Use Of Clean Energy Research Articles

Fuel choice for rural Tibetan households: Impacts of access to credit

Evidence on the determinants of fuel choice by ethnic groups inhabiting special geomorphic areas is scant. Previous studies suggest that access to credit positively impacts the use of clean cooking energy. This study analyzes the effect of access to credit on fuel choice for rural Tibetan households in Lhasa, the Tibet Autonomous Region, and finds the opposite effect. We apply the recursive bivariate probit model based on a field survey dataset and find that access to credit significantly lowers the likelihood of the rural Tibetan households choosing only clean energy sources as their main fuels for cooking and heating. Further evidence demonstrates that access to credit increases the total income of rural households, as well as the number of yaks raised by those households. A by-product of this, the amount of readily available yak dung, thus also increases. This heightened use of non-clean, cash-free yak dung as a fuel overwhelms the positive effect of increased income on clean fuel adoption. We also find that the effects of access to credit vary with the household size, access to internet and the altitude of home location.

Research on the Effects and Mechanism of Carbon Emission Trading on the Development of Green Economy in China

Based on the panel data from 2004 to 2018, this paper evaluates the effect of carbon emission trading policies launched in 2014 on the development of green economy in pilot areas by using synthetic control methods, and further studies the mechanism of the policies affecting green economy by using the mediating effects test. The results show that carbon emission trading has a significant effect on the green economy, which is affected by the economic base and location conditions. Technological innovation and the use of clean energy are the main mechanisms by which to promote green economy. Finally, some corresponding policy recommendations are put forward.

Can information and communication technology and institutional quality help mitigate climate change in E7 economies? An environmental Kuznets curve extension

Understanding the role of information communication and technology (ICT) in environmental issues stemming from extensive energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission in the process of economic development is worthwhile both from policy and scholarly fronts. Motivated on this premise, the study contributes to the rising studies associated with the roles of economic growth, institutional quality and information and communication technology (ICT) have on CO2 emission in the framework of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) on climate convention in Paris. Obtaining data from the emerging industrialized seven (E7) economies (China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico, Brazil and Turkey) covering annual frequency from 1995 to 2016 for our analysis achieved significant outcome. From the empirical analysis, economic globalization and renewable energy consumption both reduce CO2 emissions while ICT, institutional quality and fossil fuel contribute to the degradation of the environment. This study affirms the presence of an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) phenomenon which shows an invented U-shaped curve within the E7 economies. On the causality front, both income and its square have a feedback causal relationship with carbon emissions while economic globalization, institutional quality, ICT and clean energy all have a one-way directional causal relationship with CO2 emissions. Conclusively, the need to reduce environmental degradation activities should be pursued by the blocs such as tree planting activities to mitigate the effect of deforestation. Furthermore, the bloc should shift from the use of fossil-fuel and leverage on ICT to enhance the use of clean energy which is environmentally friendly.

Multi-Fault Detection and Classification of Wind Turbines Using Stacking Classifier.

Wind turbines are widely used worldwide to generate clean, renewable energy. The biggest issue with a wind turbine is reducing failures and downtime, which lowers costs associated with operations and maintenance. Wind turbines’ consistency and timely maintenance can enhance their performance and dependability. Still, the traditional routine configuration makes detecting faults of wind turbines difficult. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) produces reliable and affordable quality data for the health condition of wind turbine operations. For wind power to be sufficiently reliable, it is crucial to retrieve useful information from SCADA successfully. This article proposes a new AdaBoost, K-nearest neighbors, and logistic regression-based stacking ensemble (AKL-SE) classifier to classify the faults of the wind turbine condition monitoring system. A stacking ensemble classifier integrates different classification models to enhance the model’s accuracy. We have used three classifiers, AdaBoost, K-nearest neighbors, and logistic regression, as base models to make output. The output of these three classifiers is used as input in the logistic regression classifier’s meta-model. To improve the data validity, SCADA data are first preprocessed by cleaning and removing any abnormal data. Next, the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to choose the input variables. The Stacking Ensemble classifier was trained using these parameters. The analysis demonstrates that the suggested method successfully identifies faults in wind turbines when applied to local 3 MW wind turbines. The proposed approach shows the potential for effective wind energy use, which could encourage the use of clean energy.

Household clean energy consumption and health: Theoretical and empirical analysis.

