The Comparison of RES Sustainable Development in the Main Sectors of Economy

Energy consumption in different sectors is responsible for more than 75 % of total EU greenhouse gas emissions. Energy is a priority when it comes to achieving climate goals and keeping greenhouse gas emissions low. The Green Deal is based on the need to use renewable energy sources in the energy sector while ensuring the replacement of fossil fuels and reducing energy dependence. The comparison of sustainable development trends in renewable energy sources (RES) is carried out for all sectors analysed in the study, such as industry, services, agriculture, transport and households. The aim of the study is to find out which of the types of RES is the most promising and sustainable in each sector and which factors influence this the most. The study develops a model that combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods to obtain the most objective and descriptive results possible on RES technologies in different sectors of the economy. In addition to a separate comparison of RES types by sector, a joint sectoral comparison was also made to evaluate the differences in development trends between the sectors considered. The highest rating level for sustainable development was achieved by the potential of biomass use in the agriculture and transport sectors. According to the obtained results, both solar energy and biomass have a high development potential in all analysed sectors, which is also reflected in the higher average values of the overall results

Energy Audit and Energy Management Systems: Review of International Energy Auditing Practice

This research combines the analysis of international knowledge in energy audit practices with information on the nature of energy audit and its involved parties on the path to fulfil the goals set by the European Union policy and Latvian national policy. The article also analyses the publicly available information about the energy sector in Latvia, industry statistics, and legislative acts that have a direct impact on the implementation of energy audits. Although the European Union aims to reduce EU emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and to reduce gas demand by 15% by May 2023, sustainable energy use requires not only increased renewable energy production but also an efficient and competent use of this energy.The article first assesses the institutional basis, by EU regulations, to promote energy audits in the country. International energy audit and energy efficiency practices are also reviewed, focusing on government policy, energy audit standards, tools and methods.As each member state of the European Union has independently interpreted and adapted the EU requirements related to energy efficiency, especially the Directive of the European Parliament and of Council no. 2018/844, which amends Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy efficiency of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, points 6 and 9, then the exchange of information between member states on their knowledge and experience should be considered an essential aspect of the policy, so that in the future countries together could achieve European energy security, independence, competitiveness and sustainability by adopting the best examples there are.The result achieved in the research is a summary of the energy audit experience of the EU and other countries, a description of energy consumption and their prices in Europe, as well as an extract of the most important regulatory acts

Key Factors Influencing the Achievement of Climate Neutrality Targets in the Manufacturing Industry: LMDI Decomposition Analysis

The manufacturing industry is often caught in the sustainability dilemma between economic growth targets and climate action plans. In this study, a Log-Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition analysis is applied to investigate how the amount of industrial energy-related CO2 emissions in Latvia has changed in the period from 1995 to 2019. The change in aggregate energy-related CO2 emissions in manufacturing industries is measured by five different factors: the industrial activity effect, structural change effect, energy intensity effect, fuel mix effect, and emission intensity effect. The decomposition analysis results showed that while there has been significant improvement in energy efficiency and decarbonization measures in industry, in recent years, the impact of the improvements has been largely offset by increased industrial activity in energy-intensive sectors such as wood processing and non-metallic mineral production. The results show that energy efficiency measures in industry contribute most to reducing carbon emissions. In the future, additional policies are needed to accelerate the deployment of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies

From Targets to Action: Analyzing the Viability of REPowerEU in Achieving Energy Sustainability

EU’s energy sector is facing turbulent times as it strives to strengthen energy independence without losing sight of providing affordable and sustainable energy to all. The European Commission’s REPowerEU plan to accelerate the EU’s energy transition places additional pressure on each member state’s path to energy sustainability. To reach this objective, policymakers must assess the present energy sustainability levels of each member state, identify areas for development, and monitor the county’s progress over time. The purpose of this article is to analyze and compare the energy sustainability levels of the EU member states using a variety of indicators and to identify key cornerstones for advancing their energy transition. This study develops an energy sustainability composite index (ESCI) in order to unravel and compare the multiple lawyers of energy sustainability, including energy security, primary energy intensity, share of renewable energy resources, energy efficiency, CO2 emission intensity, and energy poverty. Log-Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition analysis is utilized to track the progress of energy policy in achieving reductions in energy-related CO2 emissions from 2015 to 2019. Changes in CO2 emissions were decomposed using Kaya identity factors to determine which of the following factors contributed the most to the changes: changes in emission intensity, energy intensity, economic or population growth. The results indicate that all EU member states have untapped potential for improving energy sustainability

Key Factors Influencing the Achievement of Climate Neutrality Targets in the Manufacturing Industry: LMDI Decomposition Analysis

