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Conservation and Development Interventions (CDIs) aim to promote sustainable natural resource use and contribute to both biodiversity conservation (or restoration) and human well-being. Their long-term impact on social-ecological interactions hinges on their transformative potential to achieve sustainability. In this perspective paper, we categorize CDIs based on their strategies for achieving transformative change, empowering decision-makers to guide social-ecological systems towards sustainability. We classify CDIs by their specific dependencies between values, rules, and knowledge systems in decision-making, power relations, and environmental justice in creating transformations. Based on this classification, we identify three 'realms' of CDI: (1) the realm of "management", i.e., interventions for a just and sustainable natural resource use happen at a broad but shallow level through management design and content. Here, formal rules and visible power structures dominate to achieve distributive justice; (2) the realm of "understanding", i.e., interventions that offer a better understanding of knowledge diversity and shedding light on invisible power structures by addressing procedural justice; (3) the realm of "engagement", i.e., interventions that elucidate the underlying human value system and uncover hidden power structures, e.g., by analysing social discourses and thereby deeply engaging with recognitional justice in sustainable natural resource use. This work suggests that CDIs can enhance their capacity to drive transformative change towards promoting sustainable natural resource use by strategically addressing and actively involving all three realms. • Conservation and Development Interventions hold potential to transform social-ecological systems towards sustainability. • This potential hinges upon the interplay of decision-making, power relations, and environmental justice. • We classified three realms within which interventions take place: "management"; "understanding", and "engagement". • Strategically addressing these realms may foster transformative change in sustainable natural resource use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated energy systems (IES) have become a popular direction in the field of energy research due to their economic, efficient and environmental friendly advantages. Among them, multi-region integrated energy systems (M-RIES) are more valuable than single-region integrated energy systems (S-RIES) due to their low energy loss, high economy and reliability. At present, there is a lack of an optimisation method that integrates station-network synergy, inter-station interaction, shared energy storage configuration, overall planning of equipment configuration and multi-timescale rolling for the multi-faceted performance enhancement of M-RIES. Therefore, this paper proposes an M-RIES with station-storage interaction and inter-station interaction under the consideration of station-network synergy, and conducts a study on the optimal configuration of M-RIES from the viewpoint of economy and environmental protection. The final analysis is based on a northern region. The results show that the system achieves an energy efficiency of 1.07, a 16.9% reduction in total station equipment configuration, a 3.87% reduction in cost and a 0.76% increase in new energy consumption rate compared to a stand-alone operating system. Taking one of the energy stations as an example, under the operating conditions of 10% intra-day and 5% real-time error, the multi-timescale rolling optimisation method significantly improves the energy supply rate compared to the day-ahead dispatching method, where the error rates for the three typical days of transition, winter and summer are only 0.43%, 2.56% and 0.06%, corresponding to a reduction of 5.02%, 2.49% and 5.06%, and a smaller cost error than the ideal solution The cost error rates for the three typical days are only 1.99%, 3.60% and 3.46%. In summary, the collaborative autonomous planning and operation method proposed in this paper has great advantages in terms of economy, reliability, energy efficiency and environmental protection. • A multi-area collaborative integrated energy system with shared energy storage is proposed. • Day-ahead collaborative, intra-day autonomous multi-timescale rolling optimisation method. • The system has advantages in terms of economy, energy efficiency and the rate of new energy consumption. • The multi-time-optimised rolling method has advantages in terms of both meeting demand and economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive distribution networks are rapidly transforming to active networks due to ever growing penetration of mainly renewable distributed energy resources. The integration of these resources has positive impact from environmental perspective but their penetration has raised serious issues on secure and reliable operation of a network, owing to their intermittent and not dispatchable output. To maintain an optimal operation of a network, extensive research studies have been carried out under the theme of network management. This paper discusses the concept of losses management, which falls under the same theme, in active distribution networks. The methods related to modelling of such systems and end-users, numerical tools required for system analysis, active network management schemes for losses minimization and fair losses allocation to passive and active consumers are reported and investigated. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide a concise yet comprehensive comparison of the most recently proposed losses management approaches and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low carbon economy, energy conservation and environmental protection is one of the important tasks of current and future economic and social development. The large-scale development and utilization of all kinds of clean energy has accelerated the speed of China's energy transformation. Rail transit system is a large power consumer. In recent years, the transportation system has been facing the triangle contradiction of new energy, cost and environmental protection. Connecting photovoltaic power generation to rail transit power supply system has many advantages: (1) it can reduce the operation cost of transportation system; (2) it can reduce the use of traditional thermal power; (3) it can reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment; (4) it can also promote the application of new energy. It makes a lot of sense. However, due to the randomness and uncertainty of photovoltaic power generation, the direct access of photovoltaic power generation to rail transit power supply system will bring a certain impact on rail transit power supply system. In this paper, the LSTM neural network is used to predict the load of photovoltaic power generation, which effectively ensures the accuracy of prediction, and then improves the stability of photovoltaic power generation when connected to the rail transit power supply system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear power has gradually become one of the key parts in power supply structure due to its environmental benefits, effective productivity and steady operation. However, complicated system, high investment and derivative security issues make it difficult to develop in a large scale. Nowadays, faced with serious challenges from environment protection, fossil fuel lacking and upgrading of industrial structure, China are taking measures to promote nuclear power industry to realize sustainable development. China׳s nuclear power industry has achieved large achievements in industrial policy, technical and economic condition during the last three decades. However, there still exist problems impeding its future development. Therefore, this paper first analyzes the external environment and historical stages of nuclear power industry in China. Then, it summarizes its current situation and points out the existing problems. In the end, to deal with the above problems, this paper proposes relative solutions from the aspects of industrial distribution optimization, regional resources integration, technical standard system, industrial organization mode and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demand for electricity, more and more fossil fuels are used to generate electricity which leads to energy shortage and environmental pollution. Therefore, using Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) and developing sustainable smart grid have become a common global priority: Since RESs, like solar and wind energy, are inherently unstable, hydrogen energy, as a completely clean new energy, has received widespread attention: I-Energy, which combines information and energy, is a new research direction in smart grid. Furthermore, the household electricity usage accounts for 41% of the total power consumption. Therefore, Household Intelligent Electricity System (HIES), combining hydrogen energy and i-Energy, becomes smart solutions. In this paper, we review the scientific literature for hydrogen energy and i-Energy on HIES, including recognition of electricity appliances, establishment of power consumption model, human activity analysis, smart interactive terminal, home energy management system, distributed power supply and district coordinated power utilization. Finally, we summarize the challenges and give the solutions concerning HIES, and this work can give a useful reference to new energy used model and environment protection. • A new application of Hydrogen Energy on Household Intelligent Electricity System (HIES). • A comprehensive overview of Hydrogen Energy and I-energy on HIES. • Combining internet with traditional electricity to analyses I-energy on HIES. • Summarizing the challenges and corresponding solutions concerning HIES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For realizing environment protection and carbon emission reduction strategy, the dominant position of renewable energy in the future power system has been clarified. Planning economic and efficient flexible resource system is the basis to balance multi fluctuations caused by large amount of renewable energy integration and ensure the safe operation of the whole power system. Considering that the flexibility adjustment demands of different links of the power system are not independent, but influence and restrict each other, this paper focuses on how to collaboratively allocate multi-flexible resources and achieve corresponding balancing interaction strategy. Firstly, a flexible resource system is composed through a fuzzy TODIM improved PROMETHEE-II model. Secondly, a multi-flexible resource collaborative allocation optimization model is proposed, which considers the Stackelberg game relationship of flexibility adjustment demand and ability in different links of the power system under varied fluctuation scenarios. The scientificity and effectiveness of the proposed model are verified by a practical case, and key incentive factors and specific development suggestions for improving flexible resources application efficiency are identified simultaneously. Since the collaborative planning of flexible resource system have not been deeply discussed by scholars