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Energy and Environment

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B: Energy and Environment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (2 May 2019) | Viewed by 42467

Special Issue Editors

Department of Industrial Economics and Management INDEK, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden
Interests: energy transitions; renewable energy; energy policy; climate policy; decarbonization; innovation; industrial dynamics; green transformations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
Interests: the social implications of energy and climate policy; low carbon development; renewable energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to invite you to submit a paper for a Special Issue on “Energy and Environment” in Energies (impact factor 2.262): https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies

Energy is a vital commodity that sustains human lives, as well as economic processes. At the same time, energy demand, supply and generation contribute to various environmental challenges, such as climate change, fossil fuel resource depletion and air pollution. This Special Issue will explore the following topics: a) how energy demand, supply and use contribute to a wide range of environmental challenges, b) how these environmental challenges can be mitigated using advanced energy technology, c) how low carbon energy transitions can be achieved world-wide to overcome some of these environmental challenges, and d) how economic, political, social and technological systems can help to reduce the environmental impacts of energy use. This Special Issue addresses cross-cutting issues across a range of economic sectors, such as energy generation, transport, industry, buildings, services, agriculture and households. This Special Issue will particularly include new insights from biofuels/biomass, geothermal power, hydropower, solar energy, tidal energy, wind energy. New insights from nuclear power and fossil fuels may also be explored. The Special Issue welcomes both qualitative and quantitative studies, as well as empirical and theoretical contributions.

Assoc. Prof. Frauke Urban
Dr. Johan Nordensvard
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Energy
  • Environment
  • Climate change
  • Resource depletion
  • Air pollution
  • Low carbon transitions
  • Low carbon energy
  • Renewable energy
  • Renewables
  • Biofuels
  • Biomass
  • Geothermal
  • Hydro
  • Solar
  • Wind
  • Tidal
  • Nuclear
  • Fossil fuels
  • Energy generation
  • Industry
  • Buildings
  • Transport
  • Services
  • Agriculture
  • Households
  • Economics
  • SocialScience
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Engineering
  • Qualitative
  • Quantitative

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2602 KiB  
Article
Electric Vehicles as Flexibility Management Strategy for the Electricity System—A Comparison between Different Regions of Europe
by Maria Taljegard, Lisa Göransson, Mikael Odenberger and Filip Johnsson
Energies 2019, 12(13), 2597; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12132597 - 05 Jul 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3706
Abstract
This study considers whether electric vehicles (EVs) can be exploited as a flexibility management strategy to stimulate investments in and operation of renewable electricity under stringent CO2 constraints in four regions with different conditions for renewable electricity (Sweden, Germany, the UK, and [...] Read more.
This study considers whether electric vehicles (EVs) can be exploited as a flexibility management strategy to stimulate investments in and operation of renewable electricity under stringent CO2 constraints in four regions with different conditions for renewable electricity (Sweden, Germany, the UK, and Spain). The study applies a cost-minimisation investment model and an electricity dispatch model of the European electricity system, assuming three types of charging strategies for EVs. The results show that vehicle-to-grid (V2G), i.e., the possibility to discharging the EV batteries back to grid, facilitates an increase in investments and generation from solar photovoltaics (PVs) compare to the scenario without EVs, in all regions except Sweden. Without the possibility to store electricity in EV batteries across different days, which is a technical limitation of this type of model, EVs increase the share of wind power by only a few percentage points in Sweden, even if Sweden is a region with good conditions for wind power. Full electrification of the road transport sector, including also dynamic power transfer for trucks and buses, would decrease the need for investments in peak power in all four regions by at least 50%, as compared to a scenario without EVs or with uncontrolled charging of EVs, provided that an optimal charging strategy and V2G are implemented for the passenger vehicles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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14 pages, 1038 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Energy Efficiency Improvement of Twenty-Five Countries: A DEA Approach
by Lai-Wang Wang, Ke-Duc Le and Thi-Duong Nguyen
Energies 2019, 12(8), 1535; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12081535 - 23 Apr 2019
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 3329
Abstract
Since energy efficiency and energy improvement are viewed as two of the most important keys of sustainable management, research on energy has become popular and captured much more attention. The current paper aimed to measure the energy efficiency of 25 countries with carbon [...] Read more.
