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Leapfrogging potential for sustainable energy transition in Serbia
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to look at the dilemma of promoting sustainable energy transition in post-socialist countries while containing social and economic implications, focusing on the case of Serbia. The aim is to analyse Serbian energy status taking into account historical factors, to analyse barriers that are hindering transition and to identify leapfrogging potential for the sustainable energy development of the country.
Design/methodology/approach
Energy transition and leapfrogging potential have been qualified and quantified by indicators, the own calculations and policy analysis to identify barriers to sustainable energy.
Findings
The country has vast potential for leapfrogging in energy transition, yet continues the gradualist approach based on several policy barriers to the process. The analysis shows six barriers related to low energy price, high energy intensity, prioritization of energy security, inadequacy of utilization of renewable sources, lack of policy coherence and dependency on external funding. However, these barriers could be overcome with an energy policy emphasizing leapfrogging potential. As is pointed out in the conclusion, this should be based on the difference between EU-28 average indicators, discrepancy between use and availability of renewable energy, potential for regional cooperation in the energy sector and under-used skills and participation.
Originality/value
The paper discusses energy transition in its historical context, arguing that it has to be considered as comprehensively with societal implications and effects, thus creating useful knowledge for other post-socialist countries in current and future transitions.
... Although leapfrogging is pivotally defined by an increase in accessibility through modern technology, many leapfrogging studies often do not incorporate access to electricity alongside renewable consumption [15]. Furthermore, prior investigations of energy leapfrogging have been substantially affected by geographical restriction, with many focusing on the potential for energy leapfrogging in specific countries or regions [9,19,22]. Moreover, local data on renewable energy consumption may not be systematically or consistently collected, particularly in the Global South, resulting in insufficient study periods [23]. ...
... Highest decrease in REC changes (i.e., > À20) analyses focused on just one country or region (e.g., Philippines [19], Serbia [9], and China [22]). Lack of data, particularly in the Global South, provides an additional barrier, often resulting in studies with insufficient periods of investigation, such as Szabó et al., which studied energy leapfrogging in Sub-Saharan Africa over four years from 2008-2012 [23]. ...
Energy leapfrogging (i.e., skipping non-renewable grid infrastructures to micro-grid renewable sources) has been promoted by researchers and politicians as a solution in fighting against climate change and for access to electricity in less developed countries. Despite research on its potential, quantitative measurement of leapfrogging is still required to determine those nations who have utilized energy leapfrogging's promise. In this study, we present a quantitative analysis using World Bank Open Database data from 2000 to 2015, creating an aggregated leapfrogging estimate (ALE) through renewable energy consumption (i.e., percentage of total energy consumption) and access to electricity (i.e., percent of total population with access). We defined the ALE by subtracting (renewable consumption % in 2000 / access to electricity % in 2015) from (renewable consumption % in 2015 / access to electricity in 2000). We included only countries whose renewable energy consumption increased during the study interval. Low-income countries collectively leapfrogged more than other income groups. Somalia (48.11), Togo (3.05), Eswatini (2.76), and Timor-Leste (1.04) all had ALE values greater than 1 (range: 1.7 × 10⁻⁵–48.11). We then conducted a policy analysis of these countries, confirming that all four had implemented renewable energy policies to create access to electricity. Our ALE accurately determined countries with energy leapfrogging, uniquely incorporating access to electricity, consistent with the fundamental purpose of leapfrogging as a strategy to increase access. Future studies are needed to understand why low-income countries with low ALEs and access to electricity failed to leapfrog in the past. Future studies are also required to design prospective quantitative statistical models predicting the outcomes of leapfrogging strategies.
... A handful of publications on national-level conditions deal with the main barriers to advancing energy transition, such as low energy prices, high energy intensity, prioritization of energy security (based on domestic fossil fuel), inadequate utilization of renewable sources, policy incoherence, and lack of internal funding [8,20,[23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. Accounts on local energy transition in this context are almost absent with a few exceptions [7,9]. ...
To close an existing literature gap, we explore the conditions critical for the enactment of local energy transition and the shift to decarbonized renewable heating systems in the public sector of the most carbon-intensive European region of the Western Balkans. We select and then analyze the municipality of Priboj, which stands out among 150 municipalities in Serbia due to its effective promotion of local energy transition. The analysis provides a rich empirical illustration of a specific path that enables the local level to embark on a tailor-made energy transformation in an underdeveloped and path-dependent national policy framework. By linking a multi-level perspective of sustainability transitions to accounts of path dependency, we advance the understanding of the critical determinants and frameworks of local energy transition. Our analysis is enhanced with an investigation of the role of key actors and governance modes. A shared understanding of innovative solutions and existing local heating regime problems, and a shared vision of economically and environmentally viable opportunities based on available and unutilized local biomass, encouraged the local leaders to embark on a long and novel journey to decarbonize the local heating system. These observed factors coalesced with local political stability anchored in both the local- and national-level contexts. The effective coordination and cooperation across national- and local-level decision makers, financial institutions, and utilities was facilitated by a specific geographical and political context out of the reach of powerful gas network advocates. With these factors present, the synchronized entrepreneurial multi-level efforts served as the vehicles to develop and implement a shared vision of energy transition that became a learning platform for other regional actors.
... The technical conditions of the power distribution system in Lithuania are similar to the situation in Latvia and Estonia (Vinnal et al., 2012), Ukraine (Gorokhov et al., 2010), Serbia (Gusavac et al., 2008;Hakala & Bjelic, 2016), Poland (Jaskólski, 2016), and the Check Republic and Slovakia (Rečka & Ščasný, 2016). For instance, almost 40% of the power units in Poland are over 40 years old and more than 15% are maintained for over 50 years (Polish Information & Foreign Investment Agency, 2013). ...
Application of reinforced concrete (RC) poles as overhead electrical transmission line supports has become of great interest during recent years worldwide. The higher strength, longer life, and the potential to span longer distances than steel poles are the key reasons behind this tendency. A great variety of architectural shapes, relatively low maintenance costs, and high electrical resistance make RC a prominent alternative to steel. The drawbacks related to the application of RC poles include the high self-weight and vulnerability to damage. Self-weight might be reduced by prestressing the reinforcement and/or forming a tubular structure for the poles. However, both of these options might increase the vulnerability of the supports. Moreover, long-term processes (deterioration of concrete and corrosion of steel reinforcement) complicates the prediction of structural properties. This paper presents results of the everlasting inspection of the overhead electric power distribution system in Lithuania: technical state of more than 500 RC supports was assessed; selected poles were tested until failure. A specific point of this research is that most of the inspected supports were under maintenance since the middle of last century. The inspection results were used for developing the technical condition of RC pole evaluation scale proposed in this paper.
