As countries start to implement the Sustainable Development Goals in their national development agendas, reviews of the current policy environment are necessary to ensure that the goals are achievable by 2030. The present study assesses the effectiveness of energy policy in Indonesia in supporting progress towards universal energy access, a substantial increase in renewable energy deployment, and improvement

Following the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21), the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climae Change strengthens the attempts of the European Union to decarbonize the building sector and to facilitate the transition from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy. The last version of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2018/844/EU is human centric and requires the integration of indoor environmental

Equitable energy supply planning is nearly impossible in regions with limited data availability. Lack of representation among marginalised populations can perpetuate existing structural and socio-cultural inequities, despite aggregate improvements to energy supply. In Nepal, this represents an acute challenge for the 460 rural municipalities recently tasked with improving supply provision for their

If hydrokinetic turbines are to make a significant contribution to small scale off-grid power supply, they will need to be affordable, reliable and easily deployed at many sites, not just a few with exceptional combinations of depth and high flow velocity. Few if any products currently on the market meet these criteria. This paper addresses the challenge of providing small scale electrical power and

Drum kiln with heat distribution pipe is a new design for vertical drum kiln. It is a small kiln for charcoal, biochar and wood vinegar production. It consists of a 200 l oil drum covered with fiberglass and galvanized steel as an insulator. The heat distribution pipe with slots is installed in the middle part of the kiln. There are four exhaust chimneys for smoke ventilation and wood vinegar collection

Currently, feasible construction practices are not enough to reach zero energy buildings, therefore, European Union (EU) legislation states that new buildings and renovations should be designed as “nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB)”; however, design alternatives need to be carefully considered and selected before implementation. This study aims to investigate the effect of building façade elements

Reducing the burden of household air pollution could be achieved with exclusive adoption of cleaner fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). However, we lack understanding of how much LPG is required to support exclusive use and how household characteristics affect this quantity. This paper used data from 90 participants in the Cardiopulmonary outcomes and Household Air Pollution (CHAP) trial in

The frequency of power outages being experienced in Sub-Saharan Africa mean that traditional methods of electricity demand forecasting which rely on directly observed demand data are inadequate for use in projections. Nevertheless, accurate forecasting methods are urgently required to ensure efficient power system operations and expansion planning. To address this gap, we develop a novel method to

This paper presents a comprehensive energy management system based centralized control for a smart greenhouse integrating a microgrid with the aim to optimize and control the global internal environment and the crop growth. The objective is to develop an advanced and comprehensive energy management platform based model predictive control (MPC) considering intermittent behaviour of renewable energy

In this study, we use water boiling tests (WBTs), controlled cooking tests (CCTs) and in-home kitchen performance tests (KPTs) to analyze changes in fuel consumption and emissions resulting from low-cost modifications to traditional open fires. The modifications consist of adding rock-beds, ceramic grates or metal grates to open fires. In both traditional and modified stoves, cooking pots are supported

Biomass cookstoves have been studied extensively for several decades. The Water Boiling Test (WBT) has been a widely adopted protocol for obtaining measurements needed to quantify biomass cookstove performance metrics. WBT metrics have been commonly used to evaluate cookstove effectiveness and serve as a basis for comparing biomass cookstoves. This paper demonstrates the influence of variations in

Solar technologies promise to provide clean energy to the poorest populations. Motivated by observations of low-quality products in the solar home system market, this study analyzes the role of product quality in the transition to cleaner energy technologies in developing countries. Our systematic empirical analysis of the Ugandan solar home system market reveals several market segments. Plug-and-play

Utilization of hydro-power as a renewable energy source is now of prime importance in the world. Hydropower energy is available in abundance as a renewable source. For run-of river, low head reaction type Kaplan turbines mostly used. In this paper, a parametric study has been conducted on a complex geometry of Kaplan blade through static and dynamic computational analysis by varying the blade profile

Today, identifying energy poverty is one of the scientific community's challenges. In this sense, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) assumes getting to know which areas are the most vulnerable. This study considers the development of a new territory energy poverty evaluation indicator, called Poverty Adaptive Degree Hourly Index (PADHI). The novelty of this indicator is that it combines the

