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Literature shows that only 56% of Kenyan households had access to electricity, with rural areas having the lowest access rate at percent. The high cost of extending the power grid to remote areas and power losses on distribution are significant challenges facing rural electrification. In addressing power accessibility problems, especially in rural areas, there is a need for tapping hydropower generation through the invention and implementation of in‐duct turbines to maximize the utilization of already existing pressurized water ducts that supply water in various parts of Kenya for hydropower generation. Makueni County is endowed with gravity‐fed water ducts with high potential for hydropower which can innovatively be produced by application of in‐duct turbines. This paper focuses on the assessment of energy needs and applications in rural areas. The research design was exploratory and experimental in nature. It was exploratory because, through an assessment, it sought to explore and identify the potential areas within the water supply lines for the production of hydropower to supply hydropower in Makueni County. It was experimental because the researcher developed (designed and fabricated) a hydro turbine for use in the production of hydropower from gravity water ducts of a diameter raging 100 mm. The research revealed that 62% (98) used solar power for lighting their homes, while 17% (28), 12% (20), and 8% (12) used lanterns, electricity, and kerosene lamps, respectively. Among the fuels assessed was firewood which was identified as the most used fuel at 89% (140). This was followed at a distance far by paraffin at 6% (9) of respondents. The households at 100% (158) identified electricity as a potential source of lighting for their household. The study recommends harnessing hydropower to enhance reach to 100% of the rural communities. The energy availability will provide opportunities for communities and institutions in rural areas to open their minds to business development and engage in income‐generating activities like the rearing of poultry and the development of light industries like the gridding of maize and other cereals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mini‐grid electrification constitutes an increasingly important solution to universal access to energy, notably in off‐grid rural Africa. Rural electrification has important implications for mitigating the immigration trends of the rural population toward urban regions. In this study, we adopted a mediation model to investigate the direct and indirect effects of mini‐grid electrification on the urbanization process, and multivariate regression is employed as a robustness check. More specifically, with the support of a mini‐grid project in Ghana, we conducted a survey to assess the perception of the local population about the impact of rural electrification on healthcare, education, employment, and security and further examined the impact of these development outcomes on their willingness to immigrate to cities. The study's findings suggested that the development of rural electrification helped improve education, healthcare, security, and employment, significantly affecting urbanization. Our study concluded that increased electricity access through mini‐grids tends to reduce the urbanization trends in rural Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of modern agricultural production mode and domestic energy consumption, profound changes have taken place in agricultural and rural energy consumption, resulting in the demand for new technology development in various sectors of source, network, and load in rural energy systems. Agricultural energy internet (AEI) has promoted the development of renewable energy and agricultural electrification in villages. The construction of the AEI is crucial for achieving the synergistic development of agriculture, energy, and environment. The basic theory and key technologies of AEI are investigated and the prospects for the direction of agricultural energy technology are conducted. The research investigation shows that the AEI framework proposed by China Agricultural University is of great significance for realizing agricultural electrification and reducing agricultural carbon emissions. The article describes in detail the key data and characteristics of agricultural electrification loads. Digital twin technology and virtual power plant technology will be crucial to the construction of advanced AEI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new green energy‐harvesting technology, the electrification mechanism and output performance of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have become the research focuses and difficulties. Based on the basic principles of contact and damage mechanics, a five‐stage micro‐contact model is proposed on the interface of sliding TENGs friction subsurface. Experimental bench is built to complete the experimental validation and factors affecting the output performance of TENGs are experimentally investigated. In the results, it is shown that the contact form of the asperities on the surface of the friction subsurface determines the real contact area and the form of energy conversion, and the dynamical processes between the asperities are influenced by the velocity, load, and material, which further affect the elastic/plastic change of the friction surface and the directional transfer of contact electrons. Normal loading promotes the density and efficiency of electron transfer between the interfaces of the friction sub‐interfaces, but the electrical output performance of the system is no longer enhanced when the load is too high (≥10 N). The faster sliding speed is conducive to improving the output performance of the horizontal sliding TENG in a certain range (0.005–0.100 m s−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy systems across the world are becoming localized, decarbonized, and digitalized. This is the era of local energy system integrating heat, power, and transport. Local energy system refers to arrangements that operate locally at a scale less than the traditional centralized model to maximize social, economic, environmental benefits for people or organization in a specific geographical area. Beyond decarbonization, local energy systems are expected to provide a wide range of other benefits such as alleviating fuel poverty, community income generation. The increase in the deployment of local energy systems has been the subject of intensive research and development in recent era. This article aims to review the recent local energy system developments in India and United Kingdom. Specifically, this will focus on local energy system taxonomy, landscape, challenges, pilot projects, policies, energy storage technologies in India and United Kingdom. Further, this work will also discuss how local energy system can be used for electrification of rural India. Thus, this work will put forward the latest developments of local energy system in a developed and developing country. This work will conclude by presenting the way forward for local energy system adoption and development in India and United Kingdom. It is expected that this work will help power and energy system researchers to track down the recent developments and landscape, and lessons of local energy system. This article is categorized under:Sustainable Energy > Other RenewablesClimate and Environment > Net Zero Planning and DecarbonizationEnergy and Power Systems > Energy Infrastructure [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2021, Bangladesh reached 97% nation‐wide electricity access. With over 4.1 million solar home systems (SHS) installed by 60 Partner Organisations (POs) providing renewable electricity to more than 22 million rural people, SHS and microfinance have been instrumental in bridging and achieving the country's universal access goal. However, a huge gap remains in achieving the country's 100% use of renewable energy by 2050, with only 3.1% of current electricity generation accounted for by renewables. While at centralised level, governmental institutions are struggling to move past the legacy mandate of grid extension to an energy transformation paradigm at decentralised levels, rural Bangladeshi villages are already leading this transformation. Today, 100 solar peer‐to‐peer microgrids, built following the swarm electrification pathway, allow end‐users to run appliances, charge vehicles, and to trade renewable electricity for income. In this paper, we describe the organisational model of the partnership between Grameen Shakti, Bangladesh's largest PO, and climate‐tech start‐up ME SOLshare, the swarm electrification implementer. We assess, using data from the peer‐to‐peer grids, their socio‐economic and environmental impact, and their contribution to the SDG 2030 Agenda. Finally, we give an outlook towards the potential of achieving sustainable energy development through a scale‐up of the swarm electrification approach, including under a scenario of 100% national grid electrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The welfare impacts of electrification are well documented in the literature, including the effects of electricity on school