Energy for Sustainable Development最新文献

The attainment of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 7 is significantly impeded by the slow pace of clean cooking fuel adoption in Ghana and most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite continuous government efforts, firewood and charcoal remain the dominant cooking fuel choice in Ghana, posing health risks to households through indoor air pollution. Researchers have identified households' economic status, family size, the educational level of household heads, and access to fuel as factors that influence household cooking fuel choices in rural and urban areas. However, there is a dearth of research on the determinants of household cooking fuel choices in mining host communities despite the peculiarity of socio-economic, environmental and cultural factors in these settings. Using descriptive statistics and a multinomial logit regression model of 426 randomly surveyed households in the Newmont Ahafo Mines catchment areas in Ghana, this study showed that every unit increase in households' income index was associated with a 65 % higher chance of choosing Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking over charcoal. Conversely, larger families are less likely to choose electricity over charcoal but more likely to choose firewood over charcoal for cooking. Notably, the study found that households closer to the mine site were less likely to choose either LPG or kerosene over charcoal for cooking, suggesting that host communities in closer proximity to mine sites might have limited access to clean fuel options such as LPG. Based on these findings, the study suggests subsidies for clean fuels, and improving access to infrastructure for LPG distribution as a means to advance the transition to clean cooking fuels in mining host communities.

Excessive consumption of water resources is a major problem almost everywhere through the world due to the global increasiness of population and the underlying high rates of urbanization and industrialization. In this context, Solar desalination is proposed as an effective solution not only to produce water but also to mitigate the emissions of CO2, which thereby contributes to the limitation of global warming. This study presents an experiment that explores the use of solar energy in desalination systems, consisting in a parabolic dish solar concentrating “SCHEFFLER REFLECTOR” for desalination-hot water system (PDSCHWS) conducted in the weather conditions of Marrakesh in Morocco also an environmental analysis conducts to calculate the emission of CO2 and the carbon credit gained. The performance of the desalination system was achieved in real thermal conditions from January to May 2022 on several days each month. The investigated results reported that the efficiency of the system is 28.75 %. It actually produced 9000 cm³/day of distilled water with an electrical conductivity of 3.4 μS/cm which presented a significant reduction from the initial level of 4 ∗ 10³ μS/cm. The environmental analysis concluded that the carbon credit gained from the system is 529.69($), and the net carbon dioxide mitigation is 37.83 tons of CO2 emission over the lifetime of the system.

Solar PV power is still under-utilized despite the abundance of solar radiation in Uganda. There is need for empowering renewable energy landscape through unlocking the technical and economic feasibility of solar photovoltaic power. We analyzed data from 56 locations for the techno-economic and environmental assessment of photovoltaic power facilities in Uganda. This was based on weather data availability and accessibility to the national power grid. Analysis of the energy generation and different input factors was done using PVsyst 7.2. A three stage approach to losses was adopted: absorption of sunlight, conversion to DC and DC to AC conversion. Findings indicate that most of the countryside is suitable for construction of large scale grid-connected photovoltaic power facilities. Due to longer sunshine duration and stronger Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) which are associated with high energy yield, northern Uganda performed better than the rest of the country, making it a preferential siting for large scale grid-connected photovoltaic facilities. South western Uganda performed the poorest. After a thorough energy accounting and a list of all performance metrics, the viability of investing in grid-connected photovoltaic power facilities was assessed.

