Taking eleven countries in Europe, Canada, South Africa, America, Latin America and Australia, this book discusses recurring barriers to cluster development in the renewable energy sector. The authors look at the real-world dynamics and tensions between stakeholders on the ground, with a particular focus on the relationships between SMEs and other actors. This trans-regional study is unique in its scale and scope, drawing on a decade of field research to show how by learning from the successes and failures of other clusters, costs and risk can be reduced. The book fills a significant gap in the literature for policymakers, managers and economic developers in a key market.

The energy landscape is shifting toward renewable energy sources to mitigate climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The integration of renewable energy sources into the power grid presents various challenges, including uncertainty and variability of renewable energy sources, grid stability, and management of energy storage. Power system operation and optimization play a crucial role in managing the energy supply-demand balance, reducing operational costs, and improving the reliability of the power system. This call for papers aims to bring together the latest research and practical applications related to power system operation and optimization in the context of high penetration of renewable energy sources. We welcome contributions from researchers and practitioners from a broad range of disciplines to shed light on the challenges and opportunities associated with renewable energy integration in power systems. The objective of this Research Topic is to explore the latest advances in power system operation and optimization with a focus on the high penetration of renewable energy sources. We invite potential authors to submit articles for publication on the Research Topic of Frontiers in Energy Research on Power System Operation and Optimization Considering the High Penetration of Renewable Energy.

This book analyses the potential for active stakeholder engagement in the energy transition in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) in order to foster clean energy deployment. Public acceptability and bottom-up activities can be critical for enduring outcomes to an energy transition. As a result, it is vital to understand how to unlock the potential for public, community and prosumer participation to facilitate renewable energy deployment and a clean energy transition – and, consequently, to examine the factors influencing social acceptability. Focussing on the diverse BSR, this book draws on expert contributions to consider a range of different topics, including the challenges of social acceptance and its policy implications; strategies to address challenges of acceptability among stakeholders; and community engagement in clean energy production. Overall, the authors examine the practical implications of current policy measures and provide recommendations on how lessons learnt from this ‘energy lab region’ may be applied to other regions. Reflecting an interdisciplinary approach in the social sciences, this book is an essential resource for scholars, students and policymakers researching and working in the areas of renewable energy, energy policy and citizen engagement, and interested in understanding the potential for bottom-up, grassroots activities and social acceptability to expedite the energy transition and reanimate democracies. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Introduction to AI techniques for Renewable Energy System Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques play an essential role in modeling, analysis, and prediction of the performance and control of renewable energy. The algorithms used to model, control, or predict performances of the energy systems are complicated, involving differential equations, enormous computing power, and time requirements. Instead of complex rules and mathematical routines, AI techniques can learn critical information patterns within a multidimensional information domain. Design, control, and operation of renewable energy systems require a long-term series of meteorological data such as solar radiation, temperature, or wind data. Such long-term measurements are often non-existent for most of the interest locations or, wherever they are available, they suffer from several shortcomings, like inferior quality of data, and in-sufficient long series. The book focuses on AI techniques to overcome these problems. It summarizes commonly used AI methodologies in renewal energy, with a particular emphasis on neural networks, fuzzy logic, and genetic algorithms. It outlines selected AI applications for renewable energy. In particular, it discusses methods using the AI approach for prediction and modeling of solar radiation, seizing, performances, and controls of the solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Features Focuses on a significant area of concern to develop a foundation for the implementation of renewable energy system with intelligent techniques Showcases how researchers working on renewable energy systems can correlate their work with intelligent and machine learning approaches Highlights international standards for intelligent renewable energy systems design, reliability, and maintenance Provides insights on solar cell, biofuels, wind, and other renewable energy systems design and characterization, including the equipment for smart energy systems This book, which includes real-life examples, is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students and academicians studying AI techniques used in renewal energy systems.

Advances in Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development focuses on cutting-edge research areas including renewable energy and sustainable development. As a leader in the global megatrend of science and technology innovation, China has been creating an increasingly open environment for science and technology innovation, increasing the depth and breadth of academic cooperation, and building an innovation community that benefits all people. These efforts make a new contribution to globalization and the building of a community for a shared future. The proceedings feature the most cutting-edge research directions and achievements related to Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development. Subjects in the proceedings include: Hydraulic Engineering Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering Energy Engineering and Energy Technologies Green Manufacturing Energy Policy and Economics Energy Security and Clean Use Geothermal Energy

This thesis investigates the connection between environmental regulation, technological innovation, and export competitiveness in renewable energy equipment based on a large sample of 225 developed and developing countries from 1990 to 2012. The empirical analysis yields strong supporting evidence for the narrowly strong Porter Hypothesis as well as for the lead market theory. The results suggest that environmental regulation drives innovation and export volumes in solar- and wind-power-related goods. This is particularly the case for well-crafted (i.e. market-based, output-oriented, and clear) instruments such as carbon trading regimes. Moreover, the data show that early adopters of renewable energy support policies benefit most.

This book addresses the main challenges faced today in implementing the Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) concept. The book starts with a chapter that addresses problems related to the energy demand and renewable energy sources available in the built environment, along with the restrictions and opportunities in developing sustainable, efficient and affordable solutions, also gaining aesthetic and architectural acceptance. Advanced solutions to cover the energy needs by using various renewable-based energy mixes are presented in two chapters. These two chapters discuss the problem of conversion efficiency at the level of components and systems, aiming at giving value to the variable renewable energy sources, in producing thermal and electric energy. The concept is discussed further in a chapter on advanced solutions for water re-use and recycling wastes as second raw materials. The need for new strategies and implementation tools, for education and training is addressed in the final chapter as part of the nZEB concept, towards sustainable communities. The sub-chapters of the book were openly presented during the 4th Edition of the Conference for Sustainable Energy, held 6-8 November, 2014 and organized by the R&D Centre Renewable Energy Systems and Recycling at the Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania. This event was developed under the patronage of the International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science (IFToMM), through the Technical Committee Sustainable Energy Systems.