Energy Transition (ET) is a global shift from fossil fuels to non-carbon, predominantly renewable energy sources that increases energy equity and access and reduces energy poverty, allowing SDG 7. This study examines ET barriers in Kenya and their implications for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and suggests ways to help Kenya meet global ET targets such as the Paris Agreement. A hybrid methodology that combined secondary data acquisition and thematic case study analysis which assesses secondary data against the research questions within a complex system dynamics framework, aimed at understanding the barriers to non-carbon renewable energy adoption in Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya aims to generate 100% of its power and 80% of its primary energy from non-carbon renewable sources by 2030. Kenya's unique geolocation and natural resources position it to be a world leader in ET and sustainability. Assessing ET barriers is crucial for Kenya to meet its ET targets. The ET barriers highlighted in the findings of this study include fiscal constraints, infrastructure obstacles, policy implementation issues, rising energy costs, societal disparities, opposition to alternative cooking technology, diminishing ET investments. In addition, public preferences, ET implementation, ET regulations, financial innovation are ET impediments. Supply chain interruptions from the Russia-Ukraine conflict have aggravated the SSA energy situation, making ET more urgent. In addition, oil producing SSA countries and Kenya's newly discovered oil sources are likely to be capitalised while meeting Paris Targets. Consequently, Kenya's ET trajectory is likely to differ from the global norm. The study recommends behavioral and policy changes, increase in infrastructure and technology investments, integrated energy frameworks, and cost and tariff modifications to accelerate ET towards sustainable ET in Kenya and SSA.
Purpose
Studies on sustainability in energy transition in the electricity sector require a new approach of modifying the indicators from the energy trilemma index. The cocreation variable was used as a mediator to promote collaborative engagement of all stakeholders in the electricity sector to achieve energy transition sustainably. This study aims to investigate the arguments presented above.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a quantitative method that combined structural equation modeling and partial least squares analysis. ADANCO was used to analyze the data gathered from power system expert engineers through an online questionnaire survey.
Findings
Power system expert engineers play an important role in collaborative stakeholder engagement and cocreation as mediators for achieving sustainability. The expert engineers were willing to collaborate with stakeholders, while ensuring an engaging learning experience. Notably, dialogue that provides mutual access and transparency in assuming risk strengthened the cocreation effect.
Research limitations/implications
The mediating effect of cocreation becomes important when there are antecedents related to stakeholder collaboration. Studies that used data from expert engineers having more than ten years of experience used cocreation as an antecedent, either independently, through mediation or by depending on the sustainability goals.
Practical implications
This study has implications on the power sector in Indonesia, which relies on coal-fired power plants. This study proposes empowering expert engineers to collaborate with stakeholders to achieve energy decarbonization.
Originality/value
Aspects of the energy trilemma index were used to investigate the expert engineers’ perspective regarding energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability, parameters which were modified to reflect their behavioral tendencies to achieve sustainability in the electricity sector.
Purpose: This paper aims to compile consideration factors for the success of Renewable Energy projects. The chances of completing a renewable energy (RE) project are still an issue. Over the past decade, researchers have sought to identify the barriers to the project and the key success factors for successful projects. But a comprehensive set of success factors is lacking. Method: A systematic review was conducted using 92 research articles and 45 secondary reports. Literature identification, screening, eligibility and inclusion steps were followed based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Flow Diagram. Findings: As a result, 61 success factors were compiled and classified into nine different categories: Project Strategy, Policies & Politics, Project Attributes, Stakeholder Interactions, Project Parameters, Culture & Leadership Resources, Managing Risks and Project Governance. Originality: A unique scientific tool has been proposed to calculate project success probability. Each success factor score is based on a Likert scale of 1-5 to calculate weighted average value of each category leading to the success probability. This tool will be beneficial for project management practitioners, project sponsors, government agencies, policy makers and researchers. Limitation/Implications: The comprehensive set of project success factors is considered for RE projects only. However, a similar approach can be applied to other projects to ensure higher success. It has been recommended that the project team assess each factor score frequently and make every effort to raise each category score to 5 as much as is realistically possible.
Una transición energética global sin precedentes está en marcha. Sin embargo, para lograr disminuir los efectos del cambio climático, debe ser acelerada. Como una manera de contribuir a una escala local con los desafíos que están asociados a la problemática energética y su implicancia en un futuro sostenible, el presente trabajo, propone la creación de un laboratorio de investigación, desarrollo y demostración en energías renovables para el fomento de la transición energética sostenible en la región de Aysén, Patagonia, Chile.
El trabajo comienza exponiendo antecedentes generales respecto a la situación energía mundial y de Chile, y describiendo características de la región de Aysén, detallando su situación energética actual y sus potenciales de energía renovable estudiados hasta la fecha. Luego, con el propósito de responder a la pregunta ¿Qué es lo más significativo y coherente a investigar en la región de Aysén para promover su transición energética sostenible? Se explica el procedimiento realizado, el cual, se compuso de tres fases. Primero, se buscó información sobre entidades y unidades que investigan en materia energética en Chile, con la finalidad de encontrar referentes. Segundo, a través de una revisión sistemática de publicaciones científicas actualizadas, se identificaron definiciones, criterios y sub-criterios de las transiciones energéticas sostenibles que están siendo estudiadas a nivel mundial, con el fin de usar esa información como marco de referencia para la propuesta de laboratorio. Y, tercero, por una parte, se determinaron componentes y directrices de las cuales debería estar compuesto el laboratorio en cuestión, y por otra, se aplicó un análisis multi-criterio y cuantitativo que permitió seleccionar las tecnologías que utilizan fuentes de energía renovable que se tornan más coherentes a investigar para promover la transición energética sostenible en la región de Aysén.
