Sustainable Energy Performance Research Articles

Does climate change exposure impact on corporate finance and energy performance? Unraveling the moderating role of CEOs’ green experience

This study examines how firm-level exposure to climate change shapes sustainable financial and energy performance. We utilize a robust two-way fixed-effects approach to examine 2905 Chinese listed enterprises spanning 2010 to 2022. Our primary objective is to unravel the direct effects of climate change exposure (CCE) on corporate financial performance (CFP) and corporate energy performance (CEP), and to explore how CEOs' green experience moderates these effects. The findings delineate significant adverse effects on CFP and CEP stemming from CCE. Notably, augmenting CEOs’ green experience can help to mitigate these effects. We also emphasize the pivotal roles of green technology innovation (GTI) and the augmentation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance as primary conduits through which CCE influences CFP and CEP. Our study illuminates nuanced variations in these influences that are based on climate risk type, geographical regions, firm scale, and industry. These insights offer fresh theoretical perspectives and robust evidence that are crucial for tackling climate-related challenges, especially in the context of emerging economies such as China. They also provide important implications for government actions, suggesting ways to refine environmental policy at the firm level.

Solar Electricity Energy: Utilization of Renewable Energy Sources to Realize a Sustainable Campus at UIN Raden Fatah Palembang

Universities play an essential role in achieving Indonesia's 2060 carbon-neutral target. Emissions in the campus are mainly sourced from its electrical energy, transportation, and water use, along with other wastes. Electrical energy from solar is renewable energy, free from pollutants and noise pollution. This paper examines the sustainable energy performance of solar energy at the Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang (UINRFP) and its development efforts. From August 2022 to March 2023, a solar power plant (SPP) operation with a capacity of 7.74 kWp has generated 6,281.5 kWh of electricity (28.55 kWh/day). Using a radiation factor of 0.8 and an equivalent sun hour of 4.61 (3-5 hours/day), the rooftop capacity of all buildings on Jakabaring Campus is 2,000 kWp, the potential of SPP electricity of UINRFP will exceed 39.3% compared to the 2022 electricity demand. If the capacity is, half the electricity generated from renewable energy meets 70% of the demand. Gradually UINRFP continues to develop its energy sources towards sustainable energy. The development of other research-scale renewable energy with hybrid solar energy and wind power for the aesthetic lighting function on the rectorate building has the potential to generate 290 kWh/year. In addition, micro-hydro energy sources from campus canals (water volume ±9,400 m3) and biomass are potential renewable energy sources at UINRFP for a sustainable campus in the future and contributing to reducing the impact of climate change.

Investigating the effect of green composite back sheet materials on solar panel output voltage harvesting for better sustainable energy performance

Abstract Clean sustainable energy and proper utilization of the available natural resources are of paramount importance for the modern societies. In this work, green composite materials were designed, fabricated and utilized as back sheets for the solar photovoltaic panels to investigate their effects on the output voltage of the solar cell unit. Such replacement of the back sheet of the solar cells would improve their efficiency while reducing the cost and enhancing better environmental conservations. Green back sheet composites were designed with 25 wt% and 50 wt% of high-density polyethylene with all Rhus typhina, Punica granatum and Piper nigrum powders. Investigations of the effect of green composite back sheet materials on solar panel output voltage harvesting have been carried out in Jordan at Zarqa city (latitude 32.07°, longitude 36.08°). Results have revealed that R. typhina and P. nigrum based composites with 25 wt% fiber loading have demonstrated much better output voltage comparable to the original back sheet cell. The maximum output voltage was found to be enhanced about 58 % with the green composite back sheets. This in order would improve the efficiency of such solar cell units and enhance better environmental indices.

Does financial inclusion index and energy performance index co-move?

