Meteorological-Data-Based Modeling for PV Performance Optimization

Developing a sustainable and reliable photovoltaic (PV) energy system requires a comprehensive analysis of solar profiles and an accurate prediction of solar energy performance at the study site. Installing the PV modules with optimal tilt and azimuth angles has a significant impact on the total irradiance delivered to the PV modules. This paper proposes a comprehensive optimization model to integrate total irradiance models with the PV temperature model to find the optimal year-round installation parameters of PV modules. A novel integration between installation parameters and the annual average solar energy is presented, to produce the maximum energy output. The results suggest an increase in energy yields of 4% compared to the conventional scheme, where tilt angle is equal to the latitude and the PV modules are facing south. This paper uses a real-time dataset for the NEOM region in Saudi Arabia to validate the superiority of the proposed model compared to the conventional scheme, but it can be implemented as a scheme wherever real-time data are available.

The reaction of the metal and gold resource planning in the post-COVID-19 era and Russia-Ukrainian conflict: Role of fossil fuel markets for portfolio hedging strategies

The prime objective of this article is to examine the policy-making role of metal markets, gold resources, and clean energy markets in the post-COVID-19 era and the Russia-Ukrainian military conflict. In doing so, we analyze the role of fossil fuels, clean energy, and metals markets, considering the military conflict in Ukraine in 2022. The study employs event study methodology (ESM), Total connectedness index (TCI), and network analyses. The results indicate that natural gas and clean energy prices are less affected by conflict in the aftermath of an invasion than traditional energy and metals markets. In addition, we observe an increase in the TCI in the energy markets during announcement days. The TCI of the metals market is greater than that of the energy market. According to network connectivity, the key asset class transmitters of the shock in Europe are the Geopolitical index (GPR), gold, and the clean energy stock index (ERIX). The U.S. markets are less affected by the situation in Ukraine. The average hedge suggests that the optimal hedge differs from one market to the next, with fossil fuels and renewable energy, respectively, being more hedge effective and reducing risk by an average of around 0.80 and 0.59, given their ability to function as a hedging instrument.

The Differential Effects of Oil Prices on the Development of Renewable Energy in Oil-Importing and Oil-Exporting Countries in Africa

The shift to renewable sources of energy has become a critical economic priority in African countries due to energy challenges. However, investors in the development of renewable energy face problems with decision making due to the existence of multiple criteria, such as oil prices and the associated macroeconomic performance. This study aims to analyze the differential effects of international oil prices and other macroeconomic factors on the development of renewable energy in both oil-importing and oil-exporting countries in Africa. The study uses a panel vector error correction model (P-VECM) to analyze data from five net oil exporters (Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Libya and Nigeria) and five net oil importers (Kenya, Ethiopia, Congo, Mozambique and South Africa). The study finds that higher oil prices positively affect the development of renewable energy in oil-importing countries by making renewable energy more economically competitive. Economic growth is also identified as a major driver of the development of renewable energy. While high-interest rates negatively affect the development of renewable energy in oil-importing countries, it has positive effects in oil-exporting countries. Exchange rates play a crucial role in the development of renewable energy in both types of countries with a negative effect in oil-exporting countries and a positive effect in oil-importing countries. The findings of this study suggest that policymakers should take a holistic approach to the development of renewable energy that considers the complex interplay of factors, such as oil prices, economic growth, interest rates, and exchange rates.

Performance of Equity Investments in Sustainable Environmental Markets

Despite a significant increase in global clean energy investments, as part of the decarbonization process, it remains insufficient to meet the demand for energy services in a sustainable manner. This study investigates the performance of sustainable energy equity investments, with focus on environmental markets, using monthly equity index data from 31 August 2009 to 30 December 2022. The main contributions of our study are (i) assessment of the performance of trading strategies based on the trend, momentum, and volatility of Environmental Opportunities (EO) and Environmental Technologies (ET) equity indices;and (ii) comparison of the performance of sustainable equity index investments to fossil fuel-based and major global equity indices. Market performance evaluation based on technical analysis tools such as the Relative Strength Index (RSI), Moving Averages, and Average True Range (ATR) is captured through the Sharpe and the Sharpe per trade. The analysis is divided according to regional, sector, and global EO indices, fossil fuel-based indices, and the key global stock market indices. Our findings reveal that a momentum-based strategy performed best for the MSCI Global Alternative Energy index with the highest excess return per unit of risk, followed by the fossil fuel-based indices. A trend-based strategy worked best for the MSCI Global Alternative Energy and EO 100 indices. The use of volatility-based information yielded the highest Sharpe ratio for EO Europe, followed by the Oil and Gas Exploration and Production industry, and MSCI Global Alternative Energy. We further find that a trader relying on a system which simultaneously provides momentum, trend, or volatility information would yield positive returns only for the MSCI Global Alternative Energy, the S&P Oil and Exploration and Production industry, NYSE Arca Oil, and FTSE 100 indices. Overall, despite the superior performance of the MSCI Global Alternative Energy index when using momentum and trend strategies, most region and sector EOs performed poorly compared to fossil fuel-based indices. The results suggest that the existing crude oil prices continue to allow fossil fuel-based equity investments to outperform most environmentally sustainable equity investments. These findings support that sustainable investments, on average, have yet to demonstrate consistent superior performance over non-renewable energy investments which demonstrates the need for continued, rigorous, and accommodating regulatory policy actions from government bodies in order to reorient significant capital flows towards sustainable equity investments.