The impact of energy consumption on health has become a widely debated topic around the world. However, much of the current research on this topic lacks a theoretical basis. As a result, this paper employs both theoretical and empirical analysis to investigate the impact of household clean energy consumption on residents' health. First, based on the theories of health economics and energy economics, this paper believes that the usage of clean energy can improve the health of residents. Then, the sample for this study is comprised of data from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, and the Order Probit Model is applied for the empirical analysis. The outcomes of basic regression, robustness testing, and the treatment of endogenous factors reveal that the usage of clean energy has greatly benefited the health of residents. Furthermore, the heterogeneity analysis shows that long-term use of clean energy greatly improved the health of non-religious people and had a more pronounced impact on the health of women and low-income residents. In addition, the mechanistic analysis indicates that subjective happiness and air quality played a partial mediating role in the impact of cleaner energy consumption on health. Finally, cleaner household energy reduced the prevalence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, lung disease, asthma, and depression. The conclusion of this paper supports the view of some existing literature, and several policy recommendations are made based on the research findings.

Renewable energy production capacity and consumption in Europe

Faced with the prospect of achieving 32 % renewable energy (RE) consumption by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050, Europe has embarked on a path of promoting the use of clean energy through policies and investments essential to its development. Against this backdrop, the aim of the present article is to analyse both RE production capacity and the determinants of RE consumption in a sample of 30 European countries for the period 2010–2019. Through the construction of a synthetic measure by the zero unitarization method, the four types of RE (hydro, wind, solar and biofuels) are jointly assessed, yielding a ranking of countries categorized as being in a favourable, fairly favourable, rather unfavourable, or unfavourable situation. Furthermore, the possible relationship between RE production capacity and consumption is estimated with a sample of panel data (fixed effects and random effects). The results show that Sweden (SM: 0.419), Austria (SM: 0.384) and the Netherlands (SM: 0.381) are at the top of the ranking, demonstrating their leadership in RE generation and providing a model to follow for Eastern European countries whose production levels are still well below average. Moreover, the study provides evidence that the RE production capacity (coefficient: 0.253***), low gas emissions (coefficient: −0.479***), energy productivity (coefficient: 0.333***), and the size of the country (coefficient: 0.016***) foster the use of RE. Overall, European countries are on the right track to achieve the goals set, although they may be progressing at different speeds.

Research Hotspots and Trend Analysis in the Field of Regional Economics and Carbon Emissions since the 21st Century: A Bibliometric Analysis

In recent years, the issue of regional economics and carbon emissions has become a research hotspot in the cross field of economy, environment and ecology. This paper selects the regional economics and carbon emissions related literature collected in the Web of Science (WOS) database as the basis, and uses the bibliometric software Citespace and VOSviewer to visually analyze the time distribution, organization, author and keywords in this research field. This paper provides a more systematic analysis of how different regions of China could achieve carbon emission objectives, from the aspects of regional industrial transformation, energy consumption structure, policy implementation and regional coordinated development. The keywords with high frequency are carbon emissions, economic growth and energy consumption, etc. The research hotspots can be divided into structural decomposition analysis, low-carbon industry transformation path, policy framework and energy efficiency, etc. The results show that future research should strengthen multidisciplinary cross-integration in different universities and institutions. However, based on in-depth analysis, the key factors which affect regional carbon emissions are regional policy implementation, changes in industrial structures, optimization of energy consumption structure and carbon trade market mechanism. Finally, we suggest that institutions and scholars should conduct adequate interdisciplinary and cross-industry cooperation; industrial sector development should consider local endowment; there should greater use of clean energy to optimize the energy consumption structure; and an increase in R&D carbon capture and sequestration technology.

Green Paradox or Forced Emission Reduction-The Dual Effects of Environmental Regulation on Carbon Emissions.

In response to global climate change, China made a commitment about carbon emissions at the UN General Assembly. It will strive to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. To help China successfully meet its carbon emissions targets this study examines the impact of environmental regulation on carbon emissions from a different perspective. Using panel data from 30 provinces in China as samples, this paper discusses the direct and indirect effect of environmental regulation on carbon emissions and explains the indirect process through four transmission paths: energy consumption structure, industrial structure, technological innovation, and foreign direct investment (FDI). The empirical results show that the direct effect of environmental regulation on carbon emissions presents an inverted U-shaped curve, it means that when the intensity level of environmental regulation is low, it mainly shows the green paradox effect, and with the continuous tightening of environmental laws, it turns into a forced emission reduction on carbon emissions. In addition, we found that under the constraint of environmental regulation conditions, the coal-based energy consumption is still the leading cause of carbon emissions; environmental regulations have contributed to the upgrading of industrial structure and technological advance, which indirectly play a positive role in carbon emission reduction. However, environmental regulation restrains the spillover effect and capital accumulation effect of FDI, which brings a specific degree of hindrance to technological progress and economic development, and is not conducive to carbon emission reduction. Therefore, we have made the following recommendations: China should make reasonable use of environmental policies to regulate carbon emissions according to the situation of each region, optimize the energy structure and increase the proportion of clean energy use, and improve the technology level of related industries to reduce carbon emissions by innovation.

