scholarly journals An Empirical Approach to Differences in Flexible Electricity Consumption Behaviour of Urban and Rural Populations—Lessons Learned in Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9028
Author(s):  
Lucas Roth ◽  
Özgür Yildiz ◽  
Jens Lowitzsch

This article analyses two major trends of the 21st century. Firstly, the transition from fossil fuel-based energy production to renewable energy sources. Secondly, the inexorable urbanisation which can be witnessed all over the globe. The most promising renewable energy production technologies for the near future, i.e., wind and solar energy, are volatile by nature which makes matching supply and demand essential for a successful transition. Therefore, the aspects that determine the willingness of consumers to flexibilise their demand has gained growing attention. Initial research shows that different settings for (co-)ownership in terms of available prosumption options and used production technologies have a varying impact on demand flexibility. However, existing research has analysed flexibility drivers solely for the general population as an aggregate without any distinction regarding spatial, economic, or social factors. In this article, the authors go one step further and analyse whether those drivers for flexible consumption behaviour differ in rural or urban areas acknowledging differences in day-to-day life in both cases. This study is based on 2074 completed questionnaires from German consumers which were analysed using propensity score matching. The results show that people from rural and urban areas do not significantly differ in their willingness to be demand flexible in general. However, (co-)owners of RE installations from rural areas are generally significantly more demand flexible than (co-)owners of RE installations from urban areas. Further, when looking at different RE technologies, the results show that (co-)owners of solar installations are significantly more demand flexible if they are from rural areas. Lastly, when looking at usage options, people who solely consume produced electricity are more demand flexible if they are from rural areas as well.

Author(s):  
Inna HONCHARUK ◽  
Inna TOMASHUK

It has been substatiated in the article that renewable energy sources have recently become one of the important criteria for the sustainable development of rural areas. The emphasis is placed on the search for new and improved existing technologies for the production of alternative energy sources, expansion of their implementation areas. It is substantiated that the main reasons for such attention to the energy supply of rural territories are expected exhaustion of fossile fuels resourses, sharp increase in their prices, imperfections and low efficiency of their use technologies, harmful effects on the environment. It is shown that the situation of energy dependence can be changed by conducting the corresponding energy policy, improving the regulatory framework and attracting investment in the development of non-traditional and renewable energy sources. It is highlighted that Ukraine has sufficient opportunities to provide an adequate amount of biofuels, primarily through the use of biomass potential of agricultural crops and fast-growing energy crops. It is researched that in conditions of a complex socio-economic situation in Ukraine, a significant energy dependence on energy imports, the search for alternative energy sources is of particular relevance. It is estimated that Ukraine is among the dozens of countries - the largest consumers of energy resources, with a small share in the structure of the world's product. It is proved that energy saving today becomes one of the most important priorities of socio-economic development in the national and regional dimensions. The necessary condition for successful work in national and world agrarian markets is constant work on increasing the competitiveness of products, in particular, reducing its value by reducing the energy intensity of production. It is substantiated that agricultural producers are actively working on the issue of reducing energy consumption per unit of output. It is determined that the majority of these measures is aimed at increasing the productivity of agricultural crops, increasing productivity of the livestock sector, technical and technological re-equipment of the production process. It was emphasized that special attention should be paid to the branches of animal husbandry, because this industry is a serious source of alternative energy production. This applies not only the large live-stock producing agro-holdings but also the small households that operate in rural areas, for which live-stock production is subsidied by the state. Besides, it may become a source of energy supplies for their own needs as well. It was investigated that each year large livestock farms and poultry farms can receive environmentally friendly biofuels in an anaerobic way and significantly improve the quality of sewage. It is determined that thermal efficiency of cogeneration units of biogas production depends very much on equipment for electricity generation. For example, the use of gas-fired internal combustion engines has a thermal efficiency of 70% to 75%, while in the case of using gas turbines and boiler-wastes thermal efficiency can reach more than 90%. It is concluded that one of the ways to reduce the dependence on energy imports and to improve ecology in rural areas of Ukraine is to develop alternative energy generation in agro-industrial complex. Ukraine should create all opportunities for the development of innovative technologies for the implementation of renewable energy sources; to provide conditions for serial production and implementation of bioenergy facilities; to promote the formation of the equal competitive environment for different types of fuel. This will promote green energy production


2017 ◽  
pp. 121-146
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Bańkowska ◽  
Piotr Gradziuk