Since energy efficiency and energy improvement are viewed as two of the most important keys of sustainable management, research on energy has become popular and captured much more attention. The current paper aimed to measure the energy efficiency of 25 countries with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as well as their energy efficiency improvement. First, a data envelopment analysis (DEA) slack-based model (SBM) was employed to obtain efficiency scores. Second, the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) was then used to examine the improvement during the period of 2010–2017. Findings of this study showed that developed countries had a more balanced development between gross domestic product (GDP) growth and CO2 emissions by using the same inputs as developing countries. Additionally, the findings revealed that India and China, being the two largest population countries, achieved improved energy intensity during 2010–2017; however; their energy consumption and CO2 emissions continued to grow, leading them to being the two worst countries in terms of energy efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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17 pages, 2730 KiB  
Article
Coupling Exergy with the Emission of Greenhouse Gases in Bioenergy: A Case Study Using Biochar
by Jair Araújo Júnior, Armando Caldeira-Pires and Sérgio Oliveira
Energies 2019, 12(6), 1057; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12061057 - 19 Mar 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2225
Abstract
The loss in the quality of energy throughout any process can be assessed by the thermodynamics magnitude related to its entropic performance—the exergy. This indicator has been suggested as an environmental index, as an alternative to life cycle assessment (LCA), which is a [...] Read more.
The loss in the quality of energy throughout any process can be assessed by the thermodynamics magnitude related to its entropic performance—the exergy. This indicator has been suggested as an environmental index, as an alternative to life cycle assessment (LCA), which is a classic tool for this purpose. This study assesses the potential of coupling the life cycle approach and exergy in a bioenergy supply chain environmental performance characterization, examining two scenarios in the sugarcane agroindustry. The first one, the reference scenario, is a classical production, and the second includes the returning of a portion of residual biomass from the plant, in the form of biochar, to agricultural soil. The use of biochar engendered an increase in sugarcane productivities and a reduction of nitrous oxide emissions. These changes resulted in scenarios 1 and 2, reducing the exergy destroyed from 390 to 355 MJ/MJ ethanol (9.0%) and decreasing the greenhouse gases emissions (GHG) from 11.8 to 11.0 g CO2-equivalent/MJ ethanol (6.8%). The latter represents an improvement in the use of carbon. A sensitivity analysis showed that the effect of changing productivity was quite significant: The exergy showed a sensitivity of −0.49, and in total emissions, this figure was slightly lower, at −0.41. By changing the emissions of N2O in the soil, the sensitivity of exergy was almost null, and the total emissions were 0.077. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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27 pages, 17059 KiB  
Article
Analysis and Forecasting of the Carbon Price in China’s Regional Carbon Markets Based on Fast Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition, Phase Space Reconstruction, and an Improved Extreme Learning Machine
by Wei Sun and Ming Duan
Energies 2019, 12(2), 277; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12020277 - 16 Jan 2019
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 3631
Abstract
With the development of the carbon market in China, research on the carbon price has received more and more attention in related fields. However, due to its nonlinearity and instability, the carbon price is undoubtedly difficult to predict using a single model. This [...] Read more.
