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The problems of environmental pollution in the conditions of high dust content in the air during the development of coal mines in the territory of the Czech Republic are considered. A mechanism for making managerial decisions was developed using an integrated approach using the new technological process Nastup Tušimice (DNT) aimed at eliminating pollutant emissions and managing workers in dusty conditions in mining operations. The recommendations of active and passive measures aimed at reducing dustiness in the process of coal mining have also been developed.

The relevance of the analysis of Sustainable Development Goals is based on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The purpose of the study is to create a model of management/regulation of the quality of education and scientific research systems based on Sustainable Development Goals. The data of the ratings that reflect certain tasks of the Sustainable Development Goals, including those related to educational and scientific activities, are analyzed. The methodology of calculating the index of the success of realization of separate purposes of sustainable development is used. Bibliometric analysis as a research tool is used to create a quality of education management model. The example of the roadmap for achieving SDGs within the relationship chain “quality of education and science + partnership and networks–innovation–socio-economic impact–sustainable development goals” is provided. The suggested methodology for determining the index of success in achieving Sustainable Development Goals includes managing education systems, implementing scientific research, and managing/regulating the economy on micro-(university), meso-(regional), and macro-(national) levels. The tool in this case is a strategy for achieving KPIs, which can be fundamentally implemented in the form of a roadmap, with detailing of its elements using other tools. The “management/regulation” stage of the process of achieving Sustainable Development Goals is concretized by a mind map.

Utilization of landfill gas for electricity generation should be an attractive option for Ukraine in light of the country’s rapidly growing municipal solid waste problem, the influx of intermittent renewable electricity into the national grid, and renewable energy adoption commitments. However, the deployment of landfill gas power plants has been slow vis-à-vis other alternative energy technologies despite the existing government incentives. This article aims to help understanding this trend by investigating the economic feasibility of landfill gas power plants. The research focuses on determining the Levelized Cost of Electricity of these electricity generation facilities and comparing it to the feed-in tariff available to landfill gas electricity producers. The results show making an investment into a landfill gas-fired power plant is an appealing strategy due to a potential high and quick return on investment at 5.1 years. This leads to the ultimate conclusion that economic feasibility is not a cause for the slow adoption of landfill gas as a source of renewable electricity generation in Ukraine. In addition, the article identifies several potential barriers to landfill gas electricity generation deployment to be investigated in future research.

Every day 80,000 weather balloons are launched to the Earth’s upper atmosphere with meteorology payloads to provide accurate meteorological data. Meteorological data could be used for airport stations and weather stations. Meanwhile, there are many remote sensing satellites above the Earth’s atmosphere, but balloons are still essential due to increased weather prediction accuracy. Many balloons launch into the atmosphere daily, but it would be a one trip tripe because this balloon goes to the atmosphere then transmits the meteorological data to the ground segment, and that is all no one looks to recycle it, on the other hand, if the balloon could be recycled there would be many financial benefits. This project presents a high altitude meteorological balloon-Cube relative to measuring atmosphere humidity, temperature, air pressure, and a photography payload for surface imaging that ascended up to 20Km altitude Cube reach this altitude will eject box on the ground. The telemetry data are transmitted to the ground station through two communication applications, first using a LoRa based transceiver at which it receives a command from the LoRa ground station and the second one, and payload transmits the data by an SMS in 5min after it lands on the ground. Therefore, it could be recycled. This paper presents a Cube-Balloon fabrication and flight test information to acknowledge this Cube’s feasibility for real meteorological projects.

