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To reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, the concept of virtual prosumers (consumers who both consume and produce) using remote solar energy parks represents a novel method in Europe. In 2019, Lithuania became the first country in Europe to introduce a digital platform that enables the buying or renting of parts of a remote solar park, making it the first such platform in the world to operate on a national scale. This study examines the effectiveness of this model in Lithuania, assessing the model’s success, public engagement, and success factors. The main study focus is on evaluating the impact of remote solar parks on the decarbonization of buildings, particularly through the prism of virtual prosumer participation. This study integrates both qualitative and quantitative data. The quantitative analysis includes a detailed case study, evaluating the amount of energy produced by two selected remote solar parks in Lithuania, as well as their impact on the carbon dioxide emissions and primary energy use of the two individual houses (a detached house and a unit within an apartment building) connected to these remote power plants. In Case Study A, the renewable primary energy usage was 22.19 kWh/m2 compared to a minimal 0.22 kWh/m2 of non-renewable energy (CO2 emissions 0.0 kgCO2/kWh). Case Study B showed 181.38 kWh/m2 of renewable energy versus 3.63 kWh/m2 of non-renewable energy (CO2 emissions 6.17 kgCO2/kWh). Concurrently, qualitative methods involve analysing the existing legal and economic frameworks in Lithuania and Europe, which either facilitate or impede the prosumer model, in addition to examining the necessary technological infrastructure. Key findings of this study highlight the potential of remote solar energy parks to significantly reduce the carbon emissions of buildings. This model is especially beneficial for structures where onsite solar energy solutions are impractical. It fosters greater inclusivity in adopting renewable energy, enabling a variety of stakeholders to participate in and benefit from clean energy production. However, the study identifies several major challenges, including regulatory restrictions, the need for infrastructure development, a shortage of developers, state contributions, public awareness, and the creation of a unified platform.

The share of electricity generation by small hydropower plants is the least among other renewable energy sources in Ukraine, although the SHPPs were widely operated in the past. The aim of the article is to analyse the hydropotential of Ukrainian rivers and review the past and present states of small hydropower engineering in Ukraine. Moreover, the article emphasizes the main directions and gives recommendations for hydropower development in Ukraine considering ecological, economic, energy and legal issues.

On a global scale, the agriculture sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and this holds true for the European Union as well. While a shift to renewable energy sources could reduce reliance on fossil fuels and enable electrified agriculture, there are significant challenges to overcome. These include the high initial costs and inconsistent energy output of renewable sources, as well as issues with acceptance and cost related to electric tractor technology and load-balancing batteries. To explore potential solutions and future prospects for electrifying agriculture, a literature review is conducted to identify emerging technologies and research trends in areas such as agrovoltaics, semi-transparent photovoltaic panels, energy storage systems and electric tractors. The review conducted will provide a valuable insight into future research and the implementation of emerging technologies, thus addressing the challenges faced by the agriculture sector during its transition to electrification based on renewable energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progress towards climate neutrality and sustainable development of the national economy is increasingly challenging. At the European Union level, the target for renewable energy set by Directive 2018/2001 is at least 32 %. Industry is not only an essential part of the national economy but also a field of opportunity for increasing the share of renewable energy in the total final energy consumption balance of the country. The paper evaluates renewable energy technologies using a combination of AHP and TOPSIS methods using technical, economic, environmental, and social criteria. In order to indicate the needs, potential barriers, and position of enterprises on renewable energy, an enterprise survey is conducted. Both the survey and multi-criteria decision analysis ranks solar PV as the technology with the highest potential. The results of the survey overall show that enterprises are open to renewable energy technologies, especially if incentives such as financial support are available, for example, in the form of a grant.

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Heating application efficiency is a crucial point for saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Today, EU legal framework conditions clearly define how heating systems should perform, how buildings should be designed in an energy efficient manner and how renewable energy sources should be used. Using heat pumps (HP) as an alternative “Renewable Energy System” could be one solution for increasing efficiency, using less energy, reducing the energy dependency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This scientific article will take a closer look at the different efficiency dependencies of such geothermal HP (GHP) systems for domestic buildings (small/medium HP). Manufacturers of HP appliances must document the efficiency, so called COP (Coefficient of Performance) in the EU under certain standards. In technical datasheets of HP appliances, these COP parameters give a clear indication of the performance quality of a HP device. HP efficiency (COP) and the efficiency of a working HP system can vary significantly. For this reason, an annual efficiency statistic named “Seasonal Performance Factor” (SPF) has been defined to get an overall efficiency for comparing HP Systems. With this indicator, conclusions can be made from an installation, economy, environmental, performance and a risk point of view. A technical and economic HP model shows the dependence of energy efficiency problems in HP systems. To reduce the complexity of the HP model, only the important factors for efficiency dependencies are used. Dynamic and static situations with HP´s and their efficiency are considered. With the latest data from field tests of HP Systems and the practical experience over the last 10 years, this information will be compared with one of the latest simulation programs with the help of two practical geothermal HP system calculations. With the result of the gathered empirical data, it allows for a better estimate of the HP system efficiency, their economic costs and benefits and their environmental impact.

Currently, the detection of dust particles is realized through manual sampling. Thus it is desirable to develop an automated online technique. Generally, industries run with the help of pipelines through which liquid can flow. The main aim of the work is to detect the dust particles which are present inside the pipeline when liquid is flowing through it. Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) is a recent addition to the pipeline security world. Opta sense system is designed to prevent the damage in pipeline by providing the advance warning to the concern department and make them alert. The dust particles are detected by using MEMS, which can sense in three axis (Heat, Vibration, Movement). It is identified by the IR sensor. The approach can also be simulated by using MATLAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]