enrolment. However, the spillover effects of electrification on children's achievement levels are scarce. We use three complementary but distinct econometric models to establish a causal relationship between electrification and test scores using nationally representative household panel data from India. We find positive results irrespective of the choice of econometric model, and these results seem to be mediated by changing time‐use patterns of children with access to electricity. We first exploit the plausibly exogenous variation in access to electricity due to a universal electrification program in the state of West Bengal in India and we find positive effects of electrification on children's test scores. By age group, we find that younger cohorts benefit more in terms of their reading scores than older cohorts. Then, to ascertain external validity of these results, we replicate them over a nationally representative sample using fixed effects and instrumental variables estimation and find similar results. At the intensive margin, we find that access to more hours of electricity positively affects test scores. We identify an increase in time spent by children on study‐related activities as the potential channel for these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural electrification is a crucial component of meeting sustainable development goals. In Pakistan, load shedding and power outages are frequent. According to the current data, Pakistan is experiencing a shortfall of power between 6000 and 6500 MW. Microgrid technology has the potential to provide a solution to this problem in an efficient and low‐cost manner. This paper proposes the development of a hybrid microgrid system (HMGS) for rural communities. For that purpose, a technological analysis of the HMGS system for rural electrification is performed. Solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind resource‐based renewable energy systems are considered in this work for the electrification of rural areas of Pakistan. A hybrid PV/wind system is designed using MATLAB software. Simulation results show that a 230‐V sinusoidal output voltage has been produced by the proposed model. The advantage of this model is that it minimizes the impact of transients and provides a sinusoidal output waveform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is a numerical study, with simulation and experimental investigation of a novel photovoltaic and biogas hybrid renewable energy system. PVSYST simulation software is used to evaluate the energy generation of photovoltaic (PV) systems installed at optimum tilt angle and interrow spacing, as well as measure the performance ratio and system losses. The results obtained from simulations show that annual energy production from designed PV system is 16 654.80 kWh year−1 and its annual specific energy production is 1556.5 kWh kWp year−1. The average annual performance ratio is about 84.3%, normalized array production is 3.23 kWh kWp day−1, normalized system losses are 0.07 kWh kWp day−1, and normalized system production is 3.16 kWh kWp day−1. With SuperPro Designer software, a model is developed for simulating anaerobic digestion for treating animal manure to produce biogas. The simulation yields 88.13% of CH4 and 6.49% of CO2. The performance of the installed experimental setup is examined for 30 d. The maximum load demand of all houses is 46.902 kWh, whereas maximum energy produced by a hybrid PV/biogas system is 61.06 kWh. The payback period for a hybrid photovoltaic/biogas system is estimated to be 4.47 years and levelized cost of energy is 0.0186 USD kWh−1. The hybrid PV/biogas system results in net CO2 mitigation of 20.45 tCO2(e). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

World's large population lives in remote areas where electricity is unavailable or unreliable supply. For electricity supply, a low‐cost, minimum‐emission hybrid renewable energy system is necessary due to power shortages or unavailability, high electricity costs, and large greenhouse gas emissions. The current work develops a standalone hybrid power generating system and assesses its techno‐economic feasibility for rural sites in the Lucknow area of Northern India. To address the electric load requirement, the proposed work includes a system that includes a solar photovoltaic (SPV) module, a lead‐acid battery, a wind turbine (WT), and a diesel generator (DG). The system is sized and optimized using the hybrid optimization of multiple energy resources software. In this off‐grid system, the proposed system is intended for a home load need of 52.00 kWh/day with a peak of 11.04 kW. The technical and financial specifications are drawn from the local Indian market for the proposed standalone system. In this article, seven different resource combinations are investigated. A combination of 13 kW DG, 16 kW SPV, 50 kWh lead‐acid battery, 9 kW inverter, and 4 kW WT produces the best optimal system. With a 98.4% renewable portion, the cost of energy and total net present cost are $0.162/kWh and $57 390, respectively. The sensitivity analysis inflation and discount rates are 5.5% and 8%, respectively. As a consequence of the findings, we can conclude that the suggested standalone system is more cost‐effective for rural areas in Northern India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this article is the design and development of the optimal hybrid renewable energy (HRE) system for rural communities through village‐owned resources. The optimal performance and economic analysis is carried out with a suitable multi‐energy generation configuration model simulation. Based on the simulation outcomes the feasibility report of the proposed HRE system is to be considered for the investor's decision‐making process. The complete analysis has been planned with three important phases such as pre assessment stage, simulation and optimization stage, and evaluation stages. This real conducted case study has expressed many interesting facts about the integration of renewable resources toward meeting the rural energy requirements with economical and smooth manners. The proposed configuration is capable to generate net annual energy of 89,822 kWh/year with CoE (cost of energy) of Rs. 8.102. In addition, the proposed HRE system is reducing the CO2 impact on the environment by nearly 3.5% with an excess energy capacity of 6688 kWh/year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy trucks contribute significantly to climate change, and in 2020 were responsible for 7% of total Swedish GHG emissions and 5% of total global CO2 emissions. Here we study the full lifecycle of cargo trucks powered by different energy pathways, comparing their biomass feedstock use, primary energy use, net biogenic and fossil CO2 emission and cumulative radiative forcing. We analyse battery electric trucks with bioelectricity from stand‐alone or combined heat and power (CHP) plants, and pathways where bioelectricity is integrated with wind and solar electricity. We analyse trucks operated on fossil diesel fuel and on dimethyl ether (DME). All energy pathways are analysed with and without carbon capture and storage (CCS). Bioelectricity and DME are produced from forest harvest residues. Forest biomass is a limited resource, so in a scenario analysis we allocate a fixed amount of biomass to power Swedish truck transport. Battery lifespan and chemistry, the technology level of energy supply, and the biomass source and transport distance are all varied to understand how sensitive the results are to these parameters. We find that pathways using electricity to power battery electric trucks have much lower climate impacts and primary energy use, compared to diesel‐ and DME‐based pathways. The pathways using bioelectricity with CCS result in negative emissions leading to global cooling of the earth. The pathways using diesel and DME have significant and very similar climate impact, even with CCS. The robust results show that truck electrification and increased renewable electricity production is a much better strategy to reduce the climate impact of cargo transport than the adoption of DME trucks, and much more primary energy efficient. This climate impact analysis includes all fossil and net biogenic CO2 emissions as well as the timing of these emissions. Considering only fossil emissions is incomplete and could be misleading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power demand of isolated villages where on‐grid power supply is not economical can be met by standalone renewable energy system. Hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) considered in the current study involves photo‐voltaic, wind turbine, diesel generator, and battery. In the present study, the demand side energy management methods are used for energy management. The load shifting and strategic conservation methods are used. The energy management schemes are applied in the stage of load estimation. It is observed in the analysis that, the net present cost (NPC) of $55 263 is reduced to $34 009 with the application of demand side energy management strategies. The two control strategies, load‐following and predictive‐dispatch strategy are incorporated. The three types of batteries like lead‐acid, lithium‐ion, and zinc‐bromide are integrated, one