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Sustainable Energy Transition, Utilization and Management to Achieve SDG 7

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 17487

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. GM Shafiullah

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Guest Editor

Engineering and Energy, College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Perth 6150, Australia
Interests: future electricity networks; microgrids; power systems reliability and stability analysis; renewable energy; and its enabling technologies; renewable energy integration into the grid-connected and off-grid electricity networks; energy efficiency and demand management; hydrogen economy; and sustainability in the energy sector
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Umashankar Subramaniam

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Co-Guest Editor

Renewable Energy Lab, College of Engineering, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia
Interests: energy transition; sustainable development goal 7 (SDG7); nationally determined contributions (NDCs); renewable energy and energy efficiency; sustainability in industries and building sector
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement, together, aim to endow a “Sustainable World for All” through various perspectives and targets. Energy Sustainability is the key to promoting the Sustainable Development Goals, and humanity is already witnessing the energy transition, with renewables playing a dominant role. With the development of technologies and spreading digitalization, the world is energized with tons of possibilities, where the sustainability aspect can be strengthened. The process of imparting sustainability can be initiated with the energy transition, followed by a plethora of changes in the industrial sector, transportation sector and building sector to ultimately ensure the utilization of clean energy for the foundation of a green environment. Further considerations of techno-economic contributions to promoting affordability and ensuring energy security will prevail as a helping hand to achieve SDG 7. Besides, a significant contribution is required from diverse social bodies that can potentially be influenced by proper guidance and evidence. For such evidential contributions, the role of research communities is pivotal.

Therefore, this Special Issue seeks to contribute to the Sustainable Development Agenda through enhanced scientific and multi-disciplinary knowledge for identifying an efficient, economical and effective approach that also promotes environmental goals as well as social equity. We, therefore, invite papers on novel technical developments, reviews, case studies, and analytical as well as assessment papers from different disciplines, which could potentially hasten the progress in sustainability, especially in the energy sector, transportation sector and industrial sector in the context of sustainable energy. Further considerations of the SDG 7 assessment, strategical analysis and policy implications to support energy sustainability will be substantial.

Hence, the objective of this Special Issue is to attract researchers and practitioners in energy and SDGs, including national and global policies and initiatives to achieve the targets of SDG 7, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This Special Issue will accept original/review research about novel and innovative approaches that address the following topics (but is not limited to these):

Renewable energy/distributed energy resource integration.
Energy transition and transformation—decentralization, digitization and decarbonization.
Energy system design, modeling and optimization to achieve SDG 7 targets.
Energy from waste, recycling and circularity.
Mini-, micro- and nano-grids—the roles in electrification, digitization and automation.
Micro-grids: ancillary services, transactive energy and demand responses.
Electric vehicles—efficiency enhancement, affordability analysis and the influence on various sectors.
The resiliency, cost savings and sustainability of the utilities.
Self-sustainable assessment in households and smart buildings.
Sustainable energy consumption and decentralized generation assessment in the industrial sector.
The assessment of renewable and sustainable energy potential from geographical and geopolitical aspects.
Techno-economic considerations of sustainable and renewable energy transitions.
Directing policies and regulations towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr. GM Shafiullah
Dr. Umashankar Subramaniam
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

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
renewable energy and its enabling technologies
renewable energy integration with the energy mix
energy efficiency
future electricity networks
energy policy and planning
energy affordability
sustainability

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 726 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Opportunity for Coal Thermal Power Plants Facing Phase-Out: Case of the Power Plant Vojany (Slovakia)

by Michal Stričík, Lenka Kuhnová, Miroslav Variny, Petra Szaryszová, Branislav Kršák and Ľubomír Štrba

Energies 2024, 17(3), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17030585 - 25 Jan 2024