Financing strategies and energy performance have been extensively studied previously, and researchers frequently overlook the co-movements of integration of financial inclusion and energy performance index in the E7 Context. To address this gap, current research estimates the co-movement between the financial inclusion index and sustainable energy performance index to reflect the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. Our findings show that in E7 economies, China exceeds the other nations in terms of energy performance. With a steady score, Russia is second in the group. Indonesia and Turkey are respectively fourth and fifth, and their total results show excellent prospective performances for sustainability. Mexico and Brazil follow this ranking with bad results and the lowest scores reported in the study results. The study findings are helpful for policy formulation and assessment. The study presented recommendations about financial inclusion and energy management practices in COVID-19 and delivered insights about the energy performance index in E7 economies.

Incentive Strategy for Energy Efficiency Programs in Industries Consuming 6 000 TOE/year with Sustainable Energy Performance

This study aims to obtain the incentives strategy that can increase the participation of energy users greater than or equal to 6000-TOE in fulfilling their obligations on energy conservation through energy management with Sustainable Energy Performance (SEP). Several steps need to be carried out. First, data collection on industries that must carry out energy management, and will be analyzed to determine the level of compliance of energy users. Second, ensure that already have carried out an energy-saving program with the SEP. Third, formulating incentive schemes for energy users. Fourth, the interest deduction for the company when they implement the SEP. The results show that only 10.25 % fully comply with the regulation, 36.89 % are partially compliant and 52.87 % are not compliant with energy management activities at all. For industries that have implemented energy conservation and SEP, several benefits are obtained, including capital expenditure (capex) savings when purchasing new imported equipment for creating another energy efficiency, by up to 30 % and incentives in the form of lowering interest rates by up to 4 %.

New Heuristic Methods for Sustainable Energy Performance Analysis of HVAC Systems

Energy-efficient buildings have attracted vast attention as a key component of sustainable development. Thermal load analysis is a pivotal step for the proper design of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for increasing thermal comfort in energy-efficient buildings. In this work, novel a methodology is proposed to predict the cooling load (LC) of residential buildings based on their geometrical characteristics. Multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural network was coupled with metaheuristic algorithms to attain its optimum hyperparameter values. According to the results, the LC pattern can be promisingly captured and predicted by all developed hybrid models. Nevertheless, the comparison analysis revealed that the electrostatic discharge algorithm (ESDA) achieved the most powerful MLP model. Hence, utilizing the proposed methodology would give new insights into the thermal load analysis method and bridge the existing gap between the most recently developed computational intelligence techniques and energy performance analysis in the sustainable design of energy-efficient residential buildings.

The Impact of Sustainable Energy on Liquidity and Financial Performance of the Textile Industry

Sustainable energy is considered to be the most important input for any organization owing to its noteworthy impact on the liquidity and performance of the firms. Hence, it is imperative to evidence the impact of sustainable energy on a firm’s liquidity and performance. As the disruptions in sustainable energy adversely impact the performance of manufacturing firms by reducing production directly and amplifying operational leverage, it is significant to investigate the impact the sustainable energy on a firm’s liquidity and performance. Further, the impact of disruptions in sustainable energy is size specific, therefore, the study also assumes the moderating role of firm size in shaping the stated relation. So, the aim of the current research is to investigate the impact of sustainable energy supply on liquidity and performance of the firms keeping in view the moderation effect of firm size. Using financial data of 120 textile firms from the year 2010 to 2022, the current investigation has employed a panel data methodology to quantify the impact of the sustainable energy disruption on a firm’s liquidity and performance. The results revealed that the sustainable supply of energy sources significantly impacts liquidity and working capital management as well as the performance of the textile sector in Pakistan. Further, firm size tends to moderate the relation between sustainable energy supply and performance. Although the effect is found to be partially moderated. It is recommended that in the long run, the firms might opt for alternate energy sources resulting in savings from huge performance losses. Encouraged by the inadequacy of empirical evidence in developing economies like Pakistan and keeping in view the importance of working capital management and performance efficiency, the current work is the need of the day. The impact of sustainable energy sources must be researched to gauge the impact on the manufacturing industry’s performance.