Solar home systems (SHSs) have seen rapid growth and have proven to be a viable source of electricity for households due to their capability to reach remote users that do not have access to grid systems. Based on a comprehensive literature review of 139 papers focussing on SHSs in Sub-Saharan Africa, this paper highlights the key trends, research gaps and policy recommendations. The literature was

Solar photovoltaics are being promoted in various parts of the developing world for irrigation pumps as a clean energy source, for use in remote areas, to provide livelihood generation, and in India, additionally to address issues with grid supply. India has a well-developed system of electricity distribution for irrigation, but socio-political issues in this sector have led to a system with poor quality

The increase in efficiency, decrease in starting time, and ease in manufacturing of rotor blades are the most desirable aims of research in the design of small-scale wind turbines. A multi-objective optimization study is carried out to analyze the performance of a small horizontal axis wind turbine in terms of the output power and the starting time for four possible combinations of linear/nonlinear

The increase in economic activities, population and rural electrification has significantly increased the energy demand in most of the developing nations. This demand has to be supplied from various sources, preferably renewable, among which hydropower is expected to be one of the major contributors. Though developed nations have already harnessed most of their hydropower potential, developing nations

Hybrid microgrids represent a cost-effective and viable option to ensure access to energy in rural areas located far from the main grid. Nonetheless, the sizing of rural microgrids is complicated by the lack of models capable of accounting for the evolution of the energy demand over time, which is likely to occur in such contexts as a result of the modification of users' lifestyles. To tackle this

The identification of the best electrification strategy is a fundamental step to increase energy access in rural areas of developing countries. The objective of the present work is to propose a new geospatial-based procedure for rural electrification planning, able to select and design an effective energy system for a defined geographical region. The least-cost solution among stand-alone mini-grids

How beneficial is basic energy access – typically lighting and mobile charging – for rural households? Despite research on the economic impacts of basic energy access, few studies have investigated how it changes household behavior. Here we report results from a randomized controlled trial in rural Uttar Pradesh, India, which identifies the behavioral impacts of providing solar lanterns to households

The sustainability of energy use in the residential sector has relevance for global initiatives to achieve sustainable development and limit climate change. Using the city of Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, as a case study, we look at how national energy policy has influenced household cooking energy use between 1990 and 2018, and how energy policy could achieve further progress to realise national and

This article aims to present historical rate of decoupling and based on that determine the scope for India to increase its mitigation beyond the NDC commitment. Empirical evidence on nature and rate of decoupling between energy related emission and economic growth for the period 1990–91 to 2012–13 in India is presented. In addition to estimating the magnitude of decoupling elasticity, decomposition

A transition towards a sustainable energy system is a challenging process that involves multiple stakeholders with differing viewpoints. Several transition pathways are possible, but the decision regarding which pathway to follow should be based on a justifiable and transparent framework that accounts for the concerns of all relevant stakeholder groups. This study proposes a participatory stakeholder

In 2012, the Peruvian government launched the public-private initiative for energy inclusion (FISE) to promote equitable access to subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders. The objective of this study was to explore cooking patterns, attitudes towards the FISE-programme, and factors influencing LPG use in rural Andean Peru. Forty-eight women from four communities completed a paper-based questionnaire

Biomass-burning improved cookstoves (ICS) are often seen as a promising intermediate technology solution along the path of household transition to cleaner cooking. This study reports on the results of an experimental evaluation of a carbon finance-enabled program conducted in rural villages in Rajasthan, India. Half (or 20) of 40 purposively-selected treatment villages were randomly assigned to an

Efficient and effective thermal management of Li-ion battery pack for electric vehicle application is vital for the safety and extended-life of this energy storage system. In this paper, the thermal management system of a battery module is presented as an integral part of the electric vehicle air conditioning system. The refrigerant is bifurcated from the main system through a pipe and expansion valve

Electric vehicles (EVs) are widely heralded as the silver bullet for greening personal transport. However their eventual impact in South Africa, a developing country with a low-capacity carbon-heavy grid, is questionable. This paper examines the potential impact of electrification of the vehicle fleet in South Africa, and explores the concept that large employers (or car park owners) could take advantage

Electric cooking has the potential to improve quality of life for people who cook using biomass, both by improving health by eradicating harmful emissions and by removing the need to collect fuelwood, thus freeing up time for other activities. This paper reports on a study that introduced electric cooking as an alternative to biomass-based cooking in 10 households in Simli, a rural Western Nepali community