International cooperation, production side emissions and environmental sustainability

PurposeRising greenhouse gases have contributed to global warming above the pre-industrial levels with detrimental effects on world climatic patterns. Extreme weather has inflicted drastic impacts, including loss of lives and livelihoods and economic disruption. However, collective international cooperation in adopting greenhouse gas emission mitigating measures can translate into long-run beneficial effects of improving environmental quality. This study examines if international environmental cooperation among the world's top ten polluters can reduce production side emissions.Design/methodology/approachThe panel estimation procedure was applied to data from ten top polluting countries from 2000 to 2019.FindingsThe results revealed a statistically significant inverse association between a nation's commitments to international environmental treaties and carbon dioxide emissions. Other than confirming the environmental Kuznets curve effect, industrial intensification, international trade and law rule are other strong correlations of carbon dioxide emissions.Research limitations/implicationsThe main policy implication is the urgency for the leaders of the world's top ten polluters to actively cooperate in developing and implementing new production-side carbon emission measures as well as the implementation and enforcement of existing international treaties to minimize further environmental damage and let the countries in the lower ranks of carbon emissions to enjoy the long-run benefits of the decarbonized world.Originality/valueThis study makes a new contribution to the environmental research literature by unfolding how collective global cooperation on environmental challenges can help reduce environmental damage in a coherent analytical framework.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-09-2022-0598

Clean Energy Action Index Efficiency: An Analysis in Global Uncertainty Contexts

Climate change, the scarcity of fossil fuels, advances in clean energy, and volatility of crude oil prices have led to the recognition of clean energy as a viable alternative to dirty energy. This paper investigates the multifractal scaling behavior and efficiency of green finance markets, as well as traditional markets such as gold, crude oil, and natural gas between 1 January 2018, and 9 March 2023. To test the serial dependency (autocorrelation) and the efficient market hypothesis, in its weak form, we employed the Lo and Mackinlay test and the DFA method. The empirical findings showed that returns data series exhibit signs of (in)efficiency. Additionally, there is a negative autocorrelation among the crude oil market, the Clean Energy Fuels Index, the Global Clean Energy Index, the gold market, and the natural gas market. Arbitration strategies can be used to obtain abnormal returns, but caution should be exercised as prices may increase above their actual market value and reduce the profitability of trading. This work contributes to the body of knowledge on sustainable finance by teaching investors how to use predictive strategies on the future values of their investments.

An Electric Vehicle Assisted Charging Mechanism for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

The global greenhouse effect and air pollution problems have been deteriorating in recent years. The power generation in the future is expected to shift from fossil fuels to renewables, and many countries have also announced the ban on the sale of vehicles powered by fossil fuels in the next few decades, to effectively alleviate the global greenhouse effect and air pollution problems. In addition to electric vehicles (EVs) that will replace traditional fuel vehicles as the main ground transportation vehicles in the future, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have also gradually and more recently been widely used for military and civilian purposes. The recent literature estimated that UAVs will become the major means of transport for goods delivery services before 2040, and the development of passenger UAVs will also extend the traditional human ground transportation to low-altitude airspace transportation. In recent years, the literature has proposed the use of renewable power supply, battery swapping, and charging stations to refill the battery of UAVs. However, the uncertainty of renewable power generation cannot guarantee the stable power supply of UAVs. It may even be very possible that a large number of UAVs need to be charged during the same period, causing congestion in charging stations or battery swapping facilities and delaying the arranged schedules of UAVs. Although studies have proposed the method of that employing moving EVs along with wireless charging technology in order to provide electricity to UAVs with urgent needs, the charging schemes are still oversimplified and have many restrictions. In addition, different charging options should be provided to fit the individual need of each UAV. In view of this, this work attempts to meet the mission characteristics and needs of various UAVs by providing an adaptive flight path and charging plan attached to individual UAVs, as well as reducing the power load of the renewable power generation during the peak period. We ran a series of simulations for the proposed flight path and charging mechanism to evaluate its performance. The simulation results revealed that the solutions proposed in this work can be used by UAV operators to fit the needs of each individual UAV.