Dentro de los resultados encontrados se tiene que: en Chile, el 60% de las entidades y unidades que realizan investigación en materia energética, lo hacen en fuentes de energía renovable, pero estas, aparte de ser relativamente recientes, están enfocadas principalmente a los aspectos técnico-económicos, y, al igual que a nivel mundial, con mayor tendencia a la generación de electricidad; también, se reveló que en el contexto científico existe una diversidad de enfoques en los estudios asociados a las transiciones energéticas sostenibles, no obstante, se observó que coinciden en que estas son urgentes y deben tender hacia la descentralización de los sistemas con recursos energéticos locales e incorporar a sus comunidades en el proceso, además, se encontró que en los últimos años, se está propendiendo a una investigación que considera simultáneamente los criterios ambientales, sociales, económicos y técnicos en dichas transiciones; y, de las 15 tecnologías que utilizan fuentes de energía renovable que fueron sometidas a evaluación, resultaron ser 5 las que se tornan más interesantes a investigar en la región de Aysén, para promover su transición energética sostenible.
Finalmente, concluye expresando que un sistema energético abastecido 100% por fuentes de energía renovable en la región de Aysén, se prevé factible a largo plazo, pero se debe mejorar y ampliar la información existente sobre la temática energética y, la transición se debe abordar con un enfoque distinto a lo hecho en países desarrollados, por lo que es altamente pertinente un laboratorio de la naturaleza que se propone. Además, expone que se deben superar tres grandes desafíos que coinciden a nivel mundial: mayor compromiso y apoyo del gobierno; involucrar activamente a la comunidad, y; encontrar opciones factibles para el sector transporte. A su vez, en este trabajo se ha desarrollado una metodología multi-criterio y cuantitativa para seleccionar las tecnologías de energía renovable que son más coherentes a investigar en un territorio especifico, y, deja de manifiesto la necesidad de explorar nuevos paradigmas de desarrollo basando en sistemas energéticos sostenibles.
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A global energy transition without precedents is on the way. However, it should be accelerated in order to reduce the effects of climate change. Intended to contribute to a local scale to combat the challenges associated with energy issues and their implications for a sustainable future, this paper proposes the creation of a renewable energies laboratory for research, development and demonstration to promote sustainable energy transition in the region of Aysén, Patagonia, Chile.
The paper begins by presenting a general background regarding global and Chilean energy conditions and describing the characteristics of the Aysén region, detailing its current energy production and its renewable energy potentials researched to the date. Then, to answer the question ‘’What is the most significant and coherent research in the region of Aysén to promote its sustainable energy transition? ‘’, the performed procedure, which was composed of three phases, is explained. First, the information was sought on entities and units that investigate energy in Chile in order to find referents. Second, a systematic review of up-to-date scientific publications identified definitions, criteria and sub-criteria for sustainable energy transitions which are being studied globally in order to use this information as a reference framework for the proposed laboratory. Thirdly, on the one hand, the necessary components and guidelines of the laboratory in question were determined, and on the other hand, a multi-criteria and quantitative analysis was carried out to select renewable energy technologies which are the most coherent for the research to promote the sustainable energy transition in the Aysén region.
The results show that: in Chile, 60% of the entities and units that carry out energy research do so in renewable energy sources, but these are, apart from being relatively recent, mainly focused on the technical-economic aspects, and, as in the global situation, with a greater tendency to generate electricity; It was also discovered that in the scientific context there are a variety of approaches in the studies associated with sustainable energy transitions; however, it was observed that they agree that these measures are urgent and should tend toward the decentralization of systems with local energy resources and they should also incorporate their communities in the process. In addition, it was found that in recent years the research has been proposed that simultaneously considers the environmental, social, economic and technical criteria in such transitions; And of the 15 technologies that use renewable energy sources which were evaluated, 5 were more interesting to investigate in the region of Aysén to promote its sustainable energy transition.
Finally, it states that a 100% renewable energy system supplied by renewable energy sources in the Aysén region is envisaged to be feasible in the long term, but existing information on the energy conditions should be improved and expanded, and the transition should be addressed by the approach different from the one existing in developed countries, so it makes a proposed laboratory of the nature highly relevant. In addition, it shows that three major global challenges: greater commitment and support from the government; Active involvement of the community, and; the search for feasible options in the transport sector. In turn, this work has developed a multi-criteria and quantitative methodology to select the renewable energy technologies which are more coherent to investigate in a specific territory, and it shows the need to explore new paradigms of development based on sustainable energy systems.
Since the term "sustainable development" was coined, a core set of guiding principles and values has evolved around it. However, its definition remains fluid, allowing institutions, programs of environment and development, and places from local to global to project their own aspirations onto the banner of sustainable development.
Based on the current Serbian Energy Strategy, energy efficiency (EE) has been recognized as the second priority of the economical use of quality energy sources. The most energy inefficient and expensive form of heat generation, electricity, is used by businesses in Serbia, so overspending is the consequence, resources are drained, and pollution increases. The level of importance and implementation of EE management among Serbian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) was a topic of survey conducted in December 2012. The participants rated the general level of awareness of rational energy consumption in Serbia as very low among SMEs. It is also considered that the State and the media are not making enough effort to inform the public about the importance of rational energy consumption. Regarding advisory assistance in the domain of EE the general view is that SMEs in Serbia need advisory assistance in the area of improving EE, both in legislation and administration, and in technical solutions and financing issues. Several recommendations are proposed as a means to providing more implementation of EE measures in companies in Serbia.
The present paper introduces the results of a spatial-economic analysis that identifies the least cost rural electrification options that can bring the persistent energy poverty to an end in Sub Saharan Africa. The rationale behind the analysis is that the applicable energy technologies have gone through fundamental changes and these have profound effects on the competitiveness of the various options. The least cost distributed generation options are calculated for each geographical location for mini hydro, off grid PV and diesel generators options and it is compared to the electricity grid extension. The methodology presented in this manuscript organises the scarcely available energy-related local and regional geo-information into comprehensible maps. The set of tools presented and the results based on those analyses can support decision and policy makers to plan for the least-cost rural electrification options while also adapting to the most effective way to reduce energy poverty. This can help in the national rural electrification plans by delineating which communities cannot be reached by existing grid without excessive extension costs and gives the alternative distributed generation option.