Depreciating costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity, increasing government support and initiatives, and rising prices of grid electricity have spurred the production of electricity through solar PV systems. The Chandigarh government in India has installed a 200 kWp on-grid PV system on the roofs of pre-fabricated portable cabins (PPC) to fulfil their local energy demand at the Indian Reserve

Industrial process heating has been identified as a potential field for solar thermal applications. In this paper, a comparative study was carried out on the performance of an individual solar collector under laboratory conditions and performance of the collector array under field condition. Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) has been used as a solar collector for the application of boiler feed

Cross-border power trade in the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) has been very low for nearly 15 years since its inception in 2005. This analysis uses a least-cost generation and transmission capacity expansion model to assess economic and CO2 emissions reduction benefits from different levels of integration. These benefits are assessed for several policy scenarios around renewable energy, national

Electricity access and appliance usage are integral parts of developing a modern economy in rural areas. Unfortunately, many households in rural India struggle to access reliable electricity and, therefore, are unable to power appliances throughout the day. We use household survey data from 10,249 households across the Indian states of Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh to explore potential

Solar inverter providers optionally offer plant operators online access to their installed photovoltaic (PV) systems. Benefits consist of better system monitoring, faster response to maintenance needs, and a more comfortable data acquisition. Data mining from an online database enables a comparative statistical analysis for a large number of plants about specific productivity parameters, emission reductions

The Indonesian Government, in the last decade, attempted to increase modern energy consumption through the implementation of the Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) conversion program and the construction of numerous power generators. The attempt hoped to increase access to modern energy. This study investigates the Government modern energy projects by assessing both the accessibility and affordability of modern

Ghana is one of the few countries within the sub-Saharan region which has been successful in reducing energy poverty. However, ensuring energy security, affordability, and environmental sustainability remains a significant challenge for the future development of the sub-region. Here, we examine how the electricity supply can evolve into the future to meet potential emission obligations for the period

Recent development in spectral selective metamaterials makes daytime radiative cooling possible by engineering the material surface to achieve high reflectance in the solar irradiation waveband (0.3–2.5 μm) but high emissivity in the 8–13 μm atmospheric window. In this paper, a spectral selective polymer-based metamaterial was applied on top of a shallow aluminum box that contained with an enclosed

The rural electrification-based literature reports a limited knowledge of the long-term socio-economic changes that electricity access can bring in remote contexts and the consequent feedback on electricity demand. Such lack of understanding causes an inefficient allocation of economic resources for rural energy projects and inappropriate sizing processes. We model the multifaceted dimensions of the

Off-grid renewable energy technologies are important in improving electricity access for rural communities. However, methods for ensuring their sustainable operation are often poorly understood. In this article, existing approaches for the assessment of off-grid projects are examined. Reliability of the technology, financial viability and community engagement are identified as the 3 key areas governing

Mini grids are increasingly filling the supply gap between government supplied electricity and the requirements of households and enterprises. We present a descriptive analysis of enterprise development within a large mini grid based rural electrification initiative launched in India in 2015. Using data from two surveys conducted with 229 enterprise operators, we explore the change in aspirations among

The projects that combine solar photovoltaics (PV) and poverty alleviation (PA) are the explorations of sustainable development (SD) from the Chinese government, aiming at both reducing the number of rural poor and the intensity of carbon emissions. Currently, the actual energy and environmental performances of those Photovoltaic-based Targeted Poverty Alleviation Plants (PV-PAPs) remain to be validated

For decades, electrification planning in the developing world has often focused on extending the national grid to increase electricity access. This article draws attention to the potential complementary role of decentralized alternatives – primarily micro-grids – to address universal electricity access targets. To this aim, we propose a methodology consisting of three steps to estimate the LCOE and

This paper presents an experimental performance analysis based on results attained from monitoring a 9.5 kWp photovoltaic grid-connected for 3 years; from 2016 to 2018. This system is composed of three 3.2 kWp sub-systems installed on the flat roof of the Renewable Energy Development Institute (CDER) in Algeria. This plant covers electricity needs required by the lab and feeds the excess into the low

