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Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Renewable Energy Policy and Economics

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 June 2024) | Viewed by 9121

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Economics, University of Molise, Via De Sanctis, 86100 Campobasso, Italy
Interests: multi-criteria; fuzzy set; soft computing; renewable energy; sustainability; circular economy; technology assessment; hypersoft sets; sustainable development goals
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Research Centre on Economics and Finance (CEFUP) and Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias S/n, 4200-464 Porto, Portugal
Interests: energy economics; economics of regulation; environment economics; corporate finance

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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change involves national economies, with high costs for people, communities and countries, and it can reasonably be expected to be even more serious in the near future. For this reason, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the governments of 195 countries signed a new legally binding international agreement in December 2015 at the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Paris both to address the threat of climate change and to make decisions on how to manage it. The agreement defines a global action plan that reduces CO2 and GHG emissions, thus limiting global warming below 2 °C.

To achieve this objective, the new treaty must put in place new policies, solutions, technologies, clean and renewable energies and financing for the decarbonisation of the global economy. It requires more prevention actions, structural policies and a serious commitment to reduce CO2 emissions in order to achieve climate neutrality in the second half of the century. The production and use of energy accounts for more than 75% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. Decarbonising the EU’s energy system is therefore critical to reach our 2030 climate objectives and the EU’s long-term strategy for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The energy transition must shift from an energy mix based on fossil fuels to one that produces very limited, if not zero, carbon emissions, based on renewable energy sources. A large contribution to decarbonization also derives from other sectors, such as cleaner transport and improved energy efficiency. The objectives of the European Commission toward achieving a sustainable energy transition are as follows (https://ec.europa.eu/):

  • Construct interconnected energy systems to support renewable energy sources;
  • Encourage innovative technologies;
  • Increase energy efficiency;
  • Decarbonise the gas sector and support smart integration across sectors;
  • Promote EU energy standards and technologies at a global level;
  • Develop the full potential of Europe’s offshore wind energy.

The energy transition must be inclusive, and it must be ensured that no one is left behind. Decarbonisation can provide benefits not only for the climate but also for the economy and society, and has the potential to open the way for new services for consumers. Developing RES is the very core of the energy transition. Targeting renewable sources entails making profound changes to the current setup of the energy industry, in order to move towards a system that is increasingly more geographically scattered, technologically advanced and able to handle power generation and demand spread over a wide geographical area. The desired system would be one that reduces the energy production chain, creates electricity and power directly from renewable sources (sun, wind, geothermal and others) and would gradually allow small users to become increasingly self-sufficient and thus become less dependent on large installations generating and distributing energy.

The challenge lies in making environmental and energy objectives converge, and the overall success of future energy policy will be to demonstrate that economic growth, an assured energy supply and environmental protection are compatible goals. Although some technologies exploiting renewable energy sources (RES) have reached a certain maturity, there are numerous hurdles to their market penetration. It is fundamental to kick-start the launch of RES in order to accelerate and increase their market share. This strategy would favour the creation of economies of scale and, consequently, reduce costs.

Developments in new sectors such as tidal power, green hydrogen energy and storage technologies may soon contribute to the transition. Speeding up renewables permissions is decisive to minimise the time for the roll-out of renewable projects and grid infrastructure improvements.

This Special Issue hosts high-quality papers on renewable energy policies, plans and technologies.