Several contracting parties to the treaty establishing the Energy Community of the South East Europe, currently in energy transition, have electricity production dominantly based on lignite which contrasts their new reality. Planning approach to designing a new feasible energy policy is presented in this paper. This novel approach in using EnergyPLAN tool stems from analysis of market operation of lignite thermal power plants on hourly basis, and quantification of the feasibility of the energy policy and its alignment with EU vision, and is presented in few scenarios. It was found out that the Serbian energy system is highly sensitive to the electricity market and CO2 tax increase, because the marginal costs for lignite generation will increase to more than 50 €/MWh. Shifting in the merit order will be observed even at lower CO2 tax levels, because of the intensity of the emission of the electricity sector (calculated to be higher than 700 gCO2/kWhe, according to current energy policy). Based on the increased use of renewable energy sources and more efficient energy conversion technologies, socio-economic and energy policy feasibility would be increased, while long-term marginal costs would be improved by 2 €/MWh and emission intensity by 258 gCO2/kWhe, compared to the current energy policy. These contributions, shown in the Serbian case, are of general importance for other lignite dominated contracting parties to Treaty establishing the Energy Community.
Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection of Republic of Serbia (MERZ) has presented energy policy for renewable energy sources (RES) to be in line with national and European Union (EU) legal frameworks with main goal to increase renewable energy sources share in gross final energy consumption (GFEC) from 21.2 % to 27 % in 2020. Additionally, list of priority projects (e.g. Bistrica pumped storage hydro power plant, TENT B3 thermal power plant, Novi Sad combined heat and power plant...), with the aim of finding a strategic partner have been presented. Targets are set for integration of different renewable energy sources into energy demand sectors as specific policy goals with draft National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NAPOIE). Construction of selected strategic facilities and reaching of specific policy goals will be simulated with EnergyPLAN to discuss their sufficiency to meet main goal and other two EU 2020 energy strategy goals.
Recent years have seen some fundamental changes in the way the global energy sector and its governance function. All of these changes have a significant impact on the energy policy choices that are available for EU policy makers and should be incorporated in a proactive European strategy for the future. Instead, however, we witness a general stalemate in the energy policy debate within the EU, and internal problems seem to impede any meaningful and coherent external policy. In this article, building on a wide literature review, we sketch the changing global energy landscape, explaining the current state of ‘unprecedented uncertainty’ around a set of major issues. Then we describe what we see as the five ‘cardinal sins’ of European energy policy and governance, which preclude effective common responses and external action. We conclude by outlining possible ways of overcoming the challenges that face European energy policy and governance.
Regionally integrated energy systems can have significant benefits for countries which need extensive replacement and rehabilitations of the existing installations, have small energy markets and energy intensive economy. This paper examines benefits from integration of high share of intermittent renewable energy sources (RES) into energy system of the South East Europe (SEE). The energy system of the SEE is analysed on the basis of two scenarios in the EnergyPLAN model. First scenario is the “national scenario” which analyses benefits from RES integration into national energy systems of SEE countries. Second scenario is the “Integrated scenario” which analyses integration of intermittent renewable energy sources into regionally integrated energy system of the SEE. Total installed capacity of intermittent RES and its impact on the CO2 emission reduction in both scenarios are determinate by taking into account economic limits for critical excess of electricity. The main findings are that total installed capacity of fluctuating RES and CO2 emissions can be significantly increased in the SEE through integration of energy systems.
‘Smart Grids’ are expected to help facilitate a better integration of distributed storage and demand response options into power systems and markets. Quantifying the associated system benefits may provide valuable design and policy insights. Yet many existing energy system models are not able to depict various critical features associated with Smart Grids in a single comprehensive framework. These features may for example include grid stability issues in a system with several flexible demand types and storage options to help balance a high penetration of renewable energy. Flexible and accessible tools have the potential to fill this niche. This paper expands on the Open Source Energy Modelling System (OSeMOSYS). It describes how ‘blocks of functionality’ may be added to represent variability in electricity generation, a prioritisation of demand types, shifting demand, and storage options. The paper demonstrates the flexibility and ease-of-use of OSeMOSYS with regard to modifications of its code. It may therefore serve as a useful test-bed for new functionality in tools with wide-spread use and larger applications, such as MESSAGE, TIMES, MARKAL, or LEAP. As with the core code of OSeMOSYS, the functional blocks described in this paper are available in the public domain.
The countries of the Western Balkans have all been subsumed under a pre‐accession framework that is comparable to previous enlargement rounds, but with two main differences: the EU has thus far refrained from naming a timetable for eventual membership and supports flexible forms of integration in different policy fields. With only a loose prospect of membership, how strong is the EU’s influence in the Western Balkans? With our empirical examples, drawn from energy policy and Justice and Home Affairs, we argue that the incentive of membership remains powerful in terms of initiating EU rule transfer. The key to successful rule adoption in the Western Balkans is to provide clear and tangible short‐term incentives. Rather than full membership, the result is sectoral integration and a creeping process towards EU membership.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to explore an energy strategy for the European Union (EU) that could integrate the tensions between geopolitics and the market in a coherent and consistent external EU energy policy.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach consists of combining the theoretical framework of international political economy and Europeanization to European energy corridors.
Findings
The article finds that most qualitative energy security scenarios can be conceived as applications of international political economy paradigms. Its main result is to conceptually develop a geo‐economic strategy consisting on the Europeanization of EU's external energy corridors along its own energy regulations and standards.
Research limitations/implications
The article explores a distinct hybrid scenario, the Europeanization of energy corridors, which could be instrumental in overcoming the apparent dilemma between EU's market and geopolitical‐based scenarios.
Originality/value
The original contribution of the article lies in the application of international political economy and Europeanization theories to energy security scenarios, and the inclusion of governments' preferences in the process of hedging market and geopolitical scenarios.
Over the past few decades, there has been a growing concern about the social and environmental risks which have come along with the progress achieved through a variety of mutually intertwined modernization processes. In recent years these concerns are transformed into a widely-shared sense of urgency, partly due to events such as the various pandemics threatening livestock, and increasing awareness of the risks and realities of climate change, and the energy and food crises. This sense of urgency includes an awareness that our entire social system is in need of fundamental transformation. But like the earlier transition between the 1750's and 1890's from a pre-modern to a modern industrial society, this second transition is also a contested one. Sustainable development is only one of many options. This book addresses the issue on how to understand the dynamics and governance of the second transition dynamics in order to ensure sustainable development. It will be necessary reading for students and scholars with an interest in sustainable development and long-term transformative change.
