Energy, Sustainability and Society最新文献

{"title":"(text {CO}_2)-based methane: an overlooked solution for the energy transition","authors":"Ivonne Servin-Balderas,&nbsp;Koen Wetser,&nbsp;Annemiek ter Heijne,&nbsp;Cees Buisman,&nbsp;Bert Hamelers","doi":"10.1186/s13705-024-00485-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-024-00485-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Fossil fuels can be replaced with electricity and hydrogen. However, the implementation and use of these low-carbon energy carriers require a sociotechnical transition. This transition might not be completed in time.</p><h3>Main text</h3><p><span>(text {CO}_2)</span>-based methane is a substitute for natural gas that is less carbon-intensive. This methane is synthesized by capturing <span>(text {CO}_2)</span> from air and by performing water electrolysis to produce hydrogen. <span>(text {CO}_2)</span>-based methane is compatible with our current fossil-based society. An analysis of the substitution of natural gas with different energy carriers will be performed, and the results will be compared. The effects of <span>(text {CO}_2)</span>-based methane, hydrogen, and electricity will be evaluated for energy storage, high-temperature level heat production, and residential heating. The multi-level perspective will be applied to assess these energy carriers in the context of our society.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p><span>(text {CO}_2)</span>-based methane is the least energy efficient energy carrier among those analyzed. Nevertheless, this type of methane supports the acceleration of the energy transition.</p><h3>Highlights</h3><ul>\u0000 <li>\u0000 <p>CO₂-based methane is a valuable, renewable, and carbon-neutral energy carrier that supports a timely energy transition.</p>\u0000 </li>\u0000 <li>\u0000 <p>The implementation of hydrogen and electricity requires more modifications to our current sociotechnical society than the implementation of CO₂-based methane.</p>\u0000 </li>\u0000 <li>\u0000 <p>The urgency of reducing CO₂ emissions is not being considered adequately in the current societal discussion, and a multi-level perspective analysis should provide valuable results that account for the temporal aspect.</p>\u0000 </li>\u0000 </ul></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-024-00485-w","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142397579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond short-term impact of COVID-19 on transport decarbonization: a scenario analysis of passenger and freight transport by mode in China, 2020–2030","authors":"Linna Li,&nbsp;Becky P. Y. Loo","doi":"10.1186/s13705-024-00487-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-024-00487-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The processes of transport decarbonisation are complicated. In this paper, we adopt the Activity-Modal Share-Energy Intensity-Carbon Intensity of Fuel (ASIF) approach and propose a conceptual framework on the direct and indirect impact of COVID-19 on transport CO₂ emissions. In the Chinese context, changes of carbon emissions associated with passenger and freight transport (including urban, rural, and inter-city transport) across different transport modes are estimated. Scenario analysis is then used to estimate the impact of COVID-19 on total transport carbon emissions up to 2030. Four scenarios, from minimal to significant behavioural changes and global recession associated with COVID-19, are generated.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>Under the pandemic, the transport system in China was estimated to have produced 28% less CO₂ emissions (1044.2 Mt) in 2020, when compared to 2019. Compared with the business-as-usual scenario, the estimated total transport carbon emissions in 2030 would drop by 6%, 15%, and 21% and 23% under the minimal-impact, low-impact, moderate-impact, and severe-impact scenarios, respectively.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The results suggest that the processes triggered by COVID-19 alone will not be sufficient to meet the ambitious transport decarbonisation targets. To meet China’s pledge under the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, the medium-term effects of COVID-19 must be combined with strong transport decarbonisation measures of modal shift and new energy applications. With these additional measures, it may be possible to advance the transport carbon peak before 2030. Lessons are relevant to other developing countries.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-024-00487-8","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142324406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Security policies and sustainable development in the Western Balkan region beyond 2022: current status, challenges, and prospects","authors":"Milovan Trbojević,&nbsp;Dejan Jovanović,&nbsp;Diona Đurđević","doi":"10.1186/s13705-024-00486-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-024-00486-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The post-pandemic period, military conflicts, and geopolitical instability have all contributed to concerns regarding the world's sustainable and stable development, and small national economies are particularly vulnerable to these challenges. The five countries of the Western Balkan region (Republic of Serbia, Republic of North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania) have established their national interests and formulated security policies in line with their strategic commitment to the green transition and integration into the European Union. The region has been grappling with a multitude of challenges for several decades, and further instability may be expected beyond 2022. This paper aims to analyze the impact of sustainable development politicization on the security policies of Western Balkan countries and identify critical challenges to the region’s sustainable development.