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The global problem of climate change and difficulties related to energy access, air pollution, and water pollution in India (and other developing countries) necessitate the need to look for alternative clean, local, and low-carbon energy sources for displacing fossil fuels. This paper analyses the existing waste-to-biomethane potential of the sericulture, fisheries, and agro-industrial sectors in India, which have mostly been neglected previously in India's waste-to-energy assessments. In the process, the volume of wastewaters generated from India's agro-industries are also estimated, data on which are scarce in the academic and grey literature. India's annual biomethane potentials (for 2018–19) were found to be 88 million m3, 207 million m3, and 3514 million m3 from the three sectors, respectively. To assess the energy generation potential of these wastes, a comprehensive literature review was conducted and data on residue-to-product ratios, results of proximate analyses, and specific biomethane yields were either compiled or calculated. The gross thermal energy and electricity generation potentials are 132 PJ and 22 TWh respectively; between 19 and 95 million people can benefit from such waste-to-energy production, depending on the end use of the biomethane for electricity generation or as a domestic cooking fuel. The corresponding mean removal of organic pollution from India's surface waters can be between 5.5 and 9.3 million tonnes of chemical oxygen demand. For the end uses of biomethane in electricity generation and cooking, the cumulative GHG abatements attributable to these industries are 11.4 million tonnes and 6.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent respectively. Besides the numeric results reported, this paper also contains a comprehensive compilation of data on waste characteristics and biomethane productions. The present status of biogas generation and related policy implementation in India are reviewed and discussed. Overall, our findings indicate that biomethane from these wastes and wastewaters can generate substantial energy for India, is in line with recent government policies, and can aid India in achieving six Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. • Annual estimates of wastes from India's sericulture, fisheries and agro-industries • The corresponding annual biomethane generation potential is 3810 million m3. • Clean electricity or cooking gas for 19 and 95 million people respectively • Quantitative estimates of atmospheric GHG and surface water COD removals • Biomethane data compilation and a review of present status and policies in India [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has sorted out the general logic of the impact of COVID-19 on energy consumption. In the short term, the epidemic has forced governments to adopt different levels of lockdown measures. The total electricity consumption decreased and the share of renewable energy has increased. Based on the International Energy Agency's (IEA) data on electricity production and consumption, this paper analyzes the long-term effects: The COVID-19 pandemic does affect overall electricity demand and market structure in the short term, but in the long term, the impact of the pandemic is detrimental to the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources. Increased, especially in hard-hit countries. The impact on countries with different levels of development is different, and countries with higher levels of economic development are better able to resist such exogenous shocks. The pandemic is still ongoing, how to steadily promote sustainable development? In this paper we suggest that to cope with climate change, to accomplish energy transformation and upgrading or even sustainable development, we should not only rely on reducing human activities, but give more support to countries with low development levels in realizing sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of an environmental tax on carbon emissions for the G7 nations from 1994 to 2014 and the importance of the major drivers of emissions such as energy use, economic complexity, natural resources rent and economic growth. The study also verifies the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis for the G7 countries and explores the marginal effects of an environmental tax on traditional energy consumption, natural resources rent and renewable energy consumption. This paper's unique contribution is that it investigates for the first time the moderating role of an environmental tax on renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, natural resources rent and CO 2 emissions. The results suggest that environmental taxes effectively reduce emissions for the G7 countries and confirm that the marginal effects of the environmental tax on traditional energy consumption, natural resources rent and renewable energy consumption rise with the level of taxation in a statistically significant way. The findings indicate that strict environmental tax laws will allow businesses to shift production towards cleaner methods. Finally, the paper proposes that redistributing tax revenues to the research and development of sustainable technology programmes would empower the nations to achieve the United Nations' SDG-7 and SDG-13 goals. Flow Diagram on the nexus between emissions, tax, economic complexity, energy and economic growth. [Display omitted] • The paper analyses the effects of economic complexity on carbon emissions. • Environmental tax affects directly carbon emissions. • Environmental tax lessens the effect of energy consumption and natural resources. • Environmental tax amplifies the effect of renewable energy consumption. • The EKC hypothesis is validated for economic complexity in G7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to quantify the relation between real GDP, CO2 emissions, renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption, tourism development and labor force for France and Germany as these two countries are pioneer countries pushing Paris agreement within and outside the European Union. The time spans have been used for the period of 1995–2015 according to data availability. In the presence of cross-sectional dependency, several first and second-generation unit root tests confirm the unit root problem while Pedroni and Westernlund confirm the cointegration. Results reveal an inverted U-shape relation between CO2 emissions and real GDP in long run confirming the validity of environmental Kuznets curve for the group of France and Germany. Results declare that renewable energy significantly reduces carbon emissions while nonrenewable energy consumption adds to carbon emissions. Tourism sector was found helpful in carbon reduction that appeals to attract more tourists for the development of sustainable tourism industry by taking energy conservation and emissions reduction in relevant industries in the full consideration. • This paper explores the determinants of carbon emissions for France and Germany. • An inverted U-shape relation was found between carbon emissions and real GDP in long run. • Results reveal renewable energy helps in carbon emissions reduction. • Nonrenewable energy consumption was adding in CO2 emissions. • Tourism sector was found supportive in carbon reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, energy represents a key element in the social and economic development of a territory. This is particularly true for fragile territories that are not interconnected, such as small island states. As is true for many of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) worldwide, the energy situation of the Comoros is substantially based on fossil fuel imports. The socioeconomic development of this archipelago is overwhelmingly dependent on energy security from sustainability, availability and affordability perspectives. As a forward-looking response to energy vulnerability, the deployment of renewables to diversify the generation of electricity appears to be an essential prerequisite for guaranteeing a sustainable future. Nevertheless, despite a high potential for renewable energy, only 3.8% of the electricity supply in the Comoros is provided by hydropower. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the energy situation throughout the Comoros and focuses on renewable energy opportunities to facilitate the supply of green power. This study ultimately shows that renewable energies are rarely exploited despite the powerful potential of different resources. Finally, this paper attempts to provide recommendations for the Comoros to pursue a more sustainable future. • Analysis of the current energy situation of Comoros. • Defining renewable potential and ongoing actions. • Analysis of the specific barriers and policy to the development of RES in the Comoros. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid growth in population and economic development in Iran and its neighboring countries has resulted in a dramatic increase in electricity demand over the past few years. A substantial amount of electricity must be produced to meet this growing demand in this region. By installing conventional fossil power plants, using renewable energy, and interconnecting with neighboring countries, this growing demand can be accomplished. The main aim of this research is to identify prospects and challenges in the electrical sector around Iran. To this end, this paper evaluates the existing and future state of the electrical sector in Iran and its neighboring countries. Despite the fact that there is still a long way to go in terms of renewable energy in this region, there are some promising targets for the future that will allow fossil fuels to be replaced effectively. Notwithstanding this, we should point out that a number of cross-border interconnection projects are being pursued by Iran and its neighbors in order to integrate their networks and supply this growing demand. Finally, this study presents an overview of the future prospects and challenges of electricity capacity expansion, cross-border interconnections, and electricity transmission corridors in this region. The review results provide comprehensive background knowledge to all the researchers in order to investigate further into the field. This paper assists energy policy makers regarding the development of sustainable energy planning. • •In addition to providing a general overview of the geographical location, population growth, and economic indicators of Iran and its neighboring countries, this paper presents the current state of the Iranian electricity sector and its neighboring countries in light of the trends in electricity production, energy mix, price, and exports and imports. • •This paper explores the existing and future states of electricity capacity