An integrated optimization and multi-scale input–output model for interaction mechanism analysis of energy–economic–environmental policy in a typical fossil-energy-dependent region

With the continuous development of the social giant system, the independence of subsystem boundaries has decreased under the drive of complex relationships and multiple uncertainties. Decision makers are required to consider the interactions between different systems to develop precise policy guidance. Given these challenges, an integrated optimization and multi-scale input–output (OMIO) model is proposed by integrating interval programming, chance-constrained programming, and integer programming into the input–output framework to provide comprehensive policy analysis. The optimized decision variables that carry uncertain information from energy system are identified as connection points to induce changes in economic-environmental effects. A typical fossil-energy-dependent region that mainly relies on fossil fuels, Shanxi Province, China, was used as a case study. It was found that the joint effects of energy system optimization and socioeconomic rebalance will promote the rise of the petroleum product sector, the logistics industry, and tertiary industries, as well as the popularity of electric vehicles. The increase in the use of clean energy and electric vehicles will stimulate GDP growth in the short term, and the emissions of carbon dioxide and air pollutants will be reduced to varying degrees. The study findings can provide comprehensive energy allocation strategies, socioeconomic effect analysis, and climate mitigation results to help fossil-energy-dependent regions better adapt to the requirements of sustainable development under multiple systematic uncertainties.

The impact of emission trading system on clean energy consumption of enterprises: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China.

Research on the ability of environmental regulations to achieve an innovation-offset effect by increasing clean energy use is required. This study aims to verify this by analysing the impact of market-incentive environmental regulation on enterprises' clean energy consumption. Using China's sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission trading system (ETS) for 2007 as a quasi-natural experiment, the difference-in-differences model and data obtained from the Chinese Industrial Enterprises Database and Chinese Industrial Enterprises Pollution Database were used to determine whether an ETS affects enterprises' clean energy consumption. The results show that an ETS encourages enterprises to utilise clean energy and has a significantly positive impact on enterprises' clean energy consumption. Moreover, this study finds that an ETS promotes clean energy consumption by improving the production of enterprises. This study verifies the rationality of China's SO2 ETS design.

Analysis of total carbon emissions from transport in the world: A visibility graph network approach

As a basic industry in the country’s development, the transportation industry has a significant relationship to its normal operation for developing and constructing the national economy. The increase in carbon emissions from transport is an increasingly growing problem, and countries worldwide are also taking measures to reduce emissions. Using time series data over the period from 1990 to 2016, this paper applies the visibility graph approach to transform it into a complex network and excavate some information about the data, then evaluates all countries based on the TOPSIS method. We find that the development of transportation is an important symbol to measure the degree of modernization of a country’s transportation, and low-income countries have lower carbon emissions due to slower transportation development. The results of transportation carbon emissions are especially encouraging for the Chinese government given its long-term and sustained efforts to expand railway and waterway infrastructure, and provide a new perspective for further research on the development trend of global transportation carbon emissions. Meanwhile, it is urgent to speed up the development and use of clean energy for economically developed countries.

Pathway to develop a low-carbon economy through energy-substitution technology in China

As China is determined to develop a low-carbon economy, this study develops a carbon index as a proxy for a low-carbon economy and employs energy-substitution patents as an important technical factor to influence the low-carbon economy. The impact of heterogeneous energy-substitution technology on the low-carbon economy in China is also investigated. The conventional analysis methods, including the generalised method of moments, propensity score matching and difference-in-differences estimator, are employed. The heterogeneity and influencing mechanism of technology are also considered. Using the 2000–2016 data collected from 30 provinces in mainland China, we confirm that energy-substitution technology effectively promotes a low-carbon economy and that this kind of technology coming from enterprises also provides a better low-carbon economy than those from research institutions, university and individuals. We also find that utility-oriented technology effectively promotes a low-carbon economy than invention-oriented ones. However, invention-oriented technology does raise the degree of the low-carbon economy when it serves to complement utility-oriented technology. The influencing mechanism analysis following a two-step method clearly shows that energy-substitution technology promotes the degrees of low-carbon economy by increasing the use of clean energy.