at a time, for analysis. The analysis results in the optimal HRES configuration solution with the combination of both load shifting and strategic conservation techniques of demand side energy management. The NPC is reduced by 37% in comparison with the HRES without the application of energy management methods. The zinc‐bromide battery integrated HRES configuration through predictive dispatch control strategy with the application of demand side energy management schemes results in optimal solution for electrification of cluster of villages located in Uralagallu panchayat, Sagar Taluk, Shivamogga District, Karnataka, India. To the similar kind of geographical condition areas, the same HRES configuration with similar approach can be extended for electrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting hybrid power systems to provide access to clean, reliable, and inexpensive energy is necessary for countries like India to accomplish their goals of sustainable development. This work proposes an optimization approach for sizing a grid‐connected hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) that includes photovoltaic, biomass, biogas, and a battery. In this research, a recently developed Aquila optimization algorithm is utilized to evaluate the optimal size of HRES for a cluster of villages near Sarai Jairam, Agra district, Uttar Pradesh, India using the MATLAB software package. The goal of this optimization approach is to reduce the net present cost for HRES while satisfying the operational constraints, including the reliability of the power supply and maximum utilization of the photovoltaic, biomass, and biogas complementary properties. Initially, three HRES configurations in the off‐grid mode were optimized using the suggested Aquila optimization technique. To confirm the findings, the optimization results for the same models of off‐grid HRES were obtained using the harmony search (HS) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms. The same algorithms were also used to optimize the grid‐connected SPV/biomass/biogas with the battery model of HRES. Finally, the outcomes from the off‐grid models presented above were compared to the grid‐linked model. The grid‐connected configuration which is obtained by the Aquila optimization approach provides an optimal solution with the least net present cos t (NPC) and minimum cost of energy (COE) when compared with HS and PSO. The optimal grid‐connected HRES includes 235 kW of PV, a 10 kW biogas generator, a 64 kW biomass generator, and a 50.40 kWh battery bank. The overall net present cost and the COE are found to be $547 670 and $0.0768/kWh, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethiopia has a wide range of environmentally-friendly, renewable energy resources that can assist the country to overcome its rural electricity problems. The Hybrid Optimization Model for Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software package was used to evaluate the viability of solar, hydro and wind hybrid power generation for a remote community in Ethiopia's Geba catchment. The hydrologic, climatic and demographic data were used to analyze the community's electrical supply and demand. Using survey data from chosen residences, the community's hourly and daily electricity demands were calculated. Two or more schemes were investigated besides the standalone scheme to assess the hybrid system's capacity. Wind, micro-hydro and solar can generate an average annual power of 96.8, 272.4 and 161.8 kW, respectively. A mix of energy sources can meet the community's electricity demand. During peak demand periods, however, the hybrid system's mean hourly variability in power production showed inadequacy, which could be remedied by power stored in the battery and generator output. The economic analysis showed that the hybrid system proposed here is less expensive, indicating that hybrid energy generation might be employed to electrify Ethiopia's remote settlements. We advise decision-makers and power authorities to use hybrid systems for rural electrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind energy is a key option in global dialogues about climate change mitigation. Here, we combined observations from surface wind stations, reanalysis datasets, and state‐of‐the‐art regional climate models from the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX Africa) to study the current and future wind energy potential in Zambia. We found that winds are dominated by southeasterlies and are rarely strong with an average speed of 2.8 m·s−1. When we converted the observed surface wind speed to a turbine hub height of 100 m, we found a ~38% increase in mean wind speed for the period 1981–2000. Further, both simulated and observed wind speed data show statistically significant increments across much of the country. The only areas that divert from this upward trend of wind speeds are the low land terrains of the Eastern Province bordering Malawi. Examining projections of wind power density (WPD), we found that although wind speed is increasing, it is still generally too weak to support large‐scale wind power generation. We found a meagre projected annual average WPD of 46.6 W·m−2. The highest WPDs of ~80 W·m−2 are projected in the northern and central parts of the country while the lowest are to be expected along the Luangwa valley in agreement with wind speed simulations. On average, Zambia is expected to experience minor WPD increments of 0.004 W·m−2 per year from 2031 to 2050. We conclude that small‐scale wind turbines that accommodate cut‐in wind speeds of 3.8 m·s−1 are the most suitable for power generation in Zambia. Further, given the limitations of small wind turbines, they are best suited for rural and suburban areas of the country where obstructions are few, thus making them ideal for complementing the government of the Republic of Zambia's rural electrification efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Motivation: Progress in Indonesia towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 involves contestation between the global goals and the country's political ambition. The electrification rates ambition has triggered a policy trilemma. There are targets for meeting national energy demand; there are equally important targets for improving energy access and minimizing negative impacts on the environment. Purpose: This article illustrates idea contestation within Indonesia's rural electricity policy subsystem by: (1) analysing the position of the global sustainability storyline in pre‐ and post‐SDG and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) periods; and (2) exploring the dynamic of coalition structure within both periods. Methods and approach: The data is derived from statements of political actors in the national news articles and is analysed using Discourse Network Analysis. To investigate the influence of global agendas, we perform a timeframe analysis in pre‐ and post‐SDG and NDC periods. Findings Our analysis presented empirical evidence of the energy trilemma. The contestation between energy access, energy security, and climate change mitigation is observed in the ideas that emerged within the existing storylines. We find that sustainability has not been a primary topic of debate within the policy subsystem in pre‐ and post‐SDG and NDC periods. The findings also reveal how the global deployment of sustainability has triggered the emergence of discursive intermediaries within the policy subsystem. They are essential to framing global environmental issues to fit into internal debates. Policy implications: First, the narration of implementing renewable energy has to emphasize its benefits over the energy poverty problem while injecting some messages related to environmental profit. Second, the issue of decentralization has always been the most frequent and mutually connected topic, both in terms of source utilization and governance. Therefore, it needs more attention from policy‐makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limiting global warming to 1.5–2.0°C in line with our climate commitments will require decarbonization of residential buildings. The traditional approach starts with major energy efficiency upgrades to the building envelope followed by switching to low‐carbon fuel sources for space and water heating. Building envelope retrofits have been a policy goal for over two decades in Canada and elsewhere, yet historical rates and associated emission reductions fall far short of what is required if we are to meet our climate targets. Alternatively, we propose direct fuel switching to electric heat pumps for space and water heating in regions with low‐carbon electricity. Using a database of 44,463 home energy profiles in Waterloo Region, Canada, we modeled the energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission impacts of building envelope retrofits and direct electrification. While all retrofit plans achieved significant energy efficiency gains (17‐40%), so did direct electrification (70%) and building envelope retrofits plus electrification combined (70‐80%). Only plans that included electric heat pumps achieved greenhouse gas emission reductions of 90% or more. Compared to the conventional approach, direct electrification with heat pumps