expansion in the region, specifically focusing on renewable energy sources. • •The existing and future states of cross-border electricity interconnections are examined to present a comprehensive overview of the cross-border interconnections in this region. • •This region's potential electricity transmission corridors are proposed to create the opportunity to transmit electricity across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper reviews the green hydrogen uptake policies in the United States and the European Union. While the EU has a rather broad public support strategy that envisages the entire hydrogen value chain, the U.S. policies are more focused on hydrogen research hubs and subsidies having electric vehicle applications. From the experience of the solar and wind power rollout of the past three decades, we know that the subsidization schemes of the end product play an important role in the transition to renewables. These kinds of subsidization schemes are still lacking for clean hydrogen both in the EU and the U.S. This paper provides a brief overview of selected subsidization schemes from other renewables markets, which are then applied to define an exemplary subsidization path to empower large-scale growth in a market for green hydrogen. Here is proposed a long-term subsidization scheme – deemed as an adequate strategy for the expansion of clean hydrogen in an electricity mix. The suggested exemplary subsidization path recommends shifting from feed-in tariffs to direct marketing with market premiums once a certain threshold is reached, while both can be flanked by the issuance of a Guarantee of Origin for green hydrogen so that there is one market for hydrogen and another market for the certificates. • -A long-term subsidization scheme for the rollout of green hydrogen in the electricity mixes is proposed. • -An exemplary subsidization path to empower large-scale growth in a market for green hydrogen is drafted. • -U.S. and EU are used as case studies to capture lessons for subsidization of green hydrogen economy uptake. • -The U.S. has more centralized green hydrogen rollout policies, whereas the EU has a wider policy toolkit. • -Shifting from FIT to direct marketing with market premiums is key once a certain pre-defined threshold is reached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tragedy of the depletion of natural resources led by their overconsumption has posed severe deleterious effects on humanity and the environment. Post-consumption-led waste has worsened the situation, given that unregulated and unscientific waste treatment furthers the criticality of ecological dilapidation. To curb ecological overshoot and restore the full capacity of ecosystem services, we need to focus more on recycling the available resources at their maximum capacity. In other words, we must take a U-turn from the linear economic system to the circular one. The issue is that the number of real-world data-driven scientific studies is very scant in this sphere of literature. Against this milieu, this paper scrutinizes the effect of a circular economy on CO2 emissions intensity among a panel of the top seven CO2 emitters of the world. We have used data from 1990 to 2020 and applied the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) technique to reach our empirical conclusions. By controlling for globalization and renewable energy consumption, we unveil that municipal waste, a crucial component of the circular economy, is positively entangled with CO2 emissions among the designated nations. This observation further reiterates the theoretical underpinning and urges to harness municipal waste as a valuable raw material for a circular economy. Moreover, we disclose that economic growth and globalization boost CO2 emissions intensity among the designated nations. Contrarily, the consumption of renewables helps uplift environmental integrity. Our conclusions also hold after the robustness check. Further, the D-H causality test establishes a bidirectional causality between municipal waste and CO2 emissions. One-lane causality is also observed from a linear economy to a circular economy. More specifically, municipal waste is observed as a critical determinant of pollution and carbon emissions. In light of the findings, the authors provide novel policy recommendations apropos sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy is one of the most promising technologies for developing sustainable energy systems. This paper presents empirical evidence on the finance-green energy nexus. We use an extensive database on financial development (depth, access, efficiency, stability) from 1960 to 2017 for 214 countries, providing the first, to our knowledge, comprehensive empirical investigation on all four dimensions. We show macroeconomic and energy development conditions (public/social awareness and willingness, policy and legal framework, fossil fuels orientation, energy sector competition) are crucial to leverage financing and improve financing conditions for renewable energy entrepreneurs. Our empirical findings show that the financial system in East Asia and the Pacific is a significant constraint for investments in sustainable technologies. The cost of capital and debt, as well as the cost of equity and assets, for green investors, is commonly 30% higher than for non-green investors. Our findings support the crowding-in effect for South Asia. Here we supply empirical knowledge on the policymakers' and investors (governments, institutions, markets) goals, policies, and instruments targeting green financing and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the dynamics of CO2 emissions over the last decade for a large group of 25 European countries, an issue that is at the center of the ecological transition project involving various commitments (COP21, COP26, G20 meetings, etc.). To this end, our model measures the repercussions of energy price shocks (oil, gas, coal) for carbon emissions, as well as changes in industrial production and sustainable development in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Using annual data for 23 EU countries, together with Russia and the UK, our findings show that CO2 emissions reacted significantly to oil and coal price shocks and vary with industrial production cycles. We quantified this reaction while computing the related elasticities. Further, while a significant reduction in CO2 emissions was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the stepping up of investment in sustainable development and renewable energy consumption also had a negative impact on CO2 emissions. This suggests that the key driver to reducing the risk of climate change and lowering high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions involves significant commitment to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the impact of green finance and renewable energy on energy efficiency in E−7 economies. We analyzed the nonlinear and asymmetric effects of green finance and renewable energy on energy efficiency. We collected data from 1985 to 2017 and applied the NARDL and 2SLS methods. The results reveal that the differences in green finance development in the E−7 region are as follows: China (0.61), Brazil (0.55), India (0.53), Indonesia (0.49), Mexico (0.37), and Russia (0.39). In 2019, the Gini coefficient was the largest in Russia (0.57), followed by Turkey. Based on empirical findings, the largest barrier to green energy efficiency is insufficient private and governmental investment in the energy sector to improve access to power, to increase energy security and promote economic growth in an environmentally sustainable manner. The findings point to a promising but vulnerable future for renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment in E−7 countries. This paper emphasizes that green financing and renewable energy policy limitations must be addressed to realize the funding potential of energy efficiency in E−7 countries. • We have analyzed the barrieres for renewable energy and energy efficiency. • Non-linear and asymmetric effects is observed on energy efficiency. • We have applied NARDL model to examine the relationship among variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the connectedness among the climate change index, green financial assets, renewable energy markets, and geopolitical risk index from June 1, 2012 to June 13, 2022, using Quantile Vector Autoregressive (QVAR) and wavelet coherence (WC). The Total connectedness index (TCI) varies as long as the highest TCI originates in the upper quantile. We also note that the higher TCI decreases after the second wave of COVID-19 and increases during the first 100 days of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Moreover, the results show that Geopolitical risk (GPR) is a net transmitter of the climate change index during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The green bond and clean energy markets are negatively connected to the GPR at extreme 10 th and 90 th quantiles. The wavelet coherence confirms the QVAR results that the climate change market can be a safe haven against GPR during the Russian invasion. The climate change index, green financial assets, and clean energy are strong influencers in the financial markets and are vital to international peace, reducing geopolitical risk. The study reports a few novel conclusions and implications from a sustainable development perspective. • Connectedness among climate change index, green financial assets, renewable energy markets. • Daily data was used from June 1, 2012 to June 13, 2022. • Role of geopolitical risk for green financial assets and renewable energy market. • Climate change index, green financial assets, and clean energy are strong influencers in the financial markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since 2002, when the first Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) was held in Dubrovnik, the SDEWES conferences series has been providing a forum for world-wide scientists and those interested in learning about the sustainability of development, to present research progress and to discuss the state of the art, the future directions and priorities in the various areas of sustainable development. One of the main issues of the coming decades is to improve efficiencies by integrating various energy systems, using excess from one, as resource in another in the correct moment. Integrating electricity, heating, cooling, transport, water, buildings, waste, wastewater, industry, forestry and agriculture systems will be pivotal towards sustainable development. SDEWES has maintained high publishing standard as 2408 SDEWES papers were published in special issues of leading scientific journals including "Energy - The International Journal". In 2022, the 17th SDEWES Conference was held during