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The global‐scale empirical analysis of how renewable energy policies (REPs) affect carbon emissions and the mediating role of renewable energy development (RED) in this mechanism remains underexplored. To fill this research gap, we extracted and organized REPs data from IEA's databases for 135 countries until 2018 and conducted empirical analyses of these issues. We find that: (a) REPs significantly reduce global carbon emissions, especially through regulatory, economic, and R&D policies. (b) REPs' effectiveness in mitigating carbon emissions is enhanced by robust energy infrastructure, strong control of corruption, and adherence to the rule of law. Besides, the balance of REPs types does not influence their efficiency, but REPs prioritizing certain renewable energy (RE) types aligns better with carbon reduction goals. (c) RED displays a Janus‐faced influence on REPs' carbon reduction effect—renewable energy consumption (REC) positively mediates it, whereas renewable energy share (RES) exerts a negative mediation. Specifically, REC consistently reduces carbon emissions, while RES initially increases and then decreases carbon emissions, exhibiting an inverted U‐shape. (d) The initial rise in carbon emissions with RES is due to the low substitution of RE for fossil energy and the country‐specific heterogeneity in organizational, geographic, industrial, economic, demographic, and temporal factors. Plain Language Summary: This study looked at how renewable energy policies (REPs) help lower carbon emissions worldwide and the role of renewable energy development (RED) in this process. We used data from the International Energy Agency on 135 countries up to 2018. Our findings show that REPs are effective in reducing carbon emissions, particularly through laws, economic incentives, and research and development. The success of these policies is better in countries with strong energy infrastructure, good governance, and rule of law. Interestingly, not all types of REPs are equally effective; those focusing on specific types of renewable energy (RE) align more closely with carbon reduction goals. We also discovered a dual role of RED in this scenario. While the use of RE helps lower emissions, just increasing the share of RE in the overall energy mix can initially lead to more emissions before eventually decreasing them. This increase at first happens because RE doesn't immediately replace fossil fuels and because countries are different in terms of their organization, geography, industry, economy, population, and changes over time. Key Points: Renewable energy policies (REPs) cut global carbon emissions, mainly via regulatory, economic, and R&D policiesREPs' carbon reduction boosted by robust infrastructure, anti‐corruption, and law adherenceRenewable energy development has a Janus‐faced impact on REPs' carbon reduction effect [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To accelerate the clean energy transition, it is necessary to better understand the global policy dynamics and motivations behind clean energy policy adoptions and diffusion. This article examines the differential roles of internal and external diffusion factors on decisions to adopt renewable energy policies, that is, Feed‐In Tariffs (FIT) and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), employing a unique blend of cluster analysis and event history analysis. Cluster analysis uncovers a dichotomy in adopting countries. First, early adopters emerge as high‐income, democratic countries, mostly energy importers with high CO2 emissions, with OECD and EU membership. Conversely, the second cluster consists of adopters from middle‐income, non‐OECD, and non‐EU nations with lower CO2 emissions. Strikingly, these clusters align with UNFCCC party classifications, underscoring the pivotal role of international agreements. Event history analysis suggests that especially environmental pressure, but also democratic governance and economic development are important when adopting renewable energy policies. Interestingly, environmental endowments seem to be less important. These findings lead to an important question: Are the requisite policy tools readily available to navigate diverse socio‐economic, political, and environmental landscapes, and are they deployed in a timely fashion? Beyond these findings, the study also shows that policy diffusion especially through normative emulation and social learning—operationalized as political globalization, OECD member and following regional neighbors—are important for policy adoption, suggesting the importance of such tools for promoting policies. Moreover, distinctive factors come into play when examining the adoption of FIT versus RPS policies, emphasizing the need for nuanced policy approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A desire to shift from fossil fuels to non-carbon-emitting energy sources has become an imperative supported by national, state, and local policies. In the U.S., a diverse array of policies at multiple levels of government have helped the solar industry achieve exponential growth. These advancements, however, are mediated by local implementation processes, which might be expected to have a large impact in the context of U.S. federalism. This paper investigates the effects of two countervailing forces – policy incentives and implementation disincentives – on residential solar adoption in New Jersey. The New Jersey case study includes two complementary analyses designed to illuminate policy incentives and implementation disincentives, respectively. The first is an interrupted time-series analysis that evaluates the effects of federal and statewide renewable energy policies on residential photovoltaic (PV) growth. The second is a set of semi-structured in-depth interviews with solar industry experts, providing implementation insights from the solar industry and indirectly portraying residential