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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B1: Energy and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 April 2024) | Viewed by 22002

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Dr. Muhammad Asif

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Department of Architectural Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, P.O.Box. 5054, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Interests: energy; energy resources; global warming; climate change; environment; energy transition; renewable energy; low carbon technologies; energy efficiency; energy digitalization; distributed energy; hydrogen and fuel cells; electric vehicles; smart energy solutions; smart meter and grids; advanced nuclear technologies; carbon capture and storage; energy markets; energy policy
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue “Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition” calls for papers covering the various dimensions of climate change and the ongoing transition to sustainable energy.

In the wake of climate change, the global energy scenario is experiencing an unprecedented transformation. This transformation is fundamentally a sustainable or low-carbon energy transition, as the world is aiming to become zero-carbon by the mid-point of this century. The energy transition also needs to address challenges such as rapid growth in energy demand, depleting fossil fuel reserves, escalating energy prices, and energy insecurity issues. Subsequently, with the main focus on sustainability, the energy sector is experiencing enormous changes on many fronts, including energy resources and their utilization, technological and policy advancements, and socio-economic and political response.

This Special Issue aims to cover the broader dimensions of the ongoing sustainable energy transition. Papers are invited around topics such as global warming and climate change, energy resources, energy transition, renewable energy, low carbon technologies, energy efficiency, energy digitalization, distributed energy, hydrogen and fuel cells, electric vehicles, smart energy solutions, energy markets, and energy policy. Papers on these topics can have a diverse scope, including but not limited to scientific and technological advancements, policy development and implementation, and system application and case studies.

Dr. Muhammad Asif
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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
energy resources
global warming
climate change
environment
energy transition
renewable energy
low carbon technologies
energy efficiency
energy digitalization
distributed energy
hydrogen and fuel cells
electric vehicles
smart energy solutions
smart meter and grids
advanced nuclear technologies
carbon capture and storage
energy markets
energy policy

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 163 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Intersection of Climate Change, Energy, and Adaptation

by John P. Abraham and Lijing Cheng

Energies 2022, 15(16), 5886; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15165886 - 13 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1199

Abstract

Climate change is a complex process that exists at the intersection of many human endeavors [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

34 pages, 9687 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Expectations for the Role of Hydrogen and Its Derivatives in Different Sectors through Analysis of the Four Energy Scenarios: IEA-STEPS, IEA-NZE, IRENA-PES, and IRENA-1.5°C

by Osama A. Marzouk

Energies 2024, 17(3), 646; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17030646 - 30 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1097

Abstract

Recently, worldwide, the attention being paid to hydrogen and its derivatives as alternative carbon-free (or low-carbon) options for the electricity sector, the transport sector, and the industry sector has increased. Several projects in the field of low-emission hydrogen production (particularly electrolysis-based green hydrogen) have either been constructed or analyzed for their feasibility. Despite the great ambitions announced by some nations with respect to becoming hubs for hydrogen production and export, some quantification of the levels at which hydrogen and its derived products are expected to penetrate the global energy system and its various demand sectors would be useful in order to judge the practicality and likelihood of these ambitions and future targets. The current study aims to summarize some of the expectations of the level at which hydrogen and its derivatives could spread into the global economy, under two possible future scenarios. The first future scenario corresponds to a business-as-usual (BAU) pathway, where the world proceeds with the same existing policies and targets related to emissions and low-carbon energy transition. This forms a lower bound for the level of the role of hydrogen and its penetration into the global energy system. The second future scenario corresponds to an emission-conscious pathway, where governments cooperate to implement the changes necessary to decarbonize the economy by 2050 in order to achieve net-zero emissions of carbon dioxide (carbon neutrality), and thus limit the rise in the global mean surface temperature to 1.5 °C by 2100 (compared to pre-industrial periods). This forms an upper bound for the level of the role of hydrogen and its penetration into the global energy system. The study utilizes the latest release of the annual comprehensive report WEO (World Energy Outlook—edition year 2023, the 26th edition) of the IEA (International Energy Agency), as well as the latest release of the annual comprehensive report WETO (World Energy Transitions Outlook—edition year 2023, the third edition) of the IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency). For the IEA-WEO report, the business-as-usual situation is STEPS (Stated “Energy” Policies Scenario), and the emissions-conscious situation is NZE (Net-Zero Emissions by 2050). For the IRENA-WETO report, the business-as-usual situation is the PES (Planned Energy Scenario), and the emissions-conscious situation is the 1.5°C scenario. Through the results presented here, it becomes possible to infer a realistic range for the production and utilization of hydrogen and its derivatives in 2030 and 2050. In addition, the study enables the divergence between the models used in WEO and WETO to be estimated, by identifying the different predictions for similar variables under similar conditions. The study covers miscellaneous variables related to energy and emissions other than hydrogen, which are helpful in establishing a good view of how the world may look in 2030 and 2050. Some barriers (such as the uncompetitive levelized cost of electrolysis-based green hydrogen) and drivers (such as the German H2Global initiative) for the hydrogen economy are also discussed. The study finds that the large-scale utilization of hydrogen or its derivatives as a source of energy is highly uncertain, and it may be reached slowly, given more than two decades to mature. Despite this, electrolysis-based green hydrogen is expected to dominate the global hydrogen economy, with the annual global production of electrolysis-based green hydrogen expected to increase from 0 million tonnes in 2021 to between 22 million tonnes and 327 million tonnes (with electrolyzer capacity exceeding 5 terawatts) in 2050, depending on the commitment of policymakers toward decarbonization and energy transitions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition)