yet, thus, this research contributes to the literature and expand the knowledge. • Design an effective flexible resources system through TODIM improved PROMETHEE-II model under multiple application scenarios. • Construct flexible resources optimal allocation scenarios according to the power generation and consumption characteristics of the new power system. • Construct a two-layer flexible resources equilibrium allocation model based on Stackelberg game theory. • Propose a multi-stage flexible resources equilibrium allocation model solution method. • Identify key factors influencing the allocation strategy of flexible resources in the new power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • India has set a goal to achieve 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030. • Indian bioenergy sector increased by 5.42 times in last 10 years. • Small scale biomass gasification plants, solution for waste biomass disposal. • Energy generation for environment protection. • Reducing air pollution by utilizing crop residue in energy generation. India is an agriculture based economy, and also has a forest cover that comprises roughly 24% of its total geographic area. Thus, an abundance of biomass, in the form of waste material is readily available throughout the country annually. The forest biomass, which consists of deadwood and residues, and the agricultural biomass in the form of crop residues, are presently disposed of by burning, which causes air pollution and damage to the local ecology. This waste biomass can be better used for electricity generation using gasification technology. The total installed capacity for electricity generation in India is 344 GW as of March 2018. Renewable energy makes up 20% of this total, and bioenergy, in turn, makes up 14% of renewable energy. Bioenergy makes up 2.8% of total energy installations in India at present. However, the power being generated through bioenergy sources is about 9.5 GW. In this paper, the most recent statistical data regarding energy generation through bioenergy resources has been presented using currently available sources. Brief descriptions of gasification conversion routes have also been included, with their sustainability conditions, as well as the government policies necessary for implementation in the Indian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Various kinds of SOFC-based systems for building applications were reviewed. • System configurations and characteristics were analyzed and discussed. • Means, by which the system performance was assessed, were detailed. • An all-around performance demonstration of the systems was presented. • Possible strategies for a brighter prospect of development were discussed. Energy consumption in buildings has long been a target for reduction efforts, and in these efforts, adopting advanced technologies to design high efficient energy systems dominates buildings' energy supply side. To date SOFC systems are regarded as one of the most adaptable technologies for building applications in terms of efficiency, flexibility and environmental protection. In this paper, a comprehensive review of SOFC-based energy systems for building applications is presented from the aspect of system layouts and performance assessments. The first half of this review is structured by the way of distinguishing SOFC systems in power capacities, provided energy forms and thermal management, based on which the types of SOFC systems used in buildings are defined and classified, and various system configurations and characteristics are reviewed and analyzed. The latter part gives a thorough review on the performance assessment of SOFC systems designed to be used in buildings. The system-level model widely adopted to predict the system performance is presented. With regard to the SOFC module, a common electrochemical model evolved from the conservation laws of mass and energy is discussed. For performance demonstrations and specific building load features are inextricable, building loads calculations and system matching strategies in relevant literatures are discussed before presenting the review of energy efficiency, and economical and environmental benefits. Guided by the ever-growing environmental concerns, the end of this paper discusses possible strategies for a brighter prospect of SOFC systems for building applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that the effect of income on the energy mix depends on the democracy level. We find that more democratic countries tend to depart from the hydroelectric power, oil, and geothermal sources of energy to rely on coal, natural gas, and modern renewable sources (nuclear, biomass, wind, and others). Less democratic countries tend to become more dependent on oil and natural gas with their own development. Moreover, the energy ladder transition from hydroelectric sources to natural gas appears to be escalated more quickly for less democratic countries. These transitions are thus more environmental friendly for more democratic countries than for less democratic ones. An extended multinomial fractional regression model is proposed to test and deal with the endogeneity of income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive design strategies are important for achieving building sustainability given their proved influences over the building performance in both energy and indoor environmental aspects. The building layout, envelope thermophysics, building geometry and infiltration & air-tightness are major passive architectural parameters to improve the building energy efficiency. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review on simulation-based approaches to optimize passively designed buildings is conducted and corresponding research gaps are identified. Based on existing research methods, modelling experiments on a generic building are conducted to integrate robust variance-based sensitivity analyses with an early-stage design optimization process. Proposed mixed-mode ventilation and lighting dimming control algorithms are applied to the EnergyPlus model to simulate the total lighting and cooling energy demands by incorporating the related design criteria in a local green building assessment scheme. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is then coupled with the modelling experiment to obtain the Pareto frontier as well as the final optimum solution. Different settings of NSGA-II are also investigated to improve the computational efficiency without jeopardizing the optimization productivity. Furthermore, the sensitivity of optimum design solutions to external environmental parameters in hot and humid areas are explored. Findings from this study will guide decision-makers through a holistic optimization process to fulfill energy-saving targets in a passively designed green building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term smart grid (SG) has been widely used in both the United States (U.S.) and Canada to represent multiple visions and configurations of electricity system change. In both countries policies, programs, and initiatives have emerged to promote technological and social changes associated with SG, and different patterns of SG implementation and governance are apparent at local, regional, and national levels. This paper reports on a comparative analysis of SG media content in nationally-circulating newspapers in the U.S. and Canada to explore patterns of SG conversations in the two countries. Media reporting about SG provides a valuable lens that reflects public discourse and also contributes to setting the public agenda by shaping public opinion and framing key issues. Despite similarities in terms of policy, program design, and SG deployment strategies, several prominent differences between the two countries emerge in public conversations. Firstly, Canadian SG newspaper content focuses more on implementation and describing people's experiences with smart meters, while the U.S. content focuses more on commercial opportunities with more reference to private sector actors and various technological components beyond smart meters. Secondly, although media coverage in both countries frequently highlights technological and economic benefits of SG, positive SG framing is more frequent in the U.S. newspapers than in the Canadian ones. Negative SG portrayals, including cultural, political and health and safety risks, are more frequently mentioned in the Canadian newspapers. These differing SG framings could be due to national level cultural differences. In the U.S, considered to be more of an individualistic society, there is more emphasis on business opportunities, being entrepreneurial, and more private sector involvement in the electricity sector. By contrast, in Canada, public authorities, more prominent in the electricity market than in the U.S., play a key role in smart grid deployment. Furthermore, in Canada, considered to have more social support structures for individuals and communities, there was more emphasis on the experiences of people. This suggests that cultural differences at the national level be a further contextual lens helpful to policy makers and technology proponents as they embark upon energy system change initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by the scarcity of non-renewable resources and a growing environmental awareness in Germany, the demand for wood could likely exceed its sustainable supply within the next decades. In response to this development, cascading, i. e. the sequential use of one unit of material in material applications with energy generation as final step, is expected to enhance the resource efficiency of wood utilization. In this context, the objective of this paper is to determine the resource consumption and resource efficiency of wood cascading compared to the use of primary wood to provide the same multiple functions. To account for resource use and calculate the efficiency, exergy analysis was applied. The exergy of a material is the potential work that can be obtained from the material in the natural environment. By using Exergy Flow Analysis, key drivers of exergy dissipation and thus hotspots for improvement were identified. Exergetic Life Cycle Assessment was applied to determine resource use and the resource efficiency at a life cycle level. The results indicate that cascading leads to less resource consumption compared to the use of primary wood, indicated by higher resource efficiency (46% vs. 21%) at life cycle level. The main resource saving potential through cascading arises from avoiding primary production in forestry systems. In conclusion, cascading reduces the primary resource extraction and makes wood utilization highly efficient. Exergy analysis proved to be a viable method to study the resource use of multifunctional cascading systems, although showing some limitations with respect to land use accounting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has very rich offshore wind energy resources, and good conditions for its development in eastern coastal areas. Making full use of these resources could effectively alleviate the tense situation in China׳s power supply, and contribute to energy-saving, emission reduction, and environmental protection targets. Chinese offshore wind power is still in the primary stage, and