Do renewable energy mutual funds advance towards clean energy-related sustainable development goals?

This study examines the effects of sustainable energy-focused institutional shareholders on corporate sustainable energy performance. It employs a sample of 43 renewable energy mutual funds and 1074 portfolio firms covering 2006 to 2019. To examine this relationship appropriately, the study adopts Petersen's (2009) panel data approach and clusters standard errors by firm and year. The results indicate that institutional investors lead firms to improve their corporate sustainable energy and environmental performance. Therefore, investment decisions adopted by renewable energy mutual funds achieve positive outcomes in the real world. This has policy implications, showing that economic policies focused on financing the transition of the real economy towards sustainability and improving the financial sector's contribution to sustainability goals are being achieved.

Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environmental Systems and Smart Energy Systems

This 34th volume of the International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management includes papers from the 2021 conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environmental Systems (SDEWES) held October 10-15, 2021, in Dubrovnik, Croatia as well as the 7th International Conference on Smart Energy Systems held September 21-22 in Copenhagen, Denmark and two normal papers. A focus area of this issue is district heating and district cooling systems, with articles addressing resources for district heating and cooling systems, impacts of having individual district heating metres for consumers and approaches to analysing district heating systems. Another focus area is stakeholder involvement where two groups of researchers focus on stakeholders from an energy island perspective as well as from a positive energy district perspective. Both groups note the importance of factoring in stakeholders when devising transition plans. Plans for increasing the penetration of renewable energy sources for the Estonian, Latvia and Lithuanian systems are analysed using the Backbone model, finding modest increases in system costs. Lastly, an article sets up an indicator system for assessing environmental performance of European Union member states ranking, e.g., Estonian, Latvia and Lithuanian as moderate (Estonia and Latvia) to weak (Lithuania) in terms of sustainable energy performance score, based on 2019 data.

Indicator-based assessment of sustainable energy performance in the European Union

The COVID-19 and the resulting global energy crises highlighted the importance of decarbonization and the necessity of shifting the economy from fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources. Sustainable energy transition is also a key element of circular economy, social welfare and justice. In this paper we developed an indicator set and we compiled a composite indicator to measure the performance of the EU Member States regarding the sustainable energy transition between 2007 and 2019. Our results show significant differences which do not follow the usual East-West division of the integration. Both convergence and divergence can be revealed.

Evaluation of sustainable energy performance for OECD countries

ABSTRACT This study aims to evaluate the sustainable energy performance of 36 OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. The sustainable energy performance evaluation of the countries was made with linear programming-based “DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis)” and multi-criteria decision-making-based “PROMETHEE (The Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation)”. Spearman Correlation Coefficients were calculated for the relationships between the rankings obtained from all methods. According to the Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficients (R) calculated for the performance rankings of OECD countries, the relations between all rankings of OECD countries were positive moderate (R = +0.6952) and positive high (R = +0.7959; R = +0.8919). The novelty of this article is to verify that DEA models and PROMETHEE technique, which are different from each other in terms of structure, algorithms, and basic purposes, can be used as an alternative performance evaluation tool.

Sustainable energy performance in Brazilian social housing: A proposal for a Sustainability Index in the energy life cycle considering climate change

The main goal of this research is the proposal of an integrated approach, considering sustainability indicators related to energy life cycle of the building, for evaluation of energy efficiency measures with adaptation to climate change in Brazilian social housing projects. A Sustainability Index in the Energy Life Cycle was proposed that includes indicators associated to environmental, energy, economic aspects and user thermal comfort. A case study applied in the city of São Paulo, considered a representative project of the sector and cases with energy efficiency adaptation measures for three climate scenarios, considering climate change. The integrated approach highlighted the importance of the initial selection of materials, considering their associated impacts as well as the thermal and energy performance of the building during its life time, and the importance of climate change for the operational phase of the building. With the Sustainability Index in the Energy Life Cycle, large reductions were obtained comparing cases with adaptation measures to current practice. Results of this research contribute to improve project’s decisions with the incorporation of a holistic approach for the projects that are being produced for the housing deficit, considering better energy performance and lower resource consumption for users and the country in the long term.