The systemic risk of US oil and natural gas companies

We analyse the evolution of the systemic risk impact of oil and natural gas companies since 2000. This period is characterised by several events that affected energy source markets: the real effect of the global financial crisis, the explosion of shale production and the diffusion of the Covid-19 pandemic. The price of oil and natural gas showed extreme swings, impacting companies' financial situations, which, accompanied by technological developments in shale production, had an impact on the debt issuance and on the overall risk level of the oil and natural gas sector. By studying the systemic impact of oil and natural gas companies on risk in the financial market, measured by the ΔCoVaR, we observe that in the most recent decade, their role is sensibly increasing compared to 2000–2010, even accounting for the possible effect associated with the increase in companies' sizes. In addition, our results show evidence of a decreasing relevance of traditional drivers of systemic risk, suggesting that additional factors might be present. Finally, when focusing on the impact of Covid-19, we document its relevant role in fuelling the increase in the oil and natural gas companies' systemic impact. © 2023 The Authors

Effects of COVID‐19 lockdown measures on nitrogen dioxide and black carbon concentrations close to a major Italian motorway

During the first half of 2020, the Italian government imposed several restrictions to limit the spread of the COVID‐19 pandemic: at the beginning of March, a heavy lockdown regime was introduced leading to a drastic reduction of traffic and, consequently, traffic‐related emissions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of these restrictions on pollutant concentrations close to a stretch of the Italian A22 motorway lying in the Alpine Adige valley. In particular, the analysis focuses on measured concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and black carbon (BC). Results show that, close to the motorway, NO2 concentrations dropped by around 45% during the lockdown period with respect to the same time period of the previous 3 years. The equivalent analysis for BC shows that the component related to biomass burning, mostly due to domestic heating, was not particularly affected by the restrictions, while the BC component related to fossil fuels, directly connected to traffic, plummeted by almost 60% with respect to the previous years. Since atmospheric concentrations of pollutants depend both on emissions and meteorological conditions, which can mask the variations in the emission regime, a random forest algorithm is also applied to the measured concentrations, in order to better evaluate the effects of the restrictions on emissions. This procedure allows for obtaining business‐as‐usual and meteorologically normalized time series of both NO2 and BC concentrations. The results derived from the random forest algorithm clearly confirm the drop in NO2 emissions at the beginning of the lockdown period, followed by a slow and partial recovery in the following months. They also confirm that, during the lockdown, emissions of the BC component due to biomass burning were not significantly affected, while those of the BC component related to fossil fuels underwent an abrupt drop.

Various charging Methods in Electric Vehicle Application: A Review

During the covid pandemic, air quality has improved due to prolonged lockdown conditions. Hence according to the international energy agency, about 22% of environmental pollution is contributed by the transportation sector. Electric vehicles help in reducing the contribution towards carbon emission and help in mitigating the fossil fuel crisis and also promotes sustainable transportation. To enhance the growth of electric vehicle, charging infrastructure and range anxiety issues in the long drive has to be resolved. This paper reviews the various charging methods available for an electric vehicle. Some charging methods are wired and wireless charging, solar-powered, battery-swapping, vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-vehicle charging. A comparative study of these methods is tabulated. Based on the limitation of each method the optimum charging method for a vehicle is adapted for a particular application. © 2023 IEEE.

Analysis of Electricity and Water Consumption in Existing Mosque Buildings in the UAE

According to the World Economic Forum, the building sector is responsible for 40% of global energy consumption and 33% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and this is expected to increase due to population growth and the subsequent impact on the environment, economy and health. To tackle the problem, countries have set new construction codes, policies and regulations for the construction of new buildings in an effort to make them greener. However, there is a need to enhance the status of the existing buildings, especially mosques, as they are the main contributors to energy usage and water consumption in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Therefore, this research seeks to fill this gap, aiming to evaluate the energy usage and water consumption practices employed in the existing mosque buildings within the UAE and to provide recommendations for improving the sustainability of mosques, with a focus on the environmental and economic pillars. The methodology relies mainly on data collected from 146 existing mosque buildings that have undergone energy saving audits across the UAE. Descriptive statistical analysis is performed to analyze the data from the period of 2018–2019 in order to determine the most significant factors related to energy inefficiency in existing mosque buildings in the UAE and to determine the most cost-effective and energy-saving corrective measures for energy and water conservation. The findings further enhance the standard of experience for mosque visitors (social aspect);reduce energy bill expenses, providing an acceptable return on investment from the proposed energy conservation measures for stakeholders (economic);and reduce the overall energy consumption, which can reduce the total CO2 emissions from mosque buildings (environmental).