With the development of the carbon market in China, research on the carbon price has received more and more attention in related fields. However, due to its nonlinearity and instability, the carbon price is undoubtedly difficult to predict using a single model. This paper proposes a new hybrid model for carbon price forecasting that combines fast ensemble empirical mode decomposition, sample entropy, phase space reconstruction, a partial autocorrelation function, and an extreme learning machine that has been improved by particle swarm optimization. The original carbon price series is decomposed using the fast ensemble empirical mode decomposition and sample entropy methods, which eliminate noise interference. Then, the phase space reconstruction and partial autocorrelation function methods are combined to determine the input and output variables in the forecasting models. An extreme learning machine optimized by particle swarm optimization was employed to forecast carbon prices. An empirical study based on carbon prices in three typical regional carbon markets in China found that this new hybrid model performed better than other comparable models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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25 pages, 5614 KiB  
Article
Carbon Mitigation Pathway Evaluation and Environmental Benefit Analysis of Mitigation Technologies in China’s Petrochemical and Chemical Industry
by Xi Yang, Xiaoqian Xi, Shan Guo, Wanqi Lin and Xiangzhao Feng
Energies 2018, 11(12), 3331; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11123331 - 29 Nov 2018
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3323
Abstract
The co-benefits of mitigation technology in China’s petrochemical and chemical industry have not been evaluated, although they are deemed valuable for the cost-benefit analysis of carbon mitigation. On this basis, this study evaluates the carbon mitigation effects and environmental co-benefits of mitigation technologies [...] Read more.
The co-benefits of mitigation technology in China’s petrochemical and chemical industry have not been evaluated, although they are deemed valuable for the cost-benefit analysis of carbon mitigation. On this basis, this study evaluates the carbon mitigation effects and environmental co-benefits of mitigation technologies that have been long ignored in China’s petrochemical and chemical industry. In addition, this study also fills the gap of provincial research in chemical industry. A bottom-up energy model and marginal abatement cost curves are constructed for each sector. The study is based on national and provincial levels to provide quantitative reference for the mitigation technologies. Results show that, among 18 technologies in the chemical industry, waste heat utilization and technological process transformation technologies have the highest marginal abatement benefits. Technologies in the petrochemical industry with the largest marginal abatement social benefit typically exists in three categories: efficiency improvement technology, waste heat utilization technology, and coating technology. At the national level, 8039 and 5105 premature deaths are effectively avoided by the promotion of chemical and petrochemical mitigation technologies, respectively. Monetary value of health impact in these two industries are 7.0 billion and 5.5 billion RMB, respectively. At the provincial level, coal gasification multi-generation gas turbine power generation technology, a technological process transformation technology, performs well in Shaanxi province with 122 million RMB of total social benefit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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13 pages, 2474 KiB  
Article
Approaches to Methods of Risk Analysis and Assessment Regarding the Gas Supply to a City
by Barbara Tchórzewska-Cieślak and Katarzyna Pietrucha-Urbanik
Energies 2018, 11(12), 3304; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11123304 - 26 Nov 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2979
Abstract
Analysis and assessment of the reliability and safety of a gas-supply system is a key issue, given its status as critical infrastructure. A gas-supply system is characterised by continuous operation and a consequent need to achieve a high level of operating reliability and [...] Read more.
Analysis and assessment of the reliability and safety of a gas-supply system is a key issue, given its status as critical infrastructure. A gas-supply system is characterised by continuous operation and a consequent need to achieve a high level of operating reliability and safety. Such a system has its unique aspects, with particular elements having their different functions while also simultaneously interacting in the context of the integral whole. In such circumstances, risk analysis can prove useful in planning activity to prevent damage, and also in the devising of rescue scenarios. Thus, the purpose of the analysis presented here has been to supply the information that is necessary in decision-making relating to risk reduction. One of the most comprehensive assessment methods is based on the expected value of gas shortage. Basic formulae with which to determine a generalised indicator of system reliability are also presented, with risk viewed as synonymous with the unreliability of gas supply. This paper then proposes a method by which an indicator of the expected efficiency of operation may also be determined as the quotient of chance and absolute risk. The thinking in this article has been developed on the basis of data from a real gas-supply system, while the computational methods deployed allowed applications to draw conclusions regarding possible modification of the expected gas shortages method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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17 pages, 3159 KiB  
Article
Optimization Simulation, Using Steel Plant Off-Gas for Power Generation: A Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Approach
by Yang-Kon Kim and Eul-Bum Lee
Energies 2018, 11(11), 2884; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11112884 - 24 Oct 2018
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3473
Abstract
This research aims to contribute to the international desires of greenhouse gas mitigation through a study on the optimization of 100 MW off-gas power plants’ subcritical steam cycle, operating in conjunction with steel plants. The performance and fiscal efficiency of the off-gas power [...] Read more.
