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Abstract Background The aim of this paper is to reconsider the necessity for the green transition and the key preconditions for the implementation of a circular economy in Western Balkan countries. With the objective of the research in mind, the method of analysis and synthesis was applied to determine (1) regulatory and institutional prerequisites for the green transition; (2) the need for the Western Balkan countries to redefine the model of sustainable economic growth towards the green transition; (3) the development opportunities for recovery defined in the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans; and (4) the possibility of implementing the circular economy in the Western Balkans. Main text The main findings of the research indicate that: (1) the countries of the Western Balkan region, following the example of the EU, should define a national strategic approach to the green transition with an accompanying action plan and regulatory framework; (2) the biggest challenge of the green transition is the reform of the energy sector and the restructuring of the energy-intensive economy; (3) the countries have untapped potential in renewable energy sources and report the improvement of energy efficiency; (4) the circular economy can boost the green transition, because the countries of the region have a five-time lower value of resource productivity than the average of the EU, while the generation of waste (excluding major mineral wastes) per GDP unit is lower compared to the EU; (5) cross-sectoral governance should be more coordinated. Conclusions The green transition might be a development opportunity for the Western Balkans, which should enable sustainable economic growth as well as energy security and environmental protection. However, the implementation of the Green Agenda is not easy, because the region faces the problem of underdeveloped regulatory and institutional capacities that might provide not only the base for long-term planning but also financial resources for the efficient implementation of projects. In addition, it is essential to understand the principles of the Green Agenda and the interaction of all activities that should enable the achievement of defined goals.

United States Energy Foundation project [G-1111-15134]; Ministry of Education, Philosophy and Social Planning project [12YJAZH056]; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [20090460202]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [710201139]; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [2010221040]; National Bureau of Statistics Funds from China [2011LD002]

The study evaluates the potential of different vegetable wastes namely, composite vegetable waste (CVW), potato waste (PW), sweet potato waste (SPW) and yam waste (YW) as an alternative feedstock for the production of renewable sugars. Thermal assisted chemical pretreatment followed by enzymatic saccharification yielded maximum sugars (0.515 g/g CVW, 0.56 g/g PW, 0.57 g/g SPW and 0.56 g/g YW) with total carbohydrate depolymerization of 95.01%, 88.30%, 90.32% and 88.59% respectively. Obtained sugars were valorized into bioethanol through fermentation using S. cerevisiae by optimizing the pH and temperature. The highest ethanol yield of 251.85 mg/g was obtained from SPW at 35°C followed by YW (240.98 mg/g), PW (235.4 mg/g) and CVW (125.6 mg/g) at pH 5.0. Utilizing the abundantly available vegetable wastes as a renewable feedstock for reducing sugars and subsequent bioethanol production will influence the economics and sustainability of the process positively in circular biorefinery format.