Directions for Sustainable Development of China's Coal Industry in the Post-Epidemic Era

China's energy structure is dominated by fossil fuels, especially coal consumption, which accounts for a relatively high share. In January 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak affected the global coal market, and many countries experienced negative economic growth. Economic development requires energy consumption. In 2021, China set a target of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 in order to phase out the dependence of carbon emissions on economic development. Therefore, the aim of this article is to develop directions for the sustainable development of China's coal industry. Based on the macroenvironment and situation analysis, the article concludes that, under the influence of geopolitics, China's shortage of imported coal resources and China's continuous rise in coal demand, the share of coal in China's energy structure will not decrease significantly in the long-term. The main directions for the sustainable development of China's coal industry are to ensure the safety of coal energy storage and improve the level of safety supervision;coordinate the development of regional energy;increase the clean, efficient, and low-carbon utilization of coal;and strengthen international coal strategic cooperation.

Negative Sentiment Modeling and Public Legal Liability from Urban Green Space: A Framework for Policy Action in China

This paper intends to optimize the urban green space (UGS) management and implementation strategies by analyzing climate change models and reviewing economic, energy, and public health policies. This paper studies the public perception of climate change-induced public health emergency (PHE) in China by surveying online public comments. Specifically, it looks into public health perception, anxiety perception, relative deprivation, and emotional polarity from public online comments. The following conclusions are drawn through the empirical test of 179 questionnaires. The findings revealed that health risk perception has a positive predictive effect on relative deprivation and anxiety perception. The higher the health risk perception, the stronger the relative deprivation and anxiety are. Anxiety perception and relative deprivation have mediating effects in the model. In addition, the main research method adopts a questionnaire survey. The mediating effect between each variable is further studied. This paper analyzes the citizens' right to health and public health protection under climate change, and explains public risk perception and anxiety perception. Meanwhile, the evaluation cases are used to analyze the public health and UGS construction strategies to suggest climate compensation laws and improve the urban greening rate. This finding has practical reference value for promoting the deep integration of UGS and public health. It can promote the development and planning of UGS under climate change and biodiversity loss and has significant reference value for improving negative emotions and the public legal liability system.

Weaponizing Wheat: Russia's Next Weapon in Pandemic and Climate Eras

[...]the article closes with policy recommendations to prevent the weaponization of wheat. [...]Russia has recently violated Swedish airspace,8 simulated attacks on Norway,9 jammed GPS systems during NATO exercises,10 and tested new missile systems.11 Russia's quest for melting Arctic fossil fuels is part of an overall plan to leverage the advantages they gain from climate change, a plan that is marked by increased aggression and strategic manipulation of climate-vulnerable regions. [...]as importing countries transition away from fossil fuels, demand for Russian oil and gas will decrease, reducing the overall [End Page 63] revenue for the Russian economy. Countries that fell under the Soviet sphere of influence during the Cold War are less diversified in their energy mixes than those in Western Europe and are highly dependent on Russia.19 For example, in 2015, the stateowned oil and gas company Gazprom increased prices for the Baltic states, Bulgaria, and Poland.20 EU antitrust regulators found that Gazprom was manipulating gas prices in Bulgaria and Poland to force them to participate in additional pipeline projects.21 Such manipulative tactics could indicate future avenues for hybrid warfare, through which Russia combines military strength with economic, resource, technological, or political aggression.22 Russia's use of energy as a form of hybrid warfare can also be seen clearly in Ukraine.

Renewable Energy and Governance Resilience in the Gulf

The six Gulf monarchies—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE)—are more politically stable than their peers in the Middle East and North Africa. Explanations for governance resilience range from repression to neopatrimonial and instrumental legitimacy, hydrocarbon-based rentierism, and permissive regional and international environments. This paper considers, in view of the proliferation and uptake of renewable energy in the Gulf, how governance resilience may be affected as a result of changes in state-society relations during the energy transition away from a fossil-fuel-based energy system. It offers a qualitative analysis of the impact of renewable energy deployment in the Gulf, supported by a rich array of secondary literature and data. It also offers a deep, if brief, dive to highlight intra-regional nuances. The authors conclude that in the short term, renewable energy deployment has a very modest impact given its limited share of power generation. In the longer term, even assuming that stated ambitions for renewable energy are fulfilled, no negative impact on monarchial resilience is expected thanks to gains in legitimacy and revenue streams, as well as purposeful alignment with an external environment supportive of renewable power in developing countries.