Circular Economy Initiatives through Energy Accounting and Sustainable Energy Performance under Integrated Reporting Framework

The financial reporting plays a significant role in sustainable development, as it contributes greatly to providing the information required to assess sustainable development performance. In order to achieve the sustainable development, accurate information should be provided to stakeholders on the energy consumed and the impact of energy consumption on the environment. Information on sustainable energy performance needs providing both of financial and non-financial information. However, the traditional financial reporting system is unable to provide information that helps measure and promote sustainable energy performance, as the current accounting system provides financial information only. It is therefore important to adopt an appropriate reporting framework to support the evaluation of sustainable energy performance. This paper proposes an approach to the measure the sustainable energy performance based on the integrated reporting framework. A unique feature of the approach is the selection of corporate energy performance indicators that cover both financial and non-financial information. This paper therefore sets out indicators for assessing sustainable energy performance based on the Integrated Reporting Framework. Furthermore, the application of the indicators proposed in this paper helps regulators and economic policy makers to develop sustainable development strategies at national level. Moreover, the adoption of the proposed indicators can provide accurate information on the real and future of sustainable energy in the country.

Synergies and Trade-Offs Between Sustainable Development and Energy Performance of Exterior Lighting

The aim of this review was to map synergies and trade-offs between sustainable development and energy efficiency and savings regarding exterior lighting. Exterior lighting, such as public road and street lighting, requires significant amounts of energy and hinders sustainable development through its increasing of light pollution, ecological impact, and global climate change. Interlinkages between indicators in sustainability and energy that have positive interactions will lead to a mutual reinforcement in the decision-making process, and vice versa, interlinkages between trade-offs may lead to unwanted and conflicting effects. Very few studies have presented a clear vision of how exterior lighting should be contributing to, and not counteracting, the sustainable development of our planet. This study was conducted through a theoretical and systematic analysis that examined the interactions between sustainable development and energy performance based on a framework using indicators and variables, and by reviewing the current literature. Additionally, 17 indicators of energy efficiency and energy savings were identified and used in the analysis. Most interactions between variables for sustainable development and energy performance (52%) were found to be synergistic. The synergistic interactions were mostly found (71%) in the ecological and environmental dimension showing that environmental and ecological sustainability goes hand in hand with energy efficiency and savings. Trade-offs were found only in the economic and social dimensions accounting for 18% of the interactions identified. This review shows that the interactions between sustainable development and energy performance can be used to establish more efficient policies for decision-making processes regarding exterior lighting.

Optimal distributed generation in green building assessment towards line loss reduction for Malaysian public hospital

This paper presents an optimization approach for criteria setting of Renewable Distributed Generation (DG) in the Green Building Rating System (GBRS). In this study, the total line loss reduction is analyzed and set as the main objective function in the optimization process which then a reassessment of existing criteria setting for renewable energy (RE) is proposed towards lower loss outcome. Solar photovoltaic (PV)-type DG unit (PV-DG) is identified as the type of DG used in this paper. The proposed PV-DG optimization will improve the sustainable energy performance of the green building by total line losses reduction within accepted lower losses region using Artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm. The distribution network uses bus and line data setup from selected one of each three levels of Malaysian public hospital. MATLAB simulation result shows that the PV-DG expanding capacity towards optimal scale and location provides a better outcome in minimizing total line losses within an appropriate voltage profile as compared to the current setting of PV-DG imposed in selected GBRS. Thus, reassessment of RE parameter setting and the proposed five rankings with new PV-DG setting for public hospital provides technical justification and give the best option to the green building developer for more effective RE integration.

Board characteristics and sustainable energy performance of selected companies in South Africa

The study examines the influence of board characteristics on environmental sustainability performance. Companies’ sustainability performance is affected by many factors such as board composition, lack of knowledge, policies and resources of companies, competition from other companies and market trends. The King IV Code of Corporate Governance suggests that the composition of board members ought to contain a diversity of race and gender and independence. The Code states that the board members should consist of both independent members and non-independent members that would act in the interest of the companies. The study used the multiple regression analysis to analyse data from Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)’s Socially Responsible Index (SRI) listed banking and retail companies from 2007–2017 to test how board characteristics influence environmental (energy usage) sustainability of JSE SRI listed firms. Results indicate that the number of female board members has a negative and insignificant influence on corporate energy usage; board independence positively and significantly influences energy usage, and market capitalisation has a positive but an insignificant influence on energy usage. The study suggests that though not all board characteristics influence companies’ environmental performance, having a considerable number of independent board members could have a positive impact on environmentally-related decisions.

Assessment of Renewable Distributed Generation in Green Building Rating System for Public Hospital

This paper presents an optimization solution for renewable Distributed Generation (DG), as imposed in the Green Building Rating System (GBRS) for a public hospital. Solar photovoltaic DG unit (PV-DG) is identified as a type of DG used in this paper. The proposed optimization via PV-DG coordination will improve the sustainable energy performance of the green building by power loss reduction within accepted lower losses region using Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm. The setup input data from one of Malaysian public hospitals’ power distribution system is been adopted and simulation results via MATLAB programming show that the optimization of DG forming into bigger-scale imposed system provides a better outcome in minimization of total power losses within appropriate voltage profile as compared to current PV-DG imposed in GBRS. The objective function representing total power losses which also supported by related literature give a measure that forming sufficient and optimal PV-DG assessment criteria is highly important, thus, current PV-DG assessment in GBRS is proposed to be reviewed into new parameter setting for public hospital due to its’ high energy demand and distinctive electrical load profile.

Triboelectric Nanogenerator Powered Electrochemical Degradation of Organic Pollutant Using Pt-Free Carbon Materials.

Carbon electrode materials are fabricated from bean curd to replace costly Pt-based electrodes to degrade methyl red (MR) as self-driven by a multilayer linkage triboelectric nanogenerator (ML-TENG). With the sponge as the buffer layer and precharge injection, the peak open-circuit voltage, Voc, short-circuit current, Isc, and maximum power density of the ML-TENG can reach and remain stable at 1300 V, 1.2 mA, and 7.4 W m-2 (load resistance = 500 KΩ), respectively. Using the electric power generated by such an updated TENG, highly toxic and carcinogenic MR can be indirectly degraded to CO2 through an oxidation process induced by active chlorine produced at the as-obtained carbon-based electrode interface. Such an electrochemical degradation mechanism is proposed based on the cyclic voltammogram, gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, and mass spectrometer. With compelling features of the TENG and carbon materials, such as sustainable energy, high and stable output performance, cost savings, and high degradation efficiency, this work pioneers the marriage of the TENG with carbon-based materials to self-power electrochemical degradation of organic pollutants for environmental protection.

Sustainable energy performance: Bio-inspiration from thermoregulation of the termite mounds

Sustainable energy performance: Bio-inspiration from thermoregulation of the termite mounds

Orientation of Buildings: Predictive Control Based on the Calculation of Temperature and Solar Direct Contribution

The objective of this study was to use simulation as a tool to establish a possible relationship between orientation and energy performance of conventional residential buildings in Ghardaia. The findings of this study, when integrated in our site, will help in the realisation of efficient and sustainable energy performance of our built environment.To illustrate the impact of the guidance on indoor air temperatures and solar gain of habitat has been studied for this type of climate (semi-arid). Along with this simulation using a TRNSYS (version16.1) was performed to validate the results of the field and to test several possibilities for guidance and improvements to determine the elements that can be used to better conditions.From these results, it appears that the north and south directions during this period are more favorable with a small advantage for the south orientation. This is explained by the amounts of daily radiation incident on the two facades that are not significantly different [1, 2].