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This study aims to analyze the effects of variations in annual real interest rates in the assessment of the techno-economic feasibility of a hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) for an off-grid community.

Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software is used to propose an HRES for Abadam community in northern Nigeria. The HRES was designed to meet the basic needs of the community over a 25-year project lifespan. Based on the available energy resources in the community, photovoltaic (PV), wind turbine, diesel generator and battery were suggested for integration to serve the load requirements.

When the annual real interest rates were taken as 10 and 8 per cent, the total amount of total energy fraction from PV, wind turbine and the diesel generator is 28, 57 and 15 per cent, respectively. At these interest rates, wind turbines contributed more energy across all months than other energy resources. The energy resource distribution for 0, 2,4 and 6 per cent annual real interest rates have a similar pattern, but PV contributed a majority of the energy.

This study has used annual real interest and inflation rates dynamic behavior to determine optimal HRES for remote communities. Hence, its analysis will equip decision-makers with the necessary information for accurate planning.

The results of this study can be used to plan and design HRES infrastructure for off-grid communities around the world.

In 2008, a number of Southern African countries cultivated about 900,000 ha of Jatropha, with a number of biodiesel plants ready for production; however, none of the projects succeeded. In 2014, KiOR advanced biofuel Energy Company in the USA announced bankruptcy due to incompetent technology. Studies disclose that the reasons for biofuel plants failure are not only due to lack of incentives and unclear policies but also due to lack of economic feasibility and low production yields. This paper aims to review the techno-economy assessment of second-generation biofuel technologies. The purpose of this paper is to summarize specific techno-economic indicators such as production cost, technology efficiency and process life cycle analysis for advanced biofuel technology and to narrate and illustrate a clear view of what requires assessment to deploy a feasible advanced biofuel technology. This study also reviews assessment of biomass supply chain, feedstock availability and site selection criteria. The review also elaborates on the use of different processes, forecasting and simulation-modeling tools used in different techno-economic analysis studies. The review provides guidance for conducting a technical and economic feasibility study for the advanced biofuels energy business.

The aim of this review is, therefore, to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility studies for the establishment of viable industrial scale production of second-generation biofuels. It does so by grouping studies based on technology selection, feedstock availability and suitability, process simulation and economies as well as technology environmental impact assessment.

In conclusion, techno-economic analysis tools offer researchers insight in terms of where their research and development should focus, to attain the most significant enