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In the context of power system decarbonization, the demand-side strategy for increasing the share of renewable energy is studied for two constrained energy systems. This strategy, which is currently widely suggested in policies on the energy transition, would impact consumer behavior. Despite the importance of studying the latter, the focus here is on decisions regarding the type, location, and timeframe of implementing the related measures. As such, solutions must be assessed in terms of cost and feasibility, technological learning, and by considering geographical and environmental constraints. Based on techno-economic optimization, in this paper we analyze the evolution of the power system and elaborate plausible long-term trajectories in the energy systems of two European islands. The case studies, Procida in Italy and Hinnøya in Norway, are both electrically connected to the mainland by submarine cables and present issues in their power systems, which are here understood as relatively isolated power systems. Renewable energy integration is encouraged by legislative measures in Italy. Although not modeled here, they serve as a backbone for the assumptions of increasing these investments. For Procida, rooftop photovoltaics (PV) coupled with energy storage are integrated in the residential, public, and tertiary sectors. A price-based strategy is also applied reflecting the Italian electricity tariff structure. At a certain price difference between peak and off-peak, the electricity supply mix changes, favoring storage technologies and hence decreasing imports by up to 10% during peak times in the year 2050. In Norway, renewable energy resources are abundant. The analysis for Hinnøya showcases possible cross-sectoral flexibilities through electrification, leading to decarbonization. By fine-tuning electric vehicle charging tactics and leveraging Norway's electricity pricing model, excess electricity demand peaks can be averted. The conclusions of this double-prospective study provide a comparative analysis that presents the lessons learnt and makes replicability recommendations for other territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original feature of this paper is the development of a toolkit for the decarbonisation of Mediterranean islands. The defined methodology was aimed to develop framework, skills and capabilities, coordinating and tailoring predictive assessment tools, analysing three alternative scenarios for the penetration of renewable sources into the energy system by 2030, consistently with a rationale of integration between technologies, production sectors and available funds. The findings of the research cofinanced by the European Programme Interreg Med (2014-2020) support Local Authorities by developing more effective methods and databases to plan and manage interventions in favour of the energy and cultural transition also through energy communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, one of the key postulates in the European Union's policy has become the development of renewable energy sources. In order to achieve the desired synergy effect, the idea of combining two selected sources of energy appeared. This article presents a technical and economic analysis of a hybrid connection of a ground source heat pump with a photovoltaic installation. Taking into account the heat demand of the building, a ground heat pump with a catalog nominal heating power of 25 kW was selected. This article presents the problem of the economic profitability of using a hybrid combination of a heat pump and photovoltaic panels in domestic hot water and central heating systems. The justification for the use of such heat sources in these installations is due to global trends and the gradual departure from conventional energy sources such as oil or gas boilers. This paper presents the economic and ecological results of using the pump heat connected together with photovoltaic panels. In the economic analysis, with the assumed installation costs related to the use of the considered heat pump and PV, two parameters commonly used in the investment analysis (static and dynamic) were used, namely, the simple payback period and the net present value of the investment. For the adopted assumptions, the usable area of the facility and the number of years of use were indicated, at which the investment in question is competitive with other alternative investment interest methods and will start to bring tangible benefits. The performed analysis also has measurable environmental benefits in the form of a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions at the level of 2893 kg/year into the atmosphere. The presented solution will help future investors understand the investment profitability mechanism for their households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As environmental pollution deteriorates, the acceleration of decarbonization worldwide is underway. Several countries, including Korea, are incorporating new and renewable energy into existing systems, and various methods of decarbonization are being researched. With changes in the control environment, the expansion of the system linkage of new and renewable energy can cause system instability problems. This paper introduces an operation plan that uses the fast response characteristics of energy storage system(s) (ESS) to improve stability and review system stability as a result of the expansion of new and renewable energy on Jeju Island. Frequency stability was ensured through an analysis