</p><h3>Main text</h3><p>The main research findings suggest that the security strategy of the Western Balkan countries was distinct from their economic and energy development until the beginning of the twenty-first century. Sustainable development is a strategic commitment of the Western Balkan countries, but it necessitates intricate changes, particularly in energy and economy. However, the Western Balkan countries have been confronted with new challenges due to the intricate geopolitical developments that emerged after 2022. The following are particularly noteworthy: frequently conflicting regional initiatives, the usage of energy resources and essential minerals, and significant impacts on how individuals form their opinion on these matters. The factors mentioned above are distinct security threats that require the Western Balkan countries to pursue solutions.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>A politicized approach to sustainable development is a novel phenomenon that has to be incorporated into current security policy. Specifically, the present approach, which prioritizes the state's security, often conflicts with the emerging concept of individual security (which focuses on the stability of the economy and the environment). This situation adds a layer of complexity to the position of the Western Balkan countries. They have a limited capacity to impact geopolitical developments, and in order to make progress, maintain stability, and foster social peace, they must make concessions and cooperate with influential economies that frequently have conflicting geopolitical interests.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-024-00486-9","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142246697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of climate change and environmental regulation on energy poverty: evidence from China","authors":"Zhang Tao,&nbsp;Yadi Chen,&nbsp;Zixuan Wang,&nbsp;Chengtao Deng","doi":"10.1186/s13705-024-00484-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-024-00484-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Environmental pollution and energy poverty have always been serious challenges for the global energy system.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2020, this paper uses FE and sys-GMM models to explore the impact of environmental regulations and climate change on energy poverty. The results show that climate change increases energy poverty, with rising energy for cooling in hot summers, and unchanged income in the short term. Moreover, environmental regulation plays a moderating role between climate change and energy poverty. Specifically, economical environmental regulation has a negative moderating effect, while legal and supervised environmental regulations have positive moderating effects. Finally, the national basic energy poverty line used is lower than that in the eastern region, higher than that in the western region, and close to that in the central region, which reflects the heterogeneity of energy poverty in different regions of China.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The findings in this paper clarify the nexus between climate change, environmental regulation, and energy poverty, addressing in this way a gap in existing research, which has great significance for environmental and energy policy makers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-024-00484-x","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142174084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Proposal for zero energy housing designs in Jordan","authors":"Mohammad S. Albdour,&nbsp;Fadi Alhomaidat,&nbsp;Mahmoud Alrsai,&nbsp;Husam Alsanat,&nbsp;Sleiman M. M. Al-Zaidyeen","doi":"10.1186/s13705-024-00481-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-024-00481-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Achieving zero-energy targets in residential buildings is challenging due to improper energy design and the selection of energy-related systems. Moreover, the absence of benchmarks for zero-energy residential buildings, along with the scarcity of studies tailored to diverse climates and building characteristics, highlights the urgent need for further research. This study aimed to address these gaps by designing zero-energy buildings to suit diverse climate zones in Jordan, acting as benchmarks to enhance energy efficiency and promote renewable energy use in the residential sector.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p>Energy simulation tools were employed to design and verify zero-energy systems. The energy use intensity (EUI) results from the IDA ICE tool were compared with the reported targets and OpenStudio tool outcomes, ensuring that deviations among the proposed designs within the same climate zone consistently remained within acceptable limits, averaging 2, 1, and 1 kWh/m² year in 1B (very hot dry), 2B (hot dry), and 3B (warm dry), respectively. Additionally, an economic evaluation was conducted by comparing the cost estimates of a Jordanian code-compliant house and the most acceptable proposed zero-energy design.