may be a simpler, more effective, and more realistic approach for policies aiming to decarbonize the residential sector. Key Messages: Direct electrification of residential space and water heaters with heat pumps is a simple and effective approach to decarbonization.Building envelope retrofits should be required as the first step toward electrification only in the most energy‐inefficient homes.Electricity infrastructure must be modernized to accommodate direct electrification of residential buildings and other sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofuels have been the predominant option for climate change mitigation in road transport for decades, but the recent expansion of electric vehicles may bring into question their key role. In this work we model the energy use and life‐cycle emissions of road transport activities until 2050 in Norway, a country with a rapid growth in vehicle fleet electrification, to investigate the role that biofuels can play in climate change mitigation, and assess the implications for air pollution and human health. The mitigation benefits from biofuels peak around 2030 at 3.1 ± 0.45 MtCO2eq. year−1, approximately 30% of today's road transport emissions. The largest specific emission savings are achieved from biofuels in trucks and vans, for which the penetration of electric vehicles is slower. These results are consistent under different time horizons and climate metrics. The average impacts on human health are also decreased, but the uncertainty ranges for some biofuels options overlap with those of fossil fuels. Complementary and integrated strategies combining high electrification rates of the vehicle fleet with targeted applications of biofuels can increase the mitigation of road transport emissions. © 2022 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind energy harvesting from the ambient environment by triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is highly important for powering wireless sensing systems. However, the output of TENG is greatly affected by ambient humidity, which seriously limits the measurement accuracy and stability of sensors. Herein, a flutter‐driven TENG composed of an Al foil interlayer sealed by FEP membranes (FEP/Al/FEP) is proposed to isolate Al foil from the external environment. A self‐charge excitation circuit is used to inject charges into the Al foil interlayer to achieve high charge density on it, greatly reducing the dependence on triboelectrification. In addition, an elastic steel sheet connected to a fluttering membrane at the fixed end is designed to get high stability of vibration. Consequently, the interference of humidity and other external environmental factors of this new type of elastic‐assisted TENG (EA‐TENG) with self‐charge excitation is greatly reduced and the output performance is greatly enhanced compared with traditional flutter‐driven TENGs. To demonstrate a practical application, a wind speed monitoring and alarming system are designed, which realizes real‐time wind speed detection and wind speed threshold alarm. The moisture‐resistant and stable wireless wind speed sensing system in this study has great applications in building large‐scale sensor networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is commonly recommended to incorporate diesel generators into distributed hybrid renewable energy systems (HRESs) to lower the system's total cost and make the generated electricity affordable. Due to the environmental and economic issues associated with fossil fuel use, biomass power technologies (BPT) appear to be an attractive alternative to diesel generators. The HOMER software was used to model, simulate, and optimise two photovoltaic/wind/battery systems integrated with different BPT (anaerobic digestion or gasification) to satisfy the electrical needs of Babadam, a remote community in northern Cameroon. The results indicated that the anaerobic digester integrated system's overall optimal architecture included a 98.1 kW photovoltaic array, a 30 kW biogas generator, and 200 batteries, with a cost of energy (COE) of $0.347/kWh. On the other hand, the gasifier integrated option is made up of an 81.8 kW photovoltaic array, a 15 kW syngas generator, and 200 batteries and has a COE of $0.319/kW. Additionally, compared to the PV/Wind/Battery system, integrating the biogas (resp. syngas) generator showed a potential COE decrease of 29% (resp. 40%). The sensitivity analysis highlighted the validity of this COE reduction potential everywhere in sub‐Saharan Africa, leading to the conclusion that integrating BPT into HRESs can effectively contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, the current and future projected polysilicon demand for the photovoltaic (PV) industry toward broad electrification scenarios with 63.4 TW of PV installed by 2050 is studied. The current polysilicon demand by the PV industry in 2021 is equivalent to the consumption of 2.9–3.3 kt GW−1. Depending on the physical constraints determining the lower limit for future polysilicon consumption, the annual demand can be 6–7 Mt year−1 in 2050 under broad electrification, which requires 10–12 times more of the current production capacity. To achieve broad electrification by 2050, cumulative demand of 46–87 Mt is required. An electricity requirement for purification, ingot pulling, and wafering of ≈360–380 kWh kg−1 for silicon wafers and carbon intensity can lead to a cumulative amount of ≈16.4–58.8 Gt of CO2‐eq emissions by 2050. To reduce the environmental impact, efficiencies are increased, thinner wafers are used, kerf loss reduced, alternative purification methods with low emission intensities are explored, and opportunities for polysilicon production with decarbonized electricity are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new World Bank-funded project in Burundi aims to increase electricity access and improve the country's energy sector performance. The project will benefit 2.4 million people, 1,200 public institutions, and 6,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises by providing new or improved access to electricity. The World Bank's Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) regional initiative supports the delivery of electricity access to 100 million people in Eastern and Southern Africa by 2030. In Ghana, the World Bank has approved a $250 million credit and a $10 million grant to support the country's Energy Sector Recovery Programme, which aims to improve the financial viability of electricity distribution and increase access to clean cooking solutions. Liberia has received a second disbursement of $45 million for its Renewable Energy Solar Power Intervention Project, which will finance a 20-megawatt solar PV project and expand the Mount Coffee hydropower plant. Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces burned down a major electricity station in Bahri, while Uganda is targeting to connect 54,000 new customers under the Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project. Finally, the Zambezi River Authority is monitoring the water levels at Kariba Dam in Zimbabwe to ensure sustainable power generation until the next rainy season. [Extracted from the article]

Off‐grid renewable energy systems are a solution for power generation in areas where access to the grid is not possible or cost‐effective; in particular, low population rural areas located far away from grid lines or in rugged terrains. Furthermore, over‐reliance on fossil fuels for supplying global energy demand has led to the depletion of nonrenewable resources and environmental issues. This paper presents a feasibility assessment of an off‐grid hybrid renewable energy system for a remote rural area in Kohgiluye and Boyer‐Ahmad Province in Iran. Regarding the available energy resources in the region, a photovoltaic (PV)‐biomass energy system is considered. HOMER Pro software is utilized to find the optimized sizing of the PV‐biomass system to fulfill this load demand. The objective function in this optimization is the system's total net present cost. Due to the rapid fluctuation of economic factors in the country, several rates of inflation and discount rate are considered to investigate their influence on the costs of the system. The optimization result for the current inflation rate of 40% and the discount rate of 18% in the country proposes a hybrid energy system consisting of a 3 kW biogas‐fueled generator, 4.74 kW PV, 10 kWh battery, and 2.07 kW converter to meet the 2.64 kW peak load and 14.53 kWh/day consumption of the community. The total net present cost and cost of energy are $93,057 and 0.0933 $/kWh, respectively. Finally, the environmental assessment of the proposed hybrid system shows an annual CO2 emission of 2.95 kg, which means 99.9% CO2 emissions mitigation compared to a conventional coal‐based electrical plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity access is a critical factor for social and economic development. Microgrid becomes cost‐effective means to provide access to electricity for the rural community. Rural electrification demands high investment due to its low energy demand and population. Planning of rural electrification is a technical and financial challenge for policymakers. This paper proposes the