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Energy consumption reduction and energy efficiency improvement are recognized as global priorities in the context of the green economy and sustainable development. In this paper, determinants of energy efficiency and energy consumption for the panel of 11 post-communist countries in the Eastern Europe during 1996-2013 are investigated. The stochastic frontier function approach and comparative analysis were used to examine long-run dynamic relations. The research results show that GDP growth is a key factor increasing both energy efficiency and energy consumption. The research results on energy efficiency relations show that CO2 emissions per capita, a fixed capital and the share of industry in the economy are other important drives. In the context of per capita energy consumption growth, the factors of structural changes determined by industry share in the national economy and innovation concerned with development and implementation of high technologies are significant. The European Union accession and participation in the European energy policy promote to energy efficiency improvements in the post-communist countries while progress in governance and enterprise restructuring as measured by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is not important for energy efficiency and per capita energy consumption in the post-communist countries. According to the research results, energy efficiency policy in the sample countries should be aimed at providing further economic growth enhancing a positive impact of other factors and implementing energy efficiency projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pan-European opinion surveys are carried out regularly in all European member states on behalf of the European Commission. From time to time, these 'Eurobarometer' surveys focus on energy related issues. This paper draws on three such surveys across a period of almost 20 years (1984, 1993 and 2002) in order to examine temporal trends in individual actions and intentions concerning energy efficiency across European member states. The main focus is on broad energy efficiency measures and the differences in stated actions and intentions over time and between countries. The paper examines whether actions and intentions differ according to socio-economic factors such as age, gender and education, and whether these differences are stable over time. Levels of public support for different types of energy efficiency instruments are also examined. The paper indicates that reported actions concerning energy efficiency have remained relatively stable over time in most European countries but intentions to do more have declined. Socio-economic variables such as age, gender and education appear to influence actions and intentions to save energy, suggesting that there is a social divide regarding energy conservation. Evidence suggests that many Europeans believe that they have already done what they can in terms of reducing their own energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the European economists' view on energy policy statements made by the Commission of European Communities. The European Union issued energy policy statements including "Green Paper: A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy," "The Energy Challenge: Energy Review Report 2006," and "Global Energy Security." The said statements have certain similarities and pertinent distinctions. The common feature is that they attempt to appeal to all interest groups. Each claims to aim an achieving goal concerning energy efficiency, global energy security, and protection of the environment.

European energy policy has not faced up to something about which there is increasingly little doubt: global reduction, or even stabilisation in energy use will not be achieved unless Europe and the other rich OECD countries aim at significantly curbing their energy services (heat, light, motive power, mobility and so on). The policy makers at the centre of the policy discourse on energy sustainability suffer from a form for self-deception which revolves around the equation of 'efficiency' with 'reduction' and 'sustainability', i.e., the untenable contention that technological and market efficiency alone will offset continued growth in energy services to the extent that deep reductions in energy use are possible. Many researchers and environmentalists seem to have, partly for strategic reasons, adapted to this view and thereby supported politicians in the selfdeception. In this paper we use results from India and China, with more than one third of the world population, to show how there is likely to be dramatic increases in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in those countries over the next halfcentury. Much of this increase will be in conjunction with the development of basic services and infrastructure for homes, businesses, transport, health and public services, so that it is neither ethical nor even practical to argue for restrictions in overall energy growth in these and other developing countries. This places the onus for deep reductions in energy use on Europe, North America and the other affluent countries. The paper explores what such a change of focus would mean for policy and research agendas, and why there is friction to moving the policy envelope from 'efficiency' to also include 'sufficiency'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the status of renewable energy sources in Europe. It is stated that an implied contribution of the renewable energy sources to an endurable energy system has been adopted at the national, European and global level. The scope of renewable energy at the European level has been increasing over the years. It is targeted that the primary share of the renewable energy sources of the European energy mix will increase by 20 percent by 2020. Least cost allocation methods would be implemented for the development of renewable energy sources in Europe.

