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The growing demand for electricity and the need to mitigate climate change drive the development of renewable energy projects. In some cases, their implementation has led to socio-environmental conflicts. The planning of power plants generally prioritizes technical and economic criteria, while socio-environmental aspects and the involvement of local stakeholders remain limited. In Ecuador, the construction of hydroelectric plants has increased generation capacity but has also triggered conflicts in nearby areas. This study aimed to integrate diverse criteria and stakeholders into Ecuador’s energy infrastructure planning process. A multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was conducted on a portfolio of 101 renewable energy projects planned for the coming years, including 91 hydroelectric, 2 solar photovoltaic, 3 wind, and 5 geothermal projects, with a total capacity of 12,532.45 MW. Nine criteria were analyzed and organized into social, environmental, and technical categories. Social criteria included project perception, job creation, and relocation; environmental criteria covered deforestation, risks to wildlife, and proximity to natural reserves; and technical criteria included plant size, accessibility, and distance to transmission lines. The analysis involved four stakeholder groups—academia, public sector, private sector, and civil society—who expressed their preferences across criteria to ultimately rank the projects from best to worst using the PROMETHEE method. Results showed that energy project planning prioritizes social and environmental criteria over technical ones. Thus, 55 projects (49 hydroelectric, one geothermal, two solar photovoltaic, and three wind) were selected for future construction. In comparison, 42 hydroelectric and four geothermal projects were excluded due to potential impacts on wildlife and forests near protected areas. The methodology suggests that decision-makers should incorporate a multidisciplinary, inclusive, and participatory approach when planning energy infrastructure to ensure it is environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable.

Renewable energy 250, 123199 - (2025). doi:10.1016/j.renene.2025.123199 Published by Elsevier Science, Amsterdam [u.a.]

Following mine closure, open-pit mines gradually fill with ground and surface water. Due to its thermal inertia, this water maintains a relatively stable temperature year round, making it suitable for heating and cooling buildings. Previous estimates of the geothermal potential of a flooded open-pit mine primarily focused on the water volume alone, often underestimating the total potential by neglecting heat exchanges with the surrounding rock and incoming water. This paper introduces a novel analytical approach based on an improve thermal power balance concept to better estimate the geothermal potential of a flooded open-pit mine. Over a 25-years analysis, it was shown that the host rock can contribute over 15 % of the thermal energy in the water, while water supply can double this energy. The method developed is both quick and reliable, allowing for early stage evaluation of geothermal resources by accounting not only for the mine's water volume but also energy inputs from precipitation, runoff, groundwater recharge and the host rock. The study focuses on the Carey Canadian and King-Beaver open-pits, two closed asbestos mines in southern Quebec (Canada).

Despite being one of the major issues that photovoltaic systems face worldwide, estimating the energy and economic magnitude of soiling of solar collectors still represents a challenge. This work presents a first European assessment of the soiling loss and of the cost-effectiveness of soiling mitigation. New soiling maps are generated through the interpolation of reanalysis data, calibrated against ground-measured losses from sensors installed across the continent. The results show that Europe experiences an average annual soiling loss of 0.9 % if rain is considered a perfect cleaning agent. However, if a cleaning effectivity by rain of 10 % is assumed, this annual loss increases up to 5.3 %. In some southern locations, soiling losses are markedly seasonal, while these are more consistent in central Europe. These losses can have repercussions on the economics of photovoltaics, increasing the levelized cost of electricity up to 4 % or 15 % depending on the cleaning effectivity of rain. The losses are also found to vary significantly in some sites from year to year, highlighting the need for continuous monitoring. The study concludes that implementing adequate soiling mitigation measures is strongly recommended in most of the regions due to the high electricity prices and the comparatively low cleaning costs.