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Electric vehicles (EVs) play a crucial role in tertiary sectors due to their eco-friendliness and sustainability when powered by clean energy. Integrating EV charging stations with renewable energy systems is essential to alleviate energy issues and grid pressure. Exploring this integration's feasibility is imperative for sustainable transportation. This study aims to provide a clear approach and methodology for examining the potential of integrating renewable energy technologies with EV charging stations at the district level. Additionally, the study investigates the energy, economic, and environmental benefits of an integrated system comprising photovoltaic/wind turbines (PV/WTs) connected to the electricity grid to meet the energy demand of a tertiary district consisting of five hotels in Egypt. Through the development of a simulation model, the paper verifies whether the proposed energy system can meet the district's energy demand. In addition, the simulation model has been employed to conduct a sensitivity analysis for investigating the impact of different charging rates on economic feasibility. The results indicate that a hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) integrated with an EV charging station can effectively relieve pressure on the electricity grid and provide electricity at competitive prices compared to the national grid. Moreover, the proposed energy system significantly reduces environmental emissions by up to 510 tons of CO2 per year and has the potential to decrease fossil fuel usage by 248 tons per year. Sensitivity analysis highlights the significant impact of charging prices on project profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential buildings consume a large proportion of global energy consumption. This consumption burdens energy security greatly as it is not proportional to the produced energy. Efficient planning to meet building energy needs requires accurate, high spatial resolution information on energy consumption. To justify the high energy consumption, this study focuses on energy consumption breakdown and evaluates how it affected indoor thermal comfort inside existing residential buildings. As well as, evaluating the proposed retrofitting solution provided by the Egyptian energy code to provide the bases which work on enhancing thermal comfort in existing residential buildings in Egypt. This evaluation was done using building performance simulation tools. The paper's research methodology follows the experimental approach. This approach utilizes energy simulation (DesignBuilder) to evaluate the existing residential building's thermal performance in the current state and post retrofitting solutions. The evaluation is done by analyzing thermal comfort levels according to the acceptable ranges stated by the Egyptian Code for Improving the Efficiency of Energy Use in buildings. Residential buildings are built without taking appropriate design measures to protect the indoor environment from external weather conditions. researchs' importance is to study how this will affect indoor thermal comfort. The paper aims at clarifying the effect the lack of thermal comfort has on energy consumption in the existing residential buildings in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the utilization of the International Atomic Energy Agency's toolkit for reactor technology assessment (RTA) application to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) in the Czech Republic, Egypt, and Poland. The increasing demand for clean energy has led to the prominence of small modular reactors (SMRs) in addressing global energy challenges. The successful integration of SMRs into national energy systems necessitates comprehensive evaluations that take into account each country's specific characteristics and energy requirements. RTA application represents significant progress towards innovative nuclear solutions, advancing a cleaner and more resilient energy future plan. The aim of this study is assessing the feasibility and advantages of SMR implementation in these countries, focusing on energy security, emission reduction, and long-term sustainability. Various SMR technologies, including NuScale, SMART, HTR-PM, BWRX-300, SMR-160, and RITM-200, are comparatively analyzed based on safety, scalability, efficiency, and economic viability. The findings reveal that BWRX-300 suits the needs of the Czech Republic and Poland, while RITM-200 is the optimal choice for Egypt. Moreover, NuScale also stands as a strong alternative for all three countries. This article emphasizes the importance of informed discussions and evidence-based decisions, promoting sustainable energy development and global advancements in nuclear technology. By utilizing SMRs, the Czech Republic, Egypt, and Poland can enhance energy security, reduce emissions, and meet rising energy needs sustainably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transportation problem in operations research aims to minimize costs by optimizing the allocation of goods from multiple sources to destinations, considering supply, demand, and transportation constraints. This paper applies the multi-dimensional solid transportation problem approach to a private sector company in Egypt, aiming to determine the ideal allocation of their truck fleet. In order to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive set of options to reduce fuel consumption costs during transportation or minimize total transportation time, a multi-objective approach is employed. The study explores the best compromise solution by leveraging three multi-objective approaches: the Zimmermann Programming Technique, Global Criteria Method, and Minimum Distance Method. Optimal solutions are derived for time and fuel consumption objectives, offering decision-makers a broad range to make informed decisions for the company and the flexibility to adapt them as needed. Lingo codes are developed to facilitate the identification of the best compromise solution using different methods. Furthermore, non-dominated extreme points are established based on the weights assigned to the different objectives. This approach expands the potential ranges for enhancing the transfer problem, yielding more comprehensive solutions. This research contributes to the field by addressing the transportation problem practically and applying a multi-objective approach to support decision-making. The findings provide valuable insights for optimizing the distribution of the truck fleet, reducing fuel consumption costs, and improving overall transportation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the dynamic linkages amongst ecological footprints, fossil fuel consumption, real income, globalization and population in Egypt in the period from 1971 to 2014. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) methods to investigate the long run relationships amongst ecological footprints, economic growth, globalization, fossil fuel energy consumption and population. Moreover, the Toda–Yamamoto approach is conducted to examine the causal relationships between variables. Findings: Empirical results of FMOLS and DOLS methods show that real income and fossil fuel consumption are responsible for deteriorating the environment, while globalization and population are found to mitigate it. As for Toda–Yamamoto–Granger causal relationship results, unidirectional causal relation from globalization, population and fossil fuel energy consumption to the ecological footprint exists. Moreover, bidirectional causal relation between real income on the one hand and globalization and the ecological footprint on the other hand is found. Originality/value: Using carbon dioxide emissions has major weakness as carbon dioxide emissions are considered only part of the total environmental deterioration so this study is the first study for Egypt that uses the ecological footprint as an indicator for environmental quality and environmental pollution and links it with globalization, economic growth, population and fossil fuel energy consumption. Moreover, realizing the direction of causality between these variables might help policymakers in designing the policies to promote the shift towards clean energy sources, especially that achieving sustainable