The present study discusses alternative ways of achieving optimum energy efficiency for historic buildings in areas where sustainable energy projects are planned. About 25% of Europe's building stock was constructed before the mid-20th century and despite EU's strenuous efforts for the protection and conservation of historic buildings and complexes, achieving energy efficiency with the minimum or preferably no intervention remains as a requirement. The settlement of Monemvasia, has been selected as our case study. A model building was chosen, its special characteristics are presented, and four solutions to the energy efficiency upgrade of the building were tested: (a) the application of internal insulation, (b) a heat pump installation, (c) the application of roof insulation, and (d) the replacement of the internal doorframes. The four scenarios were simulated via the TEE-KENAK software and the percentage of the annual energy saved through the application of each one of the mentioned measures was estimated. The results proved that installing a heat pump and internal insulation would maximise energy savings. Coupling the energy demand of the settlement in correlation with a wind energy project in the wider area, and the available curtailment was explored. The results showed that if 300 houses decide on acquiring their electricity consumption from the local wind independent power producer, at a price of EUR 35/MWh, the possible profit from the market could reach EUR100,000 per year. Such a business-driven concept could be extrapolated and evolve into a holistic wind energy and historic environment symbiosis setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks, within the extended framework of the so-called environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), to analyse the nonlinear effect of economic growth and energy consumption on environmental pollution (measured by CO2 emissions) in 30 countries, over the period 2000 – 2018. The panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model is used to allow such a relationship between variables in different economic regimes to be determined. According to the analysis results, this study strengthens the idea that the relationship can be described as a shaped business cycle, in which economic growth first increases environmental degradation, and then, after a certain growth (income) level has been reached, reduces it. This business cycle relationship suggests that environmental improvements will eventually occur as economies grow. Another implication of these results is the importance of using energy in a greener way to combat climate change and to sustain economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the need to address the issues arising from the uncontrolled growth of photovoltaic installations, such as intermittence and unpredictability of the generation that cause loss of balance in the grid, becomes unavoidable. Promising solutions for minimizing grid injection are the combination of photovoltaic generation with electricity energy storage and load management, the latter commonly known as Demand Side Management. These strategies together with incentives for self-consumption or energy independence from the network will allow facilitating the integration of the always-increasing generation of renewable energy. In Europe, the usage of residential energy grid-interactive energy storage systems for buffering of surplus photovoltaic generation is becoming a field of growing interest and market activity, as a consequence of the less attractive photovoltaic feed-in-tariffs in the near future and incentives to promote self-consumption. This study aims to evaluate the energy exchange with the grid and the rate of self-consumption of combined photovoltaic–electricity energy storage systems dedicated to residential and small commercial prosumers. More specifically, several combinations of sizes of photovoltaic plant, annual household consumptions and electricity energy storage capacity were evaluated. This analysis aims to identify which arrangement among photovoltaic power, electricity consumption and battery capacity allows reaching the highest ratio of self-sufficiency and consequently minimizing the energy exchanged with the grid. Moreover, the financial analysis of the photovoltaic–electricity energy storage system has been performed for verifying the economic viability of the photovoltaic–electricity energy storage systems under the Italian current market and economic circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the vulnerability and resilience in the energy system of Europe. It examines the external and internal dynamics, as well as the vulnerability of the energy system. It notes that resilience in the energy system is narrowly defined in terms of either reliability or durability. It points out that reducing the vulnerability of the European Union Energy requires policy interventions that steer the direction of development towards embedding resilience. Further, it explores the resilience and adaptive capacity for energy systems.

In 1997, the European Union adopted the ambitious target of doubling the share of renewables in total primary energy consumption by 2010. However, by 2003 the EU was still recording low achievement levels, due largely to variation in the generosity and stability of member-state policies to support the diffusion of renewable energy. This article surveys national variation in the diffusion of renewable energy, linking this variation to the degree of ambition in governmental policies. After discussing what drives national policies, we conclude that policy ambitiousness reflects the degree to which salient national energy-related problems converge around renewable energy diffusion as a joint solution. Countries with ambitious renewable energy policies are found to have many unsolved national energy-related problems and an abundant primary renewable energy resource base that could be developed for solving these problems. Countries with less ambitious policies, on the other hand, have fewer salient national energy-related problems or a less abundant renewable energy resource base. Among energy-related problems, the lack of national energy security in combination with policy ambitions to assist new industrial activities emerges as a particularly forceful policy driver. A side-effect of the convergence of many national problems around renewable energy diffusion as solution is that strong advocacy coalitions can more readily be forged to lobby for generous and stable governmental renewable energy policies. Local-level factors will, however, condition the effect of central government policies. Countries that have ensured co-decision power for local communities and benefit-sharing rights in renewable energy development are more likely to sec their ambitious national policies result in diffusion, in contrast to countries with policies that ignore demands at the local level. The UK and Spain, representing low- and high-diffusion countries, respectively, are here discussed as major cases, supported by evidence from other EU member countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]