This contribution focuses on the limits of European Union programmes and accession practices on environmental policies and performance in Central and Eastern Europe. In particular, we document some of the ways in which state socialist and post-socialist environmental conditions, practices and policies are shaping, and in turn being shaped by, the path of accession and integration. We focus on the diverse and changing patterns of air, water and soil quality in Central and Eastern Europe, the contested nature of new environmental policies, the environmental consequences of economic change, and the sustainability of emerging environmental regimes. The contribution concludes with several questions about the consequences of new state membership for future EU environmental policies.
During the last two decades there has been a great deal of research on renewable energy technologies. It is commonly thought that very little has come out of this research in terms of commercially interesting technologies. The first objective of this paper is to demonstrate that this perception is no longer entirely correct; in the 1990s there has been a double-digit growth rate in the market for some renewable energy technologies. The consequent alteration in the energy system, is, however, a slow, painful and highly uncertain process. This process, we argue, needs to be studied using an innovation system perspective where the focus is on networks, institutions and firms’ perceptions, competencies and strategies. The second objective of the paper is therefore to present the bare bones of such an analytical framework. A third objective is to identify a set of key issues related to the speed and direction of that transformation process which needs to be studied further.
Although South Asian developing countries had initiated some form of electric power sector reform in the 1990s, often under external lending agency pressures, not much progress has been made so far and there is hardly any noteworthy example of a successful reform in the region. This paper provides a brief review of power sector reform efforts in five South Asian countries and uses an institutional economics framework to identify the factors shaping the success of power sector reforms. Four factors, namely instability of rule-makers, poor overall acceptance, slow adaptation and poor transition management are identified and their effect on the reform process of South Asia are analysed. The paper finds that political instability has affected the power sector reform of the region, making hard decisions difficult to take. Slow progress of reform has also affected the sector viability, as signs of adverse effects on the power sector investment and performance are already visible.
Nowadays, Serbia needs to disengage from the broad use of fossil fuels and turn to the “attractive” Renewable Energy Sources (RES) for energy production, since the Kyoto Protocol ratification, so as to resolve systematically the problem of energy demand. In addition, research indicates that Serbia is a country with high potential and favourable conditions for RES energy production, as the country’s potential could supply almost half of its primary energy needs. The paper provides an overview of Serbia’s energy sector status quo, so as to emphasize the necessity for RES implementation in order to balance the country’s energy deficit. The aim is to investigate and present the country’s prospects in the RES sector, revealing the proven RES potential and pointing out that the unexploited RES potential together with an adequately well structured energy sector would create great possibilities and conditions for a new market.
Can there be a common definition of sustainable development?. Views on sustainable development range from those of the mainstream economist to the hardened environmentalist - via many shades of green. This book offers a clear overview of the debates and sets out the various theories, providing an accessible introduction for all who now need to understand how sustainable development affects their working practices. The text is structured around key questions on the concept of sustainable development: Does it define a starting point, a process, or the end-goal?. Can it provide a coherent theory?. Is it a workable concept in practice?. Is it 'balanced' or does 'balance' form part of the solution?. Mark Mawhinney explores the various strands of thought that claim to define sustainable development - as a concept, a theory or as a set of principles. He also highlights gaps in understanding that often arise and attempts to break down the barriers to a common understanding - redefining current concepts in terms that will help to progress the debate on sustainable development.
An excellent companion volume to the successful A History of Eastern Europe, this is a country-by-country treatment of the contemporary history of each of the Balkan states: Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosova. With a distinctive conceptual framework for explaining divergent patterns of historical change, the book shifts the emphasis away from traditional cultural explanations and concentrates on the pervasive influence of strongly entrenched vertical power-structures and power-relations. Focusing on political and economic continuities and changes since the 1980s, The Balkans includes brief overviews of the history of each state prior to the 1980s to provide the background to enable all students of Eastern European history to make sense of the more recent developments.
Southeast European power transmission system is modeled by analyzing the system as an evolving grid, which is continually upgrading in order to satisfy the increasing load demand and certain reliability requirements. We adopt a model (known as OPA model) which satisfies two requirements. First, the model is based on probabilistic line outages and overloads, and it models the network using DC load flow and linear programming dispatch of generation. Second, the model includes systematic upgrading of the production and transmission capacities of the electric-power system. The results show the most vulnerable transmission lines of the Southeast European power transmission system that need to be upgraded. Moreover, the results indicate that the electric power system of Southeast Europe is functioning well with 20% excess of electricity generation. In comparison with the actual excess, it can be concluded that merging the electric power systems of the separate countries in the region into a common trade will produce a great economic benefit in investment of new generation capacities. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
This paper focuses on clean energy solutions in order to achieve better sustainability, and hence discusses opportunities and challenges from various dimensions, including social, economic, energetic and environmental aspects. It also evaluates the current and potential states and applications of possible clean-energy systems. In the first part of this study, renewable and nuclear energy sources are comparatively assessed and ranked based on their outputs. By ranking energy sources based on technical, economic, and environmental performance criteria, it is aimed to identify the improvement potential for each option considered. The results show that in power generation, nuclear has the highest (7.06/10) and solar photovoltaic (PV) has the lowest (2.30/10). When nonair pollution criteria, such as land use, water contamination, and waste issues are considered, the power generation ranking changes, and geothermal has the best (7.23/10) and biomass has the lowest performance (3.72/10). When heating and cooling modes are considered as useful outputs, geothermal and biomass have approximately the same technical, environmental, and cost performances (as 4.9/10), and solar has the lowest ranking (2/10). Among hydrogen production energy sources, nuclear gives the highest (6.5/10) and biomass provides the lowest (3.6/10) in ranking. In the second part of the present study, multigeneration systems are introduced, and their potential benefits are discussed along with the recent studies in the literature. It is shown that numerous advantages are offered by renewable energy-based integrated systems with multiple outputs, especially in reducing overall energy demand, system cost and emissions while significantly improving overall efficiencies and hence output generation rates. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Recent political changes in Eastern Europe have revealed how extensive has been the environmental damage of four decades of socialism. This legacy is one of the region's chief obstacles in the transition to a market economy. This book presents a chapter on each of the case studies of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and (former) Yugoslavia. Each chapter describes and analyzes the major causes and consequences of air, water, soil and vegetation pollution. The book focuses in particular on the effects on the peoples of Eastern Europe and on the environmental quality of life. The final chapter addresses the problems of the pollution scenario, with sections on air, water, soil and vegetation pollution, the nuclear threat, noise pollution, landscape resuscitation, the costs of pollution, conservation policies, and policies for the end of the century. -from Editors
Growth and development which are the fundamental aspirations of seventy percent of the world's population can lead to disastrous consequences from the environmental viewpoint if the patterns of consumption in use in developed countries were to be adopted by developing countries. It is argued that this disastrous course of events can be avoided 'leafrogging' the steps followed in the past by industrialized countries incorporating currently-available modern and efficient technologies early in their development process. Several examples are given in the energy area. A discussion is also made of the policies required to promote 'leapfrog' technologies.