economic growth with more contribution to the global economy depending on diversification of energy sources without deteriorating the environment is considered one of the most important objectives of Egypt's National Vision 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, renewable energy resources (RESs) have been utilized to supply electricity to remote areas, instead of the conventional methods of electrical energy production. In this paper, the optimal design of a standalone hybrid RES comprising photovoltaic (PV), wind turbine (WT), and biomass sources as well as an energy storage system, such as a hydro-pumped storage system, is studied. The problem of the optimal sizing of the generating units in the proposed energy system is formulated as an optimization problem and the algorithms heap-based optimizer (HBO), grey wolf optimizer (GWO), and particle swarm optimization (PSO) are applied to achieve the optimal sizing of each component of the proposed grid-independent hybrid system. The optimization problem is formulated depending on the real-time meteorological data of the Ataka region on the Red Sea in Egypt. The main goal of the optimization process is to minimize the cost of energy (COE) and the loss of power supply probability (LPSP), while satisfying the constraints of system operation. The results clarify that the HBO algorithm succeeded in obtaining the best design for the selected RE system with the minimum COE of 0.2750 USD/kWh and a net present cost (NPC) of USD 8,055,051. So, the HBO algorithm has the most promising performance over the GWO algorithm in addressing this optimization problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The streetscape of any city reflects the natural built fabric of the street and adds to the experiential quality of that space. A sustainable streetscape ensures that the spaces are long-lasting and functional as a part of the greater sustainable eco-system. Over the past two centuries, mankind has increased the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere from 280 to more than 380 parts per million by volume, and it is still increasing every day. If Earth continues to emit carbon without control, the surface temperature is expected to rise by 3.4 °C by the end of this century. Climate change of that magnitude would likely have serious, long-lasting, and, in many cases, devastating consequences for the planet Earth. Egypt has become one of the biggest emitters of atmospheric pollutants from the transportation sector. The level of carbon emissions and its effect on air quality are placed high on the research agenda. The transportation sector has a great impact on increasing CO2 emissions. The transportation and traffic sectors produce a quarter of the global CO2 emissions due to the heavy use of fossil fuels. This research aims to study the effects of street shape and design on CO2 production. This paper presents an analysis of road transportation in Egypt, taking Helmiet EL-Zaitoun as the main case study, with a focus on energy demand and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Carbon emissions are measured using "Testo 315-3" as a measuring instrument to identify the relationship between street design and quality on the amount of carbon emissions produced. The results of this research suggest that street quality affects the amount of CO2 emissions produced. A car moving at a constant speed will produce fewer CO2 emissions than a car forced to start–stop every while because of external factors such as cracks in the roads occurring from bad streetscape elements. The presented research provides a set of guidelines to enhance the quality of the streetscape and design in order to reduce the amount of CO2 produced in the streets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Water–Energy–Food (WEF) nexus describes natural resource use in the context of social needs and economic development, addressing food, water, and energy security. Population growth and rising economic prosperity will increase the demand for energy, food, and water in the Mediterranean region, compromising the sustainable use of resources. As governments are required to make decisions in order to cope with increasing demands for resources, this paper performs a review of the legislation and WEF policies, identifying the main political and institutional actors involved and the possible policy (in)coherence in four MED countries located on two continents: Egypt, Italy, Spain, and Tunisia. This choice will allow the identification of the barriers and catalysts influencing the implementation of WEF policies and will improve our understanding of the WEF trade-offs and synergies by exploring them on national, regional, and local scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green roofs are an effective way to solve many environmental problems. New cities in Egypt have recently suffered from increasing energy consumption as a result of increasing construction density resulting from population growth, which has decreased green spaces in Egyptian cities. This paper aims to improve the energy consumption of cooling and heating energy in social housing in new urban cities in Egypt, reduce high temperatures inside and outside building, and decrease the urban heat island effect. To achieve these aims, the study suggests a method that is based on modifying the traditional roof of residential construction in Egypt by converting it to a green roof. An integrated analysis model including a strategy shows the environmental and climatic benefits of using green roofs to provide the external outdoor temperature of social housing buildings. The result revealed that green roofs, which are used by 50% of green roofs in traditional buildings, were shown to be efficient in reducing annual energy consumption by 12% and decreasing the average temperature inside buildings by 2.44°C, whereas the average temperature outside was reduced by 3°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at defining the green economy index and using econometric models in order to investigate the relationship between the consumption of renewable energy in Egypt's transition to a green economy. Results indicate that first, consumption of renewable energy can effectively increase the level of development of green economy in the short and long term. Second, improving capital spending and increasing employment leads to an increase in the green economy index. Third, the effect of non-renewable energy on the green economy index is inverse, although there is a direct relationship between non-renewable energy consumption and total energy consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the green credit policy of the government and financial institutions in order to maximize the enhanced effect of renewable energy investment on the green economy. The government must therefore develop a series of incentive measures to support and encourage investment in financing renewable energy, pay attention to the fundamental and guiding role of large enterprises in promoting renewable energy consumption and the development of the green economy, and fully mobilize the enthusiasm of all types of enterprises in promoting the development of the green economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Sciences is the property of Faculty of Engineering - Assiut University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The need for renewable energy sources is recently necessitated by attaining sustainability and climate change mitigation. Accordingly, the use of renewable energy sources has been growing rapidly during the last two decades. Yet, the potentials of renewable energy sources are generally influenced by several climatic factors that either determine the source of energy such as wind speed in the case of wind power or affect the performance of system such as the reduction in solar PV power production due to temperature increase. This highlights the need for assessing climate change impacts on renewable energy sources in the future to ensure their reliability and sustainability. This paper is intended to assess impacts of climate change on wind and solar potential energy in Egypt by the year 2065 under RCP 8.5 scenario. For this purpose, a GIS-based methodology of three main steps was