scholarly journals Institutional and Policy Assessment of Renewable Energy Sector in Afghanistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Murtaza Ershad

Renewable energy resources could play a vital role in the sustainable economic, social, and environmental development of Afghanistan. Heavy reliance of rural households on firewood, rising costs of fossil fuels, outdoor and indoor air pollution, and climate change are some of the challenges that can be addressed by diversifying our power production fuel inputs and adopting renewable energy technologies. In order to deploy and scale up renewable energy technologies and improve access to sustainable energy, clear policies and targets and dedicated institutions are crucial. Fortunately, Afghan government with the support of international community is setting ambitious targets for the renewable energy sector and is encouraging national and international investors to take part in the generation, transmission, and distribution of renewable energy especially electricity through Power Purchase Agreements or very cheap land leases. Thus, the objectives of this report are (I) to review the existing institutions in the field of renewable energy, (II) to review renewable energy policies and targets in Afghanistan, and (III) to identify institutional and policy gaps and recommend solutions.

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Kimera ◽  
Richard Okou ◽  
Adoniya Ben Sebitosi ◽  
Kehinde O. Awodele

The extension of modern energy services to rural sub-Saharan Africa has continuously provided a challenge to energy utilities. The continued reliance on diesel generators for rural electrification is increasingly becoming unsustainable, due to a number of factors, among which includes their high fuel dependency, and the uncertainty surrounding the price and availability of fossil fuels. While the influx of renewable energy technologies has provided a means for providing off-grid electrification services, the intermittent nature of renewable resources poses a challenge, as energy generation does not always coincide with usage. Through a combination of renewable energy technologies, energy storage, and conventional diesel generation, a hybrid mini-grid system is able to achieve synergy in operation, hence providing a reliable means of extending electricity services to rural consumers. In this paper, a hybrid mini-grid system is proposed for the supply of electricity to a remote village in Uganda. Renewable energy resources are identified, an estimation of the projected village short-term electricity demand is modelled, and using HOMER software, a hybrid mini-grid system is designed, components sized, and the system optimized for efficient and reliable operation to meet the village demand at an affordable cost. A well designed and operated hybrid mini-grid system offers a viable tool for the electrification of even the remotest of areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunil Park

In 2011, the Fukushima nuclear accident occurred, and this had a strong effect on public perceptions of energy facilities and services that relate not only to nuclear energy, but also renewable energy resources. Moreover, the accident has also considerably affected national energy plans in both developing and developed countries. In South Korea, several studies have been conducted since the accident to investigate public perspectives toward particular energy technologies; however, few studies have investigated public perceptions of renewable-energy technologies and tracked the transitions. Therefore, this study examines the trend of South Korean public’s perceptions of renewable-energy technologies. Based on data collected in 2016, we validated the structural connections and determined that trust, benefits, risks, and attitude were key determinants of the public’s desire to adopt these technologies; specifically, public attitude was found to be the greatest determinant of this desire. Based on the results, both implications and limitations are examined.


2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (04) ◽  
pp. 103-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya Christidis ◽  
Claire Paller ◽  
Shannon Majowicz ◽  
Phil Bigelow ◽  
Ashley Wilson ◽  
...  

With the increasing concerns regarding fossil fuels and nuclear energy, greater attention is being placed on alternate renewable energy technologies (RETs) such as wind, solar, and bioenergy. However, implementation of modern RETs has become controversial, as adverse health effects are a major concern. Although local case studies have suggested a relationship between wind turbines and health, there is a gap in the scientific knowledge. Epidemiological studies with adequate data collection tools and analyses are needed, particularly in the Canadian context. We reviewed surveys used in relevant environmental health literature, created a data collection tool for use in populations exposed to wind turbines, and piloted the survey content and distribution method. Our pilot response rate was 25.5% (45/200). The mean age of survey respondents was 57.6 years (SD: 12.76) with 57% of the respondents being female; respondents were not significantly different than the target population with respect to age or sex. The survey and methods presented here can be used in future studies to assess the health impacts of renewable energy technologies.


Author(s):  
John Vourdoubas

Use of renewable energies in rural areas in the island of Crete, Greece has been investigated. Crete has rich indigenous renewable energy resources which are currently utilized for covering part of its energy requirements. Various renewable energy technologies used for heat and electricity generation in the island have been examined. Solar energy, wind energy, hydro power, biomass, and low enthalpy geothermal energy are already used. The total installed electric power of renewable energies in Crete, located mostly in rural areas, is approximately at 30% of the total electric power installed. They currently generate more than 20% of the island’s annual electricity needs. More renewable energy applications are foreseen in the future in rural areas in Crete as soon as its electric grid will be interconnected with the country’s continental grid. New renewable energy technologies, which are not currently used, could generate in the future heat, cooling, electricity, and vehicle’s fuels in the island. Their use will have positive impacts including the promotion of energy investments, lower use of imported and polluting fossil fuels, de-carbonization of the island’s energy sector as well as creation of new local jobs. It is indicated that the rich renewable energy resources in Crete could provide almost all of its annual energy needs. This will result in Crete’s transformation to a low or zero carbon economy in accordance with EU targets for zero carbon emissions in the next decades complying with the global goal for climate change mitigation.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 7033
Author(s):  
Jannis Langer ◽  
Jaco Quist ◽  
Kornelis Blok

