{"title":"The impact of artificial intelligence adoption and financial accessibility on energy sustainability","authors":"Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary","doi":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101744","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101744","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the impact of digital innovation and financial access on energy sustainability in China's energy sector from 2010 to 2021, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and financial accessibility. Using a panel cointegration approach, the analysis finds that industrial robots—used as a proxy for AI implementation—have not effectively reduced fossil fuel consumption in Chinese industries. Additionally, access to finance does not appear to contribute significantly to lower fossil fuel use. The findings suggest that to facilitate a sustainable energy transition, policymakers should prioritize green finance and enhance accessible funding channels for green projects. Establishing regulations for environmentally responsible AI applications and promoting investments in sustainable technology through tax incentives and grants could further support AI-driven efficiency improvements and sustainable practices across the sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11546,"journal":{"name":"Energy Strategy Reviews","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101744"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143912336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comprehensive approaches to electrifying rural health facilities: Integrating renewable energy and financial mechanisms in Sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"Katundu Imasiku","doi":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101736","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101736","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Access to electricity is important for delivering quality healthcare. This study explores innovative and comprehensive approaches to electrifying rural health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa by integrating renewable energy solutions and innovative financial mechanisms. It assesses funding models, investment strategies, and policy frameworks to support energy access for healthcare delivery in underserved regions. This study shows that the electrification of rural health facilities can be achieved through a combination of renewable energy development and robust financial mechanisms. Investment by governments, the private sector, and development organizations is needed to increase the electrification of rural health facilities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11546,"journal":{"name":"Energy Strategy Reviews","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101736"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143907848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Oussama Khouili , Mohamed Hanine , Mohamed Louzazni , Miguel Angel López Flores , Eduardo García Villena , Imran Ashraf
{"title":"Evaluating the impact of deep learning approaches on solar and photovoltaic power forecasting: A systematic review","authors":"Oussama Khouili , Mohamed Hanine , Mohamed Louzazni , Miguel Angel López Flores , Eduardo García Villena , Imran Ashraf","doi":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101735","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101735","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate solar and photovoltaic (PV) power forecasting is essential for optimizing grid integration, managing energy storage, and maximizing the efficiency of solar power systems. Deep learning (DL) models have shown promise in this area due to their ability to learn complex, non-linear relationships within large datasets. This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of deep learning applications for solar PV forecasting, addressing a gap in the existing literature, which often focuses on traditional ML or broader renewable energy applications. This review specifically aims to identify the DL architectures employed, preprocessing and feature engineering techniques used, the input features leveraged, evaluation metrics applied, and the persistent challenges in this field. Through a rigorous analysis of 26 selected papers from an initial set of 155 articles retrieved from the Web of Science database, we found that Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks were the most frequently used algorithm (appearing in 32.69% of the papers), closely followed by Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) at 28.85%. Furthermore, Wavelet Transform (WT) was found to be the most prominent data decomposition technique, while Pearson Correlation was the most used for feature selection. We also found that ambient temperature, pressure, and humidity are the most common input features. Our systematic evaluation provides critical insights into state-of-the-art DL-based solar forecasting and identifies key areas for upcoming research. Future research should prioritize the development of more robust and interpretable models, as well as explore the integration of multi-source data to further enhance forecasting accuracy. Such advancements are crucial for the effective integration of solar energy into future power grids.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11546,"journal":{"name":"Energy Strategy Reviews","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101735"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143907851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhammad Sadiq , FengSheng Chien , Bushra Tufail , Jing Zhang
{"title":"Steps towards climate sustainability: The role of natural resource volatility, fiscal governance, institutional quality, and clean energy R&D in BRICS countries","authors":"Muhammad Sadiq , FengSheng Chien , Bushra Tufail , Jing Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101742","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101742","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Natural resources are a strong factor in economic advancement. However, the excessive mining and consumption of natural resources lead to various environmental issues in both emerging and developed economies. Carbon emission due to the exploitation of natural resources is inevitable. Institutional quality and decentralized fiscal policy can lessen the harmful influence of the volatility of natural resources on climate quality. Hence, it is beneficial to examine the role of various factors in the connectedness of volatility of natural resources and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. This research examines the role of the volatility of natural resources, R&D in clean energy, decentralized fiscal policy, and institutional quality in mitigating or enhancing