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Industry poses one of the biggest challenges in the renewable energy transition. In this paper, fossil fuels in the European industrial sector are replaced by renewable energy using a novel tool, IndustryPLAN, a planning tool for the assessment of national industrial sectors. In a bottom-up approach, each industry sub-sector is addressed with energy efficiency and fossil fuel replacement measures based on best available and innovative technologies, and in a top-down approach, the fuel and electricity consumption per country is analysed and decarbonised. The results indicate that: 1. Known technologies can decarbonise most of the industrial sector; 2. Costs and efficiencies are improved by energy savings and electrification; 3. Limiting bioenergy consumption is a critical challenge, emphasising the key role of energy savings and electrification, and the alternative of using hydrogen or hydrogen-based electrofuels will make the transition more expensive and induce energy losses. A full transition to renewable energy and a decarbonised industry sector may be possible before 2050, however, this requires that all investments are sustainable from 2030 onwards and that grid electricity is fully decarbonised. This paper presents several pathways toward 100% renewable energy supply in the European industrial sector and discusses the implications of the outlined scenarios. • Four tangible 100% renewable energy scenarios for industry in EU27 + UK are established. • 100% renewable energy in industry is feasible before 2050. • Energy efficiency improvements are essential to limit biomass consumption. • Industry energy transition needs to be prioritised in short- and long-term planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cost of heat savings in buildings increase as more heat savings are achieved and hence, alternatives other than savings typically become more economically feasible at a certain level of heat reductions. The challenge addressed in this paper is to identify when the cost of heat savings become more expensive than the cost of sustainable heat supply, so society does not overinvest in heat saving measures. This study first investigates the heat saving potentials for different countries in Europe, along with their associated costs, followed by a comparison with alternative ways of supplying sustainable heating. Furthermore, the levelised cost of supplying sustainable heat is estimated for both a single technology and from an energy system perspective. The results are analysed by assessing various parameters such as socio-economic costs and energy efficiency improvements in the national energy systems. The results demonstrate the economically feasible levels of heat savings and heat production for various European countries, highlighting differences in their national conditions and energy systems. The findings in this paper indicate that overinvestments in heat savings can be avoided by saving heat until a level around 30–50% of projected heat demands and supplying the remaining heat demand with sustainable heat sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By 2020 Europe has to increase its energy efficiency and share of renewables in 20%. However, even accomplishing these challenging objectives Europe will be effectively wasting energy as we demonstrate in this paper. In our way towards a fully renewable scenario, we need at least to stop wasting energy in order to guarantee the energy supply needed for growth and comfort. We waste energy when we employ more primary energy than the final energy we ultimately use and this excess cannot be reutilized. In this paper we propose the WE (wasted energy) as a novel metric to measure the performance of energy systems and set up appropriate targets. The WE incorporates information about energy efficiency and renewable sources. Unlike European legislation, the WE considers them in an integrated way. This approach will help Member States to exploit their intrinsic capabilities and design their optimum strategy to reach their objectives. Using the information in Eurostat, we calculate the WE of Member States in EU-28 and their evolution. We also analyze illustrative examples to highlight strategies to reduce the WE, study the connection between economic development and WE, and provide a tool to diagnose the potential of improvement of an energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defines the diverging interests of multiple actors in typically achieving and advancing energy efficiency. Gaps in the literature include the short elaboration of energy efficiency factors and conditions and the lack of information about developed and developing countries and thorough consideration of their specific features, impeding the development and implementation of detailed energy efficiency management strategies. It is against this backdrop that this paper seeks to identify the essence of energy efficiency and developing specific recommendations for achieving the most beneficial effect and well-balanced energy efficiency on the global scale, within the achievements of international goals in sustainable development. The paper exposes the critical factors of energy efficiency, accurately models the best energy efficiency characteristics, and settles the best energy consumption structure. The methodological purpose is to find different energy efficiency scenarios and disentangle fundamental differences in energy efficiency in developed and developing countries. The paper indicates that the reasonable likelihood of noteworthy achievement results in energy efficiency with insignificant mid-term changes. We give recommendations about well-balanced energy efficiency on the global scale and global progress in sustainable development. • This paper disentangles key differences in energy efficiency in developed and developing countries. • We identify the essence of energy efficiency and develop recommendations for achieving balanced energy efficiency globally. • The paper models the best energy efficiency characteristics and settles the best energy consumption structure. • We give recommendations about well-balanced energy efficiency in sustainable development. • The study shows energy consumption optimization in terms of GDP structure, energy consumption, and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High energy efficiency for low operating cost of desalination can be obtained from operational optimizations as well as component-wise innovations. This paper is concerned with an energy-efficient operation for reverse osmosis (RO) desalination process involving a joint control of multiple modules. Energy resource considered for desalination is of two types: intermittent solar energy and steady grid energy. With solar energy, the energy efficiency is measured by total permeate production obtained while the solar energy is available. With grid energy, the energy efficiency is measured by the power consumed to get unit permeate production rate. Achieving maximum energy efficiency is equivalent to solving constrained optimization. For the constrained optimization, obligatory constraints are given by the permissible ranges of trans-membrane pressure on RO membrane and total dissolved solids of permeate, and optional constraint is given by the permissible range of permeate production rate. Constraints as well as the objective function are modeled by the empirical second order equations in terms of control variables of multiple modules. Jointly optimal values of the control variables are found by the sequential quadratic programming. Experimental results obtained by the jointly optimal control demonstrate superior performances as compared to those acquired by marginally optimal control schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although several studies have recognized the challenges brought about the high integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES), research has yet to systematically investigate the effects of different levels of Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs) on power systems with a high share of RES. The primary aim of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate the economic impact of different levels of energy efficiency investments in systems with a high share of RES, based on the case of Brazil. Our review analysis revealed a lack of understanding of how to calculate the Long-term Average Cost of Saved Electricity (LACoSE). Therefore, the methodological contribution of this research also lies in the proposition of a step-by-step procedure to estimate this variable. Findings of this study suggest that EEMs may result in a reduction in the expected new installed capacity between 1.9% and 10.3%, and from 0.4% to 4.3% for the total CO 2 emissions (for reductions in the final electricity demand varying from 1% to 5% respectively). This comes with a decrease in the overall system costs between 1.9% and 7.7%. The results provide further support for the hypothesis that the economic impacts of energy efficiency investments and its cost-effectiveness are affected by the share of RES in the power system and these type of measures may provide holistic benefits including not only economic advantages but also environmental and social improvements. The proposed methodology largely extends beyond the case addressed as it may provide valuable lessons for other electricity systems. • Cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency measures is assessed for a renewable system. • A methodology is proposed to calculate the Long-term Average Cost of Saved Electricity (LACoSE). • The economic benefits are positive for the power system evaluated. • Results are not highly influenced by the estimated LACoSE. • Findings would support the development of effective energy efficiency policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]