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>The proposed designs exhibited average EUI values of 64.4, 64, and 60 kWh/m² in diverse climate zones. Outperforming typical Jordanian houses by 56%, 55%, and 60% in 1B, 2B, and 3B, respectively, these designs surpassed national and international benchmarks by at least 35%. Notably, the proposed zero-energy designs achieved substantial cost savings of 1938 USD, equivalent to 11 USD per square meter, throughout the construction phase.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Considering Jordan’s ambitious energy strategy for 2030 and the significant energy consumption in the residential sector, the proposed zero-energy building designs play a crucial role in advancing the national transition towards zero-energy buildings. This study provides valuable insights by presenting precise designs, benchmarks, and a comprehensive guide tailored to Jordan’s distinctive building and climate characteristics with potential applications beyond its immediate context.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-024-00481-0","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142123076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Virtual power plants: an in-depth analysis of their advancements and importance as crucial players in modern power systems","authors":"Sobhy Abdelkader,&nbsp;Jeremiah Amissah,&nbsp;Omar Abdel-Rahim","doi":"10.1186/s13705-024-00483-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-024-00483-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Virtual power plants (VPPs) represent a pivotal evolution in power system management, offering dynamic solutions to the challenges of renewable energy integration, grid stability, and demand-side management. Originally conceived as a concept to aggregate small-scale distributed energy resources, VPPs have evolved into sophisticated enablers of diverse energy assets, including solar panels, wind turbines, battery storage systems, and demand response units. This review article explores the evolution of VPPs and their pivotal roles as major stakeholders within contemporary power systems. The review opens with a definition of VPPs that clarifies both their fundamental traits and technological foundations. A historical examination of their development highlights major turning points and milestones that illustrate their transforming journey.</p><h3>Main text</h3><p>The methodology used for this article entailed a thorough examination to identify relevant studies, articles, and scholarly works related to virtual power plants. Academic databases were used to gather relevant literature. The literature was organized into categories helping to structure and present information in a logical flow based on the outline created for the review article<b>.</b> The discussions in the article show that the various functions that VPPs perform in power systems are of major interest. VPPs promote the seamless integration of renewable energy sources and provide optimum grid management by aggregating distributed energy resources, which improves sustainability. One of the important components of this evaluation involves taking market and policy considerations. Examining worldwide market patterns and forecasts reveals that VPP usage is rising, and that regulatory frameworks and incentives have a bigger impact on how well they integrate.</p><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Overcoming obstacles is a necessary step towards realizing full VPP potential. For VPPs to be widely adopted, it is still essential to address technological and operational challenges as they arise. Diverse stakeholders must work together to overcome market obstacles and promote the expansion of the VPP market. This analysis highlights the potential for VPPs to propel the evolution of contemporary power systems toward a more sustainable and effective future by highlighting areas for future research and development.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-024-00483-y","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142084555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tackling gender disparities in energy research: a diagnostic tool for equality in research centres","authors":"Sara Sánchez-López,&nbsp;Rocío Poveda-Bautista,&nbsp;Carmen Corona-Sobrino,&nbsp;Paula Otero-Hermida,&nbsp;Mónica García-Melón","doi":"10.1186/s13705-024-00479-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-024-00479-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>In a case study in Spain, the unequal proportion of men and women in a research organization in the energy sector is severe, and long-established dynamics that might determine differences in access to leadership positions and inequalities in research careers are evident. The gender gap in historically masculinized fields, such as energy engineering reflects more than simply the differences in male and female values and personalities. This study seeks to explore the gender gap in energy research centres and to identify barriers that potentially hinder the research careers of women. It proposes the development of a diagnostic tool, based upon indicators, to monitor and evaluate gender roles and inequalities in the management of research centres for identifying and addressing the dynamics and obstacles that hinder women's progress in the energy sector and their potential contribution to the field. This participatory multicriteria-based tool prioritizes the proposed indicators by their influence and importance in the context of energy research and applies it to the monitoring of a specific Spanish energy research centre.