Efficient use of energy has become an imperative in the modern world, mainly for the reasons associated with environmental pollution, sustainable development, security of energy supply and global geo-political stability. Having in mind that the building sector is responsible for 40% of the European Union's total energy consumption, every improvement made in order to improve building energy performance is deemed largely beneficial. Serbia has invested in extensive national energy-efficiency program with an aim to enable refurbishment of 62 public buildings, namely schools, health care and social care institutions. Approach used in order to identify the cost optimal improvement of each building was developed in line with EU recommendations and was proven trustful in terms of results and final project outcome. Measurement conducted in order to verify energy savings achieved confirmed that annual gross final energy consumption was reduced by 47%, thereby enabling related carbon footprint to be reduced by 5.038 tCO2/a in total. Project-specific financial indicators have shown that energy savings achieved resulted in acceptable payback period for the investments made, equalling approximately 13 years in average. This is considered acceptable having in mind poor initial condition of the facilities refurbished and low price of locally available and commonly used coal.
Promoting technological development to improve energy efficiency has been the primary method of energy conservation in China. However, the existence of energy rebound effect will impose negative effects on the final result of energy saving. In this article, we adopt the Malmquist index approach to estimate the contribution of technological progress to economic growth. We also employ Logarithmic mean weight Divisia index (LMDI) to measure the impact of technological improvement on the energy intensity. Based on the above, we set up a model to estimate the technology-based energy rebound effect in China. The results show that, over 1981–2009, energy rebound effect amounts averagely to 53.2%, implying that China cannot simply rely on technical means to reduce energy consumption and emission. Economic instruments should also be applied as supplements to ensure results of energy conservation and emission reduction.
Paper production is an energy-intensive process and accounted for about 9% of industrial energy demand in Germany in 2008. There have only been slow improvements in energy efficiency in the paper industry over the past twenty years. Policies can accelerate the progress made, but knowledge about the remaining efficiency potentials and their costs is a prerequisite for their success.We assess 17 process technologies to improve energy efficiency in the German pulp and paper industry up to 2035 using a techno-economic approach. These result in a saving potential of 34 TJ/a for fuels and 12 TJ/a for electricity, which equal 21% and 16% of fuel and electricity demand, respectively. The energy savings can be translated into mitigated CO2 emissions of 3 Mt. The larger part of this potential is found to be cost-effective from a firm's perspective. The most influential technologies are heat recovery in paper mills and the use of innovative paper drying technologies. In conclusion, significant saving potentials are still available, but are limited if we assume that current paper production processes will not change radically. Further savings would be available if the system boundaries of this study were extended to e.g. include cross-cutting technologies.
Informed energy decision making requires effective software, high-quality input data, and a suitably trained user community. Developing these resources can be expensive and time consuming. Even when data and tools are intended for public re-use they often come with technical, legal, economic and social barriers that make them difficult to adopt, adapt and combine for use in new contexts. We focus on the promise of open, publically accessible software and data as well as crowdsourcing techniques to develop robust energy analysis tools that can deliver crucial, policy-relevant insight, particularly in developing countries, where planning resources are highly constrained—and the need to adapt these resources and methods to the local context is high. We survey existing research, which argues that these techniques can produce high-quality results, and also explore the potential role that linked, open data can play in both supporting the modelling process and in enhancing public engagement with energy issues.
The iron and steel sector is the largest industrial CO2 emitter and energy consumer in the world. Energy
efficiency is key to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. To understand future developments
of energy use in the steel sector, it is worthwhile to analyze energy efficiency developments over the past
two decades. This paper analyses the development of the specific energy consumption (SEC) (measured
as primary energy use per unit of product) in the German steel sector between 1991 and 2007.We found
that the total SEC declined by 0.4%/year. Of this 75%, or 0.3%/year, is due to a structural change towards
more electric arc furnaces (EAF). Energy efficiency improvement accounts for about 25% of the observed
change in SEC, or 0.1%/year. Energy efficiency improvements are found, especially in rolling (1.4%/year).
The net SEC of blast furnaces decreased due to increased top gas recovery by 0.2%/year per tonne iron.
Improvements in other processes were very limited or non-existent. In basic oxygen furnaces (BOF) net
SEC increased due to a 60% decrease in BOF gas recovery between 1993 and 2007. In EAF and sinter plants
the SEC remained constant or, respectively, even increased by 9% between 1991 and 2007 per tonne
sinter.
Despite its extensive political, economic and social ramifications, the process of energy sector transformation in the post-socialist states of Eastern and Central Europe (ECE) and the Former Soviet Union (FSU) has received very little theoretical attention to date. In this paper, I draw attention to the multiple ways in which the energy reform experience of the past two decades has undermined established understandings of scale, reform trajectories and national boundaries in this part of the world. With the aid of concepts developed in Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Actor Network Theory (ANT), I discuss the ability of energy relations and interdependencies to create material and political ‘topologies’ and ‘entanglements’ of power in post-socialism. This exploration is grounded in a discussion of the tensions between the legacies and path-dependencies inherited from the centrally planned economy, on the one hand, and the neoliberal project for energy sector reconfiguration that became the dominant reform paradigm in the early 1990s, on the other.
This article discusses the growing need of energy in both developed and developing countries, and the acute population growth, which will exceed 10 billion by the year 2050. How can a world of 10 billion people be provided with adequate supplies of energy, cleanly, safely and substantially? There is a growing consensus that renewable energy sources will be a very important part of the answer. The growing interest in renewables has been prompted, in part, by increasing concern over the pollution, resource depletion and possible climate change implications of our continuing use of conventional fossil and nuclear fuels. Recent technological developments have also improved the cost-effectiveness of many of the renewables, making their economic prospects look increasingly attractive. It describes the achievement and progress made in hydropower, biomass conversion, geothermal, solar thermal technology, wind energy conversion, and the increasing usage of photovoltaics. It is evident that global warming is setting in and is going to change the climate, as well as the terrain of many countries, unless drastic measures are taken. The Kyoto meeting emphasized the importance of limiting CO2 emissions and to abide by some form of agreement to reduce emissions. The present study concludes that renewable energy penetration into the energy market is much faster than was expected in recent years and by 2030, 15–20% of our prime energy will be met by renewable energy.
