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Bioenergy remains the largest branch of renewable energy, and microalgae are a promising object of research among other types of biomasses whose scale for energy purposes is increasing. On the other hand, the growth of global energy production and urbanization, which results in high rates of municipal waste and wastewater generation, requires the development of integrated technologies that allow waste to be disposed of as fully as possible. Sustainable investments in the production of energy by various technologies are one of the methods to solve this complex problem. In this chapter, we study the methods of microalgae utilization of nutrients from wastewater and by-product liquid waste of sustainable investments from microalgae by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technology. Wastewater has a complex composition, and the treatment of nitrogen and phosphorus and other biogenic elements, as well as heavy metals, using biological objects is optimal and cost-effective. Also the water phase after HTL is a by-product that has limited energy value. Biofuel investments have higher growth rates and at the same time do not compete with the investments in fossil fuels. Biofuel investments' cost of seaweed fuel can be reduced through high-value-added related products, such as food and feed additives, and pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

The military operation of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine exerted additional pressure on prices on the aluminum market since aluminum supplied by Russia accounts for about 10% of the total volume of US imports. It is known that Russia has become the largest aluminum producer after China, and now there is also an increase in aluminum production. Since electricity prices remain relatively low in Russia, especially in energy-surplus Siberia, the increase in output along with the increase in metal prices is a positive factor, since 70% of the primary aluminum produced is exported and only less than a third is consumed domestically. At the same time, high aluminum prices may constrain the expansion of domestic consumption of the metal and may force manufacturers to look for a cheaper alternative. In general, the increase in aluminum prices coincides with the general “supercycle” of raw materials in the last year and a half, and there is a chance to stabilize aluminum prices at current high levels, which will be facilitated, among other things, by new metallurgical projects in Russia. At the same time, it is worth noting that limited metal supplies will haunt the industry for most of 2022, and some experts predict that it may take up to five years to solve the problems.

In scientific works on forecasting price volatility (of which the overwhelming majority, in comparison with works on price forecasting) for energy products: crude oil, natural gas, fuel oil, the authors compared the effectiveness of forecasting models of generalized autoregressive heteroscedasticity (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedastic model, GARCH) with regression of support vectors for futures contracts. GARCH models are a standard tool used in the literature on volatility, and the vector machine nonlinear regression model is one of the machine learning methods that has been gaining huge popularity in recent years. The authors have shown that the accuracy of volatility forecasts for energy and aluminum prices significantly depends on the volatility proxy used. The model with correctly defined parameters can lead to fewer prediction errors than GARCH models when the square of the daily yield is used as an indicator of volatility in the evaluation. In addition, it is difficult to choose the best model among GARCH models, but forecasts based on asymmetric GARCH models are often the most accurate. The work is based on a model with a representative investor who solves the problem of optimizing utility in a two-period model. The key assumption of the model is the homogeneity of energy and aluminum investor preferences, that is, preferences do not change over time. There are also works with an attempt to solve this problem in a continuous state space. A completely new theory has been put forward that allows predicting the movement of the underlying asset without using historical data, so this topic is very relevant.

Access to affordable and sustainable energy is crucial for the improvement of the well-being of modern societies. Most energy technologies require comparatively high up-front investment, which adds to the challenge of electrification, despite the recognized multiple benefits. Partnership with multinational enterprises (MNEs) can provide necessary investment in infrastructure, finance, and technology for renewable energy and contribute to improving development indicators. However, remote areas with poor infrastructure do not have access to MNEs that are profit seekers. The Brazil experience with MNEs and “Light for All” (LfA) program shows that people gaining access to electricity invest more in businesses, education, health, and women reduce their drudgery at household chores. However, areas having a poor infrastructure in the north remain out of electricity, and attempts to create universal access were failed until a regulatory incentive framework and particular attention from the government was established. This is a great learning for the developing countries aiming to achieve sustainable development goals. A host country can gain development cooperation from MNEs with rightly formulated and implemented policies and regulatory conditions.

Aluminum is an exchange commodity. But physical trading of this metal in most cases does not occur on the stock exchange, since more than 90% of aluminum sales with physical delivery occur under direct contracts between producers and buyers of the metal (over-the-counter market). Aluminum as an exchange commodity has standardized consumer properties, namely: the goods are interchangeable, easily transported and stored, and can be divided into batches. That is why upstream products are traded on commodity exchanges, not semifinished products or finished products. When commodity exchanges were first created, they served as a place for concluding physical contracts for the supply of such exchange-traded goods, but with the increase in trading volumes and the development of financial instruments, the role of exchanges has changed. Today, futures contracts for raw materials are traded on them – financial instruments that almost never entail a real physical supply (at the same time, this possibility is not excluded). As a result of the bidding, a price is set that serves as a guideline for producers and consumers around the world.