Viewed by 572

Abstract

The study deals with the possibilities of using alternative types of fuels to produce electricity. Power Plant Vojany (PPV) is a thermal power plant (TPP) in eastern Slovakia, which is part of the company Slovenské elektrárne, a. s. (SE). PPV primarily used black coal to produce electricity, which had to be imported from abroad (the Russian Federation). This activity has become inefficient both economically and environmentally, due to the high price of CO₂ permits and the high emission factor of this type of fuel. PPV decided to co-combust biomass and refuse-derived fuel (RDF), which resulted in much better economic conditions due to their price, economic efficiency, and partly closed CO₂ cycle. The aim of the paper is to explore the possibilities related to the production of energy in the cleanest possible way and with the least possible damage to the environment in coal thermal power plants using the example of operating Power Plant Vojany located in eastern part of Slovakia and to inspire each other for the modern transformation. For the purposes of hypothesis verification, analytical methods focused on overview studies of average fuel prices, comparisons, and the balance of fuels in connection with eliminated CO₂ emissions, as well as municipal waste (MW) management in the EU and V4 countries, were used. The authors also focused on the energy recovery and combustion of MW and tracking the achieved CO₂ savings in connection with the development of fuel sources in PPV. The results point to the fact that PPV is one of the power plants that could use biomass and RDF as fuel, which confirms the economic advantages of this procedure. The results confirm that the potential of RDF production in Slovakia is sufficient to ensure the operation of PPV at planned, even higher volumes of electricity production. The transformation to cleaner operation of coal thermal power plants represents a significant contribution of this study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Transition, Utilization and Management to Achieve SDG 7)

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16 pages, 2550 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Sustainable Shallow Geothermal Potential in Jinan Start-Up Area, China

by Zhenkai Hao, Xiaofei Ji, Ningbo Li, Dongchen Bao, Yulin Liu and Ke Zhu

Energies 2023, 16(21), 7293; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16217293 - 27 Oct 2023

Viewed by 680

Abstract

Shallow geothermal energy (SGE), as an important renewable energy, playing an important role in reducing carbon emissions. In order to efficiently and sustainably utilize SGE, field investigation and storage estimation are needed. In this study, the hydrogeological data obtained from the field exploration of Jinan Start-up Area were collected and compiled. By analyzing the geotechnical property data and thermal response test results, the information of geotechnical and thermal properties and underground temperature distribution characteristics were collected. Subsequently, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) combined with the comprehensive index method (CIM) were used to classify the shallow geothermal potential of Jinan Start-up Area. The entire area was divided into a high-potential area, medium-potential area and general area, of which 92.2% was high-potential area. The preliminary results, combined with the parameters obtained from the testing, indicate that the SGE storage at a borehole depth of 120 m is estimated to be approximately 2.68 × 10¹² kJ·K⁻¹, while the heat exchanger power of the buried pipe at the same depth is calculated to be around 1.73 × 10⁵ kW. Finally, suggestions are given for sustainable development and utilization of SGE in this area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Transition, Utilization and Management to Achieve SDG 7)

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35 pages, 7527 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimal Allocation of Battery Energy Storage Systems to Enhance System Performance and Reliability in Unbalanced Distribution Networks

by Dong Zhang, GM Shafiullah, Choton Kanti Das and Kok Wai Wong

Energies 2023, 16(20), 7127; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16207127 - 17 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1654

Abstract

The continuously increasing renewable distributed generation (DG) penetration rate significantly reduces environmental pollution and power generation cost and satisfies society’s rapid growth in electricity demand. Nevertheless, high penetration of renewable DGs, such as wind power and photovoltaics (PV), might deteriorate the system’s efficiency and reliability due to its intermittent and stochastic natures. Introducing battery energy storage systems (BESSs) to the distribution system provides a practical method to compensate for the above deficiency since it can deliver and absorb power when needed. Hence, it is important to determine the optimal allocation of BESS to achieve maximum assistance in the grid. This study proposes an optimal BESS allocation methodology to improve reliability and economics in unbalanced distribution systems. The optimal BESS allocation problem is solved by simultaneously minimizing the cost of energy interruption, expected energy not supplied, power loss, line loading, voltage deviation, and BESS cost. The proposed technique is implemented and analyzed on a high renewable DG penetrated unbalanced IEEE-33 bus network using DIgSILENT PowerFactory software (version 2020 SP2A). An enhanced grey wolf optimization (EGWO) algorithm is developed to optimize BESS location and size according to the selected objective function. The simulation results show that the proposed optimal BESS optimization technique significantly improves the economics and reliability in unbalanced distribution systems and the EGWO outperforms the gray wolf optimization (GWO) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Transition, Utilization and Management to Achieve SDG 7)