Con el aumento de la demanda de refrigeración y la penetración de recursos de energía renovable descentralizados en las redes eléctricas, la gestión de la demanda de electricidad (DSM) se ha convertido en una herramienta importante para la planificación de la electricidad y la descarbonización en el Sur Global. En la India, la aplicación comercial del DSM no es nueva, pero la respuesta a la demanda (DR) a escala residencial impulsada por los servicios públicos sigue siendo un área inexplorada. Este documento contribuye en dos frentes: para explicar las percepciones de los hogares y los profesionales de la RD: disyunciones entre estas percepciones y sus implicaciones para la aceptación de la RD residencial. Utilizando un enfoque de coproducción, este documento extrae información de dos grupos de partes interesadas en la India: 25 expertos en políticas y servicios públicos de RD y 24 consumidores domésticos. Nuestros resultados muestran que el salvavidas tecnológico subraya de manera generalizada la comprensión de los profesionales de la RD y la agencia de los hogares, un factor crucial en la adopción de la RD a escala residencial sigue siendo una pieza que falta. El documento concluye que, sin considerar la agencia del cabeza de familia, ofrecer un futuro descarbonizado basado en la respuesta a la demanda será un desafío y los consumidores pueden permanecer encerrados en las prácticas socioculturales existentes que niegan la adopción de la DRA. Avec l'augmentation de la demande de refroidissement et la pénétration des ressources énergétiques renouvelables décentralisées dans les réseaux d'électricité, la gestion de la demande d'électricité (DSM) est devenue un outil majeur de planification et de décarbonisation de l'électricité dans les pays du Sud. En Inde, l'application commerciale du DSM n'est pas nouvelle, mais la réponse à la demande à l'échelle résidentielle (DR) axée sur les services publics reste un domaine inexploré. Cet article contribue sur deux fronts – pour expliquer les perceptions des ménages et des praticiens de la RD : les disjonctions entre ces perceptions et ses implications pour l'acceptation de la DR résidentielle En utilisant une approche de coproduction, cet article tire des enseignements de deux ensembles de parties prenantes en Inde - 25 experts en politique et services publics de la RD et 24 consommateurs domestiques. Nos résultats montrent que le sauveurisme technologique souligne de manière omniprésente la compréhension des praticiens de la RD et de l'agence domestique, un facteur crucial dans l'adoption de la RD à l'échelle résidentielle qui reste une pièce manquante. Le document conclut que, sans tenir compte du pouvoir d'action des ménages, il sera difficile d'offrir un avenir décarboné basé sur la réponse à la demande et que les consommateurs peuvent rester enfermés dans des pratiques socioculturelles existantes qui annulent l'adoption de la DR. With the rise in cooling demand and the permeation of decentralised renewable energy resources in electricity networks, electricity demand-side management (DSM) has become a major tool for electricity planning and decarbonisation in the Global South. In India, the commercial application of DSM is not new, yet utility-driven residential-scale demand response (DR) remains an unexplored area. This paper contributes on two fronts – to explicate householders and practitioner's perceptions of DR: disjunctions between these perceptions and its implications for the acceptance of residential DR. Using a co-production approach, this paper draws insights from two sets of stakeholders in India - 25 DR policy and utility experts and 24 household consumers. Our results show that technological saviourism pervasively underscores practitioners understanding of DR and householder agency, a crucial factor in the adoption of DR at the residential scale remains a missing piece. The paper concludes that without considering householder agency, delivering a decarbonised future based on demand response will be challenging and consumers may remain locked into-existing socio-cultural practices that negate the adoption of DR. مع ارتفاع الطلب على التبريد وتغلغل موارد الطاقة المتجددة اللامركزية في شبكات الكهرباء، أصبحت إدارة جانب الطلب على الكهرباء (DSM) أداة رئيسية لتخطيط الكهرباء وإزالة الكربون في الجنوب العالمي. في الهند، لا يعد التطبيق التجاري للوسائط الرقمية والإلكترونية جديدًا، ومع ذلك تظل الاستجابة للطلب على نطاق سكني مدفوعة بالمرافق منطقة غير مستكشفة. تساهم هذه الورقة على جبهتين – لتوضيح تصورات أصحاب المنازل والممارسين حول الحد من مخاطر الكوارث: الانفصال بين هذه التصورات وآثارها على قبول الدكتور المقيم باستخدام نهج الإنتاج المشترك، تستمد هذه الورقة رؤى من مجموعتين من أصحاب المصلحة في الهند - 25 خبيرًا في سياسة الحد من مخاطر الكوارث والمرافق و 24 مستهلكًا منزليًا. تظهر نتائجنا أن الإنقاذ التكنولوجي يؤكد بشكل واسع على فهم الممارسين لوكالة الطبيب المقيم وصاحب المنزل، وهو عامل حاسم في اعتماد الطبيب المقيم على المستوى السكني لا يزال جزءًا مفقودًا. وتخلص الورقة إلى أنه دون النظر في وكالة الأسر المعيشية، فإن تحقيق مستقبل خالٍ من الكربون بناءً على استجابة الطلب سيكون أمرًا صعبًا وقد يظل المستهلكون محاصرين في الممارسات الاجتماعية والثقافية القائمة التي تلغي تبني الدكتور.

In the context of climate change and rural revitalization, numerous solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are being installed on village roofs and lands, impacting the enjoyment of the new rural landscape characterized by PV panels. However, the visual acceptance of PV panels in rural areas of China is not yet fully understood. This study aims to identify and correlate three key influential factors that contribute to the acceptance and appreciation of PV panels in China’s rural settings. A quasi-experiment was conducted, incorporating diverse landscapes into six rural settings, each containing both the original landscape and PV panels. The findings demonstrated that the original rural landscape was significantly more scenic than PV panels, and factors contributing to the appreciation of traditional landscapes, such as nostalgia, played a vital role in rejecting PV panels. Conversely, renewable energy-related factors, such as economic stakes and moral desirability, were found to contribute to the acceptance of PV panels. This study contributes to the strategic planning and design of solar PV panels in rural landscapes, taking into consideration social acceptance and local contexts.