November 6–10 in Paphos, Cyprus, the 5th SEE Conference took place in May 22–26, 2022 in Vlorë, Albania, the 3rd Latin American Conference was held through a virtual platform during July 24–28, 2022. The Energy journal has continued its cooperation with SDEWES launching a special issue dedicated to the 2022 Conferences. The special issue includes papers which traditionally cover a range of energy issues - higher renewables penetration and various technologies and fuels assessments at energy supply side, as well as, energy efficiency in various sectors, buildings, district heating, electric vehicles and demand modelling at energy demand side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energies (RE) are rapidly reforming the power sector because they have become more economically competitive, thereby enabling nations to overcome high dependence on energy imports (i.e. reducing energy security concerns), as well as reducing their negative environmental footprints. Therefore, both the public and private sectors need to uncover the future technological trajectory of renewable energy. As part of an entity-linking approach, this paper examines REs developments from 2000 to 2021 and explores high-potential topics by analyzing hot topics during the period to identify evolutionary trends of relevant research interests (using published research papers). The results are analyzed and classified to determine how and when RE development issues "burst" into the public eye. The article tells the story of RE development from the past, the present, and the likely future hot topics for research. We analyze the results and cluster them into five categories: (1) energy sources, (2) sustainable development, (3) technological developments, (4) supply chains, and (5) energy management systems.se Findings reveal signals about the potential future energy market shifts and how REs evolve and contribute to the market. Signals are converted to policies and future market interpretations using an expert-based process. Analysis and methodology outcomes reveal that digital technologies have become an important factor in market changes. The findings of the study highlight how sustainable development actions and digital technologies will likely transform RE supply and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern lifestyle and economic development of the European Union countries are closely connected to high energy consumption and environmental pollution. Renewable energy has arisen as one solution to this problem, even though the obstacles and challenges regarding the deployment of renewable energy lie in high costs, technology and legislation. The investigation of the determinants of renewable energy has become very attractive and popular because of the Sustainable Development Goals and COP26 targets. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the role of energy taxes and environmental taxes in addition to that of economic and environmental indicators in renewable energy development for the panel of EU countries by applying reliable and robust econometric techniques to the annual data from 1995 to 2019. The empirical results suggest that an increase in economic growth and oil prices supports renewable energy while environmental taxes and energy taxes have a negative impact on renewable energy deployment in EU countries. Thus, it is crucial to reform the structure of taxes to support the use of renewable energy. In addition, increasing environmental taxes to transform EU countries into energy-efficient economies will require additional EU policy adjustments. [Display omitted] • The nexus between energy and environmental taxes, and renewable energy is analyzed. • Several reliable and robust econometric techniques are employed for estimations. • Environmental taxes negatively impact on renewable energy deployment. • Energy taxes decrease renewable energy. • Economic growth and oil prices support renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering sustainable development, technology selection is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem that influences the advantages of enterprises or a country. This paper investigates existing wave energy technologies as alternatives to green and sustainable technologies to apply them in the seas and oceans. A framework is presented, and major technologies to extract wave energy are identified. Each technology has been examined in scopes of strategic factors, availability, technical knowledge, technological features, economic, social, and environmental factors as the main criteria. Totally, 20 converters and 52 criteria are considered. The Caspian Sea is considered as a case, and a decision matrix is established by integrating the gathered data and the experts' opinions. By integrating the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) and preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) method, Pelamis is considered the most appropriate technology to harvest wave energy in the Caspian Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind power has become one of the essential solutions to renewable energy and sustainable development problems. The accuracy of wind speed forecasts primarily determines the utilization of wind energy. Because many factors affect wind speed, high-precision wind speed prediction is still a practical and challenging task. In this paper, we propose multidimensional spatial-temporal graph neural networks (MST-GNN) for wind speed prediction: (1) establish a transformer-based model named Wind-Transformer on temporal perspective for single-point wind speed prediction with multidimensional data (wind speed, wind direction, temperature, air pressure, etc.), (2) apply graph neural network using Wind-Transformer as a node on spatial view to accurately predict the wind speed at local point by comprehensively aggregating the wind speed of local point and surrounding points. Through comprehensive experiments on open source datasets for wind speed prediction, we demonstrate that our model MST-GNN outperforms the state-of-the-art baselines up to 8.96%. The longer the prediction steps, the more improvement relative to other methods. • Wind power is an essential solution to renewable energy. • Wind speed forecasting primarily determines the utilization of wind energy. • Predicting wind speed with multidimensional data at different locations. • Generating wind prediction parallelly rather than in sequence. • Leveraging the advantages of transformer and graph neural network models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• GaAs tandem has 2–5 times higher impacts than the perovskite tandem. • High material and energy consumption for GaAs wafer contributes most to the impacts. • By reusing GaAs wafer 100 times, most impacts are lower than for perovskite tandem. • GaAs tandem life cycle costs are around five times higher than the perovskite costs. • Arsine and gallium in the GaAs tandem account for ∼ 70 % of the total costs. Tandem cell technologies with high conversion efficiency are considered promising options for a future photovoltaics (PV) market. Several studies have assessed the environmental and economic impacts of tandem technologies in European countries; however, such studies are not available for China, the largest PV market in the world. To fill this research gap, this paper presents a comprehensive life cycle environmental and economic assessment of solar electricity in China generated by two emerging PV tandem technologies: 4-terminal gallium arsenide/silicon heterojunction (GaAs/SHJ) and perovskite/silicon with tunnel oxide passivated contact (PSC/TOPCon). The study uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts and life cycle costing (LCC) to assess the economic aspects of both technologies as such studies are not available in the literature. The LCA results reveal that electricity from the GaAs/SHJ tandem PV (based on reusing GaAs wafer five times) has 2–5 times higher impacts than electricity from PSC/TOPCon in most of the 18 impact categories considered, owing to high material and energy consumption for GaAs manufacturing. For example, the climate change potential of the GaAs/SHJ system (127 kg CO 2 eq./MWh) is more than 3.5 times higher than that of PSC/TOPCon (33.5 kg CO 2 eq./MWh). However, if the GaAs wafer were reused 100 times, then the climate change and all other impacts of GaAs/SHJ would become lower (1–26 %) than those of PSC/TOPCon, except for metal depletion which would still be significantly (126 %) higher. The life cycle costs of electricity generation by GaAs/SHJ are also much higher (135 $/MWh) than those of PSC/TOPCon (23.7 $/MWh), with arsine and gallium accounting for 68 % of the total cost in the GaAs/SHJ system. As these two technologies are currently at an early stage of development, further developments to reduce the material and energy consumption, as well as improve the efficiency and recyclability of both systems, are essential for future cost-effective and low-impact solar electricity generation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary times, where most academic research mainly focuses on the factors of economic and environmental sustainability and emissions reduction. Yet, very little attention has been paid to the identification of the factors of renewable energy, which requires appropriate policy-level attention. Consequently, this research investigated two developed economies, i.e., Germany and the USA, from 1991 to 2021 where, the objective of the study includes using novel and robust empirical methods to test the causal relationship between renewable energy and CO2 emissions, economic growth, technological innovations and oil prices. Using the normality and unit root estimators, this study observed that non-normal data distribution, yet all the variables are stationary. Using time-series and panel cointegration tests, the results validate the cointegration between economic growth, oil prices, carbon emission, technological innovation, and renewable energy adoption in the United States whereas Germany does not show cointegration between the variables. This study employ 's the Morlet-Wavelet approaches and key findings show that all these variables have a significant role in improving renewable energy adoption in both the region. Furthermore, results show a unidirectional and bidirectional causal association between the variables via the panel-stacked Granger causality test. This study recommends effective policy ramifications concerning improved investment in technological innovation, improved low-carbon production, and diverting economic growth to renewable energy transition. Use of improved new time-series method of wavelet coherence show the key contribution in this paper with new evidence of time frequency analysis on how external variables affect renewable