This research aims to contribute to the international desires of greenhouse gas mitigation through a study on the optimization of 100 MW off-gas power plants’ subcritical steam cycle, operating in conjunction with steel plants. The performance and fiscal efficiency of the off-gas power plants are based on data collected from Krakatau Steel plants in Indonesia, simulated and analyzed through thermodynamic simulation model (PEPSE). The three scenarios simulated for comparison are: (1) 100 MW off-gas power plant as-is operation, (2) 100 MW off-gas power plant optimized, and (3) 100 MW cogeneration off-gas power plant. The optimization of the off-gas power plant and use of steam extraction was found to have a 45 M and 26 M USD savings in comparison to the base power plant, assuming a 5.5% discount rate and 400 Million USD capital expenditure. The theoretical findings are of use to academia and industry in providing proof of potential cost-savings of integrating off-gas into existing power generation operations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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19 pages, 857 KiB  
Article
Carbon Productivity: Findings from Industry Case Studies in Beijing
by Min Lu, Xing Wang and Yuquan Cang
Energies 2018, 11(10), 2796; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11102796 - 17 Oct 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2600
Abstract
Simultaneously protecting the environment and promoting the economy are two critical dimensions for sustainable development. Carbon productivity is popularly used in assessing the environmental and economic efficiency over time, and is deemed as the appropriate indicator of sustainable development. Given the prominent contribution [...] Read more.
Simultaneously protecting the environment and promoting the economy are two critical dimensions for sustainable development. Carbon productivity is popularly used in assessing the environmental and economic efficiency over time, and is deemed as the appropriate indicator of sustainable development. Given the prominent contribution of energy consumption to sustainable development, this study incorporates energy consumption into the Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition model to explore the main factors influencing carbon productivity change. Based on the data from 19 industries in Beijing from 2013 to 2016, this study then reports the carbon productivities and their changes. Energy productivity change is the main cause of carbon productivity changes, and its correlation with carbon productivity change is significantly positive, whereas there is a weak correlation and no significant difference in energy consumption per unit of carbon emissions. Although the average carbon productivities in all 19 industries increased year over year in Beijing, the average level could be further promoted by improving energy productivity. The carbon productivities of the primary and secondary industries are less than the average, and far below the tertiary industry level. For the primary industry, increasing economic levels is conducive to improving carbon productivity; for secondary industry, reducing energy consumption and enhancing energy efficiency are most effective; and for tertiary industry, maintaining an outstanding performance will guarantee sustainable development in Beijing. This study has defined carbon productivity change from the energy consumption perspective and for the first time, comprehensively measured it for all industries in Beijing. The results are expected to assist these industries to essentially improve productivity performance and thus improve development sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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10 pages, 1917 KiB  
Article
A Study for the Measurement of the Minimum Clearance Distance between the 500 kV DC Transmission Line and Vegetation
by Kumail Hassan Kharal, Chang-Hwan Kim, Chulwon Park, Jae-Hyun Lee, Chang-Gi Park, Se Hee Lee and Sang-Bong Rhee
Energies 2018, 11(10), 2606; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11102606 - 30 Sep 2018
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5056
Abstract
High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission is being widely implemented for long-distance electrical power transmission due to its specific benefits over high voltage alternating current (HVAC) transmission. Most transmission lines pass through forests. Around the HVDC lines, an arc to a nearby tree [...] Read more.