grid‐connected electrification of the rural community of Uttarakhand (India). An integrated model formed with the solar photovoltaic system, wind energy, and battery. This research aims to provide the optimal cost‐effective solution for the electrification of the rural community. The suggested model is optimized using Differential Algorithm to determine the optimal system configuration, cost of energy, and net present cost. The effectiveness of the proposed DE algorithm is compared with genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization. The results confirm that the proposed renewable energy‐based microgrid has a total production cost of $5 185 367.04, with a per‐unit cost of energy is $0.20/kWh. The proposed microgrid is a more suitable option for electrification in rural communities with less dependence on the grid and conventional sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the developing world is still struggling to provide electricity to rural populations. Extending the grid is frequently not feasible or too expensive in rural and remote areas. In such situations, micro‐hydropower (MHP) can be a cost‐effective source of renewable off‐grid electricity and can be easier to implement and more reliable than a number of other generation technologies. This study employs multi‐objective mixed‐integer‐linear programming (MOMILP) to identify nondominated MHP portfolios to meet rural electricity needs across Indonesia. Besides maximizing the new MHP generation capacity within a fixed budget, this study also incorporates equity as an objective. The equity issue becomes crucial to ensure that government resources are deployed in a manner that considers impacts for the entire population. The MOMILP optimizes a weighted objective function that applies different relative weights to the objectives of generation capacity and equity, subject to several constraints on resource availability and capacity shortfall, as well as budget. In this way, we identify solutions on the Pareto frontier for investment in MHP generation in remote Indonesian rural communities. We illustrate the tradeoffs involved in meeting capacity shortfalls with and without considering equity across provinces and identify non‐dominated MHP portfolios that the Indonesian government could implement to increase rural electrification efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ever‐increasing demand for electricity, the need to generate electricity from potential sources is high. A promising idea to generate electricity from highways is proposed, designed and tested. A low cost Savonius wind turbine (SWT) was fabricated at a cost of around $110 and was tested by placing in highways at varying wind speed and traffic conditions to generate electricity. This generated electricity is utilized to satisfy the electricity needs of the rural houses nearby highways with rural electrification schemes to operate lighting. From the experimental data, the estimated average electricity generation from a SWT was found around 0.4 kWh/day. The life cycle analysis (LCA) of the proposed system is conducted by considering the real‐time economic parameters. Also, the economic study conducted showed the levelized cost of electricity was around $0.07/kWh LCA is studied by considering as a SWT farm installed with 250 SWTs connected in 1 km stretch with estimated power output around 100 kWh/day. With this, the demand for energy for atleast 6 h/day in rural households is fulfilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of integrated hybrid renewable energy systems (IHRES) is gaining attention for electrification of rural areas where on‐grid electricity supply is uneconomical. From this point of view, the technical and economic feasibility analysis is carried out for a standalone IHRES in a remote area of Malnad region in Karnataka, India. Solar and wind energy are the prominent renewable resources available in the selected area for study. In the present study, lithium‐ion, lead‐acid and zinc‐bromide batteries effect on "PV‐WT‐DG‐Battery" system is examined and compared. The control strategies used in the study are "load following (LF)" and "predictive dispatch (PD)." The simulation results reveal that the "cost of energy (COE)" and "net present cost (NPC)" are found to be low in zinc‐bromide batterybased system with "PD control strategy." The NPC and COE are found to be $55 262 and $0.35 per kWh for optimal system. Zinc‐bromide batteries are best suited for remote electrification with less load demand. The sensitivity analysis shows that there is a minimal effect on the performance of the planned IHRES upon variation in the "inflation rate," "discount rate," and "diesel price." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Over the past decades, biological treatment of metallurgical wastewaters has become commonplace. Passive systems require intensive land use due to their slow treatment rates, do not recover embedded resources and are poorly controllable. Active systems however require the addition of chemicals, increasing operational costs and possibly negatively affecting safety and the environment. Electrification of biological systems can reduce the use of chemicals, operational costs, surface footprint and environmental impact when compared to passive and active technologies whilst increasing the recovery of resources and the extraction of products. Electrification of low rate applications has resulted in the development of bioelectrochemical systems (BES), but electrification of high rate systems has been lagging behind due to the limited mass transfer, electron transfer and biomass density in BES. We postulate that for high rate applications, the electrification of bioreactors, for example, through the use of electrolyzers, may herald a new generation of electrified biological systems (EBS). In this review, we evaluate the latest trends in the field of biometallurgical and microbial‐electrochemical wastewater treatment and discuss the advantages and challenges of these existing treatment technologies. We advocate for future research to focus on the development of electrified bioreactors, exploring the boundaries and limitations of these systems, and their validity upon treating industrial wastewaters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on social, economic, and political situations of all countries around the world with no sight to its end. Business sectors such as solar distributors, which have been instrumental in supporting the governments' ambitious universal electrification programs, have been negatively affected by the pandemic. The main aim of this paper is therefore to explore and conduct a comparative assessment before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic of the key challenges of solar‐based businesses in Ethiopia focusing on the distributors and installers and to provide policy recommendations. Qualitative and quantitative assessments were employed during this study. The results show that before the pandemic, finding a skilled workforce, gaining a technical knowledge of the technology, competing in the market, and lack of consumer awareness and initial investment were the key challenges. The importation of solar technologies has been halted by the arrival of the COVID‐19 exacerbating existing challenges and threatening the very existence of the businesses. The impact of the pandemic on income levels of end‐users of solar technologies, together with the lack of sufficient supply of technologies to the businesses, most of the businesses are forced to lay off their employees deepening the unemployment rate and, in some cases, forcing businesses to be closed. These circumstances affect economic development and dents the progress made so far in facilitating energy access to remote communities. To protect these vulnerable but very essential small businesses, necessary interventions are recommended. This article is categorized under:Photovoltaics > Economics and Policy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several remote communities have limited electricity access and are mainly dependent on environmentally damaging fossil fuels. The installation of microgrid networks and green energy initiatives are currently addressing this issue. Thus, the techno‐economic assessment of a microgrid that comprises photovoltaic arrays, a micro‐hydro turbine, and diesel generation is proposed herein. Two scenarios are evaluated considering the inclusion or not of diesel generation. This model is performed in HOMER. The results demonstrate that the best option in economics is to invest in a PV/hydro/diesel microgrid, resulting in an net present cost of 2.33 M$, and a cost of energy of 0.194 $ kWh−1. Furthermore, to address diesel price uncertainties, a sensitivity analysis is carried out based on three different projected diesel prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited knowledge of local groundwater systems often results in the failure of boreholes to yield water of the required quantity and quality. This is particularly problematic in the developing world, where financial resources are often limited, and failed wells represent a significant financial burden. To enhance understanding of local hydrological systems, noninvasive geophysical methods