customers' experiences. Results confirm that market-based instruments at the state-level play a crucial role in increasing the relative financial advantage of these systems and, thus, the attraction of residential solar PV to adopters. In addition, the behaviours of future adopters and the valuation of this technology as an investment in the housing market will impact the spread of residential PV systems in the future. Unfortunately, case study findings also confirm that an absence of standardized solar application procedures and outdated interconnection standards is a significant drag on the adoption rate. This highlights a need for policymakers to place greater emphasis on local implementation pathways in solar policy design. Options to achieve this include more robust ex-ante coordination among state and local levels of government and with industry to standardize implementation processes. While U.S. federalism may at times be constraining, our results suggest that even minimal levels of ex-ante coordination can lead to implementation gains that will have a large impact on solar diffusion outcomes. Federal and state-level financial incentives significantly impact the residential photovoltaic solar adoption rate. The absence of streamlined interconnection application procedures and outdated interconnection standards for the grid limit the residential PV adoption in New Jersey. Our findings underline the importance of paying equal attention to both policy design and to technical standards to underpin implementation processes, especially in the decentralized context of U.S. federalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In recent years, growth in environmental awareness and increasing non‐renewable energy costs have augmented the interest in hydropower generation as a renewable energy. The volume of water stored in a reservoir system is crucial in hydropower production and has deep uncertainty. The subject of this investigation is the estimation of the amount of future hydropower generation in reservoir systems, some of which have multi‐purpose use. This investigation was carried out in Turkey at Atatürk, Keban, Karakaya and Demirköprü Dams. In the estimation of the hydropower generation for future, the decision matrices were devised and run separately for each reservoir system. In the verification of the validity of the model, the amounts of energy generated in reality in the last three years, which were not included in the modelling process, were used for the reservoirs investigated. In the verification process, when the model results and the amounts of energy produced in reality are compared, similar satisfactory results were obtained which are compatible with the properties of the regions where the reservoirs were built. It is expected that the proposed model will provide a decision support tool especially in multi‐objective planning of constrained water resources.

German companies view high and uncertain electricity prices a major challenge. A Renewable Energy Pool (RE-Pool), wherein the favorable conditions of competitive tenders for new wind and solar power projects are passed on to electricity consumers, could hedge such price risks. Consumers' electricity prices are thus hedged for the share of their consumption that corresponds to the RE-Pool's generation profile. This, in turn, strengthens the incentives to invest in flexibility, such as in heat storage systems or batteries, in order to adjust their demand to wind and solar electricity production in the pool. In addition, the RE-Pool profile can serve as a reference against which new products to hedge flexibility can be introduced in the futures and forward markets. The RE-Pool also addresses financing risks linked to regulatory uncertainties faced by renewable energy projects. This reduces financing costs and thus costs for consumers and enhances confidence in future renewable deployment and thus supports investments into the supply chain of project developers and manufacturers. The RE-Pool contributes to an even better use of renewable energy sources in the energy supply and prepares the electricity system for a future powered by a greater share of renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, growth in environmental awareness and increasing non‐renewable energy costs have augmented the interest in hydropower generation as a renewable energy. The volume of water stored in a reservoir system is crucial in hydropower production and has deep uncertainty. The subject of this investigation is the estimation of the amount of future hydropower generation in reservoir systems, some of which have multi‐purpose use. This investigation was carried out in Turkey at Atatürk, Keban, Karakaya and Demirköprü Dams. In the estimation of the hydropower generation for future, the decision matrices were devised and run separately for each reservoir system. In the verification of the validity of the model, the amounts of energy generated in reality in the last three years, which were not included in the modelling process, were used for the reservoirs investigated. In the verification process, when the model results and the amounts of energy produced in reality are compared, similar satisfactory results were obtained which are compatible with the properties of the regions where the reservoirs were built. It is expected that the proposed model will provide a decision support tool especially in multi‐objective planning of constrained water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to renewable energy is strongly affected by legal regulation. To increase the efficiency of the introduction of renewable energy into the energy systems of component states of federations and accelerate the energy transition, it is necessary to carry out systematic work to improve regional legislation in this area. The purpose of this study was to analyze the current regulatory legal acts on the renewable energy of the regions of a number of