The manufacturing industry is often caught in the sustainability dilemma between economic growth targets and climate action plans. In this study, a Log-Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition analysis is applied to investigate how the amount of industrial energy-related CO2 emissions in Latvia has changed in the period from 1995 to 2019. The change in aggregate energy-related CO2 emissions in manufacturing industries is measured by five different factors: the industrial activity effect, structural change effect, energy intensity effect, fuel mix effect, and emission intensity effect. The decomposition analysis results showed that while there has been significant improvement in energy efficiency and decarbonization measures in industry, in recent years, the impact of the improvements has been largely offset by increased industrial activity in energy-intensive sectors such as wood processing and non-metallic mineral production. The results show that energy efficiency measures in industry contribute most to reducing carbon emissions. In the future, additional policies are needed to accelerate the deployment of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies

Realizing Renewable Energy Storage Potential in Municipalities: Identifying the Factors that Matter

The share of renewable energy in heat and power generation is expected to increase significantly and reach record levels in the coming decades. As a result, emerging energy storage technologies will be key elements in balancing the energy system. To compensate the variability and non-controllability of seasonally generated renewable energy (RES) (daily fluctuations in solar radiation intensity, wind speed, etc.) development of sufficient energy storage infrastructure in the regions will play a major role in transforming RES supply potential into reality. However, local public authorities that are responsible for creating an enabling policy environment for RES infrastructure development in regions encounter numerous challenges and uncertainties in deploying sufficient energy accumulation that often remain unanswered due to a lack of knowledge and on-site capacity, which in turn significantly hinders the regional path to climate neutrality. In this study, the PESLTE analytical framework and composite index methodology is applied to examine the multidimensional factors that influence the deployment of renewable energy storage technologies in municipalities: political, economic, social, legal, technological, and environmental. Developed model is approbated in a case study in a Latvian municipality where four different alternative energy storage technologies are compared: batteries for electricity storage, thermal energy storage, energy storage in a form of hydrogen, and energy storage in a form of biomethane

How to assess policy impact in national energy and climate plans

Funding Information: This research was funded by the Latvian Council of Science, project 'Blind spots in the energy transition policy (BlindSpots)', project No. lzp-2018/2-0022. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Lauma Balode, Kristiāna Dolge, Peter D. Lund, Dagnija Blumberga. This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).It is the responsibility of each member state of the European Union, to prepare a national energy and climate plan and set achievable climate targets and meaningful measures and policies to achieve the targets set. Annex 4 of the Latvian National Energy and Climate Plan for 2030 (hereinafter - NECP) provides an overview of policies and measures to achieve the climate targets. The NECP does not provide information on the impact of the policies or which measures are more important and which are less crucial Similarly, the measures in Annex 4 of the NECP were not determined by industry experts but by ministry officials, therefore, it is not clear whether the proposed measures will achieve the set climate targets, a point also made by European Commission in its evaluation report on NECP. The aim of the study is to develop a tool for the early assessment of the impact of energy and climate policy measures. The study developed a methodology to pre-assess the impacts of the policies identified in the NECP, impacts were described by measures effectiveness and stage of development. With this methodology, it is possible to assess the impact of energy policies using indicators to characterize the effectiveness of the policy and the level of development. The study confirmed that both the multi-criteria analysis and composite index method can be used as methods. The results showed that high impact measures were related to the promotion of energy efficiency in buildings, but low impact measures were comprehensive horizontal measures such as measures related principle 'energy efficiency first' and review of energy efficiency obligation schemes. The indicators with the highest impact on sustainability rate were possible side effects and transparency of policies.Peer reviewe

Towards Industrial Energy Efficiency Index

The study analyses factors that determine industrial energy efficiency. Composite index methodology was applied to evaluate energy utilization efficiency levels across different industrial sub-sectors. In total 12 indicators were incorporated in 3 main dimensions – economic, technical, and environmental. The first results for dimension sub-indices of the 18 main manufacturing sub-sectors in Latvia were presented and discussed. The findings of the study indicated that sector-specific disparities exist that significantly impact the energy efficiency performance of each industrial sub-sector

Climate Index for District Heating System

District heating (DH) has been highlighted as an important part in future carbon neutral energy supply. However, the performance of different DH systems varies a lot and the existing regulations do not always motivate DH companies to move toward more sustainable heat production. Therefore, this article presents novel methodology for Climate index determination which can be further used for the comparison of DH systems. The Climate index includes seven different indicators which show DH system performance according to energy efficiency, sustainability and environmental impact dimensions. The methodology is applied for 20 different DH systems operating in Latvia. The results show that the performance of 5 natural gas-based DH systems is below the determined climate benchmark

Towards industrial energy efficiency index

Summarization: The study analyses factors that determine industrial energy efficiency. Composite index methodology was applied to evaluate energy utilization efficiency levels across different industrial sub-sectors. In total 12 indicators were incorporated in 3 main dimensions – economic, technical, and environmental. The first results for dimension sub-indices of the 18 main manufacturing sub-sectors in Latvia were presented and discussed. The findings of the study indicated that sector-specific disparities exist that significantly impact the energy efficiency performance of each industrial sub-sector.Presented on