energy consumption in developed countries of US and Germany. The objective includes understanding the effects of CO2 emissions, economic growth, technological innovations and oil prices on renewable energy which would give evidence to policy makers and environmentalists on how developed countries should improve clean energy adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sustainable development discourse has been dominated by individualist perspectives. • SDG 7 currently does not respond sufficiently to calls for energy justice by the Global Majority. • Sustainable development is tied to values, power dynamics and human perception. • The Zimbabwean case study shows that sustainable development must be transformative, not just utilitarian. • There is a need for relational Ubuntu-informed sustainable development. Globally, one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 7) has gained currency as a lever for sustainability and a reference point for energy transition. That said, we know little about contested views of this goal. Thus, this paper explores competing views of experts versus communities. Further, we analyse alternative architectures of knowledge and practice that constitute different understandings of sustainable development. Drawing on qualitative research, it emerged that the elite (government authorities, NGOs and experts) are inclined to the hegemonic 'Western' and modernist view of sustainable development. On the other hand, communities contest this view arguing that sustainable development should be relational, context-dependent and shaped by their knowledge and culture. Insights into these differences are a launchpad for a new relational and forward-looking sustainable development agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability of economic growth has recently become a major objective for the global economy. Innovation is a newly emerged key factor for an efficient energy market and sustainable development. It can reduce pollution by increasing production efficiency (the first effect of CO 2 e reduction) and direct involvement in renewable energy development (the second effect of CO 2 e reduction) by replacing fossil fuel instruments with their counterparts that rely on renewable energy. The main question of this research is: Will the impact of innovation on per capita CO2e be the same on a threshold with different levels of renewable energy consumption? This paper explores the impact of innovation on CO 2 emissions in a panel of 29 selected EU countries from 2000 to 2019 using the fixed-effect panel threshold model. The results indicated that innovation had a significantly negative effect on per capita CO 2 e. In the early levels of the use of renewable energy, innovations have been directed more towards clean energy (the second effect on CO 2 e). Innovations were directed more towards clean energy in using renewable energy at early levels. It can be concluded that this policy has led to more innovation in clean energy production and more use of renewable energy, thus reducing CO2e considerably (the second effect). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of energy policies, particularly those focused on supporting renewable energy sources, is crucial for facing the major challenges of combining economic growth and sustainable development. This paper focuses on forty-six countries across the world, in three datasets of Global, European, and OECD countries. The timespan under analysis runs from 1996 until 2017, which makes it possible to capture the effects of renewable energy policies in their introductory phase. The policy-related database has been in construction since 1971, the date of the first implemented policy to support renewables. This paper contributes to the literature by assessing the nature of the effects of energy policies on both the installed capacity and the electricity generated by wind power, solar photovoltaic, and a multiple of all non-hydro renewables. A further major innovation of this paper is that it assesses both the short- and long-run effects of adjustments dynamics in policies for implementing renewable energy. The characteristics of the datasets required the use of the Driscoll and Kraay estimator with fixed effects. The results reveal that public policies have dissimilar effects in the short-run and the long-run. It is known that policy-based instruments are essential to implement renewable energy in both the short- and long-run. On the whole, the majority of these instruments are directly linked with public budgets, a position which can lead to an excessive burden on economies. Conversely, market-based instruments have been shown to promote the deployment of renewable energy only in the long-run. The results show that market-based instruments are not capable of promoting the early diffusion of renewable technologies into the market, i.e., in the short-run. In fact, market-based instruments are only effective when renewable technologies are mature and well-integrated in the electricity market, i.e., in the long-run. Therefore, this suggests that an optimal public policy involves a mix of policy-based instruments to enable early market diffusion, and a mix of market-based instruments to maintain investment in renewable energies in the long-run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to present renewable energy market development with particular regard paid to biofuels in the EU. The analysis included data on the share of renewables in Gross Island energy consumption, changes of renewable energy in the years 2004–2016 and the amount of liquid biofuels. The authors of the paper used descriptive and statistical methods to describe the changes in bioenergy development in the European Union (EU). The biggest share of biofuels and renewable waste can be seen in Latvia (31.2%), Finland (26.7%) and Sweden (24.8%). The highest percentage of wind energy in 2015 was found in: Denmark (7.2%), Portugal (4.3%), Ireland (4.0%) and Spain (3.5%). The highest share of solar energy in 2015 was found in Cyprus (3.5%), Spain (2.6%) and Greece (2.2%). The highest contribution of geothermal energy was found in 2015 in Italy (3.5%), Portugal (0.8%) and Slovenia (0,7%). Hydropower was the biggest in 2015 in Sweden (14.2%), Austria (9.6%) and Slovenia (5.0%). The highest coefficients of variation of the share of electricity from renewable energy sources were found in the years 2004–2017 in Malta (140.3%), Cyprus (101.1%) and United Kingdom (71.9%). In addition, the highest coefficients of variation of share of renewable energy sources in heating and cooling in the years 2004–2017 were found in Malta (72.4%), United Kingdom (69.81%) and Hungary (44.91%). Moreover, the highest coefficients of variation of share of renewable energy sources in transport in the years 2004–2017 were found in Finland (113.78%), Malta (115.52%) and Belgium (96.53%). The biggest producers of ethanol and biodiesel in EU were Germany, France and Poland. Cluster analysis data show that Germany and France are of key importance in the production of biodiesel and ethanol. The biodiesel production increased in the years 2003–2017 from 719,32 million liters to 13323 million liters (increase 1852.2%). However, in the years 2014–2017 a stagnation in biofuel production was observed from 13673 million liters to 13323 million liters (−2,56%). The situation on the market and the increasing demand for green energy suggest that the production of ethanol and esters of vegetable oils will increase by 2030, which will contribute to the development of this sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Renewable energy assessment methods used in 12 GBRSs are analysed and compared. • Methods used in green neighbourhood rating system are also introduced. • Evaluation way, renewable energy types, building characteristics, etc. are analyzed. • The effects by using different methods in one building are analysed. • Suggestions are provided to improve the renewable energy assessment. Green buildings and neighborhoods can help mitigate impacts of buildings on the environment, society and economy. Many rating systems or tools have been developed worldwide to assess and certificate green buildings or green neighborhoods. Renewable energy plays an important role in achieving green buildings/neighborhoods or zero energy buildings/neighborhoods by reducing fuel consumption and pollution emissions. However, substantial differences exist in assessing or quantifying the renewable energy in green building/neighborhood rating systems. This paper therefore provides a comprehensive review on renewable energy assessment methods adopted in green building/neighborhood rating systems, which would be very helpful to understand and then improve the rating systems. These methods are analyzed and discussed regarding to the calculation way, involved renewable energy types, building characteristics and energy conversion. Then a case study is conducted to quantitatively illustrate the difference of typical renewable energy assessment. Suggestions are summarized to improve the assessment methods. This paper will help investors, users and policy makers understand the rating systems more thoroughly and promote the development of green buildings and green neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper is an Editorial for the special issue (SI) of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (RSER) devoted to the 12th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES), held from the 4th to 8th October 2017 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The key focus of RSER is to publish critical thinking across the wide field of renewable and sustainable energy. The journal publishes either pure review papers or research papers with a precise review element. Overall, the guest editors invited 36 papers presented on 12th SDEWES conference, of which 17 were accepted after rigorous peer review process. The SDEWES conferences present a continuous effort in gathering high level scientists and research papers across the field of sustainability and by now the amount of accumulated knowledge, through conference papers and special journal issues, is significant. Each SDEWES journal editorial presents a wider overview of special issue journal papers in order to maintain the continuation of knowledge generation on the main sustainability topics. The main topics covered in this RSER editorial include renewable energies with special focus on integration, markets and roadmaps, energy efficiency in buildings, industrial process and transport, bio based economy focused on bio based chemicals and biofuels, energy storage focused on batteries, thermal and geological storages and various sustainability assessments in several sectors and technologies. All were considered in light of the Circular Economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present situation, renewable energy has become a vital source to mitigate energy crises and environmental threats. In order to ensure that women's contributions, knowledge and opinions represent a significant portion of the expanding energy sector, it is crucial to approach the development of renewable energy from a gender perspective. Bibliometric analysis was performed to identify prior research on two primary terms, "Gender" and "Renewable Energy", from 1995 to 2022. Identifying the most influential countries, authors, publications, journals, and co-occurrence of keywords helps to understand the evaluation and trends of the research through network visualisations by bibliometric approach. This paper presents a comprehensive bibliometric review of the influence of gender on renewable energy. The result of this paper gives details picture of the gender impact on renewable energy during the period from 1995 to 2022. The paper centred on bibliometric and cluster analysis based on the two most important databases, Web of Science and Scopus. The study involved utilising various bibliometric tools, including R Studio, VOSviewer, and Biblioshiny. The study revealed an increase in publications and citations during the third period since 2017, after the United Nations set the target of the Sustainable Development Goal. Most influential countries and productive authors belong to China, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom. Energy Research and Social Science are predominated in publications on the research topic. In addition, the co-occurrence of keywords found major keywords related to this topic, such as renewable energy, gender, women, knowledge, sustainability, climate change and sustainable development. Finally, the study observed a huge research gap because developing nations are more affected by the lack of gender-influencing policies on the growth of renewable energy. Thus, the study provides a comprehensive overview of research in this field that can help researchers and stakeholders identify potential ways for future research in gender considerations on renewable energy access by formulating effective policies to change society and reach the Sustainable Development Goals. • Gender has become a focal point of interest within the renewable energy sector. • Using network visualisation, bibliometric analysis examines research trends by keyword occurrence and country collaborations. • Publication, citation, journal, and authorship contribution trends are to be analysed. • The research growth across different periods was discussed for potential future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green hydrogen production by water electrolysis is sustainable and carbon-free for energy storage. This paper introduces recent development in integrated green hydrogen polygeneration. Throughout this review, theoretical concepts, design types, and recent developments related to the integration of Alkaline Electrolysis (AE), Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis (PEME), and the Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) are summarised. This review evaluates the thermodynamic efficiency and economic impact of green hydrogen production integrated with different energy sources, energy storage and power cycles. Compared with two kinds of commercially applied methods (AE and PEME), SOEC is the state-of-the-art method to produce hydrogen, which can be integrated with external heat to reduce energy consumption. SOEC avoids the inevitable energy loss in AE and PEME, which leads to low-temperature waste heat evaluated as exergy destruction rather than utilized. The overall efficiency improvement of SOEC systems is over 10%. In most cases, the efficiency is always over 70%, and over 80% in some cases, which exceeds the typical values of 20%–60% from AE and PEME systems. The produced hydrogen can be stored and transported, as well as being used as a feedstock for chemical production, forming a polygeneration system with multiple energy sources, desalination, and fuel production. The latest lifetime of SOEC was predicted at 50,000 h or more, which is the minimum requirement to be commercially competitive. In the literature review, 80.4% of papers chose exergy efficiency as assessment index, compared with 67.9% of energy efficiency. And 58.9% of them chose genetic algorithm to complete multi-objective optimization. • The recent developments in green hydrogen polygeneration is accessed. • Compare the thermodynamic and economic impact of various polygenerations with multiple energy sources. • The competitiveness of SOEC in plant is compared with AE and PEME via 4 E analysis. • 80.4% of papers chose exergy efficiency as assessment index and 58.9% chose GA for optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cheap Production of bioethanol from renewable lignocellulosic waste has the imperative potential to economically cut burgeoning world dependency on fossils while reducing net emission of carbon dioxide (CO 2), a principal greenhouse gas (GHGs). This paper highlights key benefits and status of bioethanol production technologies, aiming mainly on recent developments and its key potentials in Pakistan. Most sector of Pakistan economy heavily rely on the energy and power that is being produced using traditional approaches like from oil and hydel. However, the sedimentation in dams cut-down the energy generation and overwhelmed severe energy crisis that are witnessed since last decade. Thus, Pakistan must go to avail alternative sources of energy like hydro, biomass and solar so that energy security can be ensured to recover the tremendous loss of economy. Renewable biomass is abundantly available in Pakistan which can be used to produce bioethanol and electricity. Currently, 22 distilleries are producing the ethanol from sugar cane bagasse and out of these only 8 distillation units are producing motor fuel grade ethanol. The current bioethanol production of country is about 403,500 tons/year along with 2423 tons of biodegradable waste available in major cities. In addition, Pakistan produces 6.57, 0.5, 0.66, and 2.66 million tons of sugarcane, corn, rice, and wheat straw per annum, respectively. This biomass can produce 1.6 million liters of bioethanol which can produce approximately 38% of Pakistan's electricity annually. Despite having large potential, Pakistan is still producing a few volumes of ethanol from sugarcane bagasse. The production of bioethanol can be boosted using (I) pretreatment of agricultural biomass by alkali (II) enzymatic and bacteria-based hydrolysis of the biomass (III) post-hydrolysis using pressurized steam above 100 °C (IV) Fermentation of the biomass@ 7–10 h and (V) and (VI) distillation of bioethanol. This study recommends (1) increase R&D capacities mainly in the west and central regions of Pakistan, (2) initiate mega-projects to promote integrated bio-ethanol production at agriculture farms by providing 1/3 subsides, (3) purchase of bioethanol directly from the major agricultural farms, (4) produce bioethanol related manpower from the key research institutes as specified in this study. • Upgradation of inefficient biogas to bioethanol can solve energy crisis. • Study witnessed huge potential of bioethanol (403,500 tons/year) from cheap biomass. • Key technical barriers in the green development of ethanol is emphasized fact-sheet. • Study implementation will replace inefficient biomass burn into ethanol combustion. • Study will definitively help policy makers to sustain lives of Pakistan people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local renewable energy initiatives, that involve the local population, can help empower the communities, economically, culturally, and socially. In many cases, the ambitions of energy projects go beyond mere electricity production and involve issues of energy justice, environmental awareness, and environmental citizenship. However, these aspirations are often forgotten during project assessments, or they fail to include local voices, especially those of women and other marginalized groups. Gender has been given little attention in the energy scholarship and especially during the post-implementation assessment of energy projects due to the belief that energy technologies are gender neutral and beneficial for the whole community. The present study, with a focus on two local energy projects with mixed ownership, challenges this notion. The two case studies are the islands of El Hierro in Spain and Tilos in Greece. A detailed survey based on a series of indicators drawn from the energy justice framework is used to evaluate women's perceptions. By following a feminist approach, this work draws attention on the difference experiences of women and how these are often not acknowledged during the assessment of renewable energy projects. Local renewable energy does not automatically imply energy justice and pluralism. More effort is needed from policy makers to include women in the decision making and to ensure a fair distribution of the benefits of the projects. • This paper examines the impact of two innovative renewable energy projects through gender lenses • Two case studies from the Global North are presented • Sex disaggregated results from a detailed survey were analyzed • The energy justice framework is the underlying conceptual tool for the analysis • The differences in energy perceptions and benefits/harms from the projects between genders are discussed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Philippines is exploring different alternative sources of energy to make the country less dependent on imported fossil fuels and to reduce significantly the country's CO 2 emissions. Given the abundance of renewable energy potential in the country, green hydrogen from renewables is a promising fuel because it can be utilized as an energy carrier and can provide a source of clean and sustainable energy with no emissions. This paper aims to review the prospects and challenges for the potential use of green hydrogen in several production and utilization pathways in the Philippines. The study identified green hydrogen production routes from available renewable energy sources in the country, including geothermal, hydropower, wind, solar, biomass, and ocean. Opportunities for several utilization pathways include transportation, industry, utility, and energy storage. From the analysis, this study proposes a roadmap for a green hydrogen economy in the country by 2050, divided into three phases: I–green hydrogen as industrial feedstock, II–green hydrogen as fuel cell technology, and III–commercialization of green hydrogen. On the other hand, the analysis identified several challenges, including technical, economic, and social aspects, as well as the corresponding policy implications for the