of frequency response characteristics in the event of a system accident, and an efficient ESS operation plan was simulated by changing the ESS parameters. Through this simulation, stable ESS operation and hunting in the frequency recovery process were minimized through cooperation between the existing and new ESS via a wide dead-band range and speed adjustment rate correction, and the lowest frequency was improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major consumption of energy around the globe is related to human activities. However, it may be essential to quantify how renewable energy consumption influence process of human development. This particular area of research still needs to be explored. Thus, this paper explores the relationship between renewable energy consumption, economic growth and human development index for 1990–2014 in Pakistan by using Two-Stage Least Square (2SLS) method. Empirical results reveal that renewable energy consumption does not improve the situation of the human development process in Pakistan. More, interestingly higher the income of the country the lower is level of human development. In addition, the CO 2 emission is helpful to improve human development index. Furthermore, trade openness discourages human development process in Pakistan. Furthermore, causality analysis confirms feedback hypothesis between environmental factor and human development process in the long run path. These novel findings would help policymaker and government officials to better understand the role of renewable energy and economic growth in the human development process in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is the first attempt to investigate the nexus of per capita renewable energy, agriculture, and CO 2 emissions, together with output and non-renewable energy, in a 1992–2013 sample of BRICS countries. Panel unit root tests indicate that all the time series data are stationary in first difference, and panel co-integration tests prove the existence of co-integration relationship between the variables. The three panel long-run elasticities demonstrate that both per capita output and renewable energy play negative roles in emissions, while per capita nonrenewable energy and agriculture exert positive effects on emissions. Moreover, there is a feedback hypothetical relationship of CO 2 emissions and non-renewable energy, unidirectional relationships from renewable energy to both emissions and non-renewable energy, from agricultural value added to output, and from output to non-renewable energy in the short-run. In the long-run, causalities are found from other variables to emissions, and to non-renewable energy use. Therefore, BRICS countries’ policymakers should encourage the consumption of renewable energy and strengthen the management of agriculture to halt global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the transition to renewable energy systems, national plans are being created for several countries around the world. Concurrently, regions, municipalities and cities are planning for CO 2 neutral and renewable energy systems. Both developments are necessary, which raises the question whether these two types of energy planning are coordinated. How should national plans specify local actions, and how should local plans take into account the surrounding development of the energy system? Most local plans rely on the surrounding energy systems as they need to integrate with the energy system to export excess production or import during demands with insufficient capacity. This paper suggests a methodology to analyse how well these local plans integrate with the surrounding national energy system. The methodology is applied to the two Danish examples of Copenhagen and Sønderborg. Both examples connect to the Danish 2030 scenario defined in the Coherent Energy and Environmental System Analysis study. Based on the results the study concludes that the suggested methodology is applicable for evaluating how well local and national energy systems integrate, and can potentially be used in bettering energy planning to include the benefits of local action and national coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption has dramatically increased in buildings over the past decade due to population growth, more time spent indoors, increased demand for building functions and indoor environmental quality, and global climate change. Building energy use currently accounts for over 40% of total primary energy consumption in the U.S. and E.U. Nevertheless, significant energy savings can be achieved in buildings if they are properly designed, constructed and operated. For this reason, building energy efficiency can provide key solutions to energy shortages, carbon emissions and their serious threat to our living environment. This paper offers a brief overview of building energy-consumption situations, relevant energy-saving approaches, and the influence of global climate change. Building energy-consumption situations based on data derived from international energy reports are initially compared between the U.S., China and the E.U. Both similarities and differences are found in aspects of building energy end-uses and final energy fuel-types among these top three building energy consumers. We then introduce the current concept of the zero-energy building (ZEB). State-of-the-art approaches for ZEB technologies are summarized in three categories: passive energy-saving technologies, energy-efficient building service systems and renewable energy production technologies. The feasibility of these