Impact of Environmental Quality on Healthcare Expenditures in Developing Countries: A Panel Data Approach

Objective: The deterioration in environmental quality has an economic and social cost. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of environmental factors on health expenditures in developing countries. Method: To analyze the relationship between environmental quality (air pollution and temperature) and health expenditure in thirty-three developing countries, the study uses system generalized method of moments (GMM) using data from 2000 to 2017. Results: The results suggest a positive effect of both air pollution and temperature on health expenditure. However, the effect is highest for government health expenditure, followed by private and total health expenditure in the studied countries. The results further suggest that the impact of environmental factors is greater in higher-income countries when we divide the studied countries into two groups, i.e., higher- and lower-income countries. Conclusion: Our results are interesting and informative for the policy makers to design such policies to attain better environmental quality and social well-being. The increased healthcare expenditures due to increased air pollution and climate change necessitate for an efficient, reliable, affordable and modern energy policy by emphasizing the use of clean and renewable energy in these countries that ensure better health for the masses. Furthermore, a smart and sustainable environmentally friendly economic growth policy is necessary to ensure better health for the masses.

Projecting spatiotemporal variations of sunshine duration with regards to climate change in Iran as a step towards clean energy

Iran is a country with great potential for using solar energy. To manage the supply and demand for using solar energy technologies, proper knowledge regarding the areas with homogeneous sunshine duration is essential. Therefore, in this study, the monthly data anomalies were used to determine homogeneous climatic regions over two study periods. The matrix grids were prepared for the base(1981–2018) and future(2041–2080) periods respectively as 456×272 and 480×272 (the number of months and stations). Notably, the future period model was prepared according to two separate Representative Concentration Pathway(RCP) scenarios(4.5 and 8.5). The S-mode input matrix was used to perform principal component analysis(PCA) and Ward’s method was utilized for cluster analysis(CA). Subsequently, the stations were partitioned into different sunshine clusters. Findings showed that 86.6 % of the total variance were involved with seven leading PCs (7clusters for the base period), 67.2 % with four initial RCP4.5 components, and 62.8 % with the first three RCP8.5 components (4 and 3clusters for the future period, respectively). Concerning the sunshine duration, results indicated geographical latitude as the most important factor for the spatial distribution of different clusters. Additionally, global warming was seen to have caused an increase in sunshine hours for 73and 182.5hr/year according to RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 compared to the base period. Therefore, an overview of how climate change could affect sunshine duration in Iran enhances the potential for efficient use of clean solar energy.

Promoting rural households' energy use for cooking: Using Internet

Clean energy is expected to both reduce carbon emissions and enhance well-being, and ‘Internet + energy consumption’ has become a key to facilitating the transformation of energy use for cooking among Chinese farmers. However, few studies have analyzed the relationship between the two based on large-scale micro-data systems. Based on data from the China Labor Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) for 2012, 2014, and 2016, a conditional mixed estimation method (CMP) was used to empirically analyze the impact of Internet use on farmers' clean energy use for cooking, and a mediation effect method was used to further analyze its mechanism of action. The results found that (1) between 2012 and 2016, the energy mix of farmers' cooking was gradually optimized and the proportion of clean energy use increased significantly. (2) Internet use can significantly promote the use of clean energy for cooking by expanding social networks, affecting the use of clean energy for others in social networks and improving the stability of non-farm employment. (3) After considering the health level of farmers and regional heterogeneity, the promotion effect still exists, but farmers with higher health levels and located in the eastern region can better use the Internet to achieve household clean energy conversion. This study is helpful to understand the changes of farmers' cooking energy decisions in the Internet era.

Game Analysis of the Evolution of Energy Structure Transition Considering Low-Carbon Sentiment of the Decision-Makers in the Context of Carbon Neutrality

Countries have started to aggressively undertake energy structure transformation strategies in order to reach the objective of carbon neutrality. Both clean and efficient coal energy use and clean energy use will be crucial to the process of changing the energy structure since the two cannot be totally replaced within a short period of time. In this study, we quantify emotions as an irrational factor, combine them with an evolutionary game using RDEU theory, and build an evolutionary game model between government regulators and energy consumers. We then analyze how low-carbon emotions of decision-makers affect their choice of strategy and the transformation of the energy structure. The findings support that by affecting the relative importance of each strategic choice, emotions have a profound impact on the evolutionary steady state of the system. Appropriate stress and anxiety can increase decision-makers’ feelings of responsibility, while pleasant emotions frequently support strategic conduct. The main countermeasures are as follows: Allow government regulators and energy consumers to properly release positive information, with government regulators forming subsidies and energy consumers actively cooperating and promoting low-carbon activities. This will properly guide the low-carbon sentiment of game subjects to keep them realistically pessimistic.