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18 pages, 4899 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Balancing Usage Profiles and Benefitting End Users through Blockchain Based Local Energy Trading: A German Case Study

by Liaqat Ali, M. Imran Azim, Nabin B. Ojha, Jan Peters, Vivek Bhandari, Anand Menon, Vinod Tiwari, Jemma Green and S.M. Muyeen

Energies 2023, 16(17), 6315; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16176315 - 30 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 888

Abstract

The electricity market has increasingly played a significant role in ensuring the smooth operation of the power grid. The latest incarnation of the electricity market follows a bottom-up paradigm, rather than a top-down one, and aims to provide flexibility services to the power grid. The blockchain-based local energy market (LEM) is one such bottom-up market paradigm. It essentially enables consumers and prosumers (those who can generate power locally) within a defined power network topology to trade renewable energy amongst each other in a peer-to-peer (P2P) fashion using blockchain technology. This paper presents the development of such a P2P trading-facilitated LEM and the analysis of the proposed blockchain-based LEM by means of a case study using actual German residential customer data. The performance of the proposed LEM is also compared with that of BAU, in which power is traded via time-of-use (ToU) and feed-in-tariff (FiT) rates. The comparative results demonstrate: (1) the participants’ bill savings; (2) mitigation of the power grid’s export and import; (3) no/minimal variations in the margins of energy suppliers and system operators; and (4) cost comparison of Ethereum versus Polygon blockchain, thus emphasising the domineering performance of the developed P2P trading-based LEM mechanism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Transition, Utilization and Management to Achieve SDG 7)

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19 pages, 11511 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Resonant DC/DC Converters: Investigating Phase-Shift Control

by Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy, Mahajan Sagar Bhaskar and Umashankar Subramaniam

Energies 2023, 16(16), 6012; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16166012 - 17 Aug 2023

Viewed by 907

Abstract

The paper presents an innovative approach to control the voltage of an LCL-T type converter at the output side against variation at input and load ports, utilizing a fixed-frequency phase-shift control scheme. The examination of the converter is performed employing a Fourier series method that takes into account the effect of n-harmonics. To assure high-frequency switches with a zero-voltage switching (ZVS) technique, the lagging pf mode is utilized. PSIM simulations were used to investigate the performance of a 300 W converter. With the minimal input voltage, all switches turn on with ZVS for all loading conditions, whereas the ZVS strategy loses by two switches when the voltage at the input is highest. The power loss calculations of each component are performed and presented in a pie chart. The findings of the experiments are presented and verified with theoretical and simulation results. It is demonstrated that for both input voltage and load fluctuations, a minor adjustment in pulse width is sufficient to keep the output voltage constant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Transition, Utilization and Management to Achieve SDG 7)

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32 pages, 18813 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy Management of Hybrid DC Microgrid with Different Levels of DC Bus Voltage for Various Load Types

by Mahmoud F. Elmorshedy, Umashankar Subramaniam, Jagabar Sathik Mohamed Ali and Dhafer Almakhles

Energies 2023, 16(14), 5438; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16145438 - 17 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1728

Abstract

This article suggests a hybrid DC microgrid (HDCMG) with different levels of DC bus voltages to use for various types of loads. The available sources in the HDCMG are wind generating systems (WGSs), photovoltaic (PV) systems, battery banks, and the AC grid for emergencies. The various levels of the DC bus voltages are 760 V, 380 V, and 48 V for different application uses such as electric vehicles and home applications. In addition, the controller plays an important role in the proposed system to achieve the desired DC bus voltage levels and extract the maximum power point (MPP) from the WGS and PV systems. In order to check the power continuity for the critical loads and improve the overall system performance, a suggested energy management strategy (SEMS) is developed. The SEMS is based on the optimum generated power and the state-of-charge (SOC) of the battery banks. Further, the SEMS is developed as a way to prevent battery storage from overcharging and deep discharging. The mathematical relations of the proposed HDCMG and MPP tracking are described. The bidirectional 3-Φ inverter connects the 760 V bus voltage to the AC grid for regulating this DC bus by absorbing the excess power or supplying the required power during the shortage in the generation and the low SOC of the battery storage. Buck converters with controlled duty cycles rather than constant duty cycles are used to obtain 380 V and 48 V from 760 V to achieve better dynamic responses. The overall HDCMG is evaluated using the MATLAB/Simulink package under different working cases to verify the capability of the control system and the PEMS. The obtained results are discussed and show the good performance and the capability of the overall system under the different scenarios, including (i) a comparison between variable duty and constant duty; (ii) high/low generated power and the SOC of the battery in the acceptable region; (iii) high/low generated power and the SOC of the battery in the critical region; and (iv) high/low generated power and the SOC of the battery in the overcharging region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Transition, Utilization and Management to Achieve SDG 7)

