scholarly journals Barriers and Drivers of Renewable Energy Penetration in Rural Areas

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (20) ◽  
pp. 6452
Author(s):  
Dalia Streimikiene ◽  
Tomas Baležentis ◽  
Artiom Volkov ◽  
Mangirdas Morkūnas ◽  
Agnė Žičkienė ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Low Carbon Energy ◽  
Change Mitigation

The paper deals with the exposition of the main barriers and drivers of renewable energy usage in rural communities. Climate change mitigation is causing governments, policymakers, and international organizations worldwide to embark on policies, leading to increased use of renewable energy sources and improvement of energy efficiency. Climate change mitigation actions, including the Green Deal strategy in the EU, require satisfying the expanding energy demand and complying with the environmental restrictions. At the same time, the prevailing market structure and infrastructure relevant to the energy systems are undergoing a crucial transformation. Specifically, there has been a shift from centralized to more decentralized and interactive energy systems that are accompanied by a low-carbon energy transition. Smart Grid technology and other innovations in the area of renewable energy microgeneration technologies have enabled changes in terms of the roles of energy users: they can act as prosumers that are producing and consuming energy at the same time. Renewable energy generation that is allowing for deeper involvement of the citizens may render higher social acceptance, which, in turn, fuels the low-carbon energy transition. The collective energy prosumption in the form of energy cooperatives has become a widespread form of renewable energy initiatives in rural communities. Even though renewable energy consumption provides a lot of benefits and opportunities for rural communities, the fast penetration of renewables and energy prosumption encounter several important barriers in the rural areas. This paper analyses the main barriers and drivers of renewable energy initiatives in rural areas and provides policy implications for the low-carbon energy transition in rural areas.

Pametna i socijalno odgovorna energetska tranzicija u regionima sa intenzivnom eksploatacijom uglja

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 73-79
Author(s):  
Jasmina Mandić Lukić ◽  
◽  
Đorđina Milovanović ◽  
Maja Stipić ◽  
Sanja Petrović Bećirović ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The Law ◽  
Change Mitigation

Faced with forthcoming international obligations related to climate change mitigation measures, primarily planned to be reflected through the Law and Action Plan on Low Carbon Development Strategy, as well as the Law on Climate Change, all of which are currently being defined and adopted, Serbia is increasingly facing a need to switch its coal-fired facilities to alternative, environmentally more acceptable options. The related measures will have to be implemented much sooner than initially planned. Knowing that 80% of national GHG emissions originate from the energy sector, as well as that the dominant portion of those emissions results from the use of locally available coal, it is clear that the most efficient climate change mitigation measure would be a switch to alternative fuel options. However, having in mind that such an energy transition process is coupled with significant technological, environmental, economic, social, and other difficulties, the EU has initiated several projects, and one of them is TRACER, launched under the Horizon 2020 program, that strives to shed light on the best research and innovation strategies facilitating easier transition to the sustainable, low carbon energy system. The project addresses actions across nine coal-intensive European regions, including Kolubara Region in Serbia. The paper presents technological, environmental, and social challenges in the transition process, with an emphasis on the Kolubara region, and a proposal for the energy transition in Serbia respecting R&I strategies and Smart Specialization.

Seasonal storage of hydrogen in porous formations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katriona Edlmann ◽  
Niklas Heinemann ◽  
Leslie Mabon ◽  
Julien Mouli-Castillo ◽  
Ali Hassanpouryouzband ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Hydrogen Storage ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Geological Storage ◽  
Porous Rocks ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

<p>To meet global commitments to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the energy mix must reduce emissions from fossil fuels and transition to low carbon energy sources.  Hydrogen can support this transition by replacing natural gas for heat and power generation, decarbonising transport, and facilitating increased renewable energy by acting as an energy store to balance supply and demand. For the deployment at scale of green hydrogen (produced from renewables) and blue hydrogen (produced from steam reformation of methane) storage at different scales will be required, depending on the supply and demand scenarios. Production of blue hydrogen generates CO<sub>2</sub> as a by-product and requires carbon capture and storage (CCS) for carbon emission mitigation.  Near-future blue hydrogen production projects, such as the Acorn project located in Scotland, could require hydrogen storage alongside large-scale CO<sub>2 </sub>storage. Green hydrogen storage projects, such as renewable energy storage in rural areas e.g. Orkney in Scotland, will require smaller and more flexible low investment hydrogen storage sites. Our research shows that the required capacity can exist as engineered geological storage reservoirs onshore and offshore UK. We will give an overview of the hydrogen capacity required for the energy transition and assess the associated scales of storage required, where geological storage in porous media will compete with salt cavern storage as well as surface storage such as line packing or tanks.</p><p>We will discuss the key aspects and results of subsurface hydrogen storage in porous rocks including the potential reactivity of the brine / hydrogen / rock system along with the efficiency of multiple cycles of hydrogen injection and withdrawal through cushion gasses in porous rocks. We will also discuss societal views on hydrogen storage, exploring how geological hydrogen storage is positioned within the wider context of how hydrogen is produced, and what the place of hydrogen is in a low-carbon society. Based on what some of the key opinion-shapers are saying already, the key considerations for public and stakeholder opinion are less likely to be around risk perception and safety of hydrogen, but focussed on questions like ‘who benefits?’ ‘why do we need hydrogen in a low-carbon society?’ and ‘how can we do this in the public interest and not for the profits of private companies?’</p><p>We conclude that underground hydrogen storage in porous rocks can be an essential contributor to the low carbon energy transition.</p>

Retooling the Energy Charter Treaty for climate change mitigation: lessons from investment law and arbitration

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-87
Author(s):  
Elena Cima
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Energy Trade ◽  
Energy Charter Treaty ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Modernization Process ◽  
Change Mitigation

Abstract In 2017, the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) began a modernization process aimed at updating, clarifying, and modernizing a number of provisions of the Treaty. Considering the scope of application of the Treaty—cooperation in energy trade, transit, and investment—there is hardly any doubt that the modernization kicked off in 2017 offers a springboard for constructive reform and a unique opportunity to bring the Treaty closer in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Although none of the items selected by the Energy Charter Conference and open for discussion and reform mention climate change or clean energy, a careful analysis of the relevant practice in both treaty drafting and adjudication can provide valuable insights as to how to steer the discussions on some of the existing items in a climate-friendly direction. The purpose of this article is to rely on this relevant practice to explore promising avenues to ‘retool’ the Treaty for climate change mitigation, in other words, to imagine a Treaty that would better reflect climate change concerns and clean energy transition goals.

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