applied. The results revealed that solar energy potential in Egypt is expected to be relatively less vulnerable to climate change compared to wind energy. In this respect, it was found that while wind energy potential was estimated to range ± 12%. By the year 2065 under RCP 8.5 scenario, PV module power is expected to decrease by about 1.3% on average. Such assessment can assist in developing more sustainable and flexible renewable energy policy in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population growth has become a serious problem in many countries, especially Egypt. Which leads to an increase in the population area and an increase in buildings, which then leads to several problems, including large energy consumption, increased pollution, traffic congest ion, and others. Therefore, many governments have resorted to using technology and applying it to build smart buildings to help save energy by using renewable energy to improve its impact on the environment, improve the quality of life of citizens, provide security and safety, and so on. The selection of smart buildings depends on many criteria. Since this problem is described as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem, MCDM methods will be used in this paper. A hybrid method is presented to evaluate smart buildings. The first method, MEREC, was used to calculate the weights of criteria, and the VIKOR model was used for ranking alternatives. Then applying those weights to the CoCoSo, COPRAS, and TOPSIS methods for making comparisons using Spearman's correlation coefficients for ranking these four methods. All methods used are applied in the T2NN environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to pinpoint the sustainable consumption behavior (SCB) drivers for energy and water consumers, identify whether a relationship exists between its two types (Conservation and Sustainable product purchase), and examine the moderating effect of Area of Living, Household Size, Home-ownership on such relationship. Therefore, the paper provides a holistic framework to explain SCBs in resource-constrained emerging markets, which are under-investigated in the extant literature. Employing a mixed-methods approach; in-depth interviews, a focus group, and a survey were used to collect data. Data was collected from 519 respondents in Egypt and was analyzed using the (PLS-SEM) technique. The results show the significance of self-preference, public media influence, perceived moral obligation, and perceived behavioral control in explaining both energy and water conservation. Furthermore, results show that attitudes toward conservation explain energy conservation, while subjective norms explain water conservation. Moreover, a significant relationship between the two types of SCB is reported in both contexts; and this relationship is moderated by consumers' area of living and home-ownership. Finally, insightful implications for practitioners and public policymakers are developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Sciences is the property of Faculty of Engineering - Assiut University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents an application of Gaussian Processes (GPs) for forecasting electrical energy consumption, a case study is considered, which is the main campus of Assiut University located in Assiut city in the middle of Egypt. GPs are a tool that can handle uncertainties in prediction. The study carried out here incorporates the effect of several variables on the prediction process, which constitute the inputs to a GP model. We consider three significant factors affecting the energy consumption including weather conditions, schedules related to work and human activities, and occupancy. Each factor is further divided into a number of timedependent variables that are used as the inputs to the GP model, which infers the energy consumption per month. Based on historical data of these variables, the hyper parameters of the GP model are optimized offline and the resulted model is tested for 12-month-ahead prediction. In order to enhance the GP forecasting model, a nonlinear autoregressive (NAR) model based on neural networks is used to predict the future values of the inputs in order to use the GP model for prediction. Different types of the GP kernels are examined. The performance of the GP models with the different kernels is validated using different validation criteria and compared with a feed-forward neural network for predicting the electrical energy consumption. This work leads to the best forecasting accuracy results in mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of about 5 % during a whole year using GP approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research represents the first wind energy potential assessment that covers major provinces in Egypt. The paper investigates a realistic study technically and economically of wind energy as a talented renewable source for electricity production of various regions in Egypt. More accurate prediction and measurement of wind speed and direction allow wind plants to supply clean, renewable power to businesses, and homeowners at lower costs. Wind resource assessments must be precise in order for wind farms to be built successfully. Wind resource assessments have been carried out in this study. Wind resources evaluation and precise assessment of wind capacity for the four selected sites in Egypt's provinces from 2017 for 3 years at 10, 50 m above ground level (AGL): Hurgada, Aswan, Alexandria, and the capital of Egypt (Cairo). The wind speed data is taken from NASA for different sites in Egypt. The average annual wind speed was estimated to be 4.44, 4.31, 4.91, and 3.9 m/s at 10 m height, respectively. The economical factors such as NPC and COE in the selected regions are estimated. The optimum location for wind assessment in Egypt is Alexandria which gives maximum wind speed, maximum annual energy, minimum levelized cost of energy, and highest capacity factor. The proposed wind assessment will generated 20,1729 kWh of electricity per year and electricity generation cost per kWh/$ is 0.0818844. This planned cost of wind electric generation is compatible with the local electricity tariff. Also, Feasibility of Construction small wind turbine in this site is investigated. In addition, a criterion of wind farm site selection is presented here with Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study through Birds Migration aspect that decreases with increase turbine tower length and short blade length. Through reducing Egypt's domestic fossil fuel consumption, this work will potentially save tons of carbon emissions each year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mediterranean rural settlements suffer from numerous environmental challenges, specifically the annual decrease of the farmlands, climate change threats, and growing resource consumption and demand, such as energy, the core of development. Rural areas play a significant role in achieving food security and sustainable development. Therefore, this paper promotes the energy community and agrivoltaic key concepts as pillars to show how buildings and farms' land uses positively impact the ecosystem. The study focused on Egypt and Italy as representatives of the entire region. Two rural settlements with the same characteristics representing typical agriculture-based patterns have been selected: Lasaifar Albalad, representing 339 villages in the Delta Region, northern Egypt, and Pontinia, representing rural typologies of the 1930s in the Lazio Region, central Italy. Then, two focus groups with versatile stakeholders were conducted. The results showed the juxtaposition of the key concepts and national rural and agricultural policies and fostered a novel approach between Egypt and Italy. The study presented the first analysis of both contexts. The focus groups promoted the ideas, led to a better understanding of the implementation possibilities, raised awareness, improved social acceptance, and highlighted the significant barriers. It paved the way for a further study (micro-scale on-ground practices) to be planned and implemented soon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of the different climatic parameters such as accumulated dust, high temperature, humidity, and solar radiation