An Evaluation of ASEAN Renewable Energy Path to Carbon Neutrality

Maintaining our standard of living and keeping the economy running smoothly is heavily reliant on a consistent supply of energy. Renewable energy systems create abundant energy by utilizing resources such as the sun, wind, earth, and plants. The demand for renewable energy is increasing, despite power scarcity, pollution, and climate change posing challenges to long-term development in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has seen significant social and economic growth in recent years. To achieve its 23% renewable energy (RE) target, ASEAN can develop solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity. Members of the ASEAN have established regulations and incentives to encourage individuals and businesses to use renewable energy in the future. This paper explores Southeast Asian countries' comprehensive fossil-free energy options, the region's renewable energy potential, current capacity, goals, and energy needs. Through the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2016–2025 and the ASEAN Declaration on Renewable Energy, ASEAN is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable development aligning with the Paris Agreement's aim to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Results show that decarbonizing the region's energy system is possible, but current policies and actions must be altered to reach that target level. Further research is necessary to optimize the ASEAN region's renewable resource technical potential and commercial viability with available technology.

Presidential Policies' Effects on Oil and Gas Price and Productions Within the United States from 1977-2021

Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the contentious U.S. 2020 presidential election featured candidates with quite different stances on regulating the oil and gas industry, leaving many to question the longevity of fossil fuel use. However, little research explores the relationship between presidential policies and the oil market. In this paper, extensive research into presidential energy policies and their effects on domestic oil prices and production dating back to 1977 helps us identify whether we can predict the industry's future under Joe Biden's administration. The paper's results suggest the domestic oil industry is more dependent on external foreign events - with presidential policies offering almost negligible effects on prices and production.

Policy Analysis of Low-Carbon Energy Transition in Senegal Using a Multi-Criteria Decision Approach Based on Principal Component Analysis

Senegal has been investing in the development of its energy sector for decades. By using a novel multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) based on the principal component analysis (PCA) method, this paper develops an approach to determine the effectiveness of Senegal's policies in supporting low-carbon development. This was determined using six criteria (C1 to C6) and 17 policies selected from the review of Senegal's energy system. In order to determine the optimal weighting of the six criteria, a PCA is performed. In our approach, the best weighted factor is the normalized version of the best linear combination of the initial criteria with the maximum summarized information. Proper weighted factors are determined through the percentage of the information provided by the six criteria kept by the principal components. The percentage of information is statistically a fit of goodness of a principal component. The higher it is, the more statistically important the corresponding principal component is. Among the six principal components obtained, the first principal component (comp1) best summarizes the values of criteria C1 to C6 for each policy. It contains 81.15% of the information on energy policies presented by the six criteria and was used to rank the policies. Future research should take into account that when the number of criteria is high, the share of information explained by the first principal component could be lower (less than 50% of the total variance). In this case, the use of a single principal component would be detrimental to the analysis. For such cases, we recommend a higher dimensional visualization (using two or three components), or a new PCA should be performed on the principal components. This approach presented in our study can serve as an important benchmark for energy projects and policy evaluation.

Climate change and the challenge to liberalism

In this editorial, we consider the ways in which liberal constitutionalism is challenged by and presents challenges to the climate crisis facing the world. Over recent decades, efforts to mitigate the climate crisis have generated a new set of norms for states and non-state actors, including regulatory norms (emission standards, carbon regulations), organising principles (common but differentiated responsibility) and fundamental norms (climate justice, intergenerational rights, human rights). However, like all norms, these remain contested. Particularly in light of their global reach, their specific behavioural implications and interpretations and the related obligations to act remain debatable and the overwhelming institutionalization of the neoliberal market economy makes clear and effective responses to climate change virtually impossible within liberal societies.

Financing green and climate resilient infrastructure in ASEAN countries

Southeast Asia is one of the world's most energy-intensive and climate vulnerable regions, with rapid urbanization and industrialization increasing its greenhouse gas emissions and a high exposure to extreme weather events. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on the region's economic growth. Decisions taken by leaders today to revive economies will either entrench the region's dependence on fossil fuels or accelerate decarbonization efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. This article recalls the imperative of a green, climate resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic to put ASEAN economies on a sustainable and inclusive development path before discussing the chronic infrastructure investment gap and reviewing options to catalyze climate investment to address this gap and finance recovery efforts. © 2023 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.