countries such as the USA, Germany, India, Switzerland and Russia in order to form a universal list of issues that need regulation at the regional level. The main methods for achieving the objectives set in this study were the comparative legal method and the method of analysis and synthesis. As a result, a number of recommendations were developed describing how legal relations primarily need to be regulated by regional legislation, and examples of different approaches to their settlement were presented. The issues in need of legal regulation were divided into three groups according to the degree of importance of their regulation by the legislation of the component state of the federation. Further development of this study will be aimed at identifying the most effective industrial practices for resolving each of the issues included in the compiled list which will help improve the efficiency of regional legal regulation of renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The global‐scale empirical analysis of how renewable energy policies (REPs) affect carbon emissions and the mediating role of renewable energy development (RED) in this mechanism remains underexplored. To fill this research gap, we extracted and organized REPs data from IEA's databases for 135 countries until 2018 and conducted empirical analyses of these issues. We find that: (a) REPs significantly reduce global carbon emissions, especially through regulatory, economic, and R&D policies. (b) REPs' effectiveness in mitigating carbon emissions is enhanced by robust energy infrastructure, strong control of corruption, and adherence to the rule of law. Besides, the balance of REPs types does not influence their efficiency, but REPs prioritizing certain renewable energy (RE) types aligns better with carbon reduction goals. (c) RED displays a Janus‐faced influence on REPs' carbon reduction effect—renewable energy consumption (REC) positively mediates it, whereas renewable energy share (RES) exerts a negative mediation. Specifically, REC consistently reduces carbon emissions, while RES initially increases and then decreases carbon emissions, exhibiting an inverted U‐shape. (d) The initial rise in carbon emissions with RES is due to the low substitution of RE for fossil energy and the country‐specific heterogeneity in organizational, geographic, industrial, economic, demographic, and temporal factors.

To reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, worldwide governments are establishing various policies and systems for the diffusion of renewable energy. Hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) is evaluated as a next-generation energy source as it can supplement the existing renewable energy sources, while providing stable energy supply and demand. To address low HFC generation share, the Korean government introduced the world's first Hydrogen Portfolio Standard (HPS) into the energy market, where public acceptance is crucial for the implementation of such policies. Thus, this study analyzed the public preference and acceptance for HPS through a discrete choice experiment. Although the public accepted the HPS itself, they preferred a higher proportion of fuel cell generation when the fuel cell was operated through clean hydrogen (blue/green hydrogen). Specifically, the marginal willingness to pay values for a 10% increase in fuel cell generation when changing from grey hydrogen to blue hydrogen or green hydrogen were estimated to be USD 1.94 and 2.97, respectively. Further, the acceptance of green hydrogen-based HPS rises along with the expansion in the HFC generation share. Thus, to expand the fuel cell generation in the national energy mix, transition to a clean hydrogen-based energy system should be attached. • Public's inclination toward hydrogen fuel cells (HFCs) technology was analyzed. • Discrete choice experiment analyzed public inclination toward alternatives. • Marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) and relative importance (RI) were analyzed. • Electricity rates have a significant impact on energy system acceptability. • Public acceptance of fuel cell power increased when clean hydrogen was used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modelling methodology to analyze documents related to renewable energy laws and policies at the central level in China. The objective is to investigate the development and evolution of renewable energy policies in China and to gain insights into the national-level attitudes towards renewable energy development. The study consists of two phases: initially, renewable energy policy documents undergo keyword analysis using word clouds and keyword co-occurrence network analysis to elucidate the focal areas and their interconnections within the legal and policy texts. Subsequently, after determining the optimal number of topics for modelling based on topic perplexity and consistency results, the text undergoes data cleaning to isolate words with practical significance. These words are then incorporated into the LDA topic model to analyze the distribution and content of potential topics within the policies. Lastly, by linearly segmenting the time frame, changes in topic intensity over time are visually examined using heat maps. The findings indicate that energy policies have consistently prioritized “development” and emphasized the significance of “new energy” in renewable energy policies. Moreover, as renewable energy has progressed, governments and policymakers have come to acknowledge the importance of comprehensive energy planning, transitioning to clean energy sources, and regulating the electricity market. This growing awareness has led to efforts to strengthen policy and regulatory measures to foster renewable energy's sustainable development and utilization. In summary, this study highlights the effectiveness of the LDA topic model in analyzing renewable energy policies, advancing its adoption and furthering research in the field.