on the PV system performance. This study is carried out using 20 kW roof-top photovoltaic (PV) system located in Cairo city (capital of Egypt). The practical results are recorded for two years (2017-2018). The experiments and the processes of collecting data have been performed according to a normal cleaning scheduled scheme. The essential contribution of this research is the usage of the collected practical data for developing an empirical formula used for detecting the energy loss due to dust accumulation, high temperature, humidity, and cleaning pattern. Therefore, the proposed formula can be used for detecting the energy produced from any solar power plant in this area according to the used cleaning pattern. The validity of the proposed model is investigated by comparing the output energy from the proposed model with the real measured data at different operating conditions during the period of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To ensure the global energy demands and decarbonize the production of electricity, the expanded utilization of solar photovoltaics (PV) as a renewable energy resource has been increasing in recent decades, principally with the feasibility to be integrated with the conventional power grid. However, supplying clean power from PV grid-connected systems is often hampered by power quality (PQ) disturbances caused by the intermittent nature of solar radiation and other factors related to the grid, converters, and connected loads. To prevent deterioration of the power quality of the system, these disturbances must be mitigated. This paper technically studies some of these PQ issues, that is, the current total harmonic distortion (THD) which causes harmful effects on the whole connected power system and the linked loads. The case study works on a 5.5 kW grid-connected rooftop PV power system established at Benha Faculty of Engineering, Egypt, with the assistance of an installed weather station that boosts the validation of the research results. All aspects regarding the aforementioned small plant are presented including description and simulation of the whole system, review of current THD problems occurring at the point of common coupling (PCC), and a review of other disturbances observed by connected meters. A detailed examination of four techniques for harmonic mitigation, namely the on-off technique, LCL filter, active power filter, and hybrid active power filter is presented with a final comparison to assess the merits and demerits of each one. This research achieved a current harmonic limitation of 1.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the key factors affecting household energy expenditure in Egypt. Based upon the latest 2015 Egyptian HIECS Survey, we develop a quantile regression model with an innovative variable selection approach via the adaptive lasso regularization technique to untangle the spectrum of household energy expenditure. Unsurprisingly, income, age, household size, housing size, and employment status are salient predictors for energy expenditure. Housing characteristics have a moderate impact, while socio-economic attributes have a much larger one. The most significant variations in household energy expenditures in Egypt are mainly due to variations in income, household size, and housing type. Our findings document substantial differences in household energy expenditure, originating from the asymmetric tails of the energy expenditure distribution. This outcome highlights the added value of implementing quantile regression methods. Our empirical results have various interesting policy implications regarding residential energy efficiency and carbon emissions reduction in Egypt. It proposes that targeting policies to specific households can improve the effectiveness of energy efficiency policies. These policies could combine both supply-side interventions, such as reducing energy services' cost and demand-side policies for energy-intensive consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the importance of benchmarking project management performance using key performance indicators (KPI) to evaluate and to improve construction project management performance. A suitable research framework is established to measure project management performance.The paper provided benchmarking of the Egyptian market by applying KPIs measurements on three tier 1 contractors located in Egypt. The results confirm using benchmarking is essential to be applied because it helps construction companies to recognize its strength and weakness and carry out unremitting enhancement and improvement. The research methodology is applicable to be used on other countries with some modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the main determinants of environmental quality in Egypt by utilizing the data covering the years from 1971 to 2014. These dynamics were explored by utilizing the ARDL, wavelet coherence and Gradual shift causality approaches. The ARDL bounds test revealed cointegration among series. Findings based on the ARDL revealed; (i) positive and significant interaction between energy usage and CO2 emissions; (ii) no evidence of significant link was found between urbanization and CO2 emissions; (iii) no significant link was found between gross capital formation and CO2 emissions; and (iv) GDP growth impact CO2 emissions positively in Egypt. Furthermore, findings from the wavelet coherence technique provide supportive evidence for the ARDL estimate. The Gradual shift causality test revealed one-way causality from CO2 emissions to energy consumption and economic growth, while there is evidence of feedback causality between CO2 and gross capital formation. Based on these findings, policymakers in Egypt need to formulate environmental policies to promote sustainable urbanization and clean energy without undermining economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As global warming is on the threshold of each country worldwide, Middle East and North African (MENA) region has already adopted energy efficiency (EE) policies on several consuming sectors. The present paper valuates the impact of temperature increase in the residential building sector of Egypt that is the most integrated example of the 7 out of the 20 MENA countries that have started their green efforts upon building environment. Furthermore, as it is based on a literature research upon socio-economic characteristics, existing building stock, existing legal and institutional framework, it elaborates a quantitative evaluation of Egypt's energy-saving potential, outlining basic constraints upon energy conservation, in order for Egypt to be able to handle the high energy needs due to its warm climate. Last but not least, the paper proposes a policy pathway for the implementation of green building codes and concludes with the best available technologies to promote EE in the Egyptian building sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines the potential hybridization for a dispatchable hybrid renewable energy system (HRES). The plant has been examined for existence in the city of Ras Ghareb, Egypt and follows the load profile of Egypt. The proposed plant configuration contains a wind plant, a solar photovoltaic plant, vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) and a hydrogen system consisting of an electrolyzer, hydrogen tanks and fuel cells (FCs), the latter of which are for both daily and seasonal storage. Professional software tools have been used to model the wind and solar resources. Simulations for both the battery and hydrogen generation and electrolyzer operation are also considered. The output of these simulations is used to configure the HRES using MATLAB. The optimization objective function of the HRES is based on the least levelized cost of energy (LCOE) with constraints for a zero loss of power supply probability (LPSP) and curtailed energy. The optimization has been achieved by using artificial neural networks and a MATLAB program. The results show that the optimal system can handle 91.2% of the load directly from the renewable energy sources (wind and solar), while the rest of the demand comes from the storage system (FCs and VRFBs). The LCOE of the optimal system configuration is (USD) 9.3 ¢/kWh, with both the LPSP and curtailed energy at