environmental quality. The study extends the space for further research by including comprehensive factors that affect the environment. The study employs the CS-ARDL econometric model and observes that R&D in clean energy, institutional quality, and decentralized fiscal policy have negative connectedness with CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, while GDP and natural resource volatility have positive connectedness with carbon emissions. The study implies that institutional quality and decentralized fiscal policy influence climate quality, which is complementary to natural resource volatility. The study recommends that governments of BRICS countries establish an effective adoption of long-term strategies to improve climate quality through the empowerment of lower-level government and good governance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11546,"journal":{"name":"Energy Strategy Reviews","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101742"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143922869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaoqian Zhang , Muhammad Sibt e Ali , Haoshuang Niu , Amir Iqbal , Gang Wenbo
{"title":"Assessing the impact of energy efficiency and the sharing economy on sustainable economic development in China: A QARDL analysis from 1991 to 2020","authors":"Xiaoqian Zhang , Muhammad Sibt e Ali , Haoshuang Niu , Amir Iqbal , Gang Wenbo","doi":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101729","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101729","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing importance of energy efficiency and the sharing economy as critical drivers of sustainable economic development (SED) has garnered significant attention, particularly in rapidly industrializing economies like China. This study explores the impact of these factors on SED in China over the period 1991–2020. Utilizing the Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag (QARDL) model and the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test, the analysis examines secondary data to capture the dynamic relationships among energy efficiency, sharing economy usage, sharing economy value, urbanization, industrialization, and population growth. The findings reveal that energy efficiency has a positive impact on SED, with an elasticity of 0.765 in the first quantile and 0.894 in the fourth quantile, indicating that its influence intensifies in higher development scenarios. Sharing economy usage shows significant short- and long-term effects, with coefficients ranging from 0.546 to 0.874 across quantiles, emphasizing its critical role in resource optimization. Urbanization and industrialization contribute positively, with coefficients of 0.983 and 0.763, respectively, highlighting their importance in balancing economic growth with sustainability. The study underscores the need for integrated policies promoting energy efficiency and expanding the sharing economy to achieve sustainable development, offering actionable insights for policymakers to align economic strategies with environmental objectives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11546,"journal":{"name":"Energy Strategy Reviews","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101729"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143912337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muyi Yang , Yadong Wang , Xunpeng Shi , Philip Andrews-Speed , Jiahai Yuan , Deepak Sharma
{"title":"Coal repowering in China: Beyond technology-centric perspective","authors":"Muyi Yang , Yadong Wang , Xunpeng Shi , Philip Andrews-Speed , Jiahai Yuan , Deepak Sharma","doi":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101759","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101759","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Prompted by the urgent need for a timely and orderly transition away from coal power, this paper critically examines the prospects for repowering coal-fired power plants with nuclear energy in China. While existing studies often adopt a technology-centric perspective that highlights the techno-economic potential and broader benefits of this transition pathway, this paper challenges that view by demonstrating the substantial challenges repowering faces within the broader coal-electricity regime. The analysis emphasises the importance of understanding policy, market, and governance dimensions as essential prerequisites for assessing the feasibility of coal repowering. This involves evaluating external policy pressures that compel coal power providers to adapt, as well as internal dynamics that shape their perceptions of the risks and opportunities associated with various transformation pathways. In the context of China, the viability of repowering with nuclear energy is constrained by coal generators’ limited expertise in nuclear technology and their entrenched ties to other coal-sector stakeholders, including coal mining, transportation, and coal chemicals. These factors tend to direct their focus towards solutions such as carbon capture and storage, which align more closely with their existing capabilities and sustain critical elements of the coal-electricity ecosystem.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11546,"journal":{"name":"Energy Strategy Reviews","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101759"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143917315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Taking value conflicts seriously: Technological pluralism as an approach to hydrogen governance","authors":"Eugen Octav Popa, Anna Melnyk","doi":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101734","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101734","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We propose technological pluralism as a governance framework for navigating value conflicts arising from technological change within the energy system. The transition to clean hydrogen serves as a case in point as it gives rise to multiple (and complex) value conflicts. Typically, governance frameworks and other strategic approaches are led by the assumption that value conflicts, to the extent that they arise, can and should be solved. We contest this fundamental assumption by drawing on insights from moral and political philosophy. By specifying the descriptive, normative, and prescriptive tenets of a technological pluralist governance process, we set out a framework for driving transitions while taking value conflicts seriously. With clean hydrogen production as a case in point, we illustrate (a) the analysis of socio-technical change through pluralist lenses and (b) the design of pluralist governance strategies for clean hydrogen. We conclude with the suggestion that technological pluralism might be suited not only for the governance of the hydrogen transition but also for taking value conflicts seriously in the current context of decentralization and inclusion promoted by recent EU energy policy frameworks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11546,"journal":{"name":"Energy Strategy Reviews","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101734"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143902009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yan Luan , Dingfen Tang , Timothy Aderemi , Romanus Osabohien