Reducing the energy demand in the building sector appears to be the most important aspect to make them energy efficient. Opting for durable minor interventions results in further reduction of embodied carbon. This paper proposes a method which combines the evaluation of the environmental impact of interventions together with the visual preservation of buildings. A new indicator, the Embodied Impact of Intervention (EII), was defined to evaluate the overall environmental impact considering three indicators within the Life Cycle Assessment: Global Warning Potential (GWP), Primary Energy Non-Renewable (PE-NRe), and net-Fresh Water (FW) offering the stakeholders a holistic view for selecting the most sustainable solutions for interventions in existing buildings. The methodology has been tested to a benchmark, (i.e., masonry wall components), considering low, medium, and high visual impact scenarios, and a lifespan of 100 years. A direct proportionality is shown between GWP and PE-NRe, whereas FW does not have a singular relationship with the other indicators as it is mainly influenced by the material production. High GWP values occur in scenarios in which Nature Based Solutions (236.82 kg_CO2eq) and Building-Integrated Photovoltaic panels are implemented (798.09 kg_CO2eq), being ≈2.7 and ≈9 higher than the same High Visual Impact scenarios without mitigation solutions. It was found that the visual impact of the interventions may not align with the corresponding EII, resulting in dichotomous scenarios with medium visual impact and low EII, or high visual impact and medium EII. In Low-Income Countries, using recycled materials can minimize the production phase, reducing EII, energy efficiency, energy usage and waste, to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goal in the long-term.

The increasing impacts of human-induced climate change in developing countries have spurred government policies, activism, and sustainability research aimed at reducing energy consumption. Understanding the electricity usage of buildings is crucial to cutting carbon emissions and achieving cost savings. This study addresses the challenge of establishing realistic and relevant energy benchmarks for educational institutions in developing countries, specifically focusing on the Western Cape, South Africa. Schools in this region exhibit significant differences in energy intensities but are currently assessed using the same reference standard. A top-down analysis was performed using descriptive statistics to develop energy performance benchmarks tailored to unique patterns of energy consumption in schools. Data from 31 less affluent schools were collected using smart meters to ensure accuracy. The proposed reference benchmarks, ranging from 12 to 37 kWh/m${}^2$ per year, are significantly lower than the existing 60 kWh/m${}^2$ per year benchmark, demonstrating substantial potential for energy savings. This nuanced benchmarking approach accounts for seasonal and term variations in energy usage, providing a more accurate comparison across schools. The research introduces a novel, context-sensitive benchmarking method that extends beyond existing standards by incorporating these variations. It underscores the importance of localized benchmarks for achieving school energy efficiency, contributing to environmental preservation and financial savings. The proposed benchmarks offer a robust framework for policymakers, standard bureaus, and education departments to craft energy efficiency policies that drive progress in the education sector. By addressing the unique energy usage patterns of schools, this approach facilitates targeted interventions, leading to improved energy management and sustainability.

The search for sustainable municipal solid waste management in urban areas has become a dire need as the generated unprecedented volumes of waste eventually end up in landfills and emits greenhouse gas (GHG). To offer sustainable waste management in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the performance of incineration, anaerobic digestion, and hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) based Waste to Energy (WtE) processes were assessed and compared. The population and the GDP of Dhaka North City Corporation from 2015 to 2023 were used to estimate the MSW generation rate with an empirical multivariable linear regression model. In 2023 around 3600 tons/day of MSW was generated which was 35 % higher than in 2015. The IPCC decay models, ZODM, FODM, and modified triangular model (MTM) yielded 87.3, 41.3, and 38-k tonnes of CH₄ generation, respectively. The power generation from incineration-based plants can fall from 30 MW to 3 MW if the moisture content of MSW increases from 70 % to 90 %. Anaerobic digestion produces 34 MW of power. The Optimization of the HTC operating parameters was done and it demonstrates substantial energy potential (up to 65 MW with co-feeding of 420 tons/day of hydrochar with 426 tons/day of plastic from MSW) and GHG emission reduction (221.5 %) compared to landfilling. Additionally, HTC-derived wastewater presents an opportunity for nutrient recovery with 8.16 and 2.66, 0.3 tons/day of K, Na, and P reclamation potential, respectively. A comparison of different scenarios in plastic recycling in incineration and sensitivity analysis for three WtE schemes were conducted. Thus, the study provides a rigorous assessment of different pathways to offer a comprehensive framework for sustainable MSW management that contributes to a cleaner urban environment.