zero values. This cost can be reduced by 14.5% if the constraint of zero curtailed energy is relaxed by 10%. Despite the load being maximum in summer, the energy storage requirement is predicted to be maximum in winter due to the low wind profile and solar radiation in winter months. Energy storage system size is dependent on both seasonal and daily variations in wind and solar profiles. In addition, energy storage size is the main factor that determines the LCOE of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging economies are mostly plague by a massive consumption of non-renewable energy amidst an ever inceasing urbanization rate with little or no attention to the quality of the environmental. As such, this paper investigates the relationship between renewable energy, urbanization, economic growth, trade openness, and ecological footprint in CIVETS countries, namely, Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa. The study employs augmented mean group estimator, panel cointegration, and causality tests. The findings reveal that renewable energy improves environmental quality, and trade is not particularly harmful to the environment. However, non-renewable energy consumption and urbanization are the chief contributors to environmental degradation in the CIVETS countries. Economic expansion mitigates environmental deterioration in Colombia, South Africa, and Turkey, but contributes to pollution in Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Finally, the causality test suggests that urbanization drives environmental degradation. Policy directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Sciences is the property of Faculty of Engineering - Assiut University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The application of advanced materials in energy conservation is mostly among the urgent issues worldwide. In this context, nanosilica aerogel has received growing attention in the last decade due to its remarkably lower thermal conductivity. Aerogel panels laminated to drywall boards initiated to be used in substantially the energy sufficient buildings. Nevertheless, the greatest and most promising application of silica aerogel appears to be in substantially insulating glazing systems. The present research has concentrated on evaluating the energy performance of the nano aerogel glazing if implemented to the El-Dakahliya governmental headquarters building located in Mansoura city in Egypt, compared with single-glazed windows (base case) and double-glazed windows. The modeling was carried out in Autodesk Revit, and the process of energy performance simulation was carried out by Autodesk Ecotect Analysis by adopting the weather data of Mansoura. The results show that the nano aerogel glazing system succeeds in conserving approximately 19% in the annual energy consumption for a set-point temperature band of 19–27°C. The paper attempts to present significant research especially in studied country. Selected category of buildings may add more originality in term of implementation scope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for freshwater has become progressively critical due to population growth and water scarcity. The current work investigates the energetic performance of a hybrid absorption refrigeration and desalination system. A parametric study for the system operating conditions has been performed to get the optimal conditions. Also, economic analysis and a multi-objective optimization method are used with the aim of maximizing the energy utilization factor of the system and minimizing total costs. The specific cost of desalinated water from the multi-objective optimization is calculated as (1.728 Cent/L) with the greatest energy utilization factor of (2.214). It turns out that, the system performs optimum at condensation and generation temperatures of 30 and 65 °C respectively, with resultant COP and GOR of 0.84 and 1.37. Using the optimum conditions, TRNSYS has been used to investigate the transient performance of the system for Marsa–Matrouh City in Egypt. The cooling and freshwater demands are 10 kW and 24 L/h. It was concluded that the input energy required to run the hybrid system decreased by about 65% less than that required for separate systems. With the assistance of solar energy, it became clear that the energy required was 60% less than the hybrid system as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is experiencing unprecedented development in the clean energy sector in residential and industrial applications. This paper provides a case study assessing different scenarios of greenizing the electrical energy demand in El-Mostakbal city in Egypt. Three scenarios are studied with consideration of a photovoltaic (PV) system integrated with the grid-connected city with different integrated system configurations. The scenarios for the grid-connected city are scenario-I: only PV, scenario-II: PV with batteries for electricity storage along with grid electricity, and scenario-III: PV with hydrogen production, storage, and utilization for covering the electric demand along with grid electricity, these scenarios are assessed technoeconomically, and the results show an optimized case where the electricity demand of the city can be met with 64.3% produced from solar energy, at $71.7 M of the net present cost. • Energy demand is evaluated using different proposed green scenarios that are assessed techno-economically. • Electricity demand of the city can be met with 64.3% produced from solar energy. • The cost of energy generation for scenario-I is found to be $0.0512 per kWh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Using sustainable architecture design strategies specifically daylighting could reduce lighting energy that have an indirect impact on the HVAC energy requirements especially in cooling-dominated buildings in hot climate. As a result of the interactions between lighting and HVAC, the aims of this paper were to reduce the energy consumption by having the balance between beneficial natural light and excessive solar heat and therefore reducing the energy consumption and to have an easy guideline for the architecture to help in increasing the sustainable building designs in Egypt. This paper utilized simulation techniques for identifying the most efficient glazing with a good WWR and a correct daylight autonomy by dominating the thermal heat gain and reducing cooling load yet as energy consumption. Performance predictions and simulations will facilitate in distinguishing ways for reducing energy consumption and up building performance by rigorous analysis method and that is what's this analysis methodology is about. The implementation of the simulation process is carries out using Rhinoceros 3D modeling which supports DIVA for rhino as a simulation engine to space with southern orientation in Alexandria, Egypt. The outcome of this analysis is needless to say selecting the right glazing kind could be a Brobdingnagian issue of reducing energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Electricity, the most direct and effective use of RES, is in center of energy transition. • An interdisciplinary procedure suitable for the planning of RES is presented. • Key points and procedures for the assessment of large-scale RES installation is presented. • Simulation on Eygiption case shows the technical and economical viability. Due to the environmental impacts brought by current energy schemes, the energy transition, a new paradigm shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, has been widely accepted and is being realized through collective international, regional, and local efforts. Electricity, as the most direct and effective use of renewable energy sources (RES), plays a key role in the energy transition. In this paper, we first discuss a viable pathway to energy transition through the electricity triangle, highlighting the role of RES in electricity generation. Further, we propose methodologies for the planning of wind and solar PV, as well as how to address their uncertainty in generation expansion problems. Finally, by using a web-based tool, "RES-PLAT" 1 1 https://res-plat.est.polito.it. , we demonstrate the scheme in a case study in Egypt, which evaluates the impacts and benefits of a large-scale RES expansion. 