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>The results are threefold: (i) the methodology is adaptable to different research centres; (ii) the analysis of indicators’ prioritization could lead to recommendations that should be addressed first; (iii) the diagnostic tool used in this in-depth case study of an energy research centre in Spain allowed results to be achieved in terms of gender dynamics. Two indicators stand out as the most relevant in our analysis: gender diversity in leadership positions and uncomplicated application of work–life balance measures. In this case study, the measurement of the first indicator has drawn unsatisfactory results, and the research of the latter is considered still insufficient. In conclusion, this difference becomes a vicious or negative circle for attracting and retaining more women to the research centre. Despite these results, no gender gap seems to be recognized and thus, no measures are being taken to improve the situation.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Comprehensive data and contextualized monitoring are necessary to effectively study and enhance the presence and participation of women in the energy science sector. This approach, combining quantitative and qualitative techniques, is suitable for any research centre that would like to monitor its gender gap, identify potential sources of inequity and address them.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-024-00479-8","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142045153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of agricultural residue potential for electrification of off-grid communities in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of Ghana","authors":"Edward A. Awafo,&nbsp;Gilbert A. Akolgo,&nbsp;Augustine Awaafo","doi":"10.1186/s13705-024-00476-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-024-00476-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>There is a close link between the lack of electricity access and poverty indicators such as illiteracy, high infant mortality, lack of access to health care and malnutrition among others. Most rural farming communities in Ghana lack access to electricity due to the high cost of extending the grid to these communities. This lack of access tends to worsen the gap between urban and rural inhabitants regarding access to education, healthcare and development.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p>This study assessed the technical and theoretical potential of agricultural residues in providing electricity to off-grid communities. The study used crop production figures of maize, cassava, millet and groundnut in the Soma and Goyiri farming communities in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District to conduct an assessment of the theoretical and technical potential of residues from the crops. The production figures of these crops were obtained from the District Office of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Expected electricity demand of households, schools and health centers in the study communities were collected and employed for the projected load demand estimates.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>The study found that 312.23 MWh/day of electricity could be generated from the combined residues of maize, cassava, millet and groundnut from the two communities. This amount of electricity is capable of providing ~ 202 to 263 times the peak electricity demand of the studied communities. Out of the total electricity demand of the two communities, only about 91 kWh/day is needed for use in a school and Community Health Promotion and Services (CHPS) compound, implying that the electricity from crop residues can also help to improve education and health provision in the rural communities.</p><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>It is concluded that the potential of crop residues in meeting the electricity demand of off-grid communities is enormous. Hence, it must be considered in Ghana’s energy development plans to achieve universal electricity access.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-024-00476-x","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141985980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Scenario-based LCA for assessing the future environmental impacts of wind offshore energy: An exemplary analysis for a 9.5-MW wind turbine in Germany","authors":"Alicia Benitez,&nbsp;Christina Wulf,&nbsp;Bernhard Steubing,&nbsp;Jutta Geldermann","doi":"10.1186/s13705-024-00474-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-024-00474-z","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Background&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Offshore wind energy (OWE) will play a significant role in achieving climate neutrality. For example, several scenarios for Germany (e.g., Kopernikus base, Kopernikus 1.5 degree, Prognos CN65, and CN60) depict substantial OWE annual installed capacity additions, especially after 2030. This tendency promotes OWE technology development as deployment expands, allowing manufacturers to gain expertise and optimize wind turbine construction. The global trend towards ever-larger components (e.g., hub height and rotor diameter) is critical to achieving higher-rated capacities. These aspects and others, such