realization of a green hydrogen economy that can be applied in the Philippines and other developing countries. • A green hydrogen economy could be feasible in the Philippines. • Renewable energy potential from geothermal, hydropower, wind, solar, biomass, and ocean for green hydrogen production. • Utilization pathways for transport, industry, utility, and energy storage. • The hydrogen economy faces challenges from technical, economic, and social perspectives. • Green hydrogen economy can be achieved by transforming the energy and other sectors to 100% renewables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy generation represents a unique solution to ensure the sustainable development of society. However, its fluctuating nature can disturb the energy balance mechanism of the power grid. In microgrids powered by renewables, the issue is even more critical. Fossil fuel generation typically supplements renewables but storage and demand response can be more flexible and cost effective. This paper is an overview of recent undertakings that present storage and demand response techniques as solutions for the stable operation of renewable energy microgrids. The critical analysis of the recent papers in this area reveals that the parameters used for modeling storage have been simplified (efficiency, dynamic behavior at fast rate of discharge, aging…) and that the demand response incentives have been assumed to be enough for users to be willing to participate in demand response programs. These assumptions make the proposed solutions too inaccurate to be implemented on the field yet. If renewables have to be implemented on a large scale, specific and accurate models have to be used. By building on the current research presented here, much work can be converted into real advances in the field of renewable energy integration in microgrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the banner of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), governments, industry, and civil society organisations have supported many energy access projects since 2015. Notably, funding and investments allotted to renewable energy are regarded not only to provide 'energy for all' but also support the delivery of other SDGs related to climate change, food security, health, and poverty reduction, among others. With less than 10 years left to meet the SDG 7 targets, it is timely to take stock and examine how the provision of access to energy is driving development initiatives, impacting local communities, and influencing governance processes. This paper offers a critical review and analysis of the impact of access to energy projects based on empirical work from eight country case studies across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It interrogates how these projects contribute towards achieving SDG 7 and other sustainable development goals, highlights challenges, and then draws lessons for research, policy, and development practice. To advance SDGs, it recommends action in four areas: addressing rural-urban disparities, ensuring that energy is linked to sustainable outcomes, balancing top-down and bottom-up agendas, and appraising implications of techno-economic factors. [Display omitted] • Energy access has been constrained by multiple factors outside of policy decisions. • Governance decisions have overlooked local actors who are key to project sustainability. • Improved efficiency is more vital to energy security and access than increased generation. • Alignment between policies, governance processes, and institutional commitments is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An integrated multigeneration system with battery and hydrogen storage is proposed. • During charging mode, 25.5 MWh of solar energy is generated from the PV field. • The hydrogen storage results demonstrate a round-trip efficiency of around 45.5 %. A novel integrated energy system, where tri-renewable energy sources are coupled with a battery and hydrogen storage system, is proposed. The objective of this paper is then to investigate and evaluate the overall system thermodynamically for potential applications. Solar, biomass and wind energy sources are considered in the system development, and the potential needs of the community including electricity, heat, and hot water are fulfilled. A fraction of the renewable solar energy is stored in the form of hydrogen to operate the system during the off-peak time. The stored hydrogen is then employed to operate a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, and electrical energy is produced for the charging station. Several sensitivity analyses are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the H 2 storage system. The share of H 2 power to power (P2P) solution increases from 18.5 % at a photovoltaic (PV) area of 250 m2 to 45.4 % at a PV area of 500 m2. During the charging mode, around 25.5 MWh of excess solar energy is generated from the PV field. The deployment of 500 m2 can generate 769 kg of hydrogen that is stored in the hydrogen storage tank, and it can generate 18.4 MWh of energy from the PEM fuel cell. The calculated hydrogen storage results demonstrate a competitive round-trip efficiency of around 45.5 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small islands are fragile and dependent territories in many sectors, especially energy. Hence, renewable energy microgrids (MGs) can offer an opportunity for environmentally sustainable energy supply but also a driver for new development strategies in these territories. This paper aims to analyse the role that MGs can play in insular spaces for the achievement of more sustainable communities. Initially, MGs played a crucial role in ensuring energy supply in spaces characterised by a difficult supply. However, with technological improvements in both generation and storage, as well as institutional and legislative changes, MGs can play a fundamental role in achieving more socially cohesive and environmentally sustainable spaces beyond their role as energy suppliers. We discuss three main topics after a meta-analysis of 18 MGs, both on-grid and off-grid, located in insular spaces: 1) the characteristics of MGs built in insular territories in the last 25 years; 2) MGs influence islanders' well-being and lifestyle; and 3) how MGs can encourage responsible consumption and promote postgrowth strategies. Thus, this paper explores the role that MGs have played in the past and present and what role they could play in the future of small island spaces. It might be concluded that MGs are a key factor in the development of more sustainable societies. However, they must be accompanied by changes in our economies, societies and lifestyles in a direction other than the pursuit of economic growth traditionally understood as a limitless increase in consumption and production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global anthropogenic activities resulting in the emission of harmful greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere have increased the challenges faced from climate change. The greater awareness of the need to mitigate climate variability has brought about intense focus on the adverse impacts of fossil-fuel based energy on the environment. Being the single largest source of carbon emissions, energy supply has attracted much attention and more so that, climate change impacts extend beyond national boundaries. Since energy use is sine qua non to economic development, scientists have reiterated the necessity of developing and utilising renewable energy. Although, past and present CO 2 emissions have and are majorly caused by industrialized countries, it is envisaged that future GHGs emissions would be mostly from developing countries as they industrialize. Renewable energy sources that include biomass, hydroelectric, wind, solar and hydrothermal systems, are carbon-neutral, releasing relatively no emissions. This paper discusses the initiatives associated with the provision of renewable energy to the energy mix in Nigeria as an indication of the country’s commitment to adopt a sustainable development strategy in shaping the economy. It reviews the literature and employs a discourse analysis to examine the limited use of renewable energy sources in Nigeria and the factors prevailing against their development. The paper concludes by identifying social and political obstacles as most significant roadblocks towards rapid implementation of a green economy through the deployment of renewable energy for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy demand in China has risen rapidly and reached an unprecedented level due to the high-speed economic growth and modern development. As a result, the Chinese government faces a growing pressure to address the energy shortage and environmental deterioration, mainly resulting from an over-dependence on fossil energy. China has become both the largest energy consumer and CO 2 emitting country in the world in 2015. Utilization of potential for renewable energy is necessary for changing inappropriate energy consumption structure, protecting environment and achieving sustainable economic and social development. In view of such mentioned situation, this paper firstly introduces the energy structure as well as the development status of renewable energy in China, which includes hydropower, wind power, solar power, biomass power and other renewable energy. Besides, based on the current situation in China, the paper makes a preliminary prediction of the development of renewable energy in the country for the future decades, and proposes targeted countermeasures and suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe has a large tradition of Small Hydropower stations (SHP); these proliferate wherever there was an adequate supply of moving water and a need for electricity. As electricity demand grew many of these plants were abandoned. Today with the rising price of energy, SHP can be a solution to help rural electrification, furthermore SHPs do not consume the water that drives the turbines. The advantage of this technology is extremely robust and systems can last for 50 years or more with little maintenance. This paper summarizes an overview of SHP Hydropower in Europe. Hydropower on a small scale, or micro-hydro, is one of the most cost effective energy technologies to be considered for rural electrification in less developed countries. Europe is a market leader of SHP technology. Optimal turbine designs are available and new technical developments offer automated operation of SHP. The present role of SHP in Europe in the development of renewable energy sources is discussed through this paper. The main producers of SHP electricity in Europe are Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Sweden. On the other hand, 10 European countries are ranked based on the total