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Abstract This paper develops an analytical approach to explore institutional barriers to spatial integration between renewable energy (RE) and other land use functions and provides insight into opportunities for institutional harmonization between involved policy domains. Spatial integration of RE with other land use functions provides opportunities to use limited amounts of space more efficiently, allowing for a more fluent roll-out of renewable technologies. However, such integration requires the involvement of various policy domains that are each guided by specific institutional frameworks, which are often tailored to specific sectoral needs. Therefore, spatial integration of RE and other land use functions requires institutional harmonization between involved policy domains. However, there is limited guidance in literature on how such harmonization does or could occur. Moreover, while literature on RE recognizes the merits of institutional approaches, it focuses on institutions as the formal rules of the game, often disregarding the agency component (the 'play of the game'). The analytical approach developed in this paper combines the Institutional Analysis and Development framework with insights from Discursive Institutionalism. The approach enables structured assessment of relationships within and between established institutions (the 'rules of the game') and actors' ideas, interpretations and deliberations regarding these institutions (the 'play of the game'), providing insight in processes of institutional harmonization. This analytical approach is applied to the case of spatial integration of photovoltaics with national transport infrastructure networks in the Netherlands. The findings from the case show that (1) insight in interrelations between institutional barriers is crucial for addressing institutional harmonization; (2) institutional harmonization within policy domains is a precondition for harmonization between policy domains; and (3) the agency component (play of the game) is key to successful harmonization. In conclusion, the analytical approach provides insight into the co-evolution between the rules of the game and the play of the game, which is pivotal to institutional harmonization. Highlights • Spatial integration of renewable energy requires institutional harmonization. • Institutional harmonization requires insight in dynamic, interrelated institutions. • Harmonization is conditioned by actors' ideas and interpretation of institutions. • Harmonization between policy domains also requires harmonization in these domains. • Research is needed regarding the role of agency in improving harmonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies targeting energy efficiency and renewable energy are sometimes viewed as more politically feasible than carbon pricing in pursuit of emission reduction goals. This paper assesses underlying drivers of energy policy development. These factors include economic, social, environmental, and institutional variables. The between estimator for panel data is an appropriate method for our focus on some exogenous variables that vary more across countries than over time. We find that larger oil reserves per capita have a negative relationship with renewable energy policy development. Education and political globalisation have strong positive relationships with both energy-efficiency and renewable-energy policy development. These results suggest that greater participation in global political groups can be an indirect approach toward energy policy development, in cases where direct and immediate policies are hard to implement. OECD countries have higher policy scores by 33 and 25 points in energy efficiency and renewable energy respectively. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis shows that these higher scores are primarily due to social and political institution predictors rather than economics and physical endowments. • Large-n cross country international sample on continuous policy score measurement. • Political globalisation is positively linked with renewables and energy efficiency policies. • Education is positively linked to energy policy development, especially for efficiency. • Higher OECD countries' policy scores are primarily due to social and political predictors. • Higher incomes are unlikely to lead to automatic improvements in energy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability transition of electricity sectors is a matter of competition between multiple emerging renewable systems and dominant, established conventional systems. These transitions are multi-dimensional and are featured with non-linear and causal interactions between social, technical, economic and political components. Understanding the dynamic of transitions, i.e. how transitions unfold, can inform effective policy interventions. This paper aims to present a narrative-modelling approach to improve the understanding and description of transition dynamics in electricity sectors. The central ideas of the paper are: (1) the use of qualitative transition narratives helps to capture the co-evolving nature of society and technology which are simplified in modelling approaches; (2) narratives, with concepts from the sustainability transitions field, also guide the development of a model structure; and (3) computational models, in return, reproduce the complexity of transition dynamics, i.e. feedback loops, non-linearity, and time delays—the features which are impracticable to analyse with transition narratives alone. We use the historical transition of India's electricity sector to demonstrate the implementation of our proposed approach. First, an overview of the transition narratives is presented and the model structure, developed based on the narratives, is explained. Then, it is argued how the coupling of the narratives and model improves our understating of the positive impacts as well as the side-effects of stable feed-in tariffs and accelerated depreciation on the penetration levels of wind and solar electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a complete and reliable ranking to the states of India in the renewable energy generation arena. The methodology adopted in the article rests on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). One of the recently developed super-efficiency DEA formulations is integrated with a procedure to allow for