Sustainability oriented innovation and technology studies have received increasing attention over the past 10-15 years. In particular, a new field dealing with "sustainability transitions" has gained ground and reached an output of 60-100 academic papers per year. In this article, we aim to identify the intellectual contours of this emerging field by conducting a review of basic conceptual frameworks, together with bibliographical analysis of 540 journal articles in the field. It is against this background that we position the six papers assembled in a special section in Research Policy. These papers pave the way for new conceptual developments and serve as stepping-stones in the maturation of sustainability transition studies, by linking with the scholarly literatures of management studies, sociology, policy studies, economic geography, and modeling.
Serbia has wind with a good capacity factor, the respectable potential of which has not hitherto been utilized. There are a number of proposed wind power projects with an envisaged capacity of up to 2500 MW and the project documentation has been developed for 1300 MW. Within the existing feed-in tariff scheme, only 500 MW are eligible. This limitation is set in a conservative manner bearing in mind moderation (balancing) needs due to the variability of wind power generation. The existing Serbian energy system, with significant hydro generation, available pumped storage hydro capacity, and strong interconnections has many moderators for variable wind generation and for reliable technical performance of the grid. In this study, energy imbalances under different levels of wind penetration into the Serbian energy system were analyzed. Possible new moderation strategies for lowering energy imbalances due to wind integration were evaluated using the EnergyPLAN tool and are presented in this paper. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Energy demand continues to increase in turn raising concerns about energy supply. In this paper, the author has tried to systematize the role of the energy sector in South Eastern (SE) Europe in the context of the European energy policy process. This should make the energy sector in SE Europe more visible and open to substantial activities and appropriate funding. This is important to assure its full alignment with the European energy policy process, and in so doing, make it less fragile. According to the SE European Energy Community Treaty, parties to the Treaty are obliged to implement reforms in the energy and environmental sector in accordance with the European Union's respective policy.
This paper raises awareness of the environmental requirements that have been set, of renewable energy and its implementation, at the same time pointing out that the response in SE Europe has been at a low level. It is believed that this paper could draw attention to the existing problems and could contribute to the establishment of a common integrated energy market in SE Europe and the EU.
Abbreviations
ECT, Energy Community Treaty; SE, South East; EU, European union; SEE, South Eastern Europe; EIA, environmental impact assessment; SAA, stabilization and association process; GHG, greenhouse gases
Keywords
Energy; Climate change; Environment; Renewable energy; Sustainable development; South Eastern Europe
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032109002573
a b s t r a c t Renewable energy technologies have the potential to help solve two pressing problems. On one hand, carbon-free energy sources must play a role in climate change mitigation. On the other hand, renewables might help meet needs of rural people without access to modern energy services. However, if renewables are deployed to combat climate change (primarily resulting from emissions in the developed economies) then providing basic energy services in the developing world may be compromised. The tendency to conflate the two drivers by installing renewables in rural areas for carbon mitigation reasons rather than for development reasons could compromise both goals. The danger is supporting sub-optimal policies for mitigating carbon and for rural energy. This is problematic given the limited funds available for energy development and reducing greenhouse gases. This paper analyzes how these goals have been balanced by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Project documents are used to determine whether incremental costs of installing renewables were covered by GEF funds and whether the costs are comparable with other carbon mitigation options. The results raise concerns about the effectiveness and appropriateness of GEF funding of such projects and highlight the importance of post-Kyoto framework design to reduce emissions and promote development.
This article examines the relationship between the EBRD's project portfolio in the Western Balkan energy sector, and the region's main energy and environment problems. It argues in favour of geographically centred appraisals of the environmental sustainability of multilateral energy investment. Empirical analyses have been placed within the context of this bank's broader policy mandate to support the reconstruction and development of, among other aspects, energy operations in the post-socialist states of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, while promoting environmental sustainability. The article categorizes the Western Balkans' energy and environment problems into two main groups: the failure to shift away from carbon-emitting sources of energy, and the inability to introduce efficient technologies in the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy. It investigates the level to which these issues have been represented in the Bank's energy investment activities in the region. The EBRD's ability to fund energy and environment projects has been affected by, among other factors, the decision-making process within the relevant governments and the Bank itself. These processes are related to the structural legacies of central planning and the organizational cultures embedded within the EBRD at its inception.
This paper discusses the perspective of renewable energy (wind, solar, wave and biomass) in the making of strategies for a sustainable development. Such strategies typically involve three major technological changes: energy savings on the demand side, efficiency improvements in the energy production, and replacement of fossil fuels by various sources of renewable energy. Consequently, large-scale renewable energy implementation plans must include strategies of how to integrate the renewable sources in coherent energy systems influenced by energy savings and efficiency measures. Based on the case of Denmark, this paper discusses the problems and perspectives of converting present energy systems into a 100 percent renewable energy system. The conclusion is that such development will be possible. The necessary renewable energy sources are present, if further technological improvements of the energy system are achieved. Especially technologies of converting the transportation and the introduction of flexible energy system technologies are crucial.
a b s t r a c t Today, there are 1.4 billion people around the world that lack access to electricity, some 85% of them in rural areas. Without additional dedicated policies, by 2030 the number of people drops, but only to 1.2 billion. Some 15% of the world's population still lack access, the majority of them living in Sub-Saharan Africa. The number of people relying on the traditional use of biomass is projected to rise from 2.7 billion today to 2.8 billion in 2030. Addressing these inequities depends upon international recognition that the projected situation is intolerable, a commitment to effect the necessary change, and setting targets and indicators to monitor progress. A new financial, institutional and technological framework is required, as is capacity building in order to dramatically scale up access to modern energy services at the local and regional levels. In this paper, we discussed the energy situation of the developing countries for sustainable development.