numbers of SHPs: Germany (7,512), Italy (2,427), France (1,935), Sweden (1,901), Spain (1,047), Poland (722), Romania (274), Portugal (155) and UK (120). The research shows that there is a considerable scope for development and optimization of this technology. This opens new perspectives because it has a huge, as yet untapped potential in most areas of Europe and can make a significant contribution to future energy needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability has become a critical perspective in managing firms via a holistic approach by considering economic, environmental and social dimensions of firms. With the rising significance of sustainable development, the theories of sustainability in firms have evolved during the past six decades. This article offers a critical review of the evolving theories linking sustainability to firms, and discusses their implications for future renewable energy research. The relationships among different theories are critically analysed, and the directions for future research are discussed. The paper shows that, the main theories linking sustainability to firms, in a chronological order, are: 1) Corporate Social Responsibility, 2) Stakeholder Theory, 3) Corporate Sustainability, and 4) Green Economics. Currently various innovative approaches and new theories emerged, such as Co-evolution Theory and Multi-level Perspective, reflecting three directions of theory development, namely 1) shifting from "what" to "how", 2) growing use of interdisciplinary approach, and 3) towards broader systems. Renewable energy studies associated with firms and future research opportunities in this area are also critically analysed. The comprehensive review offered in this paper provides a useful reference for policy makers, corporate managers and researchers interested in corporate sustainability and renewable energy related studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major contributor to global warming is human-generated greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions that pollute the air. GHGs emissions are a global issue dominated by emission of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Notably, CO 2 accounts for an estimated 77% of GHGs and thus has a huge impact on the environment. The capture, sequestration, and utilization of CO 2 emissions from flue gas are now becoming familiar worldwide. These methods are a promising solution to promote sustainability for the benefit of future generations. Previously, many researchers have focused on capturing and storing CO 2 ; however, less effort has been spent on finding ways to utilize flue gas emissions. Moreover, several issues must be overcome in the field of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology, especially regarding the cost, capacity of storage and the durability of the storage reservoir. In addition, this paper addresses new technology in carbon capture and sequestration. To make CCS technology more feasible, this paper suggests a sustainable method combining CCS and biofuel production using CO 2 as a feedstock. This method offers many advantages, such as CO 2 emission mitigation and energy security through the production of renewable energy. Due to the many advantages of biofuels, the conversion of CO 2 into biofuel is a best practice and may provide a solution to pollution while encouraging sustainability practises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey’s rapid economic growth followed by increasing gap between domestic energy production and consumption signifies the large-scale integration of low-carbon and renewable resources into energy system. Turkey’s energy demand is increasing and supplying fossil energies such as oil and gas is becoming more challenging due to the lack of domestic hydrocarbon resources. The country is facing two main issues; first, maintaining energy balance and second, handling environmental issues. Nevertheless, Turkey has substantial renewable and low-carbon energy resources with co-benefits for the country’s fast growing economy and environmental sustainability. This paper aims to present a comprehensive update on Turkey’s renewable and low-carbon energy sector. It reviews not only the current status of the technology, policy and economy, but also provides an insight into the social aspects as well. From a policy point of view, the paper critically discusses Turkey’s energy strategy and perspectives and from the social point of view, the paper argues that there is a research gap in recent literature regarding public awareness and social acceptance of low-carbon energy technologies. Also, the future challenges for promoting low-carbon society in Turkey are discussed in terms of sustainable development and socio-environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A hybrid prediction system is proposed to provide technical support for achieving energy sustainable development goals. • Extract original complex time series features using CEEMDAN. • Optimize Extreme Learning Machine using particle swarm optimization algorithm. • Experiments are conducted for four seasons of wind speed to verify that the model can effectively predict year-round data. • Experiments demonstrate that CEEMDAN-PSO-ELM can predict complex energy data efficiently and accurately. As environmental concerns and the energy crisis intensify, advancing the use of new energy sources such as wind and photovoltaic is an important means to achieve sustainable energy development. However, the random fluctuation characteristics and seasonality of wind and light make them difficult to predict, which brings many operational risks to grid security and power dispatch. Therefore, this paper uses the Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (CEEMDAN) as the decomposition algorithm, which can effectively avoid the problems of modal confusion and noise residuals and better identify the trend, seasonality and nonlinear characteristics of the series. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is also utilized to improve the prediction accuracy and stability of the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM). Combining CEEMDAN and PSO-ELM models, a high-precision hybrid forecasting system that can effectively reduce the effects of stochastic fluctuations is proposed. In this paper, wind speed data from four different seasons at Changma wind farm in China are selected to verify the effectiveness and generalization ability of this hybrid prediction system. The results show that the improvement of ELM by PSO and CEEMDAN significantly improves the prediction accuracy of the model, and the hybrid prediction system can be applied to time series with different data characteristics and variation patterns in each season, and its prediction accuracy and model performance are significantly better than other comparative models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper performs Fourier cointegration and causality tests to analyze the effect of renewable energy generation, globalization, and agricultural activities on ecological footprint and carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions in BRIC countries for the period 1971–2016. The Fourier ADL cointegration test supports a long-run relationship between the considered variables in Brazil and China. The long-term elasticities indicate that globalization increases the pollution indicators, while renewable energy generation significantly reduces environmental pressure in China. Moreover, globalization increases CO 2 emissions, while renewable energy generation improves environmental quality in Brazil. The causality results show the existence of bidirectional causality between agriculture and environmental degradation; unidirectional relationships from globalization to the ecological footprint and CO 2 emissions; and renewable energy generation to the ecological indicators. Overall, these findings reveal the importance of renewable energy in combating environmental degradation. Based on the above results, renewable energy generation can significantly reduce environmental pollution in Brazil and China. However, renewable energy does not affect environmental pressure in Russia and India. Therefore, these countries should differentiate the current renewable energy generation policies to achieve their sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bangladesh has encountered several challenges, including issues like overpopulation, energy shortage, and global warming for the last few decades. Addressing the increasing energy demand has become a crucial concern because of rapid increase in population and lack of growth in the economic. The electricity production of a country heavily relies on fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, which makes up approximately 54% of the current installed capacity. Bangladesh is an agrarian nation and biomass stands out as a source of renewable energy having significant potential to mitigate the demand for heat and electricity. Biomass resources in the country mainly comprise animal dung, agricultural crop residuals, solid waste from municipalities and forest residues. The existing biomass resources contribute to producing a high amount of energy and content of around 1574.16 PJ of energy equivalent to 437.28 TWh of electricity in which agricultural residues, animal manure, municipal solid waste, and forest residues impart around 852.32 PJ, 399.04 PJ, 112.16 PJ, and 210.64 PJ of energy respectively. This paper explores the extent, possibilities, and technologies associated with biomass energy conversion. Additionally, the study delves into the several biomass projects that the government, as well as non-governmental groups, are working on for environmental sustainability along with plans, challenges, and methods that are being utilized to encourage biomass technologies across Bangladesh. [Display omitted] • The biomass potentiality in Bangladesh for heat and electricity generation is emphasized. • The energy scenario and necessity of alternative energy sources in Bangladesh are discussed. • The available energy conversion technologies from biomass in Bangladesh are presented. • The existing biomass resource content of around 1574.16 PJ (437.28 TWh of electricity) of energy. • The economic aspects and challenges of biomass conversion into energy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global call to address climate change and advance sustainable development has created rapid growth in research, investment, and policymaking regarding the renewable energy transition of Indigenous communities. From a rightsholder perspective, Indigenous Peoples' vision of sustainability, autonomy, and sovereignty should guide research on their energy needs. In this paper, we present a multi-method, inductive examination to identify gaps between