non-discretionary input variables. The integration may fail to be feasible in certain cases. To deal with infeasibility, a heuristics is proposed. Using a simulation, it is demonstrated that the approach yields complete and fairly reliable rankings in the vast majority of the cases. Tamil Nadu appears as the leader followed by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are the laggards. Rankings will be useful for policy-makers in identifying the leaders and the laggards in the renewable energy sector, and hence, for fine tuning the policies to promote better renewable energy deployment. Rankings will also be helpful for investors in the sector by providing them with a simple tool to identify lucrative investment options. The approach is fairly generalizable to many other practical cases. Image 1 • Super-efficiency DEA model is amalgamated with non-discretionary input model. • A heuristics is used to avoid infeasibility; its efficacy is shown via simulation. • Indian states are ranked based on performance in renewable energy sector. • Tamil Nadu appears as the leader and Madhya Pradesh as the laggard. • Further application is demonstrated by providing ranks to countries in wind energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limiting the negative effects of human-induced global warming is the focus of climate policy worldwide. In the European Union (EU), the target for reaching carbon neutrality is set to 2050, including a proposed renewable energy target of 45% for 2030. In Finland, the government has pledged to reach net-zero emissions already by 2035, which is expected to require large increases in wind and nuclear capacity, as well as sector coupling with, e.g., transport and heating. In view of these plans, this study evaluates the feasibility of attaining carbon neutrality in Finland by 2035, while considering delays from potential bottlenecks, such as limited raw material availability, fuel availability, manufacturing capacity, and import reliance. The literature review highlights the considerable dependence of renewable technologies on critical raw materials and other minerals, largely imported from non-EU countries. Modelling revealed how increased biomass usage considerably reduces the size of national carbon sinks, vital for reaching net-zero emissions in Finland in the coming decade. In light of this, current climate strategy was shown to be partially outdated and short of reaching carbon neutrality by 2035, already without including potential delays from the analyzed bottlenecks. Subsequently, alternative measures to improve sustainability and reduce emissions are presented. The findings of this paper are also relevant for other countries aiming to reach net-zero emissions, especially for those which have climate strategies emphasizing bioenergy and wind power. [Display omitted] • Raw material and manufacturing bottlenecks can delay renewable implementation. • Maintaining carbon sinks critical for climate neutral Finland in 2035. • Limits to biomass usage are needed, but result in adverse industrial impacts. • Further nuclear capacity needed for 2035 climate target and electricity sufficiency. • Finland will rely on electricity imports in 2035, despite plans to become exporter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the positive momentum achieved by the renewable energy sector in recent years, there are substantial challenges that need the attention of the global community, and one of the more pressing issues is dealing with the deleterious external costs of power generation. One of the parameters to compare costs of energy across various technologies is levelised cost of energy (LCOE), but it has been conventional practice to neglect the external costs in estimating the LCOE of power generation technologies. Furthermore, as LCOE is a critical indicator for policy and decision makers, there is a need to juxtapose actual costs of renewable and conventional power generation technologies. This research paper attempts to internalise some of these external and GHG emission costs across various power generation and storage technologies in all the G20 countries, as they account for 85% of global power consumption. As future investment decisions are largely influenced by costs, estimates in this research prove renewables and storage to be far cheaper than fossil and nuclear sources by 2030, even without considering external costs. The myth that renewables are ‘way too expensive’ has been debunked repeatedly, and the cost decline of wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies have outpaced most industry expectations. The results of this research not only substantiate this trend, but also statistically display that all the G20 countries have the opportunity to decrease their energy costs significantly, between now and 2030. Renewable energy technologies offer the lowest LCOE ranges across G20 countries in 2030. Utility-scale solar PV generally shows the lowest values ranging from 16 to 117 €/MWh el and onshore wind LCOE range is from 16 to 90 €/MWh el . Rooftop solar PV generally offers the next lowest LCOE ranging from 31 to 126 €/MWh el , followed by LCOE of offshore wind power ranging from 64 to 135 €/MWh el . Solar PV and battery systems are highly competitive on an LCOE basis at utility-scale ranging from 21 to 165 €/MWh el and at residential scale from 40 to 204 €/MWh el . The G20, as well as other countries, can continue to develop their economies in a sustainable manner, along with substantial co-benefits in adjacent policy fields such as higher national welfare, better health of citizens, lower respective health costs and improved energy security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public acceptance of sustainable energy innovations and policies is of crucial importance in enabling the transition to decarbonized energy systems necessary to meet the key climate targets of the Paris Agreement. This is particularly important in the context of the European Union, which is the third largest energy-related greenhouse gas emitter in the world. However, achieving acceptance is complex and requires improved understanding of the underlying conditions that are likely to motivate it. To contribute to this understanding and overcome common shortcomings in the literature, this paper presents a multidimensional and cross-national framework for the factors that have the potential to motivate both dimensions of acceptance, namely