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AbstractThis paper considers the possibility to develop cleaner energy production with a perspective on regional material and energy flow management. The co‐production method of district and industrial heat/steam and electricity (of heat and power, CHP) using renewable or waste fuels is viewed as a physical anchor tenant function for locally based industrial recycling networks. Arguably, this production method may be used to enhance the integration of producers as well as end‐consumers into a local recycling network of matter and energy. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment

PurposeThis paper aims to present a forecast for renewable energy production in the USA. Growth curves are used to conduct the forecasts.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based upon a literature review, supplemented by collection of secondary data. The study then focuses on applying the Pearl growth curve.FindingsThe authors' results show that biomass energy production is growing the fastest followed by geothermal and wind. Additionally, the forecast for solar energy production shows little to no growth over the next two decades.Research limitations/implicationsIf the US government hopes to achieve its goals in renewable energy, considerable funding and incentives will have to be put forth to accelerate the growth of renewable energy. Since the biomass technology is already growing nicely it makes sense to put the additional resources behind the other three technologies to close the 10.3 percent gap being forecasted. The government also needs to put more funding into dual renewable plants such as wind or solar combines with pumped hydro, this will ensure environmental and reliability are both maintained. Finally, for renewable energies to be competitive in the long term, considerable research needs to go into driving down the cost so there is not a need for subsidies.Originality/valueThis study provides value in providing a forecast for expected future growth for renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy is more important as the time advances. The need to replace fossil fuels such as coal and oil is a big concern in the European union which has established goals of 20% of share of energy from renewable sources in whole European union. The importance of small energy production devices increases when we think of this goal, so energy can reach every citizen, even in a remote village which is kilometers away from the main power source. In-stream devices are optimal for remote sources, which almost always have a water source in the proximities. In-stream turbines can generate enough power to a common house and because it does not require any sort of head nor dam it is easy to mount. Its efficiency is around 40% for most recent in-stream turbines. The most recent technology in this area, the vortex induced vibration devices are still in development reaching 20-30% efficiency when a single device is working, reaching up to 40% when arrayed in some exact positions. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The engagement of civil society actors in energy generation can be defined by the term community energy. Community energy initiatives have increased in several countries. This thesis aims at better understanding how this phenomenon emerges and how it can contribute to the decarbonization of our economy. For this purpose, a multi-level perspective on socio-technical transitions and strategic niche management theory were employed as theoretical lenses. The research material consisted of 75 qualitative interviews, a survey of 26 distributed energy experts, and a panel data study of 66 large electric utilities from various countries. Thematic, narrative, regression and descriptive statistical analysis were utilized to analyse the data collected. The main findings showed that four main development patterns are triggering the rise of community energy projects. They are: (a) the characteristics of individuals, (b) social needs, (c) economic factors and (d) policy factors. The type of drivers behind community energy development is linked to the possibilities for scaling up the sector. Along with the drivers, some barriers were also identified. These included the resistance of incumbent regime actors to renewable energy diffusion, regulation and, in a few cases, technology performance. Regression analysis and the Granger test for causality showed that this resistance of incumbent energy firms was due to the negative correlation between an increase in renewable energy production and firms' long-term financial performance. The thesis concluded that community energy could have an important role to play in the ongoing energy transition. Its impact, however, is contingent on the degree of internal niche development and on the ways the community energy niche will engage with important regime actors such as energy companies, governments, and network operators. This work contributed to better understanding the factors influencing the development of socio-technical niches in the case of non-market driven innovation and the reasons that lead to the locking-up of energy regimes. In the future, researchers should make further attempts to uncover the ways in which regimes can be unlocked and social innovation for sustainability diffused.