The research deals with problems of animal waste potential usage in order to produce biogas for energy generation in Ukraine. Although there are favorable conditions to develop biogas sector based on animal waste, the share energy, produced from it, is extremely low. The paper analyzes energy potential of agricultural biomass in Ukraine, economic tools, aimed at stimulating electricity generation from biogas based on animal waste, the results of their impact on biogas plants deployment. Among a number of barriers, which inhibit the development of this sector in Ukraine, the main ones are the need for significant initial investments to construct profitable biogas plants and a large amount of raw materials for their uninterrupted operation. Given the fact that 48.2% of farm animals are concentrated in small-scale farms and households, which cannot individually implement biogas projects, it is proposed to combine their financial and raw material resources within energy co-operatives. Economic benefits, which may be gained by small-scale farms within energy co-operative through the sale of electricity, generated from biogas, by feed-in tariff are calculated. It is discussed that in addition to economic benefits for small-scale farms owners, realization of the co-operative model in the bio-energy sector will let to obtain a number of ecological and social benefits both for territorial communities, and the state as a whole. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, Vol 18 (2018)

Renewable energy technologies play a crucial role in solving global energy and environmental issues, and the pace of the energy transition directly depends on improving their efficiency. Presently, the development and implementation of renewable energy systems are ensured mainly through state funding, the possibilities of which are limited. The potential of attracting private investments depends directly on their impact on companies’ profitability indicators, and the uncertainty regarding the return on investments is one of the main barriers affecting investors’ decision-making. Based on a vector autoregressive model for analysing the stationary time series, the paper explores the impact of long-term investments and research and development costs in renewable energy technologies on the financial performance of ten of the largest companies operating in this field. The study’s results showed that investments and spending on research and development positively affect such companies’ profitability indicators as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, earnings before interest and tax, net income, and return on investment. The obtained results can be used to substantiate the economic effectiveness of investments in developing and improving renewable energy technologies when forming the companies’ financial policies to support them.

The article is aimed at studying the directions that are of paramount importance in the country's transition to ecologically oriented development, as well as determining on this basis Ukraine's readiness to form and develop its own «green» brand. In accordance with the set goal, the main directions to carry out the research were ecologization and sustainable development, organic agriculture and renewable energy. As a result of the research, Ukraine's position corresponding to the Sustainable Development Goals Index was determined. According to this, Ukraine successfully combines economic development, social integration and ecological sustainability. The value of the country's index is on par with new industrialized countries and even with some economically developed countries. Ukraine's position in accordance with the Environmental Performance Index is worse and shows a lag from the advanced countries of the world. Furthermore, it is determined that Ukraine inefficiently uses agricultural land, since there is a high level of plowing, and only 1.1% is occupied for organic production. Still, despite the fact that Ukraine is the second exporter of organic products to the EU after China, insufficient attention is paid to the markets of Asia and Africa. It is defined that renewable energy in Ukraine is at the stage of origin, the reason for which is, among other things, underfunding of this direction. The most developed sources of renewable energy in Ukraine are currently hydropower and solar energy. Additionally, the article highlights weaknesses that create obstacles to environmental friendliness and sustainable development and should be leveled when forming Ukraine’s own green brand.

A comprehensive assessment of smart grids is critical for their development. Existing scientific research testifies to the urgency and complexity of the problem of implementing smart grids effectively, both in terms of a single project performance and from the standpoint of creating a local, and later global, energy system. The multidimensionality of smart grids makes it challenging to assess the effectiveness of their implementation. Difficulties in evaluation arise because it is challenging to consider technical, technological, economic, and other relevant aspects of smart grids’ development within a single evaluation system. There are currently a significant number of smart grid assessment systems. However, it remains debatable how systematically and comprehensively they measure the efficiency of a smart grid. This, in turn, raises the question of whether there is a universal evaluation system that integrally considers all the crucial components of smart grids and is suitable for evaluating smart grid projects of different content. This article analyzes the most well-known approaches to comprehensive assessment of smart grids according to the completeness of their coverage of smart grids’ most critical components. This paper identifies the essential areas for assessing smart grids according to the most cited and authoritative research and regulatory documents of the European Union. As a result, seven groups of indicators were identified. These groups of indicators are the basis for comparative analysis of the comprehensive assessment approaches of smart grids. The results of the study should help determine the appropriateness of applying a particular evaluation system. In addition, the analysis of existing evaluation systems allows the shaping of a universal approach to evaluating smart grids comprehensively and systematically.