Indonesia has an increasing electricity demand that is mostly met with fossil fuels. Although Indonesia plans to ramp up Renewable Energy Technologies (RET), implementation has been slow. This is unfortunate, as the RET potential in Indonesia might be higher than currently assumed given the archipelago’s size. However, there is no literature overview of RET potentials in Indonesia and to what extent they can meet current and future electricity demand coverage. This paper reviews contemporary literature on the potential of nine RET in Indonesia and analyses their impact in terms of area and demand coverage. The study concludes that Indonesia hosts massive amounts of renewable energy resources on both land and sea. The potentials in the academic and industrial literature tend to be considerably larger than the ones from the Indonesian Energy Ministry on which current energy policies are based. Moreover, these potentials could enable a 100% renewables electricity system and meet future demand with limited impact on land availability. Nonetheless, the review showed that the research topic is still under-researched with three detected knowledge gaps, namely the lack of (i) economic RET potentials, (ii) research on the integrated spatial potential mapping of several RET and (iii) empirical data on natural resources. Lastly, this study provides research and policy recommendations to promote RET in Indonesia.


Author(s):  
Phillip Olla ◽  
Nkemdilim Onwudinjo

There has been an increase in the deployments of renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energy due to the concerns regarding global warming. This growth in renewable energy projects along with the technological innovations is leading to lowering costs, which is making available an array of renewable energy options to developing nations to address the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Although Africa’s main discussions on renewable energy have been focused on large scale grid-connected power systems, this chapter presents the arguments that several renewable energy technologies are well-suited to providing modern energy services for low-income people. The article presents a comprehensive framework that highlights how to scale up a broad portfolio of micro-renewable energy solutions that can make a major contribution to achieving the MDGs.


2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Adlong

AbstractThe rapid development of renewable energy technologies has a number of implications for environmental educators and educators more generally. The costs of a number of renewable energy technologies are expected to be competitive with fossil fuels within 10–15 years and some installations are competitive already. From 2006–2011 global installations increased an average of 26% per annum for wind power and 58% per annum for solar photovoltaics (REN21, 2012). Investment in renewables (excluding hydropower) has increased by 20–30% per annum, reaching $US260 billion (AUD 245 billion) in 2011. The credibility of proposals for economies based largely on renewables is gaining recognition. These developments suggest that a satisfactory response to the dire projections around climate change can be implemented. To do so, understanding of the potential and status of renewables needs to be more widespread and accelerated on formal, informal and policy-making levels. Environmental educators within formal and informal settings can promote understanding and action so that the potential of such renewable energies is realised.


2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (07) ◽  
pp. 34-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Hightower

This article discusses the need for new technologies to address emerging energy and water challenges. The demand for both energy and water is expected to grow with growth in global economy and population. Therefore, there is a need to minimize future conflicts between energy and water development and to foster more reliable and sustainable use of these two very important natural resources. Several renewable energy technologies and alternative cooling approaches for thermoelectric power plants exist that could reduce water consumption for electric power generation. Improving dry, hybrid, and other alternative cooling technologies and carbon sequestration approaches could help lower future water consumption and reduce the water footprint of power plants. Likewise, research to address the issues that are limiting the implementation of low-water-use renewable energy technologies could accelerate their use, reducing both water consumption and carbon emissions. Any major scale-up of alternative transportation fuels must consider approaches that use less fresh water than current methods, and must improve water use efficiency in mining, processing, and refining future fuel resources.


2013 ◽  
pp. 303-317
Author(s):  
Phillip Olla ◽  
Nkemdilim Onwudinjo

There has been an increase in the deployments of renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energy due to the concerns regarding global warming. This growth in renewable energy projects along with the technological innovations is leading to lowering costs, which is making available an array of renewable energy options to developing nations to address the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Although Africa’s main discussions on renewable energy have been focused on large scale grid-connected power systems, this chapter presents the arguments that several renewable energy technologies are well-suited to providing modern energy services for low-income people. The article presents a comprehensive framework that highlights how to scale up a broad portfolio of micro-renewable energy solutions that can make a major contribution to achieving the MDGs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1117 ◽  
pp. 307-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Matsuda ◽  
Hiroshi Kubota

In Japan, a policy mechanism called the "Feed-in Tariff (FIT)," which was designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies, was introduced in July 2012. However, thus far, only solar power has been introduced, whereas other renewable energy options such as wind, geothermal or biomass have only made small progress; although, wind power, especially, has been found to have a very large potential for providing electricity in Japan. In addition, the price of electricity will essentially increase as a result of the FIT scheme. This indicates that the FIT may not always be a good option for accelerating the use of renewable energies. This study intends to analyze the effectiveness of the FIT mechanism in Japan and to propose another way to introduce renewable energies through the use of the concept of "marginal cost of power facility." The basic idea of this concept is that the financial resource of a subsidy for renewable energy is neither a tax nor an increase in the price of electricity, but is actually money saved on imported fossil fuels through the utilization of renewable energy.


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