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32 pages, 1168 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of the Potential to Use the Expelled Heat Energy from a Typical Data Centre in Ireland for Alternative Farming Methods

by Peter L. Borland, Kevin McDonnell and Mary Harty

Energies 2023, 16(18), 6704; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16186704 - 19 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1397

Abstract

Data centres, though a necessary part of modern society, are being stigmatised for consuming vast amounts of electricity for their operational and cooling needs. Due to Ireland’s reliance on fossil fuels to meet the increased energy demand of data centres, the data centres are contributing significantly to Ireland’s total carbon emissions. As much of this energy is expelled from data centres as waste heat energy, the potential for recycling some of this wasted heat energy was explored using environmentally friendly systems from recent publications. The recovered waste heat energy was applied in a vertical farming system, and the benefits of this waste heat to the vertical farm were analysed and quantified in two scenarios. Using conservative estimates, it was predicted that each vertical farm could be between 5–23% the size of the data centre and produce enough food to feed between 14–61 adults their daily calorie needs, and between 13–58 people their daily fresh produce requirements, depending on the scenario applied. For a more accurate prediction, each vertical farm would have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, as there is no current research in this area. However, there was not enough data available on Irish data centres to perform these calculations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition)

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34 pages, 5600 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Decarbonizing Telecommunication Sector: Techno-Economic Assessment and Optimization of PV Integration in Base Transceiver Stations in Telecom Sector Spreading across Various Geographically Regions

by Muhammad Bilal Ali, Syed Ali Abbas Kazmi, Abdullah Altamimi, Zafar A. Khan and Mohammed A. Alghassab

Energies 2023, 16(9), 3800; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093800 - 28 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1589

Abstract

Renewable energy is considered to be sustainable solution to the energy crisis and climate change. The transition to renewable energy needs to be considered on a sectoral basis and one such sector that can potentially decarbonized with renewable energy is the telecommunication sector. Several base transceiver stations (BTS) in remote regions have unstable electric supply systems. Diesel generators (DG) are a common solution to energy problems on such telecommunication sites. However, they have high fuel costs on the global market and contribute to high carbon emissions. Hybrid renewable energy systems may provide a stable power output by integrating multiple energy sources, essential for supplying a dependable and uninterrupted power supply in the context of the telecom sector, notably base transceiver stations (BTS). Deploying such a system might also help BTS, which relies mainly on diesel generators with battery storage backup, reduce operational costs and environmental problems. This study presents the framework for large-scale photovoltaic system penetration based on techno-economic analysis (based on actual on ground data with least assumptions) in base transceiver stations (BTS) encapsulating telecom sector spread across various geographical regions. The proposed framework includes a mathematical model complemented with system design in HOMER software tool. The techno-economic aspects of the study were spread across 2, 12 and 263 sites, along with comparison analysis of photovoltaic system installation with and without energy storage devices, respectively. The sites included both on-grid and off-grid sites, which were exposed to high levels of power outages and subjected to reliance on costly and environmentally hazardous diesel generators. Optimization results showed that the photovoltaic system with a diesel generator and battery storage system provide a promising solution to the energy problem, with an average decrease in LCOE of 29%, DG hour’s reduction by 82% with 92% reduction in carbon emission and a reduction in NPC of 34% due to the high availability of solar. The techno-economic analysis indicated that optimized photovoltaic system and storage results in both on–off grid BTS sites with better options, amid low cost of energy and free accessibility of solar. Moreover, the results spread across geographical regions aiming at a reliable and environmentally friendly option that reduces load on utility grid across on-grid BTS sites and substantial overall reduction in diesel usage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition)