technologies is reviewed. In addition, we briefly discuss the influence of global climate change on the evolution of building energy use in the future. We find that climate change significantly impacts building energy performance, particularly in space heating and cooling. Improvements on building envelope and ventilation can play an important role in reducing space heating and cooling consumption levels. We also provide some suggestions for further developing ZEBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite considerable mitigation efforts, global emissions from the electricity sector continued to grow in recent years. In Australia, the electricity sector is the largest CO 2 -emitting industry, contributing 35% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions. The Australian government targets an 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 relative to 2010. With a large variety and quantity of renewable energy resources, it is technically feasible and seems indispensable that Australia's electricity sector be largely decarbonised by 2050 in order to achieve this target. In this paper, scenario-based hybrid Life-Cycle Assessment is applied to calculate the economy-wide carbon footprints of seven electricity generation technologies in scenarios with differing renewable electricity penetration. This work is the first to apply a full life-cycle approach to scenario analysis of electricity generation in Australia. The findings are at the higher end of previously reported carbon footprint intensity ranges and above median values. However, even when taking into account indirect emissions along the technologies' life-cycles, the results indicate that the employment of different renewable energy technologies can potentially save a considerable fraction of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. This makes renewables an essential option for climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we study development patterns of Latvian electricity market. It is done based on a newly developed computer-aided simulation model. System dynamics approach was used to simulate long-term development of electricity sector in the region under the existing policy design. Results demonstrate that renewable energy sources have a high potential to integrate in the electricity generation balance. Important preconditions for this to happen are: presence of appropriate support measures, a continuous technological progress and fossil fuel price increase. Under such scenario around 70% carbon dioxide emission savings can be achieved by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal energy storage (TES) for a cooling plant is a crucial resource for load flexibility. Traditionally, simple, heuristic control approaches, such as the storage priority control which charges TES during the nighttime and discharges during the daytime, have been widely used in practice, and shown reasonable performance in the past benefiting both the grid and the end-users such as buildings and district energy systems. However, the increasing penetration of renewables changes the situation, exposing the grid to a growing duck curve, which encourages the consumption of more energy in the daytime, and volatile renewable generation which requires dynamic planning. The growing pressure of diminishing greenhouse gas emissions also increases the complexity of cooling TES plant operations as different control strategies may apply to optimize operations for energy cost or carbon emissions. This paper presents a model predictive control (MPC), site demonstration and evaluation results of optimal operation of a chiller plant, TES and behind-meter photovoltaics for a campus-level district cooling system. The MPC was formulated as a mixed-integer linear program for better numerical and control properties. Compared with baseline rule-based controls, the MPC results show reductions of the excess PV power by around 25%, of the greenhouse gas emission by 10%, and of peak electricity demand by 10%. • Experimentally demonstrated an MPC for a campus-scale cooling plant system. • Present MPC's real performance for renewable integration and decarbonization. • First MPC demonstration in response to a real time grid carbon signal. • Achieved reductions of the excess PV power by 25%, and of the CO2 emission by 10% • Share lessons-learned during the demonstration to facilitate MPC deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy can play an important role in India's climate change mitigation, as India has great potential for renewables, especially solar and wind. This paper analyses the role of renewables to meet India's possible 2050 climate change mitigation targets using a multi-region global energy system model called TIAM-UCL, where India is explicitly represented as a separate region. TIAM-UCL is a cost optimisation model. The climate policy is applied to all regions in the model based on equal per capita emissions of 1.3 tCO 2 by 2050. Analysis shows that renewable energy can play an important role to decarbonise the economy, especially the power sector. Two low-carbon scenarios are explored, the first allowing for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology deployment and the second excluding this technology. In the first low-carbon scenario (LC1), the most critical renewable energy technologies in the power sector are biomass with CCS, solar and wind. In the second low-carbon scenario (LC2), without CCS, there is an even greater role for solar and wind. Over the whole Indian economy, by 2050 renewables contribute 