The transition to renewable energy is strongly affected by legal regulation. To increase the efficiency of the introduction of renewable energy into the energy systems of component states of federations and accelerate the energy transition, it is necessary to carry out systematic work to improve regional legislation in this area. The purpose of this study was to analyze the current regulatory legal acts on the renewable energy of the regions of a number of countries such as the USA, Germany, India, Switzerland and Russia in order to form a universal list of issues that need regulation at the regional level. The main methods for achieving the objectives set in this study were the comparative legal method and the method of analysis and synthesis. As a result, a number of recommendations were developed describing how legal relations primarily need to be regulated by regional legislation, and examples of different approaches to their settlement were presented. The issues in need of legal regulation were divided into three groups according to the degree of importance of their regulation by the legislation of the component state of the federation. Further development of this study will be aimed at identifying the most effective industrial practices for resolving each of the issues included in the compiled list which will help improve the efficiency of regional legal regulation of renewable energy.

Brazil is a case of the achievement of a high share of wind energy integration to an interconnected power system in an emerging market. A series of successful energy supply programmes and a strong renewable-oriented finance framework implemented since 2002, have promoted alternative renewables – wind installed capacity increased over 22-fold from 927 MW in 2011 to 21 GW in 2022, reaching 11.77% of total procured power. From this, about 90% are concentrated in Brazil's least developed region, the Northeast, where wind investment should create jobs and propel socioeconomic development. Despite that, there is no studies specific assessing the regional and economy-wide effects of those programmes, gap that this paper aims to fill by applying the regional Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model TERM-BR10. We assess that by modelling an alternative scenario for the period 2010-19 based on an official electricity matrix built in 2010, that projected 3.4 additional GW of wind power while not considering all the success of renewable policies, against the observed installed capacity expansion, where wind power was 3.7 times higher than what had been planned. Our results show that in the absence of renewable policies, Brazil would have faced economic losses such as GDP (−0.27%) and investment (−4.76%). The Northeast region would have been the most impacted in terms of GDP (−1.3%), real wage (−2.99%) and employment creation (−0.1%). We propose that such socioeconomic co-benefits are incorporated in energy planning, which could promote regional equality through renewable energy expansion. • Wind power capacity increased over 20-fold from 2011 to 2022. • 90% are in the poorest region where policies propel development and job creation. • Policy absence would entail a GDP loss of 0.27% nationally and of 1.3% in the region. • Negative impacts to labour market are mostly over skilled jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modelling methodology to analyze documents related to renewable energy laws and policies at the central level in China. The objective is to investigate the development and evolution of renewable energy policies in China and to gain insights into the national-level attitudes towards renewable energy development. The study consists of two phases: initially, renewable energy policy documents undergo keyword analysis using word clouds and keyword co-occurrence network analysis to elucidate the focal areas and their interconnections within the legal and policy texts. Subsequently, after determining the optimal number of topics for modelling based on topic perplexity and consistency results, the text undergoes data cleaning to isolate words with practical significance. These words are then incorporated into the LDA topic model to analyze the distribution and content of potential topics within the policies. Lastly, by linearly segmenting the time frame, changes in topic intensity over time are visually examined using heat maps. The findings indicate that energy policies have consistently prioritized "development" and emphasized the significance of "new energy" in renewable energy policies. Moreover, as renewable energy has progressed, governments and policymakers have come to acknowledge the importance of comprehensive energy planning, transitioning to clean energy sources, and regulating the electricity market. This growing awareness has led to efforts to strengthen policy and regulatory measures to foster renewable energy's sustainable development and utilization. In summary, this study highlights the effectiveness of the LDA topic model in analyzing renewable energy policies, advancing its adoption and furthering research in the field., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Author(s).)