In Africa, switching to renewable energy sources with low carbon emissions is becoming more popular. In the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS), the low-carbon energy transition must overcome significant obstacles, including those posed by policies put in place and their implementation. In order to replace the current fossil fuel-driven economy with low-carbon development that also advances the regional aims and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this paper analyzes the current policy landscape in the region. A total of 75 policies from four categories (energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change) were chosen for the policy review. Multicriteria decision analysis and a thorough review of the literature have shed light on how well the policies of the ECOWAS countries could promote low-carbon development and what the main challenges to overcome are. The last step was the comparison of the progress of the two key policies in the region: the Nationa... [more]

Energy efficiency programs funded by utility customers provide an electricity resource in most U.S. states, but their scale and cost of saving electricity varies significantly by state. In this paper, we explore the drivers of the cost of saved electricity in these programs with an econometric model and nearly a decade of data reported by efficiency program administrators. We found strong evidence for economies of scale and weak evidence for diseconomies of scale, which suggests that states with low levels of efficiency savings relative to retail sales can increase the size of their efficiency programs without large increases to the cost of saved electricity. We discuss examples of energy efficiency forecasting and potential modeling in light our econometric analysis and identify methodological improvements relevant to utilities and grid operators. This paper provides insights into the economics of customer-funded efficiency programs that will support regulators, utilities, and policym... [more]

The social acceptance of energy policies and renewable energy technologies is crucial in the era of the renewable energy transition. Yet, little is known about Israel’s transition in this regard. One thousand five hundred Israeli citizens were engaged through a survey to examine their perceptions of climate change and awareness regarding renewable energy technologies and national energy policy. Individual-level factors such as gender, age, and education were included in the survey to assess their possible influence on replies. The main findings were the following: (i) climate change impact is not felt as an immediate threat by the majority, and there is (ii) a lack of accurate knowledge about renewable energies; (iii) a lack of awareness regarding national energy and climate policy; and (iv) a lack of trust in citizens’ role in energy decision making. These findings are evaluated as a barrier to public engagement within the renewable energy development process in Israel.

The European Green Deal declares climate neutrality as a goal for the year 2050. It establishes an EU binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990. The market, through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, will determine how EU member states contribute to this target. The Effort Sharing Regulation defines binding national targets to reduce the remaining GHG emissions not covered by the EU ETS. In this paper, an energy optimization model is applied to analyze the capability of Czechia to meet the climate change targets by 2030 and 2050. We define a baseline scenario derived from the National Energy and Climate Plan and three policy scenarios to assess impacts of the extension of the EU ETS to buildings and transport (EU ETS 2) and the coal phase-out on the Czech energy system. One of the policy scenarios aims at approaching climate neutrality in 2050. In addition, another scenario does not assess the impacts of the EU ETS 2 and coal phase-out but s... [more]

Although the end of combustion engine vehicles seems inevitable under a new climate target for 2030, a complete ban on the combustion engine would be counterproductive. E-fuels, which are produced using renewable electricity from hydrogen and carbon dioxide, could act as a possible large-scale solution for achieving climate-neutral mobility, as they allow us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while leveraging the existing energy infrastructure. Against such a background, it is critical to examine how the related technological landscape is constructed and might affect the subsequent knowledge generation. By adopting a social-network perspective, the aim of this study is to investigate the degree of technological knowledge relatedness of e-fuel technology using patent data. This is accomplished by analyzing the influence of individual knowledge areas and categorizing them into a matrix model, with each quadrant playing a unique role. The main findings show that the patent landscape is do... [more]

The electricity supply in South Africa is characterized by load-shedding. This study analyzed the determinants of the multidimensional energy poverty index (MEPI) in South Africa. The data, which were taken from the 2019−2021 General Household Survey (GHS), were analyzed using Tobit regression. The results showed that between 2019 and 2021, the use of clean energy for cooking declined from 85.97% to 85.68%, respectively, whereas the use of clean energy for water heating declined from 87.24% in 2020 to 86.55% in 2021. Space heating with clean energy declined from 53.57% in 2019 to 50.35% in 2021. The average fuzzy MEPI was 0.143 and Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces had the highest average values with 0.180 and 0.176, respectively. In the combined dataset, the Tobit regression results showed that, compared to Western Cape, the fuzzy MEPI significantly decreased (p < 0.01) by −0.038, 0.028, 0.045, 0.023, 0.029, 0.038, 0.037, and 0.042 for residents in Eastern Cape, Northern Cap... [more]