adoption and support. The innovations of interest are numerous and include electric vehicles, residential solar panels, energy-efficient home insulation, environmental taxes and incentives. The paper employs multilevel regression analysis and combines individual and contextual data from all the European Union nations to demonstrate the significance of various types of predictors in motivating acceptance. It is found that citizens' personal capabilities and attitudes towards life satisfaction, climate change and the environment influence both dimensions of acceptance. Attitudes towards broader socio-political dimensions such as representation, equity and transparency primarily influence support, whereas national environmental and energy policy indicators primarily influence adoption. Overall, this paper provides evidence suggesting governments should simultaneously address both dimensions of acceptance, through a combination of different means: enhancing support through strategies that target attitudes and preferences, and market-based environmental policies that promote adoption at the household level. • A comprehensive framework to explore citizen adoption and support of energy innovations • Both technological and economic innovations are investigated • Combining individual and contextual data from all the European Union nations • Market-based policies and citizen attitudes to climate change affect technology adoption • Attitudes to socio-political dimensions affect support for renewables and environmental taxes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of greenhouse gases on climate variation set policy challenges for the energy industry – the largest greenhouse gas contributor globally. In this context, the energy industry is being subjected to reforms focussing on the environment, internalisation of emission costs and the promotion of cleaner technologies. To overcome the challenges posed by the emission of greenhouse gases, governments have implemented mitigation policies in the power supply industries. Most policy instruments include either financial incentives or goals and standards; and these generate impacts on electricity prices and consumer behaviour. This paper models policies' effects on prices and demand, through an integrated demand and supply analysis for the Colombian case. While simulation of carbon taxes shows important reductions of fossil-fuelled power capacity, a feed-in tariff policy promotes clean technologies, though not significantly reducing use of fossil technologies. When applied simultaneously, policy has a greater impact on both emission reductions and the diffusion of clean technologies, while only increasing electricity prices slightly. Even when price-elasticity of demand is low, such policies may have a significant effect on the penetration of renewables and emissions. Furthermore, this structured modelling of policy helps explain how the ultimate intended goal – sustainable emissions reduction – might be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, due to the greenhouse gas emissions as well as climate variation and weather warming, the power generation is one of the most important issues for reviewing the regulations, applying the restrictions, and offering various solutions to solve the mentioned problems. One of the proposed solutions is the applying of Energy Policies (EPs) aimed at promoting renewable energy sources. The effectiveness of these policies in increasing the penetration rate of renewable energy sources is obvious. However, the effects of these policies on the total social welfare are not assessed till now. The overall welfare includes the profits of the production company of the renewable energy sources and the surplus welfare of subscribers. In this paper, the results of the implementation of a well–known policy as quota obligation with tradable Green Certificates (GCs) and its effect on the surplus welfare are studied, based on the product development planning. To obtain the paper aims, the desired EP is combined with the problem of product development planning, and a comprehensive model for development planning is presented from the perspective of a production company. The model is implemented in the form of a Mixed Integer Non–Linear Problem (MINLP) in the GAMS optimization software using the BARON optimizer. Also, for solving the problem, two different scenarios as without policy of quota obligation and with it, are considered. The social welfare is evaluated by the Virtual Price Index (VPI). The results show that the surplus welfare of the subscribers increase in the long term horizon, while it was lower than the profit of the production company at short term analysis. Besides, with applying the policy of quota obligation with tradable GCs, not only the penetration of the renewable energy sources increased (more than 60%), but also the surplus welfare increased more than 107 $. In the second scenario, the price of production is decreased and the number of cleaner sources is increased. • Applying the Energy policy into cleaner production development planning. • Analysis of surplus welfare in two scenarios, with and without of the desired EP. • Using of MINLP, to solve the problem by consideration of different constraints. • Propose index to study the net profit of production company in various years. • The results show increment of cleaner sources promotion, profit and social welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In an effort to diversify economies and reduce high oil dependency, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries plan to increase the use of renewable energy sources to meet the challenges of a post-oil future. The Accession to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, which require a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has started a process of environmental awakening in the GCC countries. This paper reviews the publications on renewable energy with reference to the GCC countries since 2005. The objective was to investigate the benefits of funding and investing in renewable energy projects in the GCC countries. The article shows that the GCC countries have begun to adopt a more pro-active approach toward renewable energy that will help progress the GCC countries towards sustainability. The reorientation of strategies and policies toward renewable energy is evolving in the GCC countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]