Consume (MPC) out of changes in house prices. By employing pseudo-panel regressions, the paper examines the impact of house price changes on consumption among diverse household types.FindingsThis paper finds varying consumption responses to house price changes across age and tenure groups. Older homeowners tend to increase consumption when house prices rise. In contrast, middle-aged individuals, often renters or mortgage holders, reduce consumption in response to price increases. The youngest age group also experiences increased consumption but to a lesser degree than the oldest group. Energy-efficient homes are related to lower consumption across all tenure levels. However, when interacted with house prices and age, the estimates are positive, pointing to an unequal accrual of property premiums depending on housing market positions.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations stem from data constraints. First, using a pseudo-panel approach hinders control for unobservable selection bias. Additionally, while robust under cross-validation and specifications tests, the energy efficiency variable imputation results in a low number of energy-efficient homes. Due to heterogeneous responses to rising house prices, this paper contends that an energy transition model that subsidises homeowners’ renovation is likely to produce a negative impact on consumption among younger and middle-aged households.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the MPC literature by incorporating energy efficiency as a key variable. It draws from recent data to obtain new estimates. By highlighting shifts in consumption patterns the paper contributes to a well-established body of literature with renewed policy relevance regarding housing retrofit.

The Expanding Role of Renewable Fuel Policy as a Demand Driver in Agriculture

The Expanding Role of Renewable Fuel Policy as a Demand Driver in Agriculture

Northeast Bank of Brazil's Role in Promoting Entrepreneurial Innovation in Family Farming through Renewable Energy Financing

Objective: This study aims to analyze the influence of Banco do Nordeste (Northeast Bank of Brazil) in promoting innovative entrepreneurship in family farming through its renewable energy financing policies. Method: A quantitative research methodology was employed, involving a survey of 164 family farmers located in the rural areas of Rio Grande do Norte. The collected data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) to assess the relationships between entrepreneurial innovation, renewable energy adoption, and competitive advantage in family farming. Results: The findings demonstrate that innovative entrepreneurship facilitated by Banco do Nordeste's financing policies significantly contributes to 59.5% of the development in family farming. Furthermore, renewable energy adoption is shown to have a considerable influence, accounting for 39.3% of the entrepreneurial innovation by lowering operational costs and minimizing environmental impacts. These results underscore the critical role of Banco do Nordeste in supporting regional development and encouraging sustainable practices among family farmers. Conclusions: The study concludes that Banco do Nordeste’s renewable energy financing policies are instrumental in fostering entrepreneurial innovation and promoting the sustainable development of family farming. This emphasizes the need for increased awareness and dissemination of such financing programs to enhance their effectiveness. Additionally, the development of a framework for analyzing entrepreneurial innovation in family farming offers a valuable resource for future research and policy development.

Characterising a diversity of coastal community fisheries in Kiribati and Vanuatu

AbstractUnderstanding what diversity of small‐scale fisheries translates to in practice, and what this means for management regimes seeking sustainability, continues to be a challenging undertaking. This is particularly so in the tropical Pacific Islands region, where small‐scale coastal fisheries play a significant role in domestic food and livelihood systems. A renewed regional policy focus on supporting coastal fisheries, combined with momentum built from a decades‐long ‘Pacific renaissance’ in community‐based fisheries management approaches, has increased resourcing and support for coastal fishery data collection and knowledge production. In this context, there is growing demand to explicitly characterise diversity and complexity of community‐based coastal fisheries to inform how national co‐management programs can adequately support the many communities within national constituencies. This study presents findings from a community‐based coastal fisheries monitoring programme implemented in ten communities across Kiribati and Vanuatu between 2019 and 2021. Findings illustrate the intra‐ and inter‐country diversity of contextual drivers, fishing practices, and fisher participation. We discuss the implications of this enhanced understanding of community‐based fisheries for applied co‐management practice in these two countries. In doing so, we add to a growing knowledge base about fishing practices in Pacific Island coastal communities and elucidate avenues through which to incorporate this knowledge into adaptive co‐management practice.

Renewable compensation policies and conventional energy investment: A theoretical model

Many jurisdictions are simultaneously expanding natural gas and renewable capacities, largely supported by renewable compensation policies (RCPs). However, RCPs' impacts on firms' incentives for conventional capacity investment remain unclear. This paper develops a two-stage theoretical model to investigate this interaction within an imperfect competition and uncertain demand context. Firms initially invest in conventional energy capacity, followed by competing to supply electricity from conventional and previously owned renewables. Conventional output is compensated at market prices, but renewable output is subject to two common RCPs: feed-in tariffs (FiT) and feed-in premiums (FiP). The illustrative numerical example shows that increasing the proportion of renewable output compensated by a FiT from 20% to 80% increases the market-level conventional investment by 18%, leading to an increase in consumer surplus but decreasing firms' profits. These results exemplify the unintended effects of RCPs, encouraging the adoption of conventional generation capacity. The model presented in this paper provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the relationship between RCPs and conventional energy capacity investment—critical for carbon-intensive nations transitioning to renewables while maintaining reliable electricity supply through conventional generation.