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22 pages, 14702 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Projected Changes in Solar PV and Wind Energy Potential over West Africa: An Analysis of CORDEX-CORE Simulations

by Aissatou Ndiaye, Mounkaila Saley Moussa, Cheikh Dione, Windmanagda Sawadogo, Jan Bliefernicht, Laouali Dungall and Harald Kunstmann

Energies 2022, 15(24), 9602; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15249602 - 17 Dec 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2051

Abstract

Renewable energy development is growing fast and is expected to expand in the next decades in West Africa as a contribution to addressing the power demand and climate change mitigation. However, the future impacts of climate change on solar PV and the wind energy potential in the region are still unclear. This study investigates the expected future impacts of climate change on solar PV and wind energy potential over West Africa using an ensemble of three regional climate models (RCMs). Each RCM is driven by three global climate models (GCMs) from the new coordinated high-resolution output for regional evaluations (CORDEX-CORE) under the RCP8.5 scenario. Two projection periods were used: the near future (2021–2050) and the far future (2071–2100). For the model evaluation, reanalysis data from ERA5 and satellite-based climate data (SARAH-2) were used. The models and their ensemble mean (hereafter Mean) show acceptable performance for the simulations of the solar PV potential, the wind power density, and related variables with some biases. The Mean predicts a general decrease in the solar PV potential over the region of about −2% in the near future and −4% in the far future. The wind power density (WPD) is expected to increase by about 20% in the near future and 40% in the far future. The changes for solar PV potential seem to be consistent, although the intensity differs according to the RCM used. For the WPD, there are some discrepancies among the RCMs in terms of intensity and direction. This study can guide governments and policymakers in decision making for future solar and wind energy projects in the region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition)

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16 pages, 2469 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mitigating Climate Change and the Development of Green Energy versus a Return to Fossil Fuels Due to the Energy Crisis in 2022

by Piotr F. Borowski

Energies 2022, 15(24), 9289; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15249289 - 07 Dec 2022

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 4158

Abstract

The energy crisis that emerged as a result of the reduction in gas supplies from Russia is very topical and very important. This crisis affects not only Europe but also other world economies. As a result of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia, there was a drastic drop in Russian gas supplies, which triggered an increase in fuel prices and an energy crisis. In order to reduce the risk of insufficient gas supplies, European countries have decided to reuse coal and fossil fuels. This is the opposite direction to decarbonization and a zero-carbon economy. The undertaken research is unique, because the issue of slowing down the direction of decarbonization and returning to fossil fuels has not yet been extensively studied. Therefore, the analysis and research results are new in this area. The European project of green energy production from renewable energy sources that has been implemented so far, which aims to accelerate the implementation of a zero-emission economy, may be slowed down. Moreover, the return to fossil fuels will have a negative impact on climate change. The sharp increase in energy prices and the unexpected growth in the profits of energy companies meant that the European Commission introduced a limit on the revenues of enterprises in the energy sector. Surplus income is to be transferred to other entities to offset the drastic increase in energy prices. The conducted analysis showed how the European Union will try to ensure energy security and what the current actions related to climate protection and moving toward an environmentally friendly economy will be. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition)

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22 pages, 3448 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Non-Intrusive Room Occupancy Prediction Performance Analysis Using Different Machine Learning Techniques

by Muhammad S. Aliero, Muhammad F. Pasha, David T. Smith, Imran Ghani, Muhammad Asif, Seung Ryul Jeong and Moveh Samuel

Energies 2022, 15(23), 9231; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15239231 - 06 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1947

