scholarly journals Renewable Energy: Environmental Impacts and Economic Benefits for Sustainable Development

2019 ◽  
Vol V8 (08) ◽  
Author(s):  
Garba Danjumma Sani ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Economic Benefits

scholarly journals Integrated analysis of land-use, energy and water systems for ethanol production from sugarcane in Bolivia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Gabriela Pena Balderrama ◽  
Dilip Khatiwada ◽  
Francesco Gardumi ◽  
Thomas Alfstad ◽  
Silvia Ulloa Jimenez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Ethanol Production ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Energy Output ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Production Chain

Abstract The use of biomass for renewable energy production is one alternative to reduce the environmental impacts of energy production worldwide. Sugarcane-based ethanol is one of the most widespread biofuels in the road transport sector and its development has been encouraged by strong incentives on production and use in several countries. The growing realization on the environmental impacts of ethanol production indicates the need to increase the efficient utilization of biomass resources by optimizing the production chain sustainably. This paper evaluates enhancements in the ethanol production chain quantitatively by identifying opportunities for agricultural intensification and investments in advanced biorefineries in a least-cost optimization model. Results of our model show that significant cost and environmental benefits can be achieved by modernizing sugarcane agriculture in Bolivia. Demands for ethanol and sugar can be met cost-effectively by increasing sugarcane yields from the current country-average of 55.34 ton/ha to 85.7 ton/ha in 2030 with a moderate cropland expansion of 11.4 thousand hectares in the period 2019-2030. Our results further suggest that it is cost-optimal to invest in efficient cogeneration in biorefineries to maximize the renewable energy output and the economic benefits of sugarcane ethanol. Finally, biofuel support in the range of 8-10 US$/GJ is required for investments in second-generation ethanol in biorefineries to be cost-competitive in the medium-term..

scholarly journals Research on the Optimal Operation of a Novel Renewable Multi-Energy Complementary System in Rural Areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2196
Author(s):  
Ting Wang ◽  
Qiya Wang ◽  
Caiqing Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Power Generation ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Optimal Operation ◽  
Power Demand ◽  
Operation Model ◽  
Complementary System

Sustainable development is an inevitable choice for the development of human society, and energy is closely related to sustainable development. Improving energy structure, increasing energy efficiency, and vigorously developing renewable energy are of great significance to the sustainable development of rural areas. Moreover, the establishment of a distributed multi-energy complementary system (MECS) using abundant renewable energy such as wind, solar, and biomass energy is an effective way to solve the rapid growth of rural power demand, weak rural power grids, and rural environmental pollution. This paper proposes a new type of Wind–Solar–Biomass–Storage MECS composed of wind power generation (WPG), photovoltaic power generation (PVG), biogas power generation (BPG) and energy storage system (ESS) and establishes a MECS optimization operation model with the goal of maximizing daily operating economic benefits, considering the characteristics of each power generation system and power demand characteristics. By using the multi-population genetic algorithm (MPGA), the simulation experiments of the MECS operation under four typical weather scenarios are carried out. The results show that the MECS can operate stably in different scenarios and achieve the goal of maximizing economic benefits, which verifies the feasibility of the MECS model. In addition, the simulation results are compared with the standard genetic algorithm (SGA), which shows the effectiveness of the optimization method. This paper takes Chinese rural areas as an example for research. The proposed MECS and optimal operation model are also applicable to developing countries with a high proportion of the rural population.

scholarly journals Integrated analysis of land-use, energy and water systems for ethanol production from sugarcane in Bolivia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Gabriela Pena Balderrama ◽  
Dilip Khatiwada ◽  
Francesco Gardumi ◽  
Thomas Alfstad ◽  
Silvia Ulloa Jimenez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Ethanol Production ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Cost Optimization ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Energy Output ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Production Chain

Abstract The use of biomass for renewable energy production is one alternative to reduce the environmental impacts of energy production worldwide. Sugarcane-based ethanol is one of the most widespread biofuels in the road transport sector and its development has been encouraged by strong incentives on production and use in several countries. The growing realization on the environmental impacts of ethanol production indicates the need to increase the efficient utilization of biomass resources by optimizing the production chain sustainably. This papers evaluates enhancements in the ethanol production chain quantitatively by identifying opportunities for agricultural intensification and for investments in advanced biorefineries in a least-cost optimization model. Results of our model show that significant cost and environemtal benefits can be achieved by modernizing sugarcane agriculture in Bolivia. Demands for ethanol and sugar can be met cost-effectively by increasing sugarcane yields from the current country-average of 55.34 ton/ha to 85.7 ton/ha in 2030 with a moderate cropland expansion of 14.4 thousand hectares in the period 2019-2030. Our results further suggest that it is cost-optimal to invest in current technological advancements in efficient cogeneration to maximize the renewable energy output and the economic benefits of sugarcane ethanol. Finally, biofuel support in the range of 8-10 US$/GJ is required for investments in second-generation ethanol to be cost-competitive in the medium-term.