India's power sector is transforming rapidly, marked by rising demand and a growing share of renewables. The short-term power market provides option for power distribution utilities to meet demand exigency. The paper presents trends and perspectives of short-term electricity trading of select states of India. Market transactions reflect seasonal demand variations, higher during summer-monsoon months, dipping in winters. Analysis of data highlights substantial share of short-term power in the total procurement. Quantum of power traded correlates inversely with operational performance of thermal plants as well as grid share of renewable energy. Suggested policy measures include honing of demand forecasting skills using advanced metering infrastructure, deploying energy storage technologies, including decentralized solar, ensuring sustained supply of coal and preventive maintenance of thermal power plants, initiating seasonal procurement contracts with merchant power plants, encouraging power banking arrangements and including storage component in solar and wind tenders. Power markets, if employed appropriately, can help minimize the demand-supply gap, facilitate energy access, and accommodate higher quantum of green power, thus fulfilling SDG-7 targets.

Biomass has enormous potential globally, but it requires sustainable management and conversion into modern bioenergy that aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study assesses sustainable biomass potential for energy generation in South America, considering forestry, agriculture, agro-industrial, and municipal solid waste biomass. The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) time series forecasting model with data from the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT) and the World Bank up to 2050 is used. In 2021, the total biomass theoretical potential amounts to 1214 million tonnes (Mt), projected to increase to 1371 Mt by 2050. The available technical potential for energy purposes ranges from 796 Mt in 2021 to 916 Mt by 2050, with approximately 66 % attributed to agricultural biomass, 10 % to agro-industrial biomass, 17 % to forestry biomass, and 7 % to municipal waste biomass. Notably, not all countries experience growth in bioenergy potential from 2021 to 2050. Increasing forestry biomass recoverability from 25 % to 75 % enhances the total technical potential by 7 % for 2050. Primary bioenergy potential, utilizing available biomass, ranges from 13,831–15,892 PJ between 2021 and 2050, equivalent to 1278 to 1444 Terawatt hour (TWhe) when considering biomass conversion to electric energy. The share of bioelectricity could be 24 % of the total electricity generation in 2021. Additionally, modern bioenergy could help achieve sustainable development goals and decarbonize the energy sector in the region. This assessment of modern bioenergy potential in South America is relevant for subsequent techno-economic and environmental evaluations towards global energy decarbonization by 2050.

The economic gap between urban and rural areas is increasingly being bridged by off-farm activities, with renewable energy playing a crucial role in this shift. Over the years, solar power systems have enabled numerous off-grid households to diversify into non-farming pursuits. This study delves into how adopting solar power systems influences farming households in Nepal, enhancing their engagement in the off-farm economy. By analyzing cross-sectional survey data, our research reveals that (1) households with solar power systems are 37.7 % more likely to participate in off-farm activities. (2) Employing instrumental variable and propensity score matching techniques to address endogeneity, the study confirms the positive impact of solar adoption on off-farm economic involvement. (3) the research findings underscore that access to solar power not only aids farmers in making informed decisions about off-farm activities but also interacts with various socio-economic factors. Finally, to drive economic transformation among farming households, our study suggests that policymakers should establish special funds or credit facilities to support solar power access for off-grid farming communities.

This study examines wind energy as an alternative to the rapidly increasing energy consumption and depleting energy resources. The goal is to enhance efficiency through optimal site selection for wind power plant installation. By interviewing experts and reviewing literature, 16 criteria were identified for site selection. The study focused on provinces in Turkey with potential for wind power plant installation, such as Balıkesir, Çanakkale, İzmir, Manisa, and Samsun. The fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was chosen to establish hierarchy, conduct pairwise comparisons, synthesize priorities, and ensure consistency in site selection. Additionally, the fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method was used for its computational efficiency and ability to address uncertainty and ambiguity in evaluating relationships between factors. Analyses showed that Balıkesir province is the best location for a wind power plant. The model's consistent ranking of cities across all variations tested underscores its robustness. This consistency suggests that our model's recommendations are resilient to small variations in criteria weights, offering a reliable tool for stakeholders in the wind power plant siting decision process.