Indigenous communities' expressed needs and rights, and the questions researchers and policymakers investigate in energy transition research conducted in the context of Indigenous communities located in Canada. We combine a systematic review of the extant literature, a scoping review of the grey literature on off-grid communities by Indigenous and non-Indigenous governments and non-governmental policy bodies, qualitative primary data collected via fieldwork, and an in-depth study of an Indigenous-led renewable energy transition study conducted by Haíɫzaqv Nation's Climate Action Team. We holistically examine these different perspectives and identify emergent themes to recommend ways to bridge the gaps between off-grid renewable energy research and stated Indigenous community priorities. Specifically, we recommend designing equitable research practices, understanding community worldviews, developing holistic research goals, respecting Indigenous data sovereignty, and sharing or co-developing knowledge with communities to align with community priorities closely. • There is a research-practice gap in Indigenous communities' energy transitions. • We used a multi-method inquiry integrating Indigenous and Western approaches. • Renewable energy literature diverges from the Indigenous community vision and goals. • Indigenous research methods can reduce the research-practice gap in high-tech fields. • Community-based approaches can use traditional laws to yield actionable outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual power plants possess the capability to effectively manage the inherent conflict between dispersed electricity generation and user demand, hence optimising market advantages. Nevertheless, the presence of severe weather conditions, geopolitical factors, the phenomenon of global warming, and several other global concerns greatly enhance the level of uncertainty related to the establishment of sustainable energy sources and the corresponding demand from users. Consequently, these factors expose the limitations of virtual power plants in effectively controlling power supply. The active involvement of community members has the potential to invigorate the process of development. This study presents a novel model, referred to as the CE-based cVPP (CE-cVPP) model, that combines the principles of circular economy (CE) and community-based virtual power plant (cVPP). The objective of this model is to enhance the effectiveness of sustainable development efforts. This research redefines the concept of a CE-cVPP, elucidates its defining features, scopes, and classification, and constructs a technological framework, together with an explanatory community case structure. The CE-cVPP energy life cycle framework is constructed based on the principles of the circular economy paradigm. This study investigates the enduring and sustainable benefits of the CE-cVPP across four dimensions: energy, environment, economics, and society. In conclusion, this paper provides a comprehensive examination of the energy, digital, and circular economy perspectives, encompassing critical analysis, problems, prospective analysis, and future directions. • Circular economy and community-based Virtual Power Plant (CE-cVPP) is a paradigm for the future energy sector. • CE-cVPP is a novel sustainable pattern that combines circular economy and community virtual power plants. • CE-cVPP features renewable energy, electricity, gas, cold, heat, and biodegradable waste. • CE-cVPP promotes economic, social, and ecological sustainability. • CE-cVPPs enhance the power and energy system's adaptability, versatility, and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green financing is essential because it guarantees that initiatives that seek to reduce the world's reliance on fossil fuels receive the necessary funding to be successful. Green financial metrics can be simultaneously made possible by specialized technological innovation and natural resource rent, thereby encouraging the adoption of sustainable energy. In this paper, we investigate the mediating mechanisms underlying the relationship between green financial indicators and renewable energy consumption RNEC and we contribute to the ongoing discussion surrounding this relationship. Our observational example is derived from data collected for 66 countries between 2004 and 2019 using a panel threshold regression model defined with the difference generalized method of moments (GMM). We find that green funding initiatives have accelerated the adoption of renewable energy sources by encouraging increases in the proportion of renewable energy in the fuel supply. Multiple analyses of reliability corroborate the existence of this link. Green funding has been shown to have an encouraging effect on the transition to renewable energy, and our findings indicate that technological advancement and natural resource leasing serve to mitigate this effect. To assist policymakers in reducing the world's reliance on polluting energy, our study demonstrates how green financial markets can be established through improved technological innovation and natural resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to identify institutional improvement measures to promote environmentally sustainable ocean renewable energy development by analyzing how the environmental assessment systems in South Korea are integrated into this development. The measures identified in the paper include (1) consideration of subjecting ocean renewable energy development to strategic environment assessment in order to assess the adequacy of relevant project plans and the validity of site selection at early stages, (2) new standards, such as the area of occupancy, integrated within the environmental impact assessment at the project implementation stage, (3) integration of the environmental impact assessment with the procedures for Consultation on Utilization of Sea Areas to reduce development cost and delays and (4) reinforcement of post-development environmental monitoring processes to eliminate uncertainty or lack of knowledge about potential impacts on marine environment and habitat caused by development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a review on solid biofuel usage in Lithuania after decommission of Ignalina NPP and cover the period 2007–2012. Lithuania has limited quantity of indigenous energy resources and is depended upon the import of energy resources, such as natural gas, petroleum and hard coal. Up to the year 2009 about 70–80% of electricity was produced from NPP. Lithuanian energy dependence from energy resources in 2009 was about 50.3%. At the end of 2009, NPP was decommissioned and the structure of gross inland fuel and energy consumption changed radically. Lithuania׳s energy dependence on the imports of fuel increased to about 82% and considerably exceeded the EU average 54%. The share of indigenous and renewable energy sources (RES) in gross inland fuel and energy consumption increased from 14.7% in 2009 to 21.4% in 2013 from which about 86% of RES belonged to solid biofuels. The RES became one of the main driving forces of the country׳s economy. In this paper, the Lithuanian solid biofuel resources and energy production up to the 2013 are presented. Growing stock volume, forest coverage, productivity of stands and consumption for energy production in Lithuania and its counties are defined. Fuels and energy flows diagram and distribution of solid biofuels by economy sectors and consumer groups are shown. Solid biofuels usage impact to gross inland and final energy consumption was studied. Implementation of solid biofuels for heat and electricity generation in Lithuania was researched. Solid biofuel prices were examined and comparison with prices of natural gas and fuel oil was done. Principles and criteria for sustainable solid biofuels production and usage were disclosed. The reduction of total greenhouse gases emissions in Lithuania and other EU countries were shown. Strategic initiatives to increase the RES share in electricity and heating sectors till 2020 were highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of alternative energy sources has become a necessity as fossil energy resources are declining. At the same time, energy demand is rapidly increasing, putting the world on the verge of a global energy crisis. Moreover, the extensive use of conventional energy sources is polluting the environment and causing global warming. On the other hand, wind and other renewable energy sources are viable and clean alternatives to fossil fuels. Low operating cost and extensive availability make wind one of the most advantageous and effective renewable energy sources. This paper provides an exposure to the necessity for deployment of renewable energy sources and the worldwide installed capacity of wind power as well as a review of various wind technologies in conjunction with their applications and devices of operation. Furthermore, this paper discusses the cost of electric generation in wind power plants as well as the economic and environmental policies that advocate the installation of wind energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total energy consumption per capita of any country is a critical input for the economic and social development. But nowadays, the current energy production systems are not sustainable and they are not environment friendly. Increased fossil energy consumptions in manufacturing, transportation and standard of living in the growing population have the highest impact on the environment in terms of global warming potential and air pollution. Also fossil fuel prices are increasing because of shortening of fossil fuel sources. Sustainable development improves standard of life economically and environmentally over the long term in a way that must be supported by the industrial structure of the country. In order to sustain energy availability and keep environment livable for future generations, finding new alternatives is necessary. Increased awareness of society about environmental issues and fossil energy sources depletion support new clean alternatives. These alternatives are one of the important and determinant policy areas for the countries, and should include both short and long term energy policies. This paper discusses the environmental pollution caused by energy consumption, and the role of conventional and renewable energy technologies as one component of the effective sustainable development and solution. Also, renewable energy potential of Turkey for assessment of the green energy systems is investigated in terms of sustainable development, environmental impact and prices. All the given results in this paper will be useful to researchers, engineers, decision and policy makers in industry and government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]