2 2 The short version of the paper was presented at Applied Energy Symposium: MIT A+ B, August 13–14, Boston. This paper is a substantial extension of the short version of the conference paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IN SPITE OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (CI) IN TERMS OF ACHIEVING NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS, OFFERING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, INCREASING GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) AS WELL AS PROVIDING COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH BUILDINGS AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT MEET THEIR NEEDS AND FULFIL THEIR REQUIREMENTS, IT HAS A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT. The construction industry is a very large consumer of non-renewable resources. In addition, it is a significant source of waste and pollution of air and water as well as an important contributor to land dereliction. Furthermore, it is responsible for 50% of the material resources taken from nature, 40% of energy consumed and 50% of total waste generated. Towards saving the planet, it became crucial to stop the depletion of the natural capitals of the earth thorough developing creative and innovative solutions that achieve the objectives of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This paper aims to investigate the role of Lean Principles (LPs) as an innovative approach for achieving sustainability in the Egyptian Construction Industry (ECI). Towards achieving this aim, a research methodology consisting of literature review, case studies and survey questionnaire, is designed to accomplish five objectives. Firstly, reviewing literature related to sustainability, (LPs) and highlighting their relationship as well as discussing the ability of (LPs) to achieve sustainability objectives. Secondly, presenting and analysing four case studies benefited from applying (LPs) to deliver sustainable projects. Thirdly, presenting and analysing results of a survey questionnaire directed to a sample of Egyptian Construction Firms (ECFs) to investigate their perception and application of (LPs) towards achieving sustainability objectives. Fourthly, developing a conceptual framework to promote the use of (LPs) as an innovative tool for achieving sustainability in (ECI). Finally, summarising research conclusions and recommendations useful to governmental authorities and construction professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural gas is a mixture that is widely used in the industries. Knowledge of its thermodynamic properties is essential for evaluating the process and equipment performance. This paper quantifies the energy that can be extracted from natural gas using a turbo expander. Natural gases of wide-ranging compositions collected from 6 different gas fields in Egypt were investigated based on energy and exergy analysis. The study was conducted using MATLAB. Numerous simulation runs were made by taking various typical feed compositions classified as lean and rich. The effects of increasing the amount of C1, C5 in the feed stream on the efficiency of energy utilization are presented. A validation analysis was performed. The results show similar trends and good agreements. It was concluded from the results that when the concentration of methane in the gas mixture increase, the exergetic efficiency decreases. The results also show that the values of thermodynamic properties depend on the relative amount of heavy components in the feed stream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adding to the debate on the drivers of carbon neutrality, the perspective of time-dependent effect of crucial factors such as the renewable and conventional energy utilization should offer relevant policy for the stakeholders in the energy sector. On the empirical front, several studies have investigated the causal interaction between renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission by using the conventional empirical approaches. In contrast, this study utilized a time-varying causality (TC) technique (which offers time inference) to determine the causal relationship between CO2 emission and its potential drivers such as energy source types and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, and Tunisia over the period spanning 1980Q1 and 2017Q4. Importantly, there is statistically significant evidence of causality as examined by the TC approach. For instance, causality from CO2 emission to renewable energy source for the period 2004Q1–2006Q3 and from GDP to CO2 emission during 2013Q2–2015Q3 were observed for South Africa. Moreover, the causality from non-renewable energy source to CO2 emission and from GDP to CO2 emission compares very well with Nigeria, Libya, and Algeria. Overall, the results largely indicate causality relationships among our variables for all the six countries over different time sequences. These results differ from the Toda–Yamamoto test, which only reveals a causality relationship in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. The empirical findings obtained from the time-varying causality approach are essential for designing and implementing appropriate energy policies, especially attaining these countries' Paris agreement and the Sustainable Development Goal 13 since the goals are time periodically assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy demand increased dramatically owing to the evolution of industrial and domestic requirements and the associated decrease in oil and gas resources. This study aims to evaluate El-Maghara coal (with about 52 MT reserve) as a potential hydrocarbon source. The collect samples were subjected to petrographic, chemical analyses and Rock–Eval pyrolysis to investigate the detailed characteristics of this coal. Chemically, this coal is high volatile bituminous coal with high H and S content. The high H/C ratio indicates the high extraction yield of coal. The main maceral group in the studied samples is vitrinite (62.8%) followed by liptinite (31.3%) and inertinite (5.8%). The content of liptinite indicates the capability of this coal for petroleum production. Based on Rock–Eval Pyrolysis results and TOC content, the coal has excellent petroleum potential. The hydrogen index (HI) and H/C atomic ratio indicate the II kerogen type (oil prone) of this coal. This coal has Tmax and vitrinite reflectance values around 415.8 °C and 0.37%, respectively, indicating the immature stage of kerogen. The high reactive maceral content (94.2%), oil-yield (65.5%) and conversion from coal to oil (95.4%), indicated that this coal has a hydrocarbon generation potential for oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the photovoltaic technology, the world’s market trends in the past few years and its future map till 2050. The paper shows the PV market development in the world in terms of cumulative installed PV capacity from 2000 to 2013 as actual PV installation in all the world in terms of total installed PV capacity (135 GW), annual installed PV capacity (37 GW) and PV electricity energy generated in each year. According to the forecast of global PV generation, China is expected to be the largest producer of PV electricity soon after 2020. By contrast, the United States’ share is expected to remain at about 15% starting 2020 onwards, while Europe’s share is expected to decrease constantly from 2015 to 2045. The paper also shows that almost all of the energy consumption in Egypt was met by oil and natural gas at 41% and 46% respectively. The remainder was supplied by coal and renewable energy sources. The current demand forecast expects a six percent demand growth per year over the next seven years. Egyptian Electric Holding Company is currently implementing new generation projects to produce 7000 MW over the next few years. For the purpose of designing and sizing PV systems the paper presents the five relevant economic methods of financial analysis that are often used for making building investment decisions. These methods are payback analysis, net benefit analysis, saving-to-investment ratio, adjusted internal rate of return and life-cycle cost. In the same manner, the paper presents two case studies of the financial assessment analyzing PV systems in Egypt. The first case