Cross-provincial collaborative transaction that considers both the green electricity and the green certificate markets under a renewable portfolio standard policy

In the current implementation of the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), various quota entities are facing challenges, including high costs and limited flexibility within a non-collaborative, single green certificate market mechanism. To address these issues, we developed a cross-provincial collaborative transaction model that considers both the green electricity and the green certificate markets. It consists of five sub-models: a green electricity production net revenue maximization sub-model, a green electricity consumption net benefit maximization sub-model, a green electricity and green certificate market categorization sub-model, a cooperative game sub-model for green electricity and green certificate buyers and sellers, and a cooperative benefits allocation sub-model. The roles of each province (i.e., green electricity and certificate buyers and sellers), along with the optimal green electricity generation, green certificate trading volume, and cost of achieving RPS objectives for each province, can be determined by utilizing the first four sub-models. Ultimately, the cooperative benefit allocation sub-model promotes cooperation among the provinces. To validate the model's effectiveness, we chose five representative provincial-level regions of China for empirical analysis. We found that the cooperative mode decreased the cost by 238.554 × 108 CNY (15.9%) compared with each province independently achieving RPS targets in a non-cooperative mode. Moreover, cooperation increased green electricity generation by 447.94 × 108 kWh (13.3%). The cooperative mode will therefore encourage provincial governments to formulate cooperative strategies for achieving RPS objectives, ultimately reducing implementation costs and increasing flexibility and effectiveness.

The role of teachers dealing with dilemma caused by the international right to inclusive education and the SEN assessment practices in Austria

ABSTRACT Although some European countries have initiated systemic transformation towards inclusive education since the ratification of the CRPD, the Austrian school system persists in the segregation of mainstream and special schools and is administered by the allocation of special educational needs (SEN). The SEN assessment attempts to provide individual support to foster pupils’ learning by diagnosticing disabilities and deviant behaviour. This circumstance contradicts an understanding of inclusive education without medical and psychological orientated categorisation. The multi-perspective case study contributes to the debate on the requirements of inclusive education and the SEN assessment using the methodological approach of Situational Analysis to understand the experiences of teachers within the inclusion assessment complex. The article follows the research question: How do teachers deal with the dilemma resulting from the requirements of inclusive education and the SEN assessment in Austria? The data set consists of seven focus group discussions with 21 stakeholders (administrators, teachers, and pupils). The findings show that the renewed SEN policy and assessment caused several dilemma. Negotiating this ambiguity is highly dependent on how teachers understand inclusion and to what extend they use their autonomy and discretion to enable inclusion in pedagogical settings.

Effect of renewable energy subsidy policy on firms’ total factor productivity: The threshold effect

Studies examining the influence of government subsidies on total factor productivity have yielded inconsistent conclusions. Utilizing data from 114 renewable energy companies in China from 2011 to 2022, this study empirically investigated the threshold effects of government subsidies on the total factor productivity of these firms. The research findings indicate: (1) Government subsidies reduce Chinese renewable energy firms' total factor productivity, with a more significant negative impact on firms with lower total factor productivity. (2) These subsidies negatively influence total factor productivity by reducing firms’ capacity utilization and increasing rent-seeking costs. (3) The influence of government subsidies on total factor productivity shows a single-threshold effect related to technological innovation. When technological innovation surpasses a certain threshold, the adverse impact of these subsidies is weakened. Therefore, it is recommended that the government limit excessive subsidies and simultaneously encourage renewable energy firms to enhance their technological innovation.

Carbon emissions cap or energy technology subsidies? Exploring the carbon reduction policy based on a multi-technology sectoral DSGE model

As global climate change becomes increasingly severe, energy technology innovation has become a key means of coping with the climate crisis and realizing green and low-carbon development. However, existing literature rarely examines the effects of carbon emission reduction policies based on the perspective of energy technology progress for both short-term economic fluctuations and long-term equilibrium. This paper introduces the fossil energy technology sector and the renewable energy technology sector into the dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model, and compares the effectiveness of the carbon emission cap policy, the fossil energy technology subsidy policy, and the renewable energy technology subsidy policy under the framework of China’s carbon trading market in promoting macroeconomic growth and controlling pollutant emissions. We found that in long-term, the emission reduction effect of the carbon emission cap policy falls short of the other two policies, and subsidizing fossil fuel technologies is more cost-efficient comparatively. The government expenditure shock can all stimulate macroeconomic growth with crowding out of private investment and household consumption, whereas the energy technology research productivity shock leads to a decline in total output and an increase in renewable energy technology demand. In addition, pollutant emissions are pro-cyclical under the impact of total carbon policies and counter-cyclical under the impact of energy technology subsidy policies. This article constructs a multi-technology sectoral dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model, expanding the research perspective and theoretical framework for evaluating carbon emission reduction policies. At the same time, it proves the importance of the government to implement the phased energy technology subsidy policy while implementing the carbon emission cap policy, which provides important enlightenment for the implementation and adjustment of carbon emission reduction policy.

The Impact of Renewable Energy Development on Regional Carbon Emission Reduction: Based on the Spatio-Temporal Analysis of 30 Provinces in China.

The development of renewable energy has become an important means for the world to cope with climate change, ensure energy security, and protect the ecological environment. Using the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2013 to 2021, this study used the mediating effect model and the spatial Durbin model (SDM) to explore the mechanism and spatial effects of renewable energy development on China's regional carbon emission reduction. The results show that: (1) Renewable energy development can help to reduce carbon emission intensity. (2) The results of mechanism analysis show that renewable energy development reduces carbon intensity by improving energy structure, promoting industrial structure optimization, and industrial structure upgrading. (3) The development of renewable energy can not only reduce the local carbon intensity but also have a positive spillover effect on the carbon intensity of neighboring regions. (4) Further analysis shows that the long-term effect of renewable energy development on carbon emissions is greater than the short-term effect. At the same time, the heterogeneity analysis shows that compared with the Yellow River basin, the development of renewable energy has a significant carbon emission reduction effect in the Yangtze River Economic Belt region. Energy-rich areas fall into the "resource curse", which makes the carbon emission reduction effect of renewable energy development not significant. This paper has certain reference significance for promoting reasonable decomposition between regions and formulating renewable energy development policies.