This paper explored the energy−environment−economy (EEE) causal nexus of Pakistan, thereby reporting the causal determinants of the EEE nexus by employing the newly developed modified Peter and Clark (PC) algorithm. The modified PC algorithm was employed to investigate the causal ordering of energy consumption, CO2 emissions and economic growth across Pakistan’s domestic, industrial, transportation and agricultural sectors. An empirical comparison, i.e., following Monte Carlo simulation experiments demonstrates that the proposed modified PC algorithm is superior to the original PC proposition and can differentiate between true and spurious nexus causalities. Our results show that significant causality is running from energy consumption in industrial and agricultural sectors towards economic growth. There is no causal association between energy consumption and economic growth in the domestic and transportation sectors. On the other hand, causality runs from energy consumption in the tra... [more]

Special Economic Zones (SEZs), an important engine of industrial economic development in China, consume large amounts of energy resources and emit considerable CO2. However, existing research pays little attention to industrial energy usage in SEZs and ignores the heterogeneity of administrative hierarchy and regional location. Considering the dual heterogeneity, this study proposes an improved two-dimension and two-level meta-frontier data envelopment analytical model to decompose the industrial electricity efficiency (IEE) and electricity-saving potential of SEZs in Guizhou Province, China, based on 4-year field survey data (2016−2019). Results show that the IEE rankings of three administrative hierarchies within SEZs are provincial administration SEZs, county administration SEZs, and municipality administration SEZs. The SEZs located in energy resource-rich areas and better ecological environmental areas have higher IEE than those in resource-poor areas and ecology fragile areas, re... [more]

Despite recognizing that climate change and its impacts are not gender-neutral, only few studies address the arising complexities. While in some climate-relevant sectors, such as the transport sector, there already is some initial research on the relationship between climate and gender, research on the climate−gender nexus in the coal sector is still underdeveloped, and the few existing studies focus on dichotomous relations (gender−coal and coal−climate). This article discusses the currently neglected climate, coal, and gender triad and develops a conceptualization along the following aspects: (i) common lines of arguments, (ii) shortcomings in predominant arguments, and (iii) the state-of-the-art regarding the climate−gender−coal triad. To illustrate this outline, it uses the empirical case of the Colombian coal sector. Based on original data obtained via semi-structured interviews, it analyzes how imminent national-level climate policies for the coal sector, i.e., an energy transiti... [more]

Assessing the existing building stock’s hourly energy demand and predicting its variation due to energy efficiency measures are fundamental for planning strategies towards renewable-based Smart Energy Systems. However, the need for accurate methods for this purpose in the literature arises. The present article describes a GIS-based procedure developed for estimating the energy demand profiles of urban buildings based on the definition of the volumetric consistency of a building stock, characterized by different ages of construction and the most widespread uses, as well as dynamic simulations of a set of Building Energy Models adopting different energy-related features. The simulation models are based on a simple Building Energy Concept where selected thermal zones, representative of different boundary conditions options, are accounted. By associating the simulated hourly energy density profiles to the geo-referenced building stock and to the surveyed thermal system types, the whole hou... [more]

The global fleet of electric vehicles (EV) has been rising in recent years, and public policies can play an important role in this scene. The objective of this work is to evaluate the impact of public policies in the diffusion of EVs in Brazil, based on Beck’s adaptation for the Bass diffusion model. This modification on the Bass model allows the estimation of EV diffusion, taking into account the direct and indirect economic influence of the main EV incentive instruments used worldwide. In addition, this work conducts a forecast of the total passenger cars in Brazil through a regression model, considering macroeconomic and social indicators. The results indicate that EV high prices may still be the major barrier for EV diffusion in Brazil over the studied horizon, keeping them inaccessible to the majority of the population. Therefore, policies aimed at subsidizing EVs may be more effective in stimulating EV sales.

Norway is a petroleum exporting country that, simultaneously, is at the forefront of implementing ambitious climate policy measures. Through a discourse analysis of official documents that address petroleum policy, this article examines how the Norwegian government justifies a place for Norwegian petroleum in a low-carbon future. Our findings show that the frames used to justify continued petroleum production between 2011 and 2018 remains predominantly stable, despite the growing opposition to this official discourse in relation to climate change and the societal dependence on petroleum revenues. This article highlights the tension that Norway, as a petroleum-producing country, face in an increasingly carbon-constrained world, and how this is handled in the official petroleum discourse. It shows how the official discourse portrays continued petroleum production and exploration as both valid and necessary and how this framing is discursively linked to a strong commitment to mitigate cli... [more]