can aid the understanding of hydrogeological structures and identification of groundwater sources needed to optimize siting of wells. Here, we highlight the utility of a relatively new towed‐transient electromagnetic system, called tTEM. This system is a rapidly deployable mobile geophysical method well‐suited to cost‐efficient characterization of local‐to‐regional groundwater systems. Results from tTEM surveys conducted in two refugee camps and several host communities in western Tanzania demonstrate the capability of the method to characterize shallow aquifer systems with high lateral and vertical resolution, with data collection typically exceeding 15 to 20 line‐kilometers (km) per day. This work focuses on tTEM's ability to provide semiquantitative insights into regional hydrogeological settings when supporting data required for more rigorous interpretation/modeling is lacking. The system provided useful data within communities with low density of electrification and near buildings with metal roofs and walls. tTEM‐derived resistivity profiles were correlated with limited local borehole lithologic information to develop conceptual models of the local groundwater systems. These models were used to successfully guide the siting of a production well and to identify future drilling targets in the refugee camps and surrounding communities. Article impact statement: The value of a towed transient electromagnetic system for optimized well‐siting is highlighted in a campaign in rural Tanzania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the long-term goal of the "Paris Agreement," drastically reducing the CO2 emission of the energy sector as a whole is essential. Existing study showed an example of the energy portfolio (PF) in 2050 achieving the greenhouse gas emission reduction target (80% reduction compared to FY2013) by the transition of primary energy consumption to electricity by increased electrification due to reduction of cost and high energy efficiency of electricity. The study also pointed out that further study is required since it did not consider the cost of network developments due to the geographical distance between areas with large demand and where suitable for renewable integration. This paper explains the mathematical optimization model to derive the cost optimal deployment of renewables and the corresponding required development of the interconnection, and, by showing a preliminary calculation result, verified that it should be effective to use this model in the study to seek the future of the energy sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lightning data products generated by the low‐frequency (LF) radio lightning locating system (LLS) deployed during the Remote sensing of Electrification, Lightning, and Mesoscale/Microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observation (RELAMPAGO) field campaign in Argentina provide a valuable data set to research the lightning evolution and characteristics of convective storms that produce high‐impact weather. LF LLS data sets offer a practical range for mesoscale studies, allowing for the observation of lightning characteristics of storms such as mesoscale convective systems or large convective lines that travel longer distances which are not necessarily staying in range of regional VHF‐based lightning detection systems throughout their lifetime. LF LLSs also provide different information than optical space‐borne lightning detectors. Lightning measurements exclusive to LF systems include discharge peak current, lightning polarity, and lightning type classification based on the lightning‐emitted radio waveform. Furthermore, these measurements can provide additional information on flash rates (e.g., positive cloud‐to‐ground flash rate) or narrow bipolar events which may often be associated with dynamically intense convection. In this article, the geolocation and data processing of the LF data set collected during RELAMPAGO is fully described and its performance characterized, with location accuracy better than 10 km. The detection efficiency (DE) of the data set is compared to that of the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, and spatiotemporal DE losses in the LF data set are discussed. Storm case studies on November 10, 2018, highlight the strengths of the data set, which include robust flash clustering and insightful flash rate and peak current measures, while illustrating how its limitations, including DE losses, can be managed. Key Points: Geolocation and processing of the low‐frequency (LF) data set collected during the Remote sensing of Electrification, Lightning, and Mesoscale/Microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observation campaign is fully described and characterizedUnique LF observations include discharge peak current, polarity, and possibly type classification based on the emitted radio waveformLF spatiotemporal detection efficiency and storm case studies are discussed and compared to Geostationary Lightning Mapper data [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triboelectric electronic skins (E‐skins) can be used as primary interactive devices for human–machine interfaces (HMIs). However, devices for seamless on‐skin operations must be soft and deformable, and attachable to and compatible with the skin. In this paper, a substrate‐free, skin‐compatible, skin‐attachable, mechanically deformable, and self‐powered E‐tattoo sticker consisting of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and silk nanofibers (SNFs) is presented. The E‐tattoo can be imperceptibly tattooed on the skin and removed with water. When the device touches naked skin, triboelectric signals are generated. Because of the micro‐to‐nano hierarchical pores (with high surface‐to‐volume ratios), contact‐induced electrification generates a power density of ≈6 mW m−2 and pressure sensitivity of ≈0.069 kPa−1. The power generated on the tattooed skin can activate small electronic devices. Moreover, whole‐body joint movements can be monitored and tactile movements can be mapped by reading the generated electrical signals. The presented E‐tattoo system can promote the development of flexible energy and sensor systems for self‐powered, energy‐autonomous, imperceptible E‐skin devices for HMIs and artificial intelligent robotics and prostheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an in‐depth examination of the acquisition, use, maintenance and deterioration of solar home systems in a village in Malaita, Solomon Islands, this article challenges the analytical focus of current debates on electrification in Pacific Island countries – why Pacific Island countries have not yet sufficiently electrified to achieve their development goals. Alternatively it examines what is, how, in this case, rural Solomon Islanders have integrated already available electricity into their daily lives. This perspectival shift highlights how rural Solomon Islanders have developed an energy identity that corresponds to their needs, interests and values, rather than those of national and international actors. It re‐emphasises the struggles of national and international electrification initiatives in rural environments, linking them to a broader distrust in the motivations of external actors. At the same time, it reveals how, throughout their life cycle, rural solar home systems have become integrated into processes of social reproduction rather than development aspirations. Contrary to dominant debates, rural solar home systems matter most in the opportunities that they provide for reciprocal exchange than for what the electricity enables them to do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the design and analysis of synchronous reluctance generator with a rating of 2.1 kW. These generators with low power ratings may be a suitable candidate for the rural electrification. In synchronous reluctance generator, the design of the rotor is the most challenging part of the design. Here, the thickness of the axial and tangential ribs plays a significant role in its performance. The design procedure presented in the paper includes the effect of stator resistance, as it cannot be neglected in the design of synchronous reluctance generator with low power ratings. The paper discusses the design procedure of synchronous reluctance generator and analyses the self‐excited ferrite‐magnet synchronous reluctance generator. Various parameters of the designed machine are analysed through an analytical model and Ansys Electronics Desktop software. Further, the paper also includes the experimental validation of the synchronous reluctance generator results obtained through finite element analysis. The paper also proposes formulae to approximate the minimum values of the excitation capacitor requirement, for a self‐excitation of synchronous reluctance generator with inductive load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: At present, with total building energy consumption accounts for about 21.33% of the energy consumption of social terminals, the building energy consumption has a tendency to continue to grow. According to the geographical location of users and the local weather conditions, we analyze the energy resources available to users and design a multienergy complementary coupling