{"title":"Clean energy adoption, industrialization and sustainable development: A system GMM approach","authors":"Yan Luan , Dingfen Tang , Timothy Aderemi , Romanus Osabohien","doi":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101740","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101740","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the relationship between clean energy adoption, industrialization and sustainable development in 37 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries over the period from 2000 to 2020, employing a System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach. The analysis reveals that renewable energy (RE) has a positive and significant effect on the Sustainable Development, indicating that a unit increase in renewable energy utilization results in a 0.052 % enhancement of the actualization of sustainable development. Additionally, access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking demonstrates both a positive and significant impact on sustainable development, highlighting the importance of clean energy access in improving living standards and health outcomes. Furthermore, manufacturing value added is found to contribute significantly and positively to sustainable development, suggesting that industrialization can play a crucial role in advancing sustainable practices when aligned with clean energy initiatives. These findings underscore the necessity of integrating renewable energy and industrialization strategies to foster sustainable development in the SSA region, providing valuable insights for policymakers aiming to achieve sustainable growth while addressing energy challenges.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11546,"journal":{"name":"Energy Strategy Reviews","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101740"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143891845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Decoupling effect and driving factors of transport CO2 emissions: Modeling and prediction of energy and environmental factors towards Vision-2035 in a developing economy","authors":"Muhammad Yousaf Raza , Wenxue Wang , Qasim Javed","doi":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101750","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101750","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Concerning the National Strategy for “Carbon Neutrality Targets,” the decoupling between energy and economy in Pakistan has received significant attention. The current study exhibits the decomposition and decoupling analysis of Pakistan's transport sector, using the nine major energy and economic driving factors from 2002 to 2021. The results reveal that (1) transport services value-added and its economic contribution are key factors in growing CO<sub>2</sub> emissions; however, energy intensity is a factor in reducing CO<sub>2</sub> emissions within the transport sector. (2) The transport sector has made notable progress in decoupling, with strong negative decoupling and expansive negative decoupling being dominant states, indicating that fuel consumption is contributing to a rise in CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. The presence of these decoupling trends during the analyzed period has increased due to energy substitution and the growing trend of the turnover economy, presenting variations in technology and efficiency-related effects. (3) The economic structure share, income, energy intensity, and population factors were predominately observed during the estimated period; however, the economic structure encouraged decoupling. (4) Scenario analysis suggests that the efficiency of the transport sector can achieve its intended income objectives through energy consumption substitution and improvements in the economic structure; thereby enabling CO<sub>2</sub> emissions mitigation. Finally, the study recommends frameworks to support policymakers in developing comprehensive policies, particularly in renewable energy technologies, to promote environmental sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11546,"journal":{"name":"Energy Strategy Reviews","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101750"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143907847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advancements in energy storage technologies: Implications for sustainable energy strategy and electricity supply towards sustainable development goals","authors":"Zhenkai Qin , Jing Ma , Mingfu Zhu , Talha Khan","doi":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101710","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.esr.2025.101710","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This research focuses on technological progress in energy storage for changing impacts concerning sustainable energy policies and electricity generation within the G-10 countries between 1996 and 2021. It discusses the improvements that energy storage technologies, including lithium-ion batteries, flow batteries, and hydrogen storage systems, bring to the power grid reliability, renewable energy integration, and carbon dioxide emission reduction. By developing a reciprocated relationship between energy storage technologies, renewable energy adoption, and technological advancement, the study offers a thorough analysis of the effects of each on the attainment of sustainable development goals 7 and 13. Thus, the application of the conclusions revealed that advanced energy storage technologies are essential for making energy systems more stable, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting the diversification of the economy in line with environmental objectives. Some policy guidelines include rising investments in energy storage innovations, development, supportive tax policies, and strengthening global cooperation. Therefore, this research highlights the importance of providing sufficient and relevant solutions for productive implementation to spread the international use of the energy storage system, which helps achieve other targets of net-zero development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11546,"journal":{"name":"Energy Strategy Reviews","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101710"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143922734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}