Currently, Poland has been facing a process of intensive changes in the energy sector, motivated by the strengthening of the goals of the climate and energy policy at the European level. A key challenge for energy transition in Poland is to build an energy system that corresponds with social needs not only in terms of energy demand, but also environmental protection, with a strong role of local initiatives. The aim of this study is to present the expectations of the Poles regarding the optimal energy mix, especially representatives of local governments, and their awareness of the needs and expectations of their local communities. According to the authors, local governments are extremely important links, responsible for the development of the energy economy and energy security at the local level. The authors set themselves the task of verifying whether local authorities are prepared to create a substantive energy policy at the local level in accordance with the directions of the Polish... [more]

Electricity generation is tied to various environmental and social consequences. In prior studies, the environmental emissions associated with electricity generation were calculated using average emission factors (AEFs) whose use is different from the method of marginal emission factors (MEFs) in regard to the geographical redefinition and new policies applied to the US electricity grid in 2013. Moreover, the amount of emissions being released at a generation site depends on the technology of the generating units; it is important to take into account this factor as well. Thus, this paper provides comparisons between different historical and real-time approaches of estimating MEFs (i.e., CO2, SO2, and NOx) for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) electricity region. The region under study is the same for all the scenarios, although the comparative time frames are different. The study is focused on the similarities observed in the data trends and system behaviors. We carry... [more]

The European Union has adopted very ambitious climate and energy goals for the coming years. The key prerequisite to successfully achieve these goals seems to be extensive support and adequate commitment of the member states and their citizens to the implementation of the clean energy transition and climate neutrality measures. Therefore, this study presents a comprehensive analysis aiming to identify the factors determining the EU citizens’ attitudes towards the European Energy Union priorities. The analysis was based on representative data obtained from residents of twenty-seven EU countries using a Eurobarometer survey. The collected data were subjected to a comparative analysis and binary logistic regression. The research results demonstrated that the support for specific energy policy priorities varies significantly depending on different perceptions of the EU citizens and was affected by a number of demographic variables. It was indicated that perceiving the environment, climate... [more]

In 2015, the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) approved the latest Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) 2015−2036, targeting electricity generation from biomass, biogas, and municipal solid waste by 2036 towards the Thailand 4.0 policy. The small biomass power plants are intensively promoted, contributing to many more public concerns. Therefore, this study provided new insight using the readiness and resilience in the communities near the biomass power plant generation in Southern Thailand. The community readiness model (CRM) and community health impact assessment (CHIA) were adopted using mixed methods during January−November 2019. A total of 999 respondents replied to the questionnaires, 153 informants were interviewed, and the panel was discussed and analyzed by descriptive statistics and content analysis. Findings illustrated that all stakeholder sectors strengthened community-driven development based on the average community readiness (3.01 ± 0.11) in a vague awareness s... [more]

Energy audits are a time-consuming and expensive initial step in the building retrofit process. Virtual energy audits purport to be an alternative that remotely identifies energy efficiency measures (EEMs) that may reduce electricity consumption and offset operational costs to businesses operating during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This case study reviews virtual energy audits as a means to benchmark energy use and estimate cost savings from future EEMs. A novel feature was the estimation of energy costs associated with increasing ventilation to improve indoor air quality. The authors analyzed ten virtual energy audits performed in Honolulu, Hawai’i, over a two-week period that used existing building information and electricity use data to estimate a potential 9% to 41% annual electricity use reduction per building and a 24 MWh to 1195 MWh reduction, respectively. This paper makes a significant contribution through its assessment of virtual energy audits as a step beyond benchmark... [more]

Can rising electricity prices be a driving force for energy transition in countries where the energy sector is d pendent on coal? The goals of the article are to determine the readiness of entrepreneurs to invest in renewable energy and indicate the variables (company size, the length of time it has operated in the market, the form of ownership and the sector of the economy represented) that influence companies’ greater interest in making savings in energy costs. The research sample in the survey carried out using the computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) method included representatives of entrepreneurs from all regions of Poland. The result for all respondents was checked with the z-test (proportion test). The results obtained on a sample of 400 Polish entrepreneurs responsible for development policies in their companies explain which variables have the greatest impact on the decisions of companies in the context of investments in renewable energy: in Poland, greater interes... [more]