Simulation and evaluation of float glass furnace with different electrode positions

AbstractIn the glass manufacturing industry, electric melting would greatly improve the energy efficiency and reduce the pollution emission, which agrees with the target of peak carbon and carbon neutrality. In this work, electric boosting system is introduced into float glass furnace, and the influence of varied electrodes positions on glass melting process is investigated. The glass temperature and velocity fields of glass melting tank are obtained using numerical modeling. According to the temperature and velocity fields, the glass trajectories at glass melting tank are tracked, and the residence time distribution and quality indexes of glass melt are statistic as well. Ultimately, the evaluation method is proposed to predict the glass quality and melting efficiency of glass furnace, which is based on the quality indexes of critical particles and longest residence time of glass melt. The accelerated batch melting process and stable convection flow are obtained as the electrodes are installed under batch blanket. Furthermore, the improved glass quality and melting efficiency of glass furnace is obtained. The study is expected to promote the application and optimization of electric boosting system in large‐scale float furnace, which would accelerate the use of clean energy in glass manufacturing industry.

Why do government policy and environmental awareness matter in predicting NEVs purchase intention? Moderating role of education level

Urban transport sector's transition to cleaner energy is needed to help stop global warming. To reduce the sector's dependence on fossil fuels, government are promoting green mode of transportation and it can help reduce air pollution in cities. Our study examines Chinese consumers' environmental awareness and attitude toward new energy vehicle (NEV) policy, and its impact on their attitude toward NEV. Using the theories of planned behavior and social exchange we examine the relative impact of Chinese consumers' attitude toward NEV, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on their purchase intention. Our findings show that consumers' favorable attitude toward government policy and environmental awareness improves the consumers' attitude toward NEV, and a positive attitude toward NEV and the impact of social pressures or evaluations of early adopters help the transition to cleaner energy use by increasing the adoption of NEV. And this study suggests that consumers' education level has a significant moderating effect on their NEV purchase intentions. The study findings provide direction for the government's NEV promotion and application policy for city residents.

Theoretical Progress of 2D Six-Membered-Ring Inorganic Materials as Anodes for Non-Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The use and storage of renewable and clean energy has become an important trend due to resource depletion, environmental pollution, and the rising price of refined fossil fuels. Confined by the limited resource and uneven distribution of lithium, non-lithium-ion batteries have become a new focus for energy storage. The six-membered-ring (SMR) is a common structural unit for numerous material systems. 2DSMR inorganic materials have unique advantages in the field of non-lithium energy storage, such as fast electrochemical reactions, abundant active sites and adjustable band gap. First-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) can provide a basic understanding of materials at the atomic-level and establish the relationship between SMR structural units and electrochemical energy storage. In this review, the theoretical progress of 2D SMR inorganic materials in the field of non-lithium-ion batteries in recent years is discussed to summarize the common relationship among 2D SMR non-lithium energy storage anodes. Finally, the existing challenges are analyzed and potential solutions are proposed.

Energy and Exergy Analysis of a Modified Absorption Heat Pump (MAHP) to Produce Electrical Energy and Revaluated Heat

The novel modified absorption heat pump (MAHP) with the H2O-LiBr working mixture for cogeneration applications is introduced. The MAHP can simultaneously produce electric energy and heat revaluation. The proposed system has the particularity that it can be powered by alternative thermal sources (such as solar energy, biomass, geothermal) or industrial waste heat, thus promoting the production and efficient use of clean energy. The effects of pressure ratio (RP), source or supply temperature (TGH), and the energy revaluation gradient (GTL) are analyzed. The critical parameters of the proposed system are evaluated, including thermal efficiency (ηTh), exergetic efficiency (ηEx), revaluated heat (Q˙A), as well as net power produced (˙Wnet). For the MAHP analysis, RP and TGH operating ranges were chosen at 1.1–15.0 and 100–160 °C, respectively. The results show that ηEx of 87% can be obtained, having the maximum performance in TGH of 120 °C, RP of 1.1, and GTL of 35 °C. The ηTh varies between 51% and 55%, having a maximum GTL of 45 °C. On the other hand, ˙Wnet achieves values between 260 and 582 kW, depending on the defined operating conditions.