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Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2019) | Viewed by 44421

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Konstantinos Ioannou

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Guest Editor

Forest Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization “DEMETER”, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: forest informatics; decision support systems; expert systems; spatial planning of RES multicriteria decision analysis; sensor networks; artificial neural networks and computing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the last two decades, we have witnessed an evolution in the energy sector. Many countries throughout the world have been shifting their energy production methods from fossil fuel usage to more environmentally-friendly methods. These methods are described under the term Renewable Energy Methods and propose the usage of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) based on wind, water, biomass, solar and geothermal energy for the production of energy. This shift is mainly caused by the increase in public awareness on environmental problems and climate change, which are both related to the increase in Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.

The scope of this Special Issue is to attract researchers whose scientific interests reside in research on the level of integration of RES and its acceptance among citizens, the educational framework of RES at the various educational levels, as well as the level of social acceptance of RES application. Additionally, we will also aim to attract researchers working in the field of decision making regarding RES; their selection and installation.

The purpose of this Special Issue is the determination of the factors affecting the dissemination of RES to the public, the factors that cause a negative attitude towards the usage of RES, as well as the factors affecting decision making regarding the implementation and installation of RES. Furthermore, we will also explore the methodologies and tools used for presenting RES, and sustainable energy in general, to students at various educational levels as well as to the general public.

References:

Lefkeli, S., Manolas, E., Ioannou, K., Tsantopoulos, G. Socio-cultural impact of energy saving: Studying the behaviour of elementary school students in Greece (2018) Sustainability (Switzerland), 10 (3), art. no. 737.
Helena Mälkki, Kari Alanne, An overview of life cycle assessment (LCA) and research-based teaching in renewable and sustainable energy education, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 69, 2017, Pages 218-231, ISSN 1364-0321, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.176.
Arif Sari, Murat Akkaya, Contribution of Renewable Energy Potential to Sustainable Employment, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 229, 2016, Pages 316-325, ISSN 1877-0428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.07.142.
Jamal O. Jaber, Wael Awad, Taieseer Abu Rahmeh, Aiman A. Alawin, Suleiman Al-Lubani, Sameh Abu Dalu, Ali Dalabih, Adnan Al-Bashir, Renewable energy education in faculties of engineering in Jordan: Relationship between demographics and level of knowledge of senior students’, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 73, 2017, Pages 452-459, ISSN 1364-0321, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.01.141.
Tara C. Kandpal, Lars Broman, Renewable energy education: A global status review, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 34, 2014, Pages 300-324, ISSN 1364-0321, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.02.039.
John A. Paravantis, Eleni Stigka, Giouli Mihalakakou, Evanthie Michalena, Jeremy M. Hills, Vasilis Dourmas, Social acceptance of renewable energy projects: A contingent valuation investigation in Western Greece, Renewable Energy, Volume 123, 2018, Pages 639-651, ISSN 0960-1481, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.02.068.
Caglayan Acikgoz, Renewable energy education in Turkey, Renewable Energy, Volume 36, Issue 2, 2011, Pages 608-611, ISSN 0960-1481, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2010.08.015.
Akash Kumar Shukla, K. Sudhakar, Prashant Baredar, Renewable energy resources in South Asian countries: Challenges, policy and recommendations, Resource-Efficient Technologies, Volume 3, Issue 3, 2017, Pages 342-346, ISSN 2405-6537, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reffit.2016.12.003.
Hsing-Chen Lee, Ching-Ter Chang, Comparative analysis of MCDM methods for ranking renewable energy sources in Taiwan, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 92, 2018, Pages 883-896, ISSN 1364-0321, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.05.007.
Yakup Çelikbilek, Fatih Tüysüz, An integrated grey based multi-criteria decision making approach for the evaluation of renewable energy sources, Energy, Volume 115, Part 1, 2016, Pages 1246-1258, ISSN 0360-5442, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2016.09.091.