One of the consequences of the post-socialist transformation of Eastern and Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union is the emergence of energy poverty, a condition where households are living in inadequately heated homes. This paper examines the institutional and demographic underpinnings of energy poverty in Macedonia and the Czech Republic, two post-socialist states with divergent development paths. It has been established that more than 50 per cent of Macedonian households may be suffering from domestic energy deprivation, while the same figure is less than 10 per cent in the Czech case. The notion of a 'hidden' geography of poverty encapsulates the character of domestic energy deprivation among these populations. Energy poverty has been invisible to decision makers to date, due to its private character and non-conformity to conventional poverty-amelioration methods.
It has been suggested in recent years that developing countries need not pass through the dirty stages of industrial growth that marred the past of today's developed countries. Instead, they may be able to bypass these by leapfrogging straight to modern, clean technologies as an integral part of capacity addition. This article critically reviews existing approaches to leapfrogging. It argues that they are not only characterized by considerable ambiguity, but also based on an incomplete understanding of the technological and policy requirements of cleaner industrialization. Consequently, the article goes on to offer a number of suggestions as to how current approaches might be advanced so as to better meet the challenge of leapfrogging. Amongst these suggestions is greater clarification of the specific targets for leapfrogging and policy intervention to accelerate the development of technological capabilities needed to select, absorb and innovate leapfrog technologies.
In many rural areas, poor people still depend on wood and other biomass fuels for most of their household and income-generating activities. The difficult, time-consuming work of collecting and managing traditional fuels is widely viewed as women's responsibility, which is a factor in women's disproportionate lack of access to education and income, and inability to escape from poverty. Therefore, it is important for energy access programs to have a special focus on women. New options for energy access and sustainable livelihoods, like small-scale biofuels production, can have dramatic benefits for rural women, and their families and communities. Energy development, as both a driving force and a consequence of such tremendous changes, has had profound impact on economic, social, and environmental development. Rural energy has always been a critical issue due to years of energy shortage for both households and industries. Biomass, for long time, has been the only available fuel in many rural areas. The situation in rural areas is even more critical as local demand for energy outstrips availability and the vast majority of people depend on non-commercial energy supplies. Energy is needed for household uses, such as cooking, lighting, heating; for agricultural uses, such as tilling, irrigation and post-harvest processing; and for rural industry uses, such as milling and mechanical energy and process heat. Energy is also an input to water supply, communication, commerce, health, education and transportation in rural areas.
Competences for green development and leapfrogging in Newly Industrializing Countries are becoming increasingly urgent from
a global perspective. The integration of these innovations into the development process in the rapidly growing economies requires
knowledge build-up and technology cooperation. The prospect of exporting sustainability technologies can add an incentive
for them to move towards sustainability technologies. These issues also affect innovations to increase material efficiency,
which are receiving increasing interest among sustainability innovations. The competences for green development are analyzed
with an innovation indicator approach. The general innovation capabilities are evaluated using R&D indicators and survey results
about general innovation capabilities. Technological competences in the sustainability fields are a key indicator for the
absorptive capacity of sustainability technologies and for the ability to export them. International patents and publications,
and successes in foreign trade indicate to what extent a country is already able to participate in global technology markets.
The resulting pattern shows various strengths and weaknesses of the analyzed countries. In general, the knowledge build up
in material efficiency strategies is above-average in the Newly Industrializing Countries. There is a strong need for strategic
positioning of the countries and for coordination of the various policy fields involved.
KeywordsSustainability technologies-Absorptive capacities-Patents-Trade patterns-Material efficiency-Newly industrializing countries
JEL ClassificationsF14-O14-O3
The fall of communism left some of the most polluting and wasteful energy sectors of the World in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). After 15 years of restructuring, eight of these countries have joined the European Union (EU), closing an era of economic transitions. What progress has been made in these countries in the field of energy from the perspective of sustainability? Has the transition agenda been completed, or do any of the socialist energy sector legacies prevail?The purpose of this paper is to review the period of economic transition in the energy sector, focusing on sustainability, in three selected CEE countries, and to use Russia as a comparison. First, the paper argues that at the core of the unsustainability of energy sectors at the end of the communist era were among the highest energy intensities in the world. Then, we identify the legacies of the centrally planned economy that contributed to these high-energy intensities. We outline a policy agenda for the transitions which addresses the identified legacies. Next, we look at the energy landscape at the end of the restructuring, and review the developments in energy intensities during the period of economic transitions. We conclude that, while energy and economic restructuring is very important to bring down the high-energy intensities of former communist countries, a sizeable gap remains in intensity levels between CEE countries and the old EU states. Therefore, economic and energy system reforms alone will not close the gap, and targeted policies and measures are needed to improve energy efficiency levels. Beyond a more serious governmental commitment, a concerted effort is needed from regulators, corporations, utilities, consumer organisations and the civil sector to catalyse the remaining progress to be made in combating the socialist legacy in the field of energy efficiency.
There is renewed optimism about the potential for leapfrogging in the rural energy sector of East Africa. By adopting highly efficient and renewable technologies many believe the region can rapidly bypass the conventional path of energy development and skip directly into the use of more efficient and environmentally friendly technologies. This study explores the potential for energy leapfrogging by examining three technological approaches targeted at rural households in East Africa: conventional grid expansion, renewable energy technologies supplying electricity, and improved cookstoves. The study identifies economic, social, political, and cultural factors limiting the ability of rural people to rapidly switch into using and/or supplying these technologies. The potential for leapfrogging may be overstated by planners and experts who focus on the technical and economic viability of the technologies while insufficiently considering the social conditions and economic realities of daily life in the region. Moreover, energy leapfrogging itself is considered a misconception. Energy transitions in rural areas are incremental processes—not leaps—dependent upon household and regional accumulations of technological capabilities. These capabilities have technical, organizational, and institutional components and are manifest in individuals' capacity to adapt to new technologies, their ability to take economic risks, and in their desire to modify their behavior. In designing technology dissemination or energy supply projects, planners must thoroughly account for the capabilities existing in rural areas.
The increasing costs of fuel and operation of thermal power generating units warrant development of optimization methodologies for economic dispatch (ED) problems. Optimization methodologies that are based on meta-heuristic procedures could assist power generation policy analysts to achieve the goal of minimizing the generation costs. In this context, the objective of this study is to present a novel approach based on harmony search (HS) algorithm for solving ED problems, aiming to provide a practical alternative for conventional methods. To demonstrate the efficiency and applicability of the proposed method and for the purposes of comparison, various types of ED problems are examined. The results of this study show that the new proposed approach is able to find more economical loads than those determined by other methods.
Incl. list of acronyms, glossary of principal trade agreements