57% of the total CO 2 reductions in LC1 (relative to a reference scenario with no CO 2 target) and 63% of the CO 2 reductions in LC2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy policy is too often not designed for energy consumers in a low-cost and consumer-friendly manner. This paper proposes a novel Stackelberg game and Blockchain-based framework that enables consumer-centric decarbonization by automating iterative negotiations between policy makers and consumers or generators to reduce carbon emissions. This iterative negotiation is modeled as a Stackelberg game-theoretic problem, and securely facilitated by Blockchain technologies. The policy maker formulates carbon prices and monetary compensation rates to dynamically incentivize the carbon reduction, whereas consumers and generators schedule their power profiles to minimize bills and maximize profits of generation, respectively. The negotiating agreement is yielded by reaching a Stackelberg equilibrium. The exchanged information and controlling functions are realized by using smart contracts of Blockchain technologies. Case studies of GB power systems show that the proposed framework can incentivize 9% more bill savings for consumers and 45.13% more energy generation from renewable energy sources. As a consumer-centric decarbonization framework, it can at least reduce carbon emissions by 40%. [Display omitted] • A novel consumer-centric and negotiation-based framework to decarbonize power systems. • A Blockchain based platform to integrate the exchanged information and controlling functions of the power system scheduling into data structures, nodes, and smart contracts of Blockchain networks. • How Blockchain based platform can prevent cyber attacks is discussed. • Case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework in the context of Great Britain power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper theoretically investigates the system made up of fluidized bed gasifier, SGT-100 gas turbine and bottoming steam cycle. Different configurations of the combined cycle plant are examined. A comparison is made between systems with producer gas and natural gas fired turbine. Supplementary firing of the producer gas in a heat recovery steam generator is also taken into account. The performance of the gas turbine is investigated using in-house built Engineering Equation Solver model. Steam cycle is modeled using GateCycleTM simulation software. The results are compared in terms of electric energy generation efficiency, CO2 emission and fossil fuel energy savings. Finally there is performed an economic analysis of a sample project. The results show relatively good performance in the both alternative configurations at different rates of supplementary firing. Furthermore, positive values of economic indices were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From an empirical point of view, the liberalization of the internal energy market reduces carbon dioxide emissions, promoting a wider range of renewable energy sources. The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of the liberalization of the internal energy market on CO2 emissions, which was implemented in the European Union in 2011. The research data cover 27 countries of the European Union during the period 2004–2017 and was processed by estimating a two-way effects econometric model. The results suggest that the liberalization of the internal energy market is negatively related to CO2 emissions; the policy was effective in reducing CO2 emissions and, therefore, slowing down climate change. This result is significant at the level of the European Union, and in high-income countries since the year the policy was implemented, being different in the upper-middle-income countries, which begins to be effective after two years, which is due to the economic characteristics of the countries. The public policies to be implemented to reduce carbon dioxide emissions should focus on reducing the barriers imposed on foreign trade, which prevent efficient use of resources and providing financial and operating facilities to renewable energy providers in order to stimulate their production and consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From an empirical point of view, the liberalization of the internal energy market reduces carbon dioxide emissions, promoting a wider range of renewable energy sources. The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of the liberalization of the internal energy market on CO2 emissions, which was implemented in the European Union in 2011. The research data cover 27 countries of the European Union during the period 2004–2017 and was processed by estimating a two-way effects econometric model. The results suggest that the liberalization of the internal energy market is negatively related to CO2 emissions; the policy was effective in reducing CO2 emissions and, therefore, slowing down climate change. This result is significant at the level of the European Union, and in high-income countries since the year the policy was implemented, being different in the upper-middle-income countries, which begins to be effective after two years, which is due to the economic characteristics of the countries. The public policies to be implemented to reduce carbon dioxide emissions should focus on reducing the barriers imposed on foreign trade, which prevent efficient use of resources and providing financial and operating facilities to renewable energy providers in order to stimulate their production and consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]