The turbulent phase of COVID-19 has caused uncertainty as governments fail to develop coherent strategies for cutting emissions and are struggling to match the rhetoric of sustainable activities with actions (Barbier & Burgess, 2020; Cawthorn, Kennaugh, & Ferreira, 2021). In the recent past, firms have failed in their plans to decarbonise their key sectors such as the retail sector in the United Kingdom So far, retailers' commitment to achieving net zero emissions has been an important pledge but delivery is nowhere closer to their promises (Henriques, 2020). The firms' climate targets are not going to be met by magic as serious action is needed to fulfil the promises.

Fossil fuels have led to a drastic increase in carbon emissions in the world over the last decade. Firms championing cleaner energy and low carbon technologies are needed to cut emissions. Renewable energy sources such as wind energy can help reducing the dependency of fossil fuels (Boretti, 2020; Ebhota & Jen, 2020). Wind is an indirect form of solar energy which can provide environment-friendly option in uncertain times and can provide long-term sustainability of global economy. Solar energy technologies have the potential to decrease climate change through energy-related emissions (Li, Dai, & Cui, 2020). Increasing energy demand has initiated a focus on using hydrogen from water as a substitute for oil and fossil fuels (Boretti, 2020).

The first part of the chapter discusses theoretical perspectives of sustainable development and environmental performance with regards to three main issues: energy, water and carbon emissions, whereas the later part highlights the importance of solar technology as a low-polluted alternative to fossil fuels in the retail sector. Sustainable development of energy, water and environmental precautions such as reducing carbon emissions are of interest to wider branches of industries including retail, energy and water sector, governmental policymakers, researchers, educators and society. The purpose of this chapter is to increase the debate of the key issues of sustainable development regarding environment, energy and water in the modern times.

The chapter analyses the role of smart grid technology in the German energy transition. Information technologies promise to help integrate volatile renewable energies (wind and solar power) into the grid. Yet, the promise of intelligent infrastructures does not only extend to technological infrastructures, but also to market infrastructures. Smart grid technologies underpin and foster the design of a “smart” electricity market, where dispersed energy prosumers can adapt, in real time, to fluctuating price signals that register changes in electricity generation. This could neutralize fluctuations resulting from the increased share of renewables. To critically “think” the promise of smart infrastructure, it is not enough to just focus on digital devices. Rather, it becomes necessary to scrutinize economic assumptions about the “intelligence” of markets and the technopolitics of electricity market design. This chapter will first show the historical trajectory of the technopolitical promise of renewable energy as not only a more sustainable, but also a more democratic alternative to fossil and nuclear power, by looking at the affinities between market liberal and ecological critiques of centralized fossil and nuclear based energy systems. It will then elucidate the co-construction of smart grids and smart markets in the governmental plans for an “electricity market 2.0.” Finally, the chapter will show how smart grid and smart metering technology fosters new forms of economic agency like the domo oeconomicus. Such an economic formatting of smart grid technology, however, forecloses other ecologically prudent and politically progressive ways of constructing and engaging with intelligent infrastructures.

Today, the demand for renewable energy investments is increasing due to the increase in the world population and the rapid depletion of resources. Renewable energy investments are seen as an area that requires more technical knowledge and experience than nonrenewable energy investments. For this reason, qualified workforce is important in this field. The aim of our study is to reveal the criteria by which renewable energy investments are effective on qualified labor supply. According to the results of our study, in which the analytic hierarchy process method was used, the criterion with the highest weight was determined as “harmonizing universities with undergraduate and graduate level education and internship opportunities.” When this criterion is taken into account, the implementation of policies toward university education in this field together with the renewable energy investments of the countries will positively affect the qualified labor supply.

This chapter aims to identify new perspectives of geothermal energy investments. For this purpose, all studies in the Web of Science regarding the geothermal energy are taken into consideration. These studies are evaluated with the help of text-mining approach. In this framework, most frequently stated words, two words, and three words are identified. It is concluded that technological development with respect to the geothermal energy is an important issue in this framework. After that, it is also determined that risk is another important factor in this regard. Finally, new implications regarding the geothermal energy are also considered by the researchers. Geothermal energy has a positive contribution to solve many different problems, such as energy dependency, current account deficit problem, and carbon emission. Hence, this study generated the significant issues to improve these investments. While considering the results, it is understood that technological developments related to the geothermal energy projects should be followed effectively. In addition, an effective risk evaluation should be conducted before implementing these projects.