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Review

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19 pages, 1190 KiB

Open AccessReview

Comparative Review of Energy, Crude Oil, and Natural Gas for Exchange Markets in Nigeria, India and Bangladesh

by Yusuff Jelili Amuda, Shafiqul Hassan and Umashankar Subramaniam

Energies 2023, 16(7), 3151; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073151 - 31 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2656

Abstract

In 2021, there was a global energy crisis that affected different parts of the world. In most countries, energy heavily relies on natural gas, including Nigeria, India, and Bangladesh. Several studies have explored the differences in the energy of crude oil and natural gas. Nonetheless, little effort has been made toward exploring the exportation of energy for exchange markets in Nigeria, India, and Bangladesh. This paper primarily aims at comparatively exploring the energy of crude oil and natural gas for exchange markets in the aforementioned countries. The methodology used in this paper is qualitative content analysis (QCA) and a systematical literature review (SLR) which includes various sources such as journals, the core collection of the Web of Science (WOS), oil peer review resources, and library sources. The study systematically mapped out different bibliographic materials whereby the visualization of similarities (VOS) was used to explore exchange markets for energy, crude oil, and gas in Nigeria, India, and Bangladesh. The results of the analysis indicated that, in Africa, Nigeria is regarded as the largest producer of natural gas and crude oil, with an approximation of 1.2 million barrels per day. Concerning oil and gas reserves, the country is considered the 10th and 8th largest producer in the world, having 37 billion barrels and roughly 206 trillion cubic feet, respectively. Thus, the exportation of energy is considered a central pillar of the country’s economy. In addition, India is regarded as the second largest producer of crude oil with 4.972 million barrels per day, which is approximately 5.1% of the entire world’s capacity for refining crude oil. Similarly, at the global level, India is considered the topmost consumer of crude oil, accounting for 4.8% of the world’s consumption. In the context of Bangladesh, their gas reserves account for 39.4 trillion cubic feet, and they are considered to be 70% of the commercial energy supply in the country. In conclusion, the importance of energy, crude oil, and natural gas cannot be underestimated, specifically, for the exchange import markets in the current context of the aforementioned countries. It is, therefore, suggested that the governments of Nigeria, India, and Bangladesh should strengthen their national policies on energy in order to be responsive to the global energy crisis as well as boost the exchange market in the energy sector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Transition, Utilization and Management to Achieve SDG 7)

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46 pages, 13028 KiB

Open AccessReview

Wireless Power Transfer in Electric Vehicles: A Review on Compensation Topologies, Coil Structures, and Safety Aspects

by Benitto Albert Rayan, Umashankar Subramaniam and S. Balamurugan

Energies 2023, 16(7), 3084; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073084 - 28 Mar 2023

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 7215

Abstract

The scarce availability of non-renewable sources and the staggering amount of pollution have inevitably provoked many countries to opt for renewable sources. Thence, invariably, more renewable energy-based applications are hoarded by market stakeholders. Compared to all spheres of renewable energy applications, a considerable part of the energy is pulled into transportation. Wireless power transfer techniques play a significant role in charging infrastructure, considering the current development and advancement in the automotive industry. It will promise to overcome the widely known drawbacks of wired charging in electric vehicles. The effectiveness of wireless charging depends on coil design, compensation techniques, and the airgap between the coils. However, coil misalignment, improper compensation topologies, and magnetic materials reduce the efficacy. We can improve efficacy by overcoming the problems mentioned above and optimizing charging distance, time, and battery size. This paper comprehensively discussed the various electric vehicle charging technologies in conjunction with common charging standards, a list of factors affecting the charging environment, and the significance of misalignment problems. Furthermore, this review paper has explored the suitable coil design structure and different compensation techniques for an efficient wireless charging network. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Transition, Utilization and Management to Achieve SDG 7)

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