is relates to the on-grid PV 10 MW power plant for different sites, while the second paper describes the finance analysis of a standalone off-grid PV system generating electricity to feed a residential house in rural area of Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fractional fuel consumption saving as well as pollution cuts will be a thinking pattern or a key concern in modern ship designs. Recent advances in technology for solar cells and photovoltaic (PV) modules have resulted in solar power being a cost-effective fuel reduction alternative for this objective. This paper is intended to provide a hybrid solar diesel power system for short-run ferries. This work proposes and emphasizes the energy efficiency, cost efficiency and minimal environmental impact of hybrid-powered ferries with solar diesel. The proposed system has been studied on the example of passenger-car ferry connecting the two banks of the Suez Canal at Port Said city - Egypt. Economic and environmental analyses have been conducted to determine and measure the advantages of the proposed system. The results show an economically viable and environmentally sustainable system if it were treated as a long-term investment. Compared to the equivalent diesel generator system, this system reduces exhaust emissions by about 375 tonnes per year. The fuel cost savings achieved are also significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Office buildings in Upper Egypt suffer from high temperature in summer due to solar radiation of this extreme hot arid climatic region. The effect of smart glass on reducing energy consumption in office buildings is well studied in temperature climates but rarely addressed for this Region. This paper aims to compare different types of glazing to define which achieves a better balance between reducing cooling energy consumption and daylight saving. Six types of glazing were simulated on the main office building of Sohag governorate – Egypt. The simulation was carried out for all orientations. Energy Plus-Design Builder simulation tool has been used to study the effect of smart glass on increasing energy efficiency. The window area-to-floor ratio was 8%, 16%, 24% and 32%. Simulation results show that smart glazing is more effective than traditional windows. Electro-chromic glass achieved the best results in reducing cooling energy consumption for window area of 32%. Also, achieving a significant reduction in cooling loads up to 43% in East orientation, 46% in South orientation and 45% in West orientation. On the other hand, it reduced glare in the East and West orientation by 64%. And, it reduced consumption of lighting energy by 60%, 61% and 57% in East, South and West, respectively. The effect of Gaso-chromic was increased when the window area ratio increased to 32%. For window area 32%, Gaso-chromic achieved the results of light energy similar to Electro-chromic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings are considered one of the main causes of increasing CO2 emissions due to their excessive consumption of energy. The drive towards sustainability represents a challenge especially in existing buildings. The aim of the research is to support the built environment's move onto a low-carbon path using smart technologies. This research highlights the role of smart building technologies in increasing energy savings of office buildings in Egypt, taking into consideration their incremental cost. Based upon data available on Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) website, association rule has been applied using Apriori Algorithm to identify the most used smart technologies in EDGE-certified office buildings, in addition to the different smart-orientated retrofitting scenarios that could be applied. Using EDGE software, energy assessment of an existing office building in Egypt was performed. This assessment acts as a "reference point" to quantify the impact of each smart technology and retrofitting scenario on the energy savings, incremental costs, and payback period. Limitations of the application of the different smart technologies impacted the selection process for the different scenarios. These limitations can be summarized in the suitability of application in the existing building's systems, the availability and cost in the local market, and the potential of the building's infrastructure adaptation to the proposed technologies. Based upon the above limitations, the best scenario was selected. Results showed that smart technologies have a great role in retrofitting of office buildings reaching more than 20% energy savings. In addition, the high initial cost of applying smart technologies could be covered within around 3 years of operation. This research could be used as a guide for improving energy performance of existing office buildings in Egypt using smart technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The objective of the paper is to analyze evolution of urbanization, transport demand and supply in Greater Cairo (GC) over the last three decades of the 20th century. This is in addition to investigating the impact of city growth on energy consumption and emissions from transport. It utilizes results of 1971, 1978, 1987, 1998 and 2001 travel demand surveys, undertaken during the corresponding GC transport studies; each was published a year or two later. No further transport studies have been carried out in GC over the past decade and in view of the current political situation, it is not envisaged that similar studies will be undertaken in the near future. The analysis includes the evolution of daily trips, trip purpose share, modal share and number of cars. More recent trends for 2006/2007 vehicle registration by type and size are given. The evolution of transport supply covers projects until early 2012. In parallel estimates of the evolution of energy consumption and cost, emissions of greenhouse gases (CO2) and pollutants (CO, HC and NOx) are given for 1971/2001. The adopted estimation methodology is summarized. Comparative analysis of relevant evolution indexes and trends of growth between 1971 and 2001, taking the former as base year, is given. Land use and transport policies and projects that in some cases helped, directly or indirectly, to reduce traffic congestion, or at least prevented an increase, are addressed, commenting on their outcomes. Thus, transferable experience are useful to sister cities benefiting from successes and avoiding drawbacks. The evolution of the impact of GC metro on energy consumption and cost, and GHG emissions is given for 1987/2001, assuming the scenario “metro did not exist”. More recent impact analysis is given for 2007/2008, as the data allowed estimating traffic volumes that would have been added to the congested metro corridors under the above scenario; and the related fuel consumption and cost and GHGs. The paper ends with conclusions on GC evolution, learned lessons and suggests repeating similar work in other mega cities of the developing countries. Further research is emphasized, e.g., modeling the relationship between land use, transport, energy and emissions; modeling emission factors by vehicle type; and studying fuel-subsidy-reduction scenarios and their socio-economic effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Since the prices of oil and gasoline increase, the wind power will become increasingly competitive. So, one should present the safe conclusions with respect to the economic viability in terms of investment and operation of the wind turbines at a given location. Egypt enjoys fully a high potentiality of wind energy and its applications, nevertheless the study of this renewable source is still below the required level. Technical assessment of a two wind farms of 300 MW installed capacity has been presented on the proposed locations, where the correct roughness factor was estimated and the rate of wind power density potential per month at 100 m altitude has been derived. Frequency distributions, monthly capacity factor and annual full load hours have been investigated to choose the best suitable wind turbines over there. Annual capacity factors are high ranged between 44% and 42%, respectively, that represents 3855 h of annual operation hours in Kharga station, while 3680 of operative yearly hours were