system. We have taken full account of the use of renewable energy and recovery of waste heat resources. Large‐scale increase of electrical equipment, a large number of charging load access to the grid, the power system planning, operation and operation of the electricity market will have a profound impact. The current mode of the supercapacitor and the DC bus determines the mode of operation of the converter. Based on a detailed analysis of each working mode, we design a corresponding control scheme and achieve a smooth transition and switching between modes. Simulation and experiment verify the correctness and effectiveness of the converter and hybrid energy storage control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of the mobile phone network in rural areas where there is little other infrastructure has opened up the prospect of automatically monitoring rural water systems, something previously possible only in person and perhaps only on foot. The technology to monitor these systems continues to develop: basic systems are now leaving research and being implemented in operational WASH programs; machine learning is making pump failure prediction possible. With the move from the previous infrastructure‐focused community management paradigm, to a service‐delivery approach to rural water, remote monitoring has salience with its potential to inform professional maintenance services. This is not without cost. To justify its use in rural water service delivery remote monitoring must generate benefits for service providers: (1) it must be integrated into management systems, and help redesign them; (2) it must contribute to increases in performance that produce real improvement in outcomes for water users; (3) it must open up new transparent sources of funding previously unavailable to the rural water sector. If remote monitoring can do these three things it has a role to play in achieving SDG 6.1; if not it will join the list of development techno‐fixes that failed to make an impact despite the best of intentions. This article is categorized under:Human Water > Human Water [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicle (EV) adoption promises potential air pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction co‐benefits. As such, China has aggressively incentivized EV adoption, however much remains unknown with regard to EVs' mitigation potential, including optimal vehicle type prioritization, power generation contingencies, effects of Clean Air regulations, and the ability of EVs to reduce acute impacts of extreme air quality events. Here, we present a suite of scenarios with a chemistry transport model that assess the potential co‐benefits of EVs during an extreme winter air quality event. We find that regardless of power generation source, heavy‐duty vehicle (HDV) electrification consistently improves air quality in terms of NO2 and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), potentially avoiding 562 deaths due to acute pollutant exposure during the infamous January 2013 pollution episode (∼1% of total premature mortality). However, HDV electrification does not reduce GHG emissions without enhanced emission‐free electricity generation. In contrast, due to differing emission profiles, light‐duty vehicle (LDV) electrification in China consistently reduces GHG emissions (∼2 Mt CO2), but results in fewer air quality and human health improvements (145 avoided deaths). The calculated economic impacts for human health endpoints and CO2 reductions for LDV electrification are nearly double those of HDV electrification in present‐day (155M vs. 87M US$), but are within ∼25% when enhanced emission‐free generation is used to power them. Overall, we find only a modest benefit for EVs to ameliorate severe wintertime pollution events, and that continued emission reductions in the power generation sector will have the greatest human health and economic benefits. Plain Language Summary: Electric vehicles (EVs) offer potential air quality and climate change co‐benefits, but due to varying power generation and vehicle types, and because air pollution chemistry is nonlinear, it is not clear to what extent EVs could provide mediation, especially during extreme air pollution episodes. China is both rapidly adopting EVs and frequently experiences poor air quality. We use an air quality model that simulates the complex interplay between weather and air quality to examine the potential co‐benefits of EVs in China during a historical pollution episode. We simulate both light‐ and heavy‐duty vehicle adoption to show their individual benefits, and demonstrate the need for low‐emission electricity generation to maximize co‐benefits. Overall, we find that heavy‐duty fleet electrification consistently improves air quality and reduces mortality, but offers little climate change benefits without enhanced emission‐free electricity generation. Light‐duty vehicles, however, offer large climate change benefits but few air quality improvements, highlighting the need for cross‐modal adoption strategies. Key Points: Heavy‐duty vehicle electrification in China consistently improves air quality regardless of power generation sourceLight‐duty vehicle electrification offers less air quality benefits but consistently reduces total CO2 emissionsPower sector emission reductions are central to achieving co‐benefits from electric vehicles [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the electrification of passenger cars is seen as one of the key strategies for heading toward a sustainable transport system. Of special interest are battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which can enable significant emission reductions if electricity used is produced from renewable energy sources. However, mainly due to their high investment costs (retail purchase price) of BEVs, they are currently not economically competitive with conventional fossil‐fueled vehicles without different supporting policy measures. This paper analyzes current costs and future prospects for BEVs compared to conventional petrol cars looking at the total costs of ownership. Furthermore, the future prospects are investigated considering technological learning for BEVs, CO2 taxes for fuels, and various other policy framework conditions such as rebates for the purchase of the BEVs. The major conclusions are as follows: (i) to improve the economics of BEVs, a very important aspect is the introduction of CO2‐based fuel taxes; (ii) regarding economics, the second important aspect is the reduction of the investment costs of the BEVs due to technological learning, especially of the battery; (iii) in addition, the introduction of CO2‐based registration taxes for the purchase of passenger cars makes sense; (iv) subsidies or rebates for the purchase of a BEV maybe a measure successful in the short term and helpful to stimulate technological learning; (v) by far, the highest uncertainty regarding the future prospects of BEVs is how fast technological learning will take place, especially for the battery, and how the future development of batteries will be. © 2020 The Authors. Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking advantage of the electrification strategy, Northwest China has made full use of its natural resources endowment, to develop renewable energy as the substitution of thermal power. To evaluate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from electric power sector, an extended Kaya identity equation and the Logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition method are applied to Northwest China from 1998 to 2017. Six explaining factors are analyzed, including carbon intensity, energy mixes, generating efficiency, electrification, economy and population. The results show that driving forces of CO2 emissions from electricity system varied greatly among provinces. Generally, economic growth has mainly contributed to increase CO2 emission, while the improvement in the power‐generating efficiency has crucially decreased CO2 emission. In 2017, Promoting electrification directly increased CO2 emissions from electric system, but indirectly reduced CO2 emissions from the whole region by 5.10% through the estimation of a clean development mechanism method. Therefore, local governments are suggested continuing to promote electrification to guide future emission reduction, while enterprises and individuals need to make their own contributions to low‐carbon development. Recommendations for Resource Managers:Variations of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of all five provinces in Northwest China are analyzed.Logarithmic mean Divisia index analysis is used to study the main drivers of CO2 emission change.Improvements in the generating efficiency significantly reduced CO2 emissions.Due to electrification effects, CO2 emissions from electric power increased, but CO2 emissions from the region decreased.Economy effects were still the biggest drivers affecting CO2 emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is actively taking measures to guide the household energy‐saving consumption pattern because the total household indirect energy consumption and CO2 emissions have rapidly multiplied from 2002 to 2017 with an annual growth rate of 5.95%, and 5.56%, respectively. This