Dr. Konstantinos Ioannou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

Renewable Energy Sources;
Sustainability Assessment and Policy;
Socio-Economic Impact;
Educational Impact;
Multi-Disciplinary Energy Issues

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 159 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Education, Communication and Decision-Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy

by Konstantinos Ioannou

Sustainability 2019, 11(19), 5262; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195262 - 25 Sep 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1555

Abstract

This editorial aims to introduce the themes and approaches covered in this special issue on education, communication, and decision-making on renewable and sustainable energy. At first, I discuss the themes and topics that have informed the creation of this special issue. Then, I provide an overview of the content of each paper that is included on the special issue. Additionally, this editorial provides a solid background on the relationships between the factors affecting decision-making on renewable energy sources as well as on the degree of influence education and communication takes part in the attitudes of the public towards renewable energy sources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

18 pages, 1905 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Investigation of Factors Affecting the Willingness to Invest in Renewables among Environmental Students: A Logistic Regression Approach

by Evangelia Karasmanaki, Spyridon Galatsidas and Georgios Tsantopoulos

Sustainability 2019, 11(18), 5012; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11185012 - 13 Sep 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4274

Abstract

Renewable energy sources (RES) have gained increased popularity across the world mainly due to their ability to contribute to environmental protection through the generation of infinite ‘clean’ energy. To achieve a greater diffusion of renewables, however, small-scale investments implemented by individuals are critically important. In contrast to citizens whose attitudes have been consistently explored by research, there is little evidence on the attitudes towards investments among environmental students who will occupy positions of responsibility and play key roles in the environmental sector in the future. Hence, the purpose of the present study is to identify the most important factors that affect environmental students’ willingness to invest in renewable energy (RE) by developing a logistic regression model. According to our analysis, the participants in their majority expressed their willingness to invest, while environmental values, the low risk and profitability of renewable investments, as well as preferences for certain energy types were significant factors determining this willingness. However, willingness to invest was irrespective of the current taxation and subsidies, suggesting that significant improvements are required in these areas. The present study could be particularly useful for policymakers since the necessary steps to create favorable investment environments in Greece and elsewhere are highlighted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

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16 pages, 777 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Revising the Environmental Kuznets Curve for Deforestation: An Empirical Study for Bulgaria

by Stavros Tsiantikoudis, Eleni Zafeiriou, Grigorios Kyriakopoulos and Garyfallos Arabatzis

Sustainability 2019, 11(16), 4364; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11164364 - 12 Aug 2019

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 4654

Abstract

The evolution of human societies along with efforts to enhance economic welfare may well lead to the deterioration of the environment. Deforestation is a usual process throughout evolution that poses pressing and potentially irreversible environmental risks, despite the ecological and modernization processes that aim to limit those risks. The economic growth–environmental degradation relationship—namely, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis—is studied in alignment with the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach. The novelty of the study is attributed to the use of the carbon emissions equivalent derived by deforestation as an index for environmental degradation in Bulgaria as a new entrant into the European Union (EU). In addition, we use the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita as a proxy for income, being determined as an independent variable. Research findings cannot validate the inverted U-shape of the EKC hypothesis; instead, an inverted N pattern is confirmed. The implementation of appropriate policies aiming at the protection of the environment through the diversification of economic activities is related to the use of forest land and other resources, or related sectors (agroforestry, ecotourism activities, and scientific research), rather than only the direct utilization of forested areas; the limitation of afforestation processes and their negative impacts on citizens’ welfare are also addressed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

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26 pages, 2481 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Co-Existence Options of Marine Renewable Energy Projects in Japan

by A.H.T. Shyam Kularathna, Sayaka Suda, Ken Takagi and Shigeru Tabeta

Sustainability 2019, 11(10), 2840; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102840 - 18 May 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3532

Abstract

Consensus building among local stakeholders is vital for the success of the proposed initial commercial marine renewable energy (MRE) projects in Japan. Even though the literature on stakeholder acceptance highlights the importance of creating local benefits and co-creation options, very few studies and almost no empirical data have been published on the application of non-monetary benefit creation schemes in the context of MRE. Hence, the purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the possible co-existence options available for Japan’s MRE projects through data collected from interviews and questionnaire surveys in two development sites in Nagasaki and Kitakyushu in Southern Japan. To overcome the limitations of data unavailability and uncertainty, the Dempster Shafer Analytic Hierarchy Process (DS-AHP) was used for evaluating the best co-existence strategy out of five potential options. The results indicate that local fisheries prefer the oceanographic information sharing option whereas most of the other stakeholders prefer using local resources to construct and operate the power plant, creating business involvement opportunities for the local community. Analysis of stakeholders’ decision behaviors suggests that perceived impacts, knowledge, and values influence the preference decision. In addition to the validation of stakeholder preference of the previously proposed co-existence options with empirical data, this study provides a robust method to further evaluate the potential options with the availability of new data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

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17 pages, 246 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Addressing Energy Poverty through Transitioning to a Carbon-Free Environment

by Sofia-Despoina Papadopoulou, Niki Kalaitzoglou, Maria Psarra, Sideri Lefkeli, Evangelia Karasmanaki and Georgios Tsantopoulos

Sustainability 2019, 11(9), 2634; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092634 - 08 May 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4783

Abstract

The excessive consumption of fossil fuels not only leads to resource depletion, but also involves negative environmental effects on both public health and the climate. However, Greece’s renewable energy (RE) capacity is considerable and could meet a great part of the country’s energy needs while helping to tackle the ecological problem our planet faces. At the same time, the deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) can facilitate the creation of new jobs and enable households to become energy independent, while addressing energy poverty. The present study investigates the views and attitudes of citizens of the Thessaloniki conurbation towards RES. To collect the data, structured questionnaires were used, which were completed through personal interviews. Moreover, random sampling was performed to select the sample, and in total 420 citizens participated in the survey. Results showed that the respondents supported the replacement of lignite plants with renewable energy sources since they perceived that they constitute a necessary solution providing opportunities for economic growth and improvement to their quality of life. Finally, the vast majority expressed increased interest in future investment in photovoltaic systems, which in their opinion could contribute to improving air quality and increasing the energy independence not only of Greece but also of households. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

16 pages, 1927 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Measuring Industrial Customer Satisfaction: The Case of the Natural Gas Market in Greece

by Dimitrios Drosos, Michalis Skordoulis, Garyfallos Arabatzis, Nikos Tsotsolas and Spyros Galatsidas

Sustainability 2019, 11(7), 1905; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11071905 - 30 Mar 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4029

Abstract

This aim of this paper is to measure industrial consumer satisfaction in the natural gas sector in Greece. By using the Multicriteria Satisfaction Analysis (MUSA) method, the paper measures industrial customer satisfaction based on criteria concerning the provided products and services, communication and collaboration with providers’ staff, customer service, pricing policy and website. The research results that are based on the analysis of 95 questionnaires collected during the period between June 2017 and October 2017 show that the index of the global customer has a good performance as its value is about 74.99%. Furthermore, the satisfaction criterion with the highest performance is the one concerning communication and collaboration with natural gas providers’ staff. It should be noted that the criterion concerning the provided products and services criterion is the only one with high performance and importance—meaning that it should be in the spotlight of the natural gas providers. The paper concludes that there is considerable space for improvements to be made. Customer satisfaction is of great importance for every company, as it can be highly connected with its performance. Using the results of this study, natural gas providers will have the chance to frame their future actions in order to keep their industrial customers satisfied. Taking into account both the fact that industrial customers’ share in the Greek natural gas market is about 25% and that this market has been recently liberalized, it is of vital importance for natural gas providers to have sufficient information about their industrial customers’ satisfaction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

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21 pages, 654 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental Protection in School Curricula: Polish Context

by Anna Mróz, Iwona Ocetkiewicz and Katarzyna Walotek-Ściańska

Sustainability 2018, 10(12), 4558; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124558 - 03 Dec 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2601

Abstract

Properly planned and effectively implemented education provides an opportunity to change human behavior, which in turn may lead to an improved quality of life worldwide, including by means of realizing a cleaner environment. This article presents the results of research on the integration of environmental protection issues into curricula by Polish teachers. It was assumed that the environmental protection issues included the challenges related to the sustainable management of natural resources. The sample consisted of 337 teachers of general subjects who were employed in schools in the Małopolska region (southern Poland) and working with students in lower-secondary (13–16 years old) and upper-secondary (16–20 years old) schools. The results of the research show that many teachers know how to integrate environmental protection issues into their curricula. However, there are still many teachers who ignore key issues in the education of sustainable development in their teaching process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

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12 pages, 682 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Benchmarking Internet Promotion of Renewable Energy Enterprises: Is Sustainability Present?

by Zacharoula Andreopoulou and Christiana Koliouska

Sustainability 2018, 10(11), 4187; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10114187 - 14 Nov 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2792

Abstract

Sustainability constitutes a broad discipline that focuses on the social, economic and environmental impact of human activities. Many policies and strategies have been developed for the pursuit of environmental sustainability and the guidance to a green society. Many enterprises have taken meaningful steps to improve their own environmental performance through corporate sustainability and environmental management. Environmental management contributes to significant improvements to environmental performance of the enterprises. This paper aims to evaluate the Renewable Energy Enterprises performance in the Internet in Thessaloniki Prefecture regarding the characteristics of sustainability using Multi-criteria Decision Analysis. TOPSIS method was used to provide a ranking of the Renewable Energy Enterprises according to their sustainability and finally conclude to a benchmark. According to the results of the research, the Renewable Energy Enterprises achieve a good level of sustainability but not the optimum. However, the entrepreneurs should adopt modern environmental policy, sustainable marketing, green network framework and certified environmental management system in order to consider their enterprise sustainable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