at Dakhla South station. The considered wind farms could generate 1130 GWh of electricity per year. Average cost per kWh is around 2 € cent. In terms of practical economic analysis and considerations given in this paper, Kharga and Dakhla South sites are global areas for wind power plants and have the ability to generate electricity with low price. Also, it is lower than the local electricity tariff in Egypt, which was generated by other ways through the fiscal year 2017/2018, that is equivalent to 5.4 US cent per kilowatt-hour. As a result, this great amount of electricity produced from this venture is relatively more than the needs of Egypt and can be exported to Southern European countries on the Mediterranean Sea, that will reduce the domestic fossil fuel consumption and create a clean regional climate by preventing thousands of tons of carbon emissions per year. • Proposed wind farms will generate energy 1,130 GWh/year. • Annual capacity factors are high ranged between 44% and 42%. • Economical wind applications are possible in the two sites. • The expected cost varies in the range of 1.96–2.09 € cents/kWh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Continuing to lead the way in the fight against climate change and protecting the environment, Egypt moved little steps towards building regulations for all new construction in the country hopefully to achieve major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and water use. This paper is an analytical study of unified building regulation and standard buildings cods in Egypt in order to figure out how much they comply with green architecture. The paper also investigates the opportunities and challenges in Egyptian building culture which will affect its movement towards green principles. The paper is concluded with some recommendations to peter involve some green principles within unified building law in Egypt. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The energy consumption of residential buildings represents the majority part of energy usage in Egypt. The aim of this study is to assess the energy performance of a dwelling in New Minia City, Egypt through different orientations. The energy consumption of the case study building is 52560 kWh annually. However, this energy demand could be reduced by 5.8% if the building is oriented to the north direction. The difference of the energy consumption between the best and the worst building orientations, North and South, respectively, reached up to 7.5%. The location of the actual building has a noticeable effect on the energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From raw material extraction to final product disposal, the construction industry is integrally involved in every stage of the greenhouse gas emissions life cycle. One of the main causes of the climate catastrophe is the increasing use of polluting energy sources to power our homes and businesses. This massive problem of global warming has now forced countries to act. To further address sustainability, they seek to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions by adopting more sustainable materials. The current trend in scientific research is to use waste resources to improve the properties of various materials to exacerbate the problems of climate change because of the use of traditional building materials. Therefore, one of the most environmentally friendly alternatives to the standard procedure is the use of agricultural residues to improve the quality of building materials. This improvement will modify the thermal properties of building materials such as bricks, which will lead to an improvement in energy efficiency inside buildings, especially residential buildings. As a result, the research focused solely on simulating several bio-brick alternatives that had been discovered in earlier studies in order to test their viability in terms of increasing the energy efficiency of residential buildings in one of the hot cities. The study demonstrated that using bio-building materials can lower energy usage. In addition to saving energy in residential constructions, rice straw cement bricks and sugarcane bricks have operating efficiency rates of roughly 7% and 12%, respectively. All these advancements over conventional brick reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to determine Egypt's potential for energy sources, and the volume of potential energy production and consumption, balancing inputs, outputs and availability of energy. The study depends on analyzing the map of Egypt's energy balance of non-renewable and renewable energy, including oil, gas, solar, and wind energy, using UN-Energy Balance of Egypt data and the global solar and wind atlases of Egypt. It demonstrates that in 2020 Egypt's production of fossil fuels is 89.03% of the total energy production, while renewable energy production is only 10.97%. More specifically, fossil fuel consumption is 97.8% of the total consumed energy, while energy consumption from renewable sources is 2.2%. Therefore, this study recommends that further studies should be conducted to explore 'hybrid' energy sources to solve Egypt's energy crisis and to preserve the environment through clean energy sources, such as using green hydrogen and working on reducing emissions from fossil fuels. It is also recommended that there is value in employing GIS and RS applications to estimate the potential of renewable energy across the map of Egypt, and to present this information to possible investors who could expand the development of clean energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research reexamines the validity of the EKC hypothesis in the top three polluted nations in Africa, Algeria, Egypt, and South Africa, over the period 1970–2020. The central idea of the research is to reexamine the EKC hypothesis by incorporating the ARMEY curve linking government spending and GDP into the Kuznets curve, as suggested by Işık et al. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(11):16472-16483, (2022) and Ongan et al. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(31):46587-46599, (2022). To this end, the ARDL equation with a Fourier function is implemented to estimate the long-run drivers of environmental deterioration. The Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model results revealed that the composite model is only valid in Algeria, and the optimal government spending that maximizes CO2 emissions is 16.88% of gross domestic product. On the contrary, the results showed that the composite model is not valid for South Africa and Egypt due to the failure of the desired shapes for the three curves. The outcomes also confirm the role of energy consumption and population as key drivers of environmental degradation in the three countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) urge for the reconceptualization of our design of the urban built environments. However, current efforts to integrate urban environmental assessment into practice in Egypt are proving insufficient. This paper utilises the Ladybug tools simulation plugins to investigate the impact of changing the morphological characteristics of three-block typologies (scattered, linear and courtyard) and their associated parameters to understand their multidimensional relationship with environmental conditions, outdoor thermal comfort and energy use intensity. This study based in Cairo, Egypt, considers 3430 hypothetical geometrical configurations comprising of a variety of design parameters and indicators. The results show a strong correlation between the design parameters and the combined performance of thermal comfort and energy consumption (R2 = 0.84), with urban density having the strongest impact on both thermal comfort and energy use (R2 = 0.7 and 0.95, respectively). The design parameters exhibited a consistent impact on the different typologies, albeit with varying magnitude. Compact and medium-density urban forms are shown to elicit the best overall performance, especially for ordinal orientations (e.g., ~45°) across all typologies. Compact high-density scattered forms are favoured when considering thermal comfort, while courtyards outperform other typologies when considering energy efficiency and overall performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]