This paper proposes methodological approaches to assessing the impact of renewable energy and energy efficiency development on emerging economies’ energy security. It is suggested to supplement the current methodology for assessing energy security with the decoupling index of the renewable energy financial burden on the state budget, the energy efficiency decoupling index, the households’ energy poverty indicator, the index of capacity development for balancing electricity generation volumes, and the energy fluctuations indicator. These indices provide a comprehensive assessment of energy security under the latest challenges. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic in the Ukrainian energy sector led to the “green and coal paradox”, when the government decided to keep green electricity generation but limit nuclear generation. It required increased flexible capacities (thermal generation) and led to a rise in electricity prices and environmental pollution. Forecasting energy fluctuations with Butter... [more]

Concern about energy in the European Union (EU) has been a recurrent issue from the very beginning. Though initially addressed at the state level, energy is now a shared competency as stressed by article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. New challenges, added from time to time, need public support in order to be properly addressed. Such is the case of substituting traditional energy production with renewable energy sources. Our paper seeks to determine whether the Romanian public opinion favors such an evolution, which is traditionally associated with significant investment efforts. The study is focused on the north-east development region, which has the highest population and registered the fastest economic growth in 2019. The topic was explored through a survey applied to a sample of 649 household respondents. The results suggest strong support for introducing renewable energy sources, serious concerns about climate change, and a preoccupation for energy sav... [more]

This study investigated how, through knowledge calibration and a causal path model, psychological distance can explain the level of satisfaction with nuclear energy policy. The investigation used multiple regression analysis and path analysis to explore relationships among variables. Data from 1056 adults revealed that more knowledge-calibrated individuals have more positive attitudes toward nuclear energy policy. In addition, the psychological distance influences policy satisfaction by mediation of perceived risk of nuclear energy. This study aimed to increase the understanding of the dynamic of satisfaction with and acceptance of nuclear energy policy among stakeholders. Thus, based on the construal level theory, the study addressed the importance of knowledge and psychological distance in explaining variation in satisfaction and acceptance about nuclear policy.

A comparative analysis of energy poverty transitions and persistence can provide valuable suggestions for long-term policy actions. This study examines the dynamics of energy poverty in 17 European countries based on the longitudinal household data from the EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions, waves 2015−2018. The study pursues two goals. First, we explore households’ chances of transitioning in and out of energy poverty in each country following the discrete-time Markov process. On average, the probability to stay in energy poverty is 51.5%, and there is a lot of heterogeneity across countries. Households in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Lithuania are quite close to the energy poverty trap. Second, we identify factors that help energy-poor households leave energy poverty. Demographic, technical, and socio-economic factors are the drivers in escaping energy poverty, which suggests common EU policy.

South Korea and Japan are two large contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. In October 2020, President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide declared that their countries would aim for carbon neutrality by 2050. The Moon administration presented the Korean version of the New Deal that includes its Green New Deal, whereas the Suga administration completed its strategy aiming for green growth. Both countries emphasize the importance of energy transition through the expansion of green energy in power generation. However, they show some significant differences in dealing with nuclear energy. The purpose of this article is to compare the two countries’ energy policies and analyze the rationales and political dynamics behind their different approaches to nuclear energy. The study reveals that the contrast between the two political systems has resulted in differences between their policies. This study depends on comparative methods that use primary sources, such as government... [more]

The transition to a sustainable society and a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 requires extensive deployment of renewable energy sources that, due to the aleatority and non-programmability of most of them, may seriously affect the stability of existing power grids. In this context, buildings are increasingly being seen as a potential source of energy flexibility for the power grid. In literature, key performance indicators, allowing different aspects of the load management, are used to investigate buildings’ energy flexibility. The paper reviews existing indicators developed in the context of theoretical, experimental and numerical studies on flexible buildings, outlining the current status and the potential future perspective. Moreover, the paper briefly reviews the range of grid services that flexible buildings can provide to support the reliability of the electric power system which is potentially challenged by the increasing interconnection of distributed variable renewable generatio... [more]

The optimal predictive, preventive, corrective and opportunistic maintenance policies play an important role in the success of sustainable maintenance operations. This study discusses a new energy efficiency-related maintenance policy optimization method, which is based on failure data and status information from both the physical system and the digital twin-based discrete event simulation. The study presents the functional model, the mathematical model and the solution algorithm. The maintenance optimization method proposed in this paper is made up of four main phases: computation of energy consumption based on the levelized cost of energy, computation of GHG emission, computation of value determination equations and application of the Howard’s policy iteration techniques. The approach was tested with a scenario analysis, where different electricity generation sources were taken into consideration. The computational results validated the optimization method and show that optimized mai... [more]