Optimal design of hybrid renewable mini-grids requires both economic and power quality considerations. Existing modeling approaches address these considerations via separate or loosely coupled models. Here, we extend REopt—a techno-economic optimization model developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory—to consider both within a single model. REopt formulates the design problem as a mixed-integer

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is considered to be a clean burning domestic cooking fuel across the world. The Government of India is promoting use of LPG as cooking fuel among Indian population. Refilling of LPG is not affordable to poor families. It is difficult for the Government to reduce price of LPG cylinders. In such a situation, to make LPG affordable, it is necessary to investigate methods

Developing countries are giving increasing attention to industry development in renewable energy industries. Previous research highlights the influence of technology characteristics on such catching-up policies, distinguishing between complex products produced in small batches, and mass-produced simple products. We suggest that catching-up policies should move beyond this binary distinction between

Wave energy is extracted from the motion of sea waves. The technologies to convert this energy into electricity have not yet reached maturity and there is no clear dominant design. In this work, a design methodology is proposed for a two-body Wave Energy Converter (WEC) with a novel configurable electromechanical Power-Take-Off (PTO) that allows setting its parameters for optimal power output according

Space heating is a key source of residential air pollution that causes adverse effects on individuals' health, especially children. However, school heating approaches and their impacts have been rarely evaluated. In the survey, 41,439 children aged 6–17 from 316 schools was conducted to assess the school heating approaches in China. And a comparison of school heating and home heating was made. In cold

Modern buildings are operationally classified as fully naturally ventilated (free running, FR), fully mechanically ventilated and conditioned (air-conditioned, AC) or intermediary (mixed mode, MM). Each strategy implies (i) the selection of different internal comfort models and controls, e.g. adaptive thermal comfort + operable windows in FR and static thermal comfort (Predicted Mean Vote - PMV) + non-operable

Rural electrification has advanced rapidly in many developing countries. Under conditions of poverty and weak infrastructure, however, households face a risk of backsliding. We use two rounds from the ACCESS survey of rural households in six northern Indian states to explore factors that drive losses in household electricity access. About 7% of households with electricity in 2015 lost it by 2018. We

Using the available information and a standard econometric approach analyzing the time series dataset, this study identifies the interactions between electricity, fossil fuel and carbon market prices in Guangdong, China. The result confirms a long running co-integration between carbon market prices and the prices of coal, diesel and liquid natural gas (LNG). Conversely, fossil fuel prices have no impact

For the decade prior to 2016 Nepal suffered from the worst electricity shortages in South Asia. During this period load shedding occurred for up to 18 h a day when hydropower generation is low. This research uses parametric and non-parametric models to estimate households' and businesses' willingness to pay (WTP) for improved reliability of electricity services in Nepal. A contingent valuation (CV)

This paper aims to present insights about distributed photovoltaic (PV) generation technology diffusion in the household market. A quantitative approach using the Bass model to project distributed PV systems adoption is chosen to base and conduct the analysis. Since distributed PV in Brazil still presents a very small market penetration, historical data is still insufficient to obtain robust estimates

With the growing number of vehicles on the road, the transport sector has become the second largest consumer of energy, after the industrial sector, and has become the main source of air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. To support low-carbon development, since 2009, electric vehicles have been used to replace traditional fuel vehicles in China. In 2016, electric vehicles, including buses, taxis

The Government of India had initially aimed at an installed capacity of 20 GW solar PV power generation by 2022. However, India has 29.41 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) plants as of now, which shows that the target is achieved three years ahead of schedule. Kurnool solar power park is one of the largest solar parks in India, receiving an excellent average solar radiation of 5.5–6.0 kWh/m2. As part of

Household fuel substitution has been a crucial step for controlling air pollution in China, but the performance evaluation of household fuel substitution policies is overlooked. This study capitalized on the opportunity to use data collected during the household coal-replacement program in North China to evaluate the effect of a mandatory policy on fuel substitution at the micro-level. The results

Electrification policies are crucial to improve the welfare of rural populations worldwide. In this context, auctions for the deployment of stand-alone solar home systems (SASHS) are an appropriate alternative to facilitate access to electricity in rural areas. The aim of this paper is to analyze the design elements and functioning of the SASHS auction in Peru in order to derive lessons for the effective