Due to their quantitative and qualitative potential, rural areas participate to a significant degree in the achievement of the indicative targets resulting from the climatic package. Thanks to the production of biomass and, increasingly often, energy itself during the 2005–2014 period, the share of RES (renewable energy sources) in the production of primary energy grew twofold from 5.8% to 12.1%. Biomass was the main source, but since 2010 the use of wind and sun in the production of energy has been growing rapidly. Given that the costs of alternative sources for energy production (mainly electricity) are considerably higher than in case of using raw fuels, the development of this market depends on the amount of subsidies. The system applied in Poland is widely criticized because it favours large hydroelectric power plants and co-combustion, which arouses considerable environmental, technical, market and strategic controversies. Maintaining the current support system could therefore have significant implications for the structure of the market, because it is not conducive to the development of energy, based on the initiative of citizens and their communities. It remains untapped economic potential also in industrial policy and services and, in particular, in case of RES small- and micro-installations.


Author(s):  
Izabela Wielewska

The aim of the study was to present issues of the environmental effects of renewable energy sources. Research was conducted in July 2016 among 269 inhabitants of rural areas of the Chojnice district. A diagnostic survey was employed as the research method. The research showed that renewable energy sources have a positive impact on the environment, and that environmental hazards are not as great as those of conventional energy production. According to the respondents, the greatest environmental damage in the field of RES is related to landscape changes.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (20) ◽  
pp. 6762
Author(s):  
Jan Bednarczyk ◽  
Katarzyna Brzozowska-Rup ◽  
Sławomir Luściński

In this article, we aim to identify the determinants that profoundly impact renewable energy sources development in Poland. To this end, the authors have conducted qualitative and quantitative analyses of Poland’s renewable energy sector. In this paper, we demonstrate an original approach considering the different development levels of the given sector across provinces (voivodeships). It uses panel data from the Local Data Bank of the Statistics Poland on electricity production from renewable energy sources in individual voivodeships in Poland from 2005 through 2019. The study confronts the results of previous studies and sheds light on the situation in Poland—specifically, upon the changes that have happened over the ten years (2010–2019). The qualitative analysis shows a negative correlation between energy consumption and the share of renewable energy sources in total energy production. Evidence shows that favorable changes are underway in the energy production structure: RES share is growing and by degrees satisfying energy demand, and there is growing potential of energy entities in Poland. Furthermore, the analysis shows that R&D and total expenditures on environmental protection and water management investments do not significantly affect the development of RES. A dynamic panel data model has been used to analyze the group and time effects on the dependent variable. The findings confirm the existence of the persistency effect and indicate positive effects of total installed electric capacity (IEC) and household electricity consumption (HEC). Nonhousehold electricity consumption (NHEC) has a negative effect on the endogenous variable, i.e., the renewable energy sources share in the gross final energy consumption (RESS). The research results may be applicable as recommendations for energy efficiency policy development based on renewable energy sources depending on the RES development level in the regions of Poland.


2000 ◽  
pp. 961-971
Author(s):  
Lidiya Svirenko ◽  
Yuriy Vergeles ◽  
Olga Tugai

The possibilities and capacities of energy production from renewable sources in urban areaswere studied on the example of the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine (population ca. 1.4 mln, occupied 2 area ca. 320 km ). The following alternate renewable sources and ways for energy production(except solar and wind) have been identified: (1) biogas to be produced at municipal landfills;(2) biogas to be produced from sewage sludge accumulated at wastewater treatment plants;(3) wood wastes from urban dwellings' reconstruction and furniture renewal; (4) litter fromtree stands of the city (woody and leaf litter, debris, dead wood, etc.); (5) biomass harvestedwhile the phytotechnologies are applied for brown field remediation (energy crops, willowsand poplars, etc.). The energy potential of primary and secondary renewable energy sourceshas been estimated. Approach to decision-making on optimal allocation of sites fordecentralised energy production on the city's territory and relevant technologies for energyproduction are discussed.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 4033
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Ślusarz ◽  
Barbara Gołębiewska ◽  
Marek Cierpiał-Wolan ◽  
Dariusz Twaróg ◽  
Jarosław Gołębiewski ◽  
...  