as wind quality, influence not only OWE annual electricity production but also its environmental performance. In addition, future supply chains might reduce their environmental impacts and enhance OWE climate change mitigation. In this paper, a prospective life cycle assessment (pLCA) is developed and applied exemplarily for a 9.5-MW offshore wind turbine (OWT) on the North Sea coast of Germany for the years 2030 and 2050. Considering that the current OWTs under construction in Europe have an average capacity of 10 MW, Germany plans to instal OWTs of 9.5-MW. This exemplary OWT describes the potential advances for offshore wind turbines in 2030 and 2050, considering component scale-up and learning effects. Yet, the methodology is adaptable to various installed capacities and regions. This approach allows us to analyse not only the potential future characteristics of wind turbines, but also future developments in OWE supply chains. Therefore, relevant parameters related to OWT construction and operation (e.g., rotor diameter, hub height, distance to the shore, lifetime, etc.) as well as prospective life cycle inventory data for background systems that reflect potential future developments in the broader economy are considered. In this way, scenarios (e.g., optimistic, moderate, and pessimistic) for OWE elucidate the expected environmental impacts, such as climate change, marine eutrophication, and abiotic depletion potential, in 2030 and 2050.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;The findings describe the variability of the environmental impacts of a 9.5-MW offshore wind turbine representing the technologies expected to be available in Germany in 2030 and 2050 and show that climate change impacts could vary between 7 and 18 g CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;-eq per kWh produced in 2030 and between 5 and 17 g CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;-eq per kWh in 2050. However, marine eutrophication could experience a significant increase (100% increase), depending on the consideration of hydrogen as a fuel in the electricity mix, as demonstrated in the climate-neutral scenarios adopted for Germany. Overall, construction efficiency improvements in 2050 might reduce the required materials, leading to a 6% decrease in abiotic depletion potential compared to 2030 values.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;This paper highlights the need to consider temporal improvements in LCA studies, particularly","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-024-00474-z","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141973608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving the performance of PV/diesel microgrids via integration of a battery energy storage system: the case of Bilgo village in Burkina Faso","authors":"Daniel Yamegueu,&nbsp;Henri Thomas Nelson,&nbsp;Amidou Singho Boly","doi":"10.1186/s13705-024-00480-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-024-00480-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>PV/diesel microgrids are getting more popular in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, where the national grid is often unavailable. Most of the time, for economic purposes, these hybrid PV/diesel power plants in rural areas do not include any storage system. This is the case in the Bilgo village in Burkina Faso, where a PV/diesel microgrid without any battery storage system has been set up. This power plant is composed of three diesel generators operating in parallel (two of 16 kW and one of 24 kW), coupled with a photovoltaic field of 30 kWp. It was observed that for such power plants, the grid management is not always efficient due to constantly fluctuating solar output and loads. This inconsistency in energy output raises the question if integrating battery energy storage systems could improve the grid's performance. While many studies in the literature focus on hybrid energy systems, only a few of them have tackled the optimization of existing and operational systems.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p>This study investigated three scenarios based on the existing microgrid's characteristics: conventional standalone diesel generators, PV/diesel without battery storage and PV/diesel with a battery storage system which are the main technologies used for off-grid rural electrification in Burkina Faso. The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) was used to assess the economic performance of each scenario, and the calculations were made using the HOMER software.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>It was found that the best among the scenarios considered is the PV/diesel/battery configuration which has the lowest LCOE of US$ 0.524/kWh. The battery storage system for the optimal configuration has a capacity of 182 kWh with about 8 h of autonomy.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>It can be inferred from this study that a storage unit is necessary for an optimal management of a PV/diesel microgrid. Indeed, the storage unit significantly reduces the operating and maintenance costs associated with running diesel generators, as well as the excess electricity. The storage system also allows for a greater reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to systems without storage.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-024-00480-1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141943433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}