Prof. Dr. Fausto Cavallaro
Prof. Dr. Isabel Soares
Prof. Dr. Ishaq Bhatti
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2410 KiB  
Article
Photovoltaic Capacity Management for Investment Effectiveness
by Tomasz Brzęczek and Łukasz Hadaś
Energies 2024, 17(13), 3194; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133194 - 28 Jun 2024
Viewed by 493
Abstract
The production of photovoltaic utility varies within the day/night cycle. At night, photovoltaic cells do not produce anything. However, their day-light production, unconsumed on a current basis and exported to the grid, is compensated for with supply from the grid at night. This [...] Read more.
The production of photovoltaic utility varies within the day/night cycle. At night, photovoltaic cells do not produce anything. However, their day-light production, unconsumed on a current basis and exported to the grid, is compensated for with supply from the grid at night. This scheme of exploitation is called net-metering and is considered herein. Solar energy produced by a prosumer and fed into the grid has to be equal to the electricity supplied from the grid at night; otherwise, a shortage or waste of photovoltaic production occurs. The above finding leads us to the proposition for the optimal solution of photovoltaic capacity. We derived a closed-form capacity solution to the maximized non-linear profit function. It solves harmonic and 2-point production functions that vary symmetrically around the mean production. To verify the solution methodology, harmonic and 2-point models from empirical production data are estimated. Then, the solution is presented together with its return rate and internal return rate. The main finding is that the unit cost of the grid electricity, photovoltaic capacity unit cost and exploitation time all affect the total profit and return rate values while not impacting the optimal capacity of the photovoltaics. The optimal capacity depends on the prosumer’s energy consumption volume and on the natural conditions of production captured here by the technology efficiency coefficient estimated from the production time series. Full article
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22 pages, 3694 KiB  
Article
Green Transition and Electricity Sector Decarbonization: The Case of West Macedonia
by John K. Kaldellis, Despoina Boulogiorgou, Emilia M. Kondili and Athanasios G. Triantafyllou
Energies 2023, 16(16), 5970; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16165970 - 13 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1511
Abstract
During the last 50 years, the vast majority of European countries have relied on coal and imported carbon-containing fuels to meet their growing electricity demand. Coal is the only fossil fuel in significant reserves across Europe. However, the pressing threat of radical climate [...] Read more.
During the last 50 years, the vast majority of European countries have relied on coal and imported carbon-containing fuels to meet their growing electricity demand. Coal is the only fossil fuel in significant reserves across Europe. However, the pressing threat of radical climate change and the looming depletion of fossil fuels necessitate a structural transformation from a conventional centralized fossil fuel-based electricity generation system to an innovative decentralized system based on zero carbon (green) energy resources. In this context, one important issue for communities operating coal-based Thermal Power Stations (TPS) nearing retirement is whether the European Union (EU) policy can ensure a socially just development of the coal mining areas during the coal phase-out. The objective is to avoid a decline in living standards and mass immigration. In response to the EU’s decarbonization policy, the Greek state has recently decided to retire the lignite-based West Macedonia TPS, which has been in operation since the 1970s. Since its establishment in August 1950, the (initially State-controlled) Greek Public Power Corporation (PPC) has undertaken the responsibility to operate the quarries and the six local TPS, offering approximately 25,000 direct and indirect jobs. Over the last 50 years, the extraction of lignite and the operation of the 4500 MWe TPS of West Macedonia has been the primary economic activity, accounting for nearly 45% of the entire Region’s GDP. While both the Greek state and the EU have prepared and presented plans to financially support local communities and encourage new private and public investments, local citizens remain anxious about their future. The present study investigates the attitude of young scientists towards the forthcoming radical changes linked to the green transition in seriously affected EU Regions, with a focus on West Macedonia. The proposed analysis in West Macedonia reveals the skepticism of young people regarding the speed of the green transition and concerns about significant migration and potential brain drain. On the other hand, the implementation of EU initiatives, including the involvement of young scientists in the planned new green energy-related activities, offers a promising alternative solution. This engagement can lead to the successful integration of local communities into the sustainable and green future envisioned by the EU. Full article
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18 pages, 1427 KiB  
Article
Towards Achieving Sustainability in the BRICS Economies: The Role of Renewable Energy Consumption and Economic Risk
by Opeoluwa Seun Ojekemi, Mehmet Ağa and Cosimo Magazzino
Energies 2023, 16(14), 5287; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16145287 - 10 Jul 2023
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 2230
Abstract
In this study, the focus is on examining the influence of renewable energy consumption, economic risk, and financial risk on the load capacity factor (LF) within the BRICS countries. The analysis covers the time span from 1990 to 2019. The empirical strategy uses [...] Read more.
In this study, the focus is on examining the influence of renewable energy consumption, economic risk, and financial risk on the load capacity factor (LF) within the BRICS countries. The analysis covers the time span from 1990 to 2019. The empirical strategy uses the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) and long-run estimators (Fixed Effects Ordinary Least Squares, FE-OLS; Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares, DOLS; and Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares, FMOLS). The findings highlight the presence of a cointegrating relationship. Moreover, fossil fuels and economic growth cause LF to decrease, while economic risk and the use of renewable energy sources increase the deepening of the LF. Furthermore, the results of the MMQR method are confirmed by DOLS, FMOLS, and FE-OLS estimates. Causality results also demonstrate that these factors may forecast ecological quality, indicating that policies for renewable energy consumption, financial risk, renewable energy, and economic growth can all have an impact on the degree of LF. In light of this research, policymakers should strongly encourage expenditures on environmentally friendly technologies and economic and financial stability to increase energy efficiency as well as sustain the widespread adoption and use of energy-saving products. Full article
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46 pages, 3531 KiB  
Article
Natural Gas Prices in the Framework of European Union’s Energy Transition: Assessing Evolution and Drivers
by Vitor Miguel Ribeiro, Gustavo Soutinho and Isabel Soares
Energies 2023, 16(4), 2029; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16042029 - 18 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3954
Abstract
This study analyzes European natural gas (NG) prices since the eve of the 2008 financial crisis. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients associate prices with and without taxation, whereas a hierarchical clustering analysis clarifies similarities in NG pricing behavior. After performing econometric tests to ensure [...] Read more.
This study analyzes European natural gas (NG) prices since the eve of the 2008 financial crisis. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients associate prices with and without taxation, whereas a hierarchical clustering analysis clarifies similarities in NG pricing behavior. After performing econometric tests to ensure the satisfaction of classical hypotheses and identify a system of endogenous variables, structured unrestricted and restricted vector autoregressive models are applied to panel data composed of 34 spatial units and 31 units of time drawn from 2007–2022 to confirm the presence of short-term and long-term causal dependencies. The nonparametric analysis identifies three groups of countries that exhibit a differentiated pricing behavior. The parametric analysis reveals a significant and asymmetric short run relation, which is imposed by liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Nigeria on the logarithm of NG prices. However, the sign of coefficients associated with lagged LNG imports varies across spatial units belonging to the sample. The error correction term is negative and significant, which implies evidence of cointegration. Since the main result identifies ambiguous short-term effects emerging from the diversification in favor of LNG imports from Nigeria, a straightforward policy recommendation is that this strategic option may be ill advised for Europe and, indirectly, it legitimizes the suggestion that alternative decarbonization options can play a prominent role in European NG markets in the near future. Full article
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