• Energy Research
• ES close
• AU close
• CL close
• Sustainability close

Worldwide, the penetrations of photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage systems are increased in power systems. Due to the intermittent nature of PVs, these sustainable power systems require efficient managing and prediction techniques to ensure economic and secure operations. In this paper, a comprehensive dynamic economic dispatch (DED) framework is proposed that includes fuel-based generators, PV, and energy storage devices in sustainable power systems, considering various profiles of PV (clear and cloudy). The DED model aims at minimizing the total fuel cost of power generation stations while considering various constraints of generation stations, the power system, PV, and energy storage systems. An improved optimization algorithm is proposed to solve the DED optimization problem for a sustainable power system. In particular, a mutation mechanism is combined with a salp–swarm algorithm (SSA) to enhance the exploitation of the search space so that it provides a better population to get the optimal global solution. In addition, we propose a DED handling strategy that involves the use of PV power and load forecasting models based on deep learning techniques. The improved SSA algorithm is validated by ten benchmark problems and applied to the DED optimization problem for a hybrid power system that includes 40 thermal generators and PV and energy storage systems. The experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed framework with different penetrations of PV.

Thanks to food technology, the production of cold tomato soups such as salmorejo, a traditional Spanish dish, has become industrialised. Thermal treatments play an important role in ready-to-eat meals, prolonging their shelf-life. Radiofrequency (RF) heating is less energy-intensive than conventional heat exchangers and has been successfully used to pasteurise food; novel applications, however, provide results at laboratory or pilot scale, so conclusions might not be translatable to industry. In this study, a prospective Life-Cycle Assessment of salmorejo pasteurised using RF was performed to highlight the relevance of upscaling and to compare its environmental impacts with those of conventional pasteurisation. “Gate-to-gate” results show that the pilot has greater environmental impacts due to its greater energy consumption, as thermal energy is not recovered. The packing and landfill of organic waste exhibit the highest impacts at industrial scale. RF technology does not imply significant environmental improvements versus conventional pasteurisation. Potential changes in the energy background of future scenarios have relevant consequences in the environmental impacts. “Farm-to-factory-gate” analysis highlights ingredients and tomato valorisation as the most impacting stages. The prospective LCA of scaled up scenarios constitutes a tool for environmental screening in food ecodesign, contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 12.

The increasing energy consumption levels of buildings within Europe call for controlled consumption and improvements to energy savings and efficiency and effective energy efficiency regulations. However, many aging and energy-inefficient buildings require energetic retrofitting that can employ various façades solutions and insulation materials. The selection of the most sustainable options in each situation therefore requires a decision-making methodology that can be used to prioritize available retrofit solutions based on economic, functional, environmental and social criteria. In this paper, both the methodology and the economic basis of the retrofitting process are presented. The methodology was validated in a case study, and a sensitivity analysis also demonstrated its validity, robustness and stability

The measurement of sustainability is complex due to its multiple dimensions of different relative importance and different natures. From the perspective of sustainability, three types of tourism can be established: traditional tourism, sustainable tourism, and sustainable impact tourism. In the context of multiple-criteria decision analysis, this paper presents a flexible method for assess and rank decision alternatives based on their sustainability. The proposal does not require the relative importance of each criterion to be precisely assigned beforehand, which reduces the subjectivity of the decision making and yields results that can be of interest for decision makers. To show the difference between these three sustainability options in tourism and the benefits of the method, the proposal is applied to public and private tourism management in Spain—in particular, to hotel booking and the evaluation and management of sustainability in the autonomous regions.

Sustainable urbanization policies and strategies are posited as a major tool by which to achieve the sustainable development of growing towns and cities. A major challenge for sustainable urbanization policies and strategies is how to address the complexity of urbanization, especially the ongoing growth of informal settlements and slums in developing countries. It is acknowledged that those living their lives in such housing and settlements suffer greater levels of spatial, economic and social exclusion from the benefits of urbanization that other segments of the urban population. Using a case study approach, this paper examines the range of challenges associated with the growth of informal settlements and slums, seeking to understand how they are positioned via upgrading policies in city urbanization plans and strategies in Indonesia’s third largest city, Bandung. The research finds that there has been a shift in kampung and slum upgrading policy from in-situ solutions to vertical housing towers which appear incompatible in accommodating the way of life practiced in kampung adaptive urbanism contexts. The manner in which city governments manage informal settlements and slums by seeking to reshape and restructure the lifestyles of residents to align with formal market measures has a major impact on existing disadvantaged communities. The paper concludes with a call for greater leadership, political commitment and recognition of contextual responses when developing slum upgrading policies set within urbanization policies and strategies branded as sustainable.

In recent years, eco-driving has proven to be an effective tool for reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Until now, most research carried out has focused on ordinary drivers applying eco-driving techniques on their usual routes. However, there is little research on professional driver couriers. This research is aimed at analyzing the effects that eco-driving has on fuel consumption and GHG emissions on courier deliveries in small cities such as Caceres (Spain). For this purpose, a real-life experiment was performed with professional drivers with Spanish post vans from the public sector company Correos. In the first period, driving was under normal conditions (non-eco), and after a theoretical training eco-driving course, there was a second driving period (eco). Driving parameters (speeds, accelerations, rpm, and consumptions) were recorded on all trips to analyze how effective the eco-driving was. The research concluded that eco-driving training does not correlate with more sustainable driving for professional drivers under pressure with the need to deliver packages on time. However, there is a trend in fuel savings when using higher capacity routes.