In many countries, energy security is treated as a priority for the coming decades, and at the same time energy production from the vast majority conventional energy sources does not meet environmental protection criteria. Hence, the need to use renewable energy sources (RES), which can largely satisfy energy needs. The aim of the study was to identify possibilities of creating autonomous energy regions (ARE) in Poland, based on renewable energy sources. Attention was paid to the role and significance of the potential of rural areas in this respect, taking into account the possibilities of increasing energy production from these sources in individual regions of Poland. The research was conducted on a regional level (division into voivodships) and on a local level (division into powiats, which form voivodships). When assessing the potential for constructing ARE based on RES, the following energy sources were taken into account: water, wind, sun, biogas and biomass. It was found that the highest RES potential versus energy consumption can be obtained in powiats where the share of arable land and forests exceeds 80%. The research showed that in most regions of Poland (powiats, voivodships), there is a large potential for obtaining additional energy from RES, which would cover over 73% of the country’s demand for electricity. This could be the basis for building energy independence on a local scale. The results of the study indicated that as many as seven regions would become self-sufficient in terms of electricity demand.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (24) ◽  
pp. 8339
Author(s):  
Joseph Phiri ◽  
Karel Malec ◽  
Alpo Kapuka ◽  
Mansoor Maitah ◽  
Seth Nana Kwame Appiah-Kubi ◽  
...  

The world has experienced increased impacts of anthropogenic global warming due to increased emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which include carbon dioxide (CO2). Anthropogenic activities that contribute to CO2 emissions include deforestation, usage of fertilizers, and activities related to mining and energy production. The main objective of this paper was to assess the impacts of agriculture and energy production on CO2 emissions in Zambia. This research used econometric analysis, specifically the Autoregressive-Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds Test, to analyze the relationship between CO2 emissions and GDP, electricity consumption, agricultural production, and industry value added. The results showed the presence of cointegration, where the variables of CO2 emissions, GDP, electricity, and agriculture converge to a long-run equilibrium at the rate of 74%. Further, there was a short-run causality towards CO2 emissions running from agriculture and the consumption of energy as indicated by the Wald test. This is the first study of its kind that empirically shows the impact of agricultural activities and energy consumption on the Zambian environment through their contribution to CO2 emissions at a macro (country) level. This paper also presents recommendations that are pertinent to mitigate these effects. To deescalate environmental degradation, we propose increasing the number of access points for multiple renewable energy sources across the country; discouraging deforestation, the usage of conventional fertilizers, and the burning of vegetation for fertilizers; encouraging afforestation and reforestation, in addition to providing subsidies, training, and financial support to farmers and entrepreneurs who decide to use environmentally friendly agricultural methods and renewable energy. This research highlights the serious impacts of anthropogenic activities on CO2 emissions. The study was intended to assist Zambian policymakers in formulating and implementing environmentally friendly policy measures or systems that will contribute towards environmental protection commitments and sustainable economic development.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 682
Author(s):  
Zita Szabó ◽  
Viola Prohászka ◽  
Ágnes Sallay

Nowadays, in the context of climate change, efficient energy management and increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix are helping to reduce greenhouse gases. In this research, we present the energy system and its management and the possibilities of its development through the example of an ecovillage. The basic goal of such a community is to be economically, socially, and ecologically sustainable, so the study of energy system of an ecovillage is especially justified. As the goal of this community is sustainability, potential technological and efficiency barriers to the use of renewable energy sources will also become visible. Our sample area is Visnyeszéplak ecovillage, where we examined the energy production and consumption habits and possibilities of the community with the help of interviews, literature, and map databases. By examining the spatial structure of the settlement, we examined the spatial structure of energy management. We formulated development proposals that can make the community’s energy management system more efficient.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2771
Author(s):  
Leszek Kotulski ◽  
Artur Basiura ◽  
Igor Wojnicki ◽  
Sebastian Siuchta

The use of formal methods and artificial intelligence has made it possible to automatically design outdoor lighting. Quick design for large cities, in a matter of hours instead of weeks, and analysis of various optimization criteria enables to save energy and tune profit stream from lighting retrofit. Since outdoor lighting is of a large scale, having luminaires on every street in urban areas, and since it needs to be retrofitted every 10 to 15 years, choosing proper parameters and light sources leads to significant energy savings. This paper presents the concept and calculations of Levelized Cost of Electricity for outdoor lighting retrofit. It is understood as cost of energy savings, it is in the range from 23.06 to 54.64 EUR/MWh, based on real-world cases. This makes street and road lighting modernization process the best green “energy source” if compared with the 2018 Fraunhofer Institute cost of electricity renewable energy technologies ranking. This indicates that investment in lighting retrofit is more economically and ecologically viable than investment in new renewable energy sources.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 26-34
Author(s):  
Vladimir Poltavets ◽  
Irina Kolchanova

The continuous growth of renewable energy sources has drastically changed the paradigm of electric energy generation and distribution. Flywheel energy storage systems are a clean and efficient method to level supply and demand in energy grids, including those incorporating renewable energy generation. Environmental safety, resilience, high power capacity and quality make flywheel energy storage very promising. This paper contains a review of flywheel energy storage systems, already being in operation, and applications of flywheel energy storage in general.


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