Search

The rapid rise in global oil prices, the scarcity of petroleum sources, and environmental concerns have all created severe issues. As a result of the country's rapid expansion and financial affluence, Malaysia's energy consumption has skyrocketed. Biodiesel and solar power are currently two of the most popular alternatives to fossil fuels in Malaysia. These two types of renewable energy sources appear to be viable options because of their abundant availability together with environmental and performance competence to highly polluting and fast depleting fossil fuels. The purpose of adopting renewable technology is to expand the nation's accessibility to a reliable and secure power supply. The current review article investigates nonconventional energy sources added with nanosized metal particles called as nanomaterials including biodiesel and solar, as well as readily available renewable energy options. Concerning the nation's energy policy agenda, the sources of energy demand are also investigated. The article evaluates Malaysia's existing position in renewable energy industries, such as biodiesel and solar, as well as the impact of nanomaterials. This review article discusses biodiesel production, applications, and government policies in Malaysia, as well as biodiesel consumption and recent developments in the bioenergy sector, such as biodiesel property modifications utilizing nanoparticle additions. In addition, the current review study examines the scope of solar energy, different photovoltaic concentrators, types of solar energy harvesting systems, photovoltaic electricity potential in Malaysia, and the experimental setup of solar flat plate collectors (FPC) with nanotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 is pivotal for South Africa to fulfill its commitments under the Paris Agreement and contribute to limiting global warming. However, South Africa faces several challenges due to its heavy reliance on carbon-intensive sectors. This study adopts the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM-South Africa), an integrated assessment model, to evaluate potential strategies and implications for South Africa to attain net zero carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions by 2050. We also evaluate the role of novel negative emission technologies (NETs), such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air capture with carbon storage (DACCS), as well as fossil CCS in meeting the net zero target. The results indicate that significant transformations, such as the extensive expansion of renewable energy, increased electrification, and gradual phasing out of coal, are necessary across South Africa's energy system to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century. With the full deployment of NETs and fossil CCS, coal power generation is projected to decline by 85 % versus 99 % without implementation. The availability of NETs and fossil CCS also alleviates the pressure on the pace of renewable energy deployment and electrification. While BECCS has a higher potential to deliver negative emissions, relying solely on its extensive deployment presents trade-offs. Specifically, scenarios involving BECCS could decrease cropland and pasture by 59 % and 69 %, respectively, by 2050. Water consumption for bioenergy crop cultivation and bioelectricity with CCS is also expected to account for 2 % of total water use in 2050. Overall, this study emphasizes the need for South Africa to complement aggressive emissions cuts with NET and fossil CCS scaling while considering their implications for energy, land, and water. We offer valuable insights to inform strategic decision-making concerning mitigation technologies, sectoral transitions, and managing trade-offs on the pathway to a net-zero future for South Africa. • Study employs GCAM to model South Africa's net-zero ambitions. • The role of NETs on the country's energy-land-water resources is quantified. • Coal power generation declines by 85–99 % by 2050 under such ambitions. • Scenarios with BECCS could decrease cropland and pasture by 59–69 % by 2050. • 0.02–0.1 km3 of water demand by 2050 for energy generation and negative emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main setbacks to electric vehicles (EVs) adoption relates to the unavailability of the required charging stations across a jurisdiction. In addition, drawing the required energy of the EVs from a fossil fuel-dominated grid does not only minimize the cleaner benefits of EVs but also puts enormous pressure on an already stressed grid network in electricity-deficient regions like Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Hence, in the current study, six different 100% hybrid renewable energy systems based on powerplants of solar, wind, and biomass have been proposed for meeting the energy needs of 70 and 30 battery and fuel cell electric vehicles, respectively using Ghana as a case study. With the aid of HOMER Pro software and multicriteria decision-making tools, the hybrid system, biogas generator-photovoltaic emerged as the most feasible of the six proposed solutions from a technical, economic, and environmental standpoint. This winning system produces 3.9 GWh/yr and 55.6 tonnes/yr of electricity and hydrogen, respectively. The NPC, LCOE, LCOH, and payback period was recorded as $6.53 million, $0.52/kWh, $9.09/kg and ∼8 years, respectively. Approximately, 4 tonnes of GHG emissions are produced by the HRECS each year, and the amount of CO 2 emissions avoided from replacing 100 gasoline vehicles with the proposed EVs has been obtained as 460 tons/yr. With the aid of sensitivity analysis, it became apparent that the feasibility of the proposed systems could improve with improvement in components' efficiencies and lifetime, and reduction in unit costs. The current work has several contributions to the sustainable development goals (7, 8, 11, 13), and could aid in accelerating EV penetration in SSA. [Display omitted] • A hybrid RE standalone HRECS for EVs in Ghana. • Investigation by HOMER and CRITIC-PROMETHEE II methods. • PV + Biogas generator presents most feasible results for HRECS. • Break-even Grid Extension Distance investigated. • Standalone vrs grid-connectivity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent publication of two independently performed studies investigating a very similar topic of green shipping, applying very similar methods (bibliometric analysis) on very similar data sets (scientific databases) provides an opportunity for an unbiased analysis of what factors can impact the outcome of one's research. This discussion paper reviews and compares the two following papers: • Ampah, J.D., Yusuf, A.A., Afrane, S., Jin, C., Liu, H., 2021. Reviewing two decades of cleaner alternative marine fuels: Towards IMO's decarbonization of the maritime transport sector. J. Clean. Prod. 320, 128871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128871 • Kołakowski, P., Gil, M., Wróbel, K., Ho, Y., 2021. State of play in technology and legal framework of alternative marine fuels and renewable energy systems: a bibliometric analysis. Marit. Policy Manag. https://doi.org/10.1080/03088839.2021.1969460 This paper aims to conclude on the insights arising from both papers concerning their different methodological peculiarities. • Commentary on two independent bibliometric studies on alternative fuels for shipping. • Similarities and differences of both studies discussed. • Current commentary offers key insights into the use of bibliometric analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]