further development is facing both opportunities and challenges and constrained by weaknesses. The SWOT methodology has been adopted in this study to investigate internal and external factors affecting the Chinese offshore wind power industry. An extensive and critical literature review is also included, including academic papers, statistical data, policy documents, and websites, and 15 factors were identified. Strategies based on the SWOT analysis are proposed to promote the healthy and rapid development of the Chinese offshore wind power. The structural SWOT analysis framework provides insight for both policy makers and industry to gain a better understanding of what influences the sustainable and healthy development of the offshore wind power industry in China, and provide a useful reference for research in related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the feasibility of constructing multi-energy complementary systems in rural areas of China is examined. First, the rural energy structure and energy utilization in the eastern, central, and western regions of China are analyzed, and the development and utilization modes of multi-energy complementary systems in different regions are evaluated based on the differences in the resource endowment in different regions. Second, the input-output status of the multi-energy complementary mode in different regions is analyzed. Then, based on the assumption of technical feasibility, the feasibility of the multi-energy complementary system is analyzed in terms of various dimensions, such as economic, energy conservation, environmental protection, and social benefit. Finally, an empirical study is conducted by comparing the proposed multi-energy complementary system with traditional energy supply system. The results show that the development of a multi-energy complementary system in each region is feasible from the perspective of multiple dimensions to reduce environmental pollution, create employment opportunities, and improve the economy. Moreover, the system can significantly reduce the peak-valley difference and improve energy efficiency. • This paper analyzes the differences in energy structure in the different regions of China. • Construct a multi-energy complementary system in each region. • Demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a multi-energy complementary system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A 4-dimension plan selection index system is constructed. • A BWM-CRITIC-VIKOR framework under intuitionistic fuzzy environment is proposed. • Initial investment and utilization rate have the greatest influence. • The energy adequacy index should be given the lowest consideration. An applicable and scientific plan of integrated energy system is conducive to the improvement of system operation efficiency and project investment profits. Different from the industrial park integrated energy system, the urban integrated energy system (UIES) is more closed to residents' life with limited available energy resources, and concern more about energy efficiency and environmental protection characteristics. However, there are few studies focusing on plan selection of UIES investment or considering UIES actual requirements. Therefore, this paper innovatively proposes an intuitionistic fuzzy framework for UIES plan selection. Firstly, based on project demands and characteristics, a comprehensive evaluation index system is constructed from 4 dimensions of economic cost, energy utilization, environmental impact and social recognition. Secondly, under the consideration of method characteristics and calculation rules, a novel combined weighting method integrating the Best-worst Method and the CRITIC are proposed to determine index weights. Thirdly, drawing a balance between group utility and individual regret, decision-making information is aggregated and alternative plans are sorting. Lastly, a case of UIES in Shanghai is applied to verify the proposed framework. Results show that the initial investment, the utilization rate of renewable energy, and the comprehensive utilization rate have the greatest influence on UIES plan selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shifting from fossil-fuel (FF) to renewable energy systems, a process known as energy transition (ET ) , is crucial for developing countries as the ET brings new opportunities to accomplish leapfrog development for achieving carbon neutrality. Parallel to climate change, developing countries face energy security and independence issues with extra pressures such as the Covid-19 pandemic and increasing inequality. Taking Mexico as a case, four ET scenarios under "gradual" or "rapid" narratives are developed with the Kaya Identity. Gradual Transition Scenarios (GTS) present a business-as-usual scenario with natural gas as the most significant fuel in the supply mix due to economic and social concerns. Rapid Transition Scenarios (RTS) propose a combination of FF and renewables or a full deployment of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). The results show that GTS reach 491∼ 501 Mt CO 2 emissions in 2050, risking a carbon lock-in, stranded assets and economic losses. RTS reach 87∼103 Mt CO 2 in 2050 with RES prioritization, energy efficiency improvements and coal phase-out. In particular, following GTS would mean failing to join global efforts to limit warming temperature to 1.5 °C. Alternatively, following RTS brings Mexico closer to achieve carbon neutrality. Several strategies are proposed, including reducing the carbon intensity of the energy supply mix, increasing energy efficiency, prioritizing environmental protection, improving actions based on science, and promoting environmental education and awareness. This paper presents a consistent methodology to encourage ET in developing countries where the role of science is still not fully exploited under the goal of carbon neutrality. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the isolated island micro grid, a safe and reliable energy supply system is indispensable. Generally speaking, the power generation modules of an small and medium-sized isolated island energy system with off-grid power supply mode mainly include diesel generator(DIG) and distributed power supply. In order to smooth the power output fluctuation of wind and solar, coordinate the output of multiple energy generation technologies, and increase the penetration rate of distributed energy, it is necessary to develop a flexible and reliable energy system, and an efficient and smart scheduling strategy. In this paper, the power-to-gas (P2G) technology is introduced to construct a multi-energy complementary integrated energy system with deep coupling of power-gas network. Four possible game planning models are proposed by using game theory analysis method, and the energy scheduling strategies under each game mode are obtained by particle swarm optimization(PSO). By comparing the scheduling strategies under the four game modes, it can be found that the synergistic response of hydrogen and methane in the alliance cooperative game mode has absolute advantages in reducing the curtailment rate of wind and solar energy, balancing the income of each participant, improving the total income of the system, and saving energy and environmental protection. • A multi-energy complementary electric-gas coupled model containing five kinds of generators is established. • Four possible game modes are proposed. • Optimization of electrical load and gas load scheduling strategies for an isolated island microgrid. • Uninterrupted electricity and gas supply assured from the analysis. • The penetration rate of distributed renewable energy are improved and the share of diesel generator power is reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the integrated energy system (IES) has become a hot topic in the field of energy research. In this paper, a bi-level optimal configuration strategy is proposed for a community integrated energy system (CIES), which is based on energy supply-demand responses and robustness adjustable scenarios. First, from the perspective of energy supply and demand, various energy equipment on the community side and aggregated energy loads on the user side are analysed and qualitatively modeled, and a multi energy supply-demand of CIES is established. Next, according to the robustness requirements of IES planning, the scenario sampling, sorting, screening and reduction are performed subsequently to obtain a typical set of robustness adjustable scenarios. On this basis, a bi-level optimal configuration model that coordinates the aggregated configuration and operation is developed to design the CIES. While the upper-level model takes the lowest total annual cost as the goal to configure the quantity and capacity of energy equipment, the lower-level model optimizes the scheduling scheme with the aim of the best operation economy under typical scenarios. Finally, case studies are carried out based on a practical town area, and simulation results show the effectiveness and advantage of the proposed strategy. • A new energy supply-demand response model is developed. • A typical set of robustness adjustable scenarios is obtained for configuration. • A new bi-level optimal configuration strategy is proposed with coordinated planning and operation. • The economy, robustness, environmental protection and user interests are jointly considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Supercritical water gasification of pig manure for power generation was simulated. • The Exergy Sankey diagram shows the largest destruction occurs in exchangers. • Modified system exergy efficiency favors an efficient heat exchanger network. • The effect of operating parameters on exergy efficiency was investigated. • An efficient zero-carbon emission system was achieved by involving a steam turbine. A tremendous amount of livestock manure is produced every day, and its harmless and efficient utilization is of profound significance for environmental protection and alternative energy supply. Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is an efficient and clean technology for high-moisture waste utilization. However, very few researchers have studied the SCWG of manure from system-level modeling. Here, an original or reference pig manure SCWG plant is established for power generation based on previous studies. Detailed exergy analysis shows that the most significant part of exergy destruction occurs in the recuperation process, accounting for 38.05% of total exergy loss. Then, several optimizations were made in a modified system, focusing on a better layout of heat exchangers and critical streams. The modified system had a substantial gain of 23% in overall exergy efficiency and produced 14.12 MW power at an electric efficiency of 27.7%, much higher than 2.08 MW and 5.07% in the original system. Sensitivity analysis further proves that increasing feedstock concentration, preheating temperature, and turbine parameters while decreasing the water-slurry ratio can increase total system efficiency. The efficient multi-stage heat exchanger network and steam turbine in this paper are preferred for SCWG of pig manure, considering system capacity, complexity, and zero-carbon emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]