Renewable Energy in the East African Communitys and its Role in Sustainable Development

2018 ◽  
pp. 25-38
Author(s):  
Liudmila Kalinichenko
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
East African ◽  
Geothermal Resources ◽  
East African Community

The article analyses the role of renewable energy in the process of the development of the energy market of the East African Community (EAC) . The author underlines the necessity of finding solutions for such challenges as rising wood and charcoal prices, deforestation, lack of affordable and reliable electricity for a large number of consumers. The study reveals that nowadays the percentage of people with access to modern sources of energy is very low, varying from 7 % in Burundi to 36% in Kenya, although the EAC countries made significant progress in 2000s. Most people in rural areas rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating, which leads to ecological and health problems. The author concludes that renewable energy development is considered by the Community as one of the prospective ways for providing energy to remote regions in view of abundant solar, wind and geothermal resources. Their strategy aims at the construction of micro and mini hydro stations, stand-alone solar PV systems and off-grids for rural population usage. The study shows that the investment in off-grid renewables has been steadily rising in recent times . Analyzing grid-connected power generation electricity, the author elicits that it is also based on renewable electricity, which accounts for 65% of the total amount. Kenya, with the highest installed capacity in this sector, is investing mainly in geothermal, solar and wind sources of energy, while the others are focusing on hydropower and solar. For the purpose of attracting private investment, the EAC partner states adopted different regulations, including Feed-in Tariff, zero-VAT and GET FIT Programme. The author assumes that renewable energy financing is one of the main challenges despite the support of different international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, UNIDO, AfDB and others. Nowadays energy efficiency measures are becoming important instruments for the EAC countries resulted in power savings. The other important trend is increasing cooperation among them due to their grid-connected power systems in the East African Power Pool. In this context, in November 2017, the EAC Partner States adopted Energy Security Policy Framework, in order to ensure the sustainable development of their energy sector.

Factors affecting the Sustainable Development of Tourism Sector in Uttarakhand

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr Pradeep Mamgain
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Sustainable Tourism ◽  
Full Account ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Social Growth ◽  
Tourism Sector

Tourism as an industry has evolved as one of the largest and lucrative industry in Indian economy. It is regarded as one of the most effective instrument for national integration and harmony. Thus, leading towards social transformation and upliftment of the rural poor. The success of the tourism sector is highly influenced by the supporting industries such as hotels, transportation, communication, banking and so on. Sustainable tourism takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, industry, environment and host communities. Importance of sustainable tourism is immense for poverty reduction, the protection of environment and preservation of cultural heritage. Various stakeholders of sustainable tourism in Uttarakhand call for increase in productivity and efficiency of existing land, water, flora and fauna resources in a planned manner without jeopardizing their future use. This paper primarily aims to enhance a common understanding and commitment about Sustainable Tourism, and to demonstrate how it is a vehicle to foster economic and social growth, through the achievement of development imperatives, while minimizing negative social, cultural and environmental impacts in the state of Uttarakhand. The conceptual paper comes to note that all of us have our own role to play in ensuring tourism as a catalyst for sustainable development.

scholarly journals Multi-Objective Sizing Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Energy Microgrid in a Stand-Alone Marine Context

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Wenqiang Zhu ◽  
Jiang Guo ◽  
Guo Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Optimization Problem ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Grey Wolf Optimizer ◽  
Grey Wolf ◽  
Energy Management Strategy ◽  
Sizing Optimization ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Hybrid Renewable Energy

Islands are the main platforms for exploration and utilization of marine resources. In this paper, an island hybrid renewable energy microgrid devoted to a stand-alone marine application is established. The specific microgrid is composed of wind turbines, tidal current turbines, and battery storage systems considering the climate resources and precious land resources. A multi-objective sizing optimization method is proposed comprehensively considering the economy, reliability and energy utilization indexes. Three optimization objectives are presented: minimizing the Loss of Power Supply Probability, the Cost of Energy and the Dump Energy Probability. An improved multi-objective grey wolf optimizer based on Halton sequence and social motivation strategy (HSMGWO) is proposed to solve the proposed sizing optimization problem. MATLAB software is utilized to program and simulate the optimization problem of the hybrid energy system. Optimization results confirm that the proposed method and improved algorithm are feasible to optimally size the system, and the energy management strategy effectively matches the requirements of system operation. The proposed HSMGWO shows better convergence and coverage than standard multi-objective grey wolf optimizer (MOGWO) and multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) in solving multi-objective sizing problems. Furthermore, the annual operation of the system is simulated, the power generation and economic benefits of each component are analyzed, as well as the sensitivity.

scholarly journals Drivers of sustainability practices and contributions to sustainable development evident in sustainability reports of European mining companies

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anđela Ivic ◽  
Nína María Saviolidis ◽  
Lara Johannsdottir
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Mining Companies ◽  
Social License ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Sustainability Practices

AbstractMining activities cause negative environmental impacts and social conflicts but also provide economic benefits to communities and secure the minerals necessary for low-carbon technology. The aim of this multiple case study is to analyze, compare and critically evaluate sustainability reports of 10 European mining companies for the 2016–2018 period to determine the drivers for implementation of sustainability practices and their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The findings suggest that European mining companies act under pressures from international initiatives and industry associations, the European Union, governments, stakeholders, and maintaining social license to operate. The companies report on the core subjects of corporate governance, employees, the environment, stakeholders’ engagement and occupational health and safety. Positive trends were observed in stakeholders’ engagement and health and safety, while air emissions and water and energy usage increased for most companies. Furthermore, there was an absence of improvement in gender diversity, utilization of renewable energy, and waste recycling. Even though all analyzed companies mentioned SDGs in the reports, the reports lacked a comprehensive explanation of mining activities’ contribution to the SDGs. This study addresses a gap in the existing literature on the European mining context of sustainable development and SDGs relevant for researchers, policymakers, and other impacted stakeholders and adds new theoretical knowledge on the external drivers of CSR activities based on institutional theory.

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