High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission is being widely implemented for long-distance electrical power transmission due to its specific benefits over high voltage alternating current (HVAC) transmission. Most transmission lines pass through forests. Around the HVDC lines, an arc to a nearby tree may be produced. Thus, there should be a minimum possible clearance distance between a live conductor and a nearby tree, named the minimum vegetation clearance distance (MVCD), to avoid short-circuiting. Measurement of minimum clearance distance between the conductor and trees is a significant challenge for a transmission system. In the case of HVAC transmission, a large amount of research has been undertaken in the form of the Gallet equation for the measurement of this distance, whereas for HVDC transmission no substantial work has been done. An equivalent AC voltage value can be derived from the DC voltage value in order to use the Gallet equation. This paper presents an experimental measurement technique for determining the MVCD at 500 kV to verify the results obtained from the Gallet equation in the case of DC voltage. Performing the experiment with a 500 kV DC line is not possible in the laboratory due to safety concerns. Therefore, an experiment up to 60 kV is conducted to measure the MVCD for DC voltage. The measured results achieved from the experiment are then extrapolated to calculate the MVCD at 500 kV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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17 pages, 2826 KiB  
Article
Low Carbon Energy Transitions in the Nordic Countries: Evidence from the Environmental Kuznets Curve
by Frauke Urban and Johan Nordensvärd
Energies 2018, 11(9), 2209; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11092209 - 23 Aug 2018
Cited by 41 | Viewed by 5604
Abstract
Low carbon energy transitions are important to mitigate climate change, reduce air pollution, and reduce fossil fuel resource depletion. The Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) are seen as leaders in low carbon energy transitions. This paper provides a comparative data analysis [...] Read more.
Low carbon energy transitions are important to mitigate climate change, reduce air pollution, and reduce fossil fuel resource depletion. The Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) are seen as leaders in low carbon energy transitions. This paper provides a comparative data analysis of low carbon energy transitions in the Nordic countries from the 1960s to 2015, and assesses evidence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). The paper finds that the EKC has been observed in Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden in terms of total CO2 emissions, but not in Norway and Finland. For per capita CO2 emissions, there is evidence for the EKC in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden, but not for Norway. For energy use per capita, the EKC is only observed for Denmark, while improvements are needed for the other countries. Norway is an outlier, in comparison with the other Nordic countries, hence the country should implement more stringent climate change mitigation policies to reduce its emissions. Overall, the research suggests that the Nordic countries, particularly Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden, can provide valuable lessons for national, regional, and global low carbon energy transitions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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14 pages, 1667 KiB  
Article
Decomposing Air Pollutant Emissions in Asia: Determinants and Projections
by Peter Rafaj and Markus Amann
Energies 2018, 11(5), 1299; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11051299 - 19 May 2018
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4766
Abstract
High levels of air pollution pose an urgent social and public health challenge in many Asian regions. This study evaluates the role of key factors that determined the changes in emission levels in China, India and Japan over the past 25 years. While [...] Read more.
High levels of air pollution pose an urgent social and public health challenge in many Asian regions. This study evaluates the role of key factors that determined the changes in emission levels in China, India and Japan over the past 25 years. While emissions of air pollutants have been declining in Japan since the 1990s, China and India have experienced a rapid growth in pollution levels in recent years. Around 2005, control measures for sulfur emissions started to deliver expected reductions in China, followed by cuts in nitrogen oxides ten years later. Despite recent policy interventions, growing emission trends in India persist. A decomposition analysis of emission-driving factors indicates that emission levels would have been at least two-times higher without the improvements in energy intensity and efficiency, combined with end-of-pipe measures. Due to the continuous reliance on fossil fuels, the abatement effect of a cleaner fuel mix was in most cases significantly smaller than other factors. A reassessment of emission projections developed in the past suggests a decisive impact of energy and environmental policies. It is expected that targeted legislative instruments will play a dominant role in achieving future air-quality goals in Asia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Environment)
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