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18 pages, 267 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Economic Performance in EU Agriculture: An Empirical Study in a Non-Linear Framework

by Eleni Zafeiriou, Ioannis Mallidis, Konstantinos Galanopoulos and Garyfallos Arabatzis

Sustainability 2018, 10(11), 3837; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10113837 - 23 Oct 2018

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 3664

Abstract

Numerous linkages among Agriculture and climate change have been identified and validated in global terms. In European Union, the economic performance–carbon dioxide emission relationship has become a particularly high priority issue for Common agricultural policy within the last decade, attracting scientific interest. Within this socio–economic framework, the present work studies the relationship between agricultural carbon emissions equivalents and income per capita for the agricultural sector in different EU countries with the assistance of the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) cointegration technique. Our findings validate the existence of a strong relationship between GHG emissions and agricultural income, since the cointegration among the two variables is established in all instances, while the asymmetric impact of agricultural income on carbon emissions may well provide policy makers with tools which when implemented, may well promote the increase of agricultural income along with GHG effect mitigation in a successful way. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

21 pages, 4872 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Conceptual Framework for a Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) Educative-Communication Approach

by Daniel Efurosibina Attoye, Timothy O. Adekunle, Kheira Anissa Tabet Aoul, Ahmed Hassan and Samuel Osekafore Attoye

Sustainability 2018, 10(10), 3781; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103781 - 19 Oct 2018

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 8169

Abstract

Global interest in Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) has grown following forecasts of a compound annual growth rate of 18.7% and a total of 5.4 GW installed worldwide from 2013 to 2019. Although the BIPV technology has been in the public domain for the last three decades, its adoption has been hindered. Existing literature asserts that proper information and education at the proposal or early design stage is an important way of addressing adoption barriers. However, there is a lack of BIPV communication approaches for research, and market proposals that focus on clear information about its benefits. This has limited the adoption of BIPV.. Based on this, the present study aims to develop a conceptual framework for an educative-communication approach for presenting BIPV proposals to encourage its adoption. This is aimed at developing holistic research and market proposals which justify scholarly investigation and financial investment. Using a multiple case study investigation and Design Research Methodology (DRM) principles, the study developed an approach which combines core communication requirements, the pillars of sustainability and a hierarchical description of BIPV alongside its unique advantages. A two-step evaluation strategy involving an online pilot survey and a literature-based checklist, was used to validate the effectiveness of the developed approach. Our results show that understanding environmental and economic benefits was found to be significantly important to people who are likely adopters of BIPV (p < 0.05), making these benefits crucial drivers of adoption. Statistical significance was also found between those who do not know the benefits of using solar energy for electricity, and interest in knowing these benefits (p < 0.05). We thus conclude that proper communication of these benefits can safely be advanced as important facilitators of BIPV adoption. In general, this study elaborates the need and strategies for appropriate dissemination of innovative ideas to encourage and promote adoption of technological advancement for a sustainable global future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

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12 pages, 673 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Crash of a Policy Pilot to Legally Define Community Energy. Evidence from the German Auction Scheme

by Kerstin Tews

Sustainability 2018, 10(10), 3397; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103397 - 24 Sep 2018

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 3371

Abstract

“Community energy” is a highly contested issue not only in the German energy transition governance but also in the recent legislative procedure to recast energy market legislation within the EU’s “Winter Package”. This paper analyses the effects of the privileges for “community energy actors” in the German auction scheme for on-shore wind energy. Those privileges aim to guarantee a level playing field for small actors and to enhance societal acceptance. The results of the first rounds of auctions did not merely reveal an acceptable level of losses due to recognized trade-offs between policy objectives. Instead, the results indicate a complete failure regarding all three objectives of the revised support scheme for renewables—controlled renewable energy expansion, actor plurality and cost efficiency. The paper discusses whether the policy motivations translate appropriately into legislation. It suggests differentiating clearly the economic risks for small actors from the added value that is attributed to community energy actors. De-coupling these—often mixed—motives behind the demands for actor plurality unveils policy approaches that more adequately fit with these distinct motives. The paper finally proposes rather to integrate the politically desired values into the bid evaluation criteria instead of granting privileges to specific actors that are assumed to provide these values. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education, Communication and Decision Making on Renewable and Sustainable Energy)

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