• Energy Research

This editorial introduces the main findings from the 33rd Volume of the International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management. First Madsen favourably reviews Verbruggen’s book Pricing carbon emissions: Economic reality and utopia. This is followed by analyses of the role of islands in the energy transition taking a starting point in Samsø, the Orkneys and Madeira and subsequently a strategic niche management-based investigation of the transition of a Nigerian community. Then the role of the discount rate is explored taking the example of power production expansion in Ecuador. Lastly, the feasibility of landfill gas is explored under Ukrainian conditions. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, Vol. 33 (2022)

This special issue presents some of the latest energy planning-related research as presented at the 2019 International Conference on Energy & Environment (ICEE), University of Minho, Portugal, 2019. In this issue, work is presented which investigates policy initiatives’ effects on electricity prices. Other authors apply Modern Portfolio Theory to analyse the energy and environmental policies of the European Union member states. Solar thermal systems are analysed based on a novel costing methodology and lastly carbon dioxide emissions from a Portuguese energy system with further deployment of electric vehicles are assessed. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, Vol. 26 (2020): Special Issue from the the ICEE 2019

This editorial introduces the 31st volume of the International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management. This volume reports some of the latest developments in energy systems analyses of smart energy systems and of district heating as well as in methods and analyses using multi-objective optimisation. In one of the analyses, the authors investigate the effects of decentralised storage in district heating systems, finding positive effects on grid design as the impact of peaks can be reduced. Three contributions address the more sociological factors influencing acceptance and energy system development such as ownership, awareness, and moral. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, Vol. 31 (2021)

With this volume 40 the International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management can celebrate its 10 years anniversary. In this editorial we take a closer look at the journals impact over its first 10 years of existence and highlight the articles that have made the largest impacts in the scientific community from a citation perspective. The topic of the journal – sustainable energy planning and management – has not decreased in importance over the first ten years of the journal’s existence – and fortunately the results published in the journal has garnered interest and the impact of the journal has significantly increased. In terms of citation, the journals 275 published articles, has received 1484 citations as per March 2024 and nine articles have 40 or more citations in Scopus. CiteScore ranks the journal in the top 10% out of 700+ journals within the topic of Geography, Planning and Development.

Sustainable Development using renewable energy systems - Findings from the SDEWES 2019 International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, Vol. 29 (2020)

This 36th volume of the International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management starts at the global scale with a survey of the economy of the oil industry. Limitations of single-sector analyses of Chile is the focal point of a commentary on a previously published study in the journal Energies. The authors of the commentary find that limitations in literature survey, methodology, and data result in a significant underestimation of, e.g., the potential for photo voltaics. The potential for hydro power is affected by changes in water flows as analysed by Melo, which brings some level concern as hydro power is a key element in Brazil’s renewable energy exploitation effort. Lasty, Dall-Orsoletta et al. look into system dynamic models and whether they include social aspects in the modelling. This is only found in a minority of system dynamic models.

The value of energy system scenarios is increasingly asserted in a decentralised and municipal context. There is, however, a lack of suitable tools for designing such scenarios, particularly tools that empower local planning practitioners in active participation. With this study, we introduce a novel tool designed specifically for municipal energy system modelling, thus bridging the gap between model developers and planning practitioners. The applicability and suitability of the new MUSEPLAN tool is investigated through its application in a case municipality, revolving around the needs of planning practitioners, supporting the build-up of modelling capacity, and focusing on the practical development of energy system scenarios. MUSEPLAN draws on the specialist simulation model EnergyPLAN but provides an environment for integrated design and comparison of multiple scenarios while reducing the complexity through discarding some of the more advanced options. In conclusion, MUSEPLAN resolves the identified challenges to the integration of energy system modelling in municipal energy planning, while simplifying the modelling and scenario evaluation process.