Abstract

Recent advancements in the Internet of Things and Machine Learning techniques have allowed the deployment of sensors on a large scale to monitor the environment and model and predict individual thermal comfort. The existing techniques have a greater focus on occupancy detection, estimations, and localization to balance energy usage and thermal comfort satisfaction. Different sensors, actuators, and analytic data methods are often non-invasively utilized to analyze data from occupant surroundings, identify occupant existence, estimate their numbers, and trigger the necessary action to complete a task. The efficiency of the non-invasive strategies documented in the literature, on the other hand, is rather poor due to the low quality of the datasets utilized in model training and the selection of machine learning technology. This study combines data from camera and environmental sensing using interactive learning and a rule-based classifier to improve the collection and quality of the datasets and data pre-processing. The study compiles a new comprehensive public set of training datasets for building occupancy profile prediction with over 40,000 records. To the best of our knowledge, it is the largest dataset to date, with the most realistic and challenging setting in building occupancy prediction. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that attained a robust occupancy count by considering a multimodal input to a single output regression model through the mining and mapping of feature importance, which has advantages over statistical approaches. The proposed solution is tested in a living room with a prototype system integrated with various sensors to obtain occupant-surrounding environmental datasets. The model’s prediction results indicate that the proposed solution can obtain data, and process and predict the occupants’ presence and their number with high accuracy values of 99.7% and 99.35%, respectively, using random forest. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition)

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20 pages, 4106 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Global Warming Potential of New Gaseous Refrigerants Used in Chillers in HVAC Systems

by Sylwia Szczęśniak and Łukasz Stefaniak

Energies 2022, 15(16), 5999; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15165999 - 18 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4568

Abstract

Due to the global warming and resulting problems, attention has been paid to greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere since the 1980s and 1990s. For this reason, the Montreal Protocol and the Kyoto Protocol have tightened regulations on the use of gaseous refrigerants in both HVAC systems and industrial refrigeration. Gradually, new generations of gaseous refrigerants, that theoretically have much less negative environmental impact than their predecessors, are introduced into the market. The key parameter describing environmental impact is the GWP index, which is most often defined on a time horizon of 100 years. The long-term use of new generations of gaseous refrigerants in HVAC systems reduces CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere; however, given that new generation gases often have a short lifetime, it seems that the adopted assessment may not be applicable. The aim of the article was to show how emissions of CO₂ equivalent to the atmosphere differs in the short and long time horizon. The article presents the results of calculations of equivalent CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere caused by the operation of compressor cooling devices used in HVAC systems, where cooling is done with the use of water or a water-glycol solution. The analysis was carried out for 28 commonly used devices on the world market. The analyzed devices work with refrigerants: R513A, R454B, R290, R1234ze, R32, R134a, R410A. The equivalent emissions values for GWP 100 and GWP 20 were analyzed in relation to the unit power of the devices depends on refrigerant mass and number of fans. The study showed that in the case of new generation refrigerants with a very short lifetime, the use of GWP 100 indicators is misleading and does not fully reflect the effects of environmental impact, especially in the area of refrigeration equipment application. The article shows that the unit value of the cooling load related to the number of fans or the unit would be helpful in assessing the environmental impact of a cooling device. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition)

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17 pages, 2316 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Inter-Provincial Power Transmission and Its Embodied Carbon Flow in China: Uneven Green Energy Transition Road to East and West

by Li Ma

Energies 2022, 15(1), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15010176 - 28 Dec 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2617

Abstract

Inter-provincial power transmission in China solved the problem of electricity production and consumption spatial mismatch, which also facilitated Chinese green energy transition and sustainable development. Aiming to understand the spatial patterns and main driving factors, this paper accounted the aggregate carbon intensity per electricity produced by each province, built the inter-provincial Out–Destination matrixes of carbon emission embodied in power transmission among 27 provincial areas of 2006 and 2019, and quantitatively analyzed the change in spatial patterns of carbon flow and carbon intensity difference between power inward and outward provinces. We found that the inter-provincial power transmission has led to the reduction in the national average carbon intensity per electricity produced from 0.855 kg/kWh in 2006 to 0.628 kg/kWh in 2019 and the green energy transition of all provinces. The spatial morphology characteristics of carbon flow show the ‘three corridors of West-East Power Transmission (WEPT)’ pattern, in which power is transmitted from some main thermal power-dominated provinces in central and north-west China to the eastern coastal provinces. Further, it resulted in the carbon leakage from electricity consumption of the coastal provinces and carbon overload of the hinterland provinces. Despite natural resource endowment, the location of the provinces in the national power grid, the national low-carbon energy transition strategy, as well as advances in long-distance ultra-high-voltage power transmission technologies were the main factors to the formation and evolution of Chinese electricity green transition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Transition)

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