paper calculates indirect energy consumption and CO2 emissions by four energy sources (raw coal, crude oil, natural gas, and electricity), analyzes the energy structure, and conducts a structural decomposition analysis in urban and rural areas in China from 2002 to 2017. The results reveal that the indirect energy consumption and CO2 emissions of urban households was 3.84 and 3.80 times, respectively, that of rural households in 2017 with most contributions from the 'Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry, and Fishery', 'Foods and Tobacco', and 'OTHERS' sectors. The energy consumption structure has changed. The percentage of coal consumption falls from 66.87% to 57.62%. Electricity consumption, ranked second, increased substantially from 10.77% to 22.90%. The key sectors of the energy mix have been found to help energy conservation. The high indirect energy consumption sectors with higher indirect energy intensity are the key sectors, especially the 'Processing of Petroleum, Coking and Processing of Nuclear Fuel' and 'Production and Supply of Electric Power and Heat Power'. The consumption structure effect is more obvious in urban areas than in rural areas. In the process of urbanization, its effect has little impact on urban indirect energy consumption. It implies that the focus is on optimizing consumption structure rather than reducing consumption scale. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The auto industry is experiencing a time of restlessness, which stems from several elements that currently threaten the stability and status quo of its supply chains. Among these elements are autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification, and trip sharing that has led to new forms of mobility. In this context, this article presents the results of a research, which had three main objectives: (1) to identify the green supply chain management (GSCM) practices most commonly implemented in all industrial sectors worldwide, (2) to evaluate how these practices are considered by professionals in the automotive industry and by researchers working on the subject in Brazil, and (3) to identify and evaluate which practices are most widely adopted within these companies and/or supply chains and influence their environmental performance. The research method combined a qualitative research step (Delphi) with another quantitative one (survey). The results show that most of the reality of the automotive industry in Brazil is in line with studies on GSCM practices worldwide, but some specific findings have also been identified and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the emergence and dominance of a singular discourse about rural development. The "more water" discourse that emerged in the 2000s in Canterbury was rooted in the idea that vibrant communities depend on economic growth, which hinges on accessing more freshwater for irrigation. Using thick description of the work of a catchment committee, this paper charts the dominance of this discourse and the attempts to channel "more water" through a tightly controlled collaborative and consensus‐based approach. More democratic processes would welcome difference, questioning of prevailing approaches to development, and may lead to more diverse economies and resilient communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In just 10 years, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road has skyrocketed a hundredfold, from less than 10,000 in 2010 to 1.2 million in 2019 (Figure 1). This rapid increase has captured the attention of consumers and policymakers, bringing the ascent of transportation electrification into public discourse, and with it a focus on whether this trend presents benefits or problems. When assessing the opportunity for broad benefits across industry and society, there is a compelling case for transportation electrification. While many technology or societal trends benefit one group, the rise of EV adoption has revealed a strong case grounded in tangible benefits for a broad group of stakeholders. Research indicates there are significant benefits for utilities, customers, and society from investments in transportation electrification at the national, state, and local levels. As will be detailed later in this article, it is possible to calculate benefits for each of these groups, such as the lifetime cost savings to customers going from petroleum fuel to electric, the increased efficiency in utilization of the electric grid, the quantifiable economics of local job creation, and lower health costs for society. Figure 2 presents some of the key benefits that accrue to customers, utilities, and society that can help justify the investment and efforts around customer engagement for EVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural gas is coming increasingly under attack by policymakers and elected officials who are embracing "electrification only" as a means of reaching state clean energy and climate‐mitigation goals. Achieving these goals may mean reducing the use of natural gas as a residential and industrial fuel. Earlier this year, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) launched a new rulemaking to address the state's transition away from natural gas. The commission will address issues related to stranded assets and cost recovery, and unfair shifting of costs among different customer classes. Other state public utility commissions in New Jersey and New York may follow shortly, given their increasing opposition to interstate natural gas pipelines that would serve their residents and businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of climate policy concerns in other policy areas where decisions are taken that determine greenhouse gas emissions is a prerequisite for effectively mitigating climate change. There are particularly strong interlinkages between energy and climate policy as the major part of greenhouse gas emissions is related to energy supply and use. We compile a set of five output‐focused indicators for assessing climate policy integration (political commitment, functional overlap, policy instruments, weighting, and time perspective). We then apply the criteria for an appraisal of climate policy integration in European Union (EU) energy policy during the last decade; that is, we focus on climate policy integration from a horizontal perspective. The focus of our research lies on the comparison of the Renewable Energy and the Energy Efficiency Directives of the Energy Union Package with their predecessors. Our results show that climate change mitigation is a key objective in these documents. The energy policy objectives are generally synergetic with climate policy. The Energy Union Package makes progress in some areas like the more stringent EU targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency or the more stringent sustainability criteria for biofuels. However, some conflicting issues arise. The shift from national to an overall EU renewables target and the change towards more market‐oriented support schemes might together with the elimination of preferential grid access for renewable electricity entail negative impacts on renewable investment and on achieving emission reductions. It remains to be seen whether the adaptations in EU energy policy will lead to the required acceleration of the energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public and regulatory policies, coupled with government support through legislation and financial incentives including tax breaks, provide the impetus for transforming the energy industry in the United States. The transition from an industrial era closed‐loop one‐way power flow system to a flexible multipronged open system is going to require time and money. The flexible multipronged system is characterized as one in which communications and energy flows are two‐way, with multiple buyers and sellers competing in markets unconstrained by geography. Contracts for differences (in the form of energy credits, e.g., zero‐energy credits for nuclear power, renewable energy credits, carbon allowances, etc.) play a large role in defining the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mini‐grids are considered important in order to improve access to electricity in developing countries. Their technical and organizational independence from the large national grids and their interactions with local social, economic, and environmental factors suggests that system dynamics is a useful method of analysis. However, the successful implementation of mini‐grids in rural electrification has partly been prevented due to complexity issues, making problem formulation difficult. Most problem‐solving methods, such as system dynamics, require well‐defined problems. Previous work on the problem formulation process in system dynamics is limited. This work presents a conceptual framework for tackling complexity and uncertainties in rural electrification. The conceptual framework is general and draws on research in conceptual modelling and system dynamics. The focus is on the learning that can be achieved from a system description and how it can be used to tackle complexity by reducing uncertainties and improving knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]