Abstract Power-to-gas (PtG), as a promising technology proposed to store surplus renewable energy (RE), can hardly be commercialized for its low profitability. In this paper, three approaches are proposed in this paper to enhance the profitability of the PtG. Firstly, a cooperative union containing PtG is proposed and its sustainability analysis is undertaken based on Shapley Value method. Secondly, the PtG reaction heat, as an essential by-product of PtG which is valuable and therefore requires further study, is fully exploited for district heating in the operation of regional integrated energy system, which is solved by an improved SOCP method. Thirdly, a symbiosis cooperation mode is designed for wind power and PtG to enhance the benefit of PtG through optimization-based trading strategy, which is a MINLP model and solved by Big-M method. The results show that the daily profit of PtG is significantly increased with the cooperative union as the symbiosis cooperation mode can produce a 15.1% profit lift, meanwhile, exploitation of reaction heat can produce an 8.6% profit lift. Finally, our study reveals the conflict of interest between wind power and the cogeneration. A sensitivity study on the proportion of reaction heat used for district heating is performed to verify the mutually beneficial relation between PtG and the cogeneration. The findings of this paper can guide the commercialization of PtG.

AbstractInvestment cost associated to the generation of renewable energy such as wind and solar is generally estimated to be higher. As the wind and solar energy generation do not require any fuel, the marginal cost of electricity generation through renewable energy technologies is very low. Therefore, in the long run, the prices are expected to get reduced, once investment cost is recovered; whereas, in the short run, the expected energy price of electricity increases.However, the final electricity price depends on several factors such as distribution cost, operating cost, storage cost (if any), load factor, and cost associated to switching of technology for electricity generation through total energy mix. In case of solar and wind energy generation, the technologies have grid priorities, but solar and wind are highly sensitive to weather conditions. Therefore, to make the system efficient, an energy system also depends on coal fired plant, gas fired plants, nuclear plants, biomass, hydro, etc. for meeting the energy supply needs. Based on overall capacities, investment costs, energy imports and fuel prices, the final electricity prices are decided. With the current trends in advancement of technologies, and priority for one technology over the other, the prices can still fluctuate in the future.In the current energy literature, methods available for price forecasting followed the modelling approaches that use range of variables for forecasting the possible scenarios. These scenarios and forecasting might affect an investment decisions of investors. However, the challenging future scenario in European energy mix addresses the issue of falling electricity price while the renewable energy technologies getting cheaper; which tends to freeze further investments, unless sufficient government support is available.The current study aims to explore the various economic forecasting methods presented in the literature for the purpose of energy price modelling, in different contexts, such as geographies, demand, supply, marketing, strategy, etc. The results suggest a large variation in the methodologies being used by scientists to address the issues in different countries. A wide range of variable selection approach has been observed. Our study suggests that the current market has not researched well on long run forecasting methods. This study also aims to present some thoughts on energy marketing in the context of emerging economies, such as India for the energy policy framing.

Carbon neutrality innovation technologies are a leading research topic in sustainable development. Among these, anaerobic digestion is considered as a better choice for biowaste utilization. However, large amounts of produced biogas slurry hamper the widespread application of anaerobic digestion. The hydrothermal process is regarded as favorable to treat biogas slurry. The effects of inorganic and organic matter in processed water from the hydrothermal-treated biogas slurry were investigated in our research. The changes in inorganic elements such as P, Ca, Mg, Cu, and Zn were detected at different reaction temperatures (90, 120, 150, 180, 210, and 240 ℃) and acid catalytic conditions (0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4.5, and 5 mL 5 M HCl). The changes in organic matter were analyzed using three-dimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy. With the increase in the hydrothermal reaction temperatures, the quantity of total and inorganic P and the concentration of Ca initially increased and then decreased, concentration of Mg remained constant, while the concentration of Zn and Cu showed a trend of initial decrease and then increase, and the macromolecular organic matter was hydrolyzed into small, soluble molecular organic matter. With the increase in HCl, the amount of released total and inorganic P and concentrations of Ca, Mg, Zn, and Cu increased, and the macromolecular organic matter was hydrolyzed into small molecular organic matter. The hydroponic testing indicated that the processed water has a positive effect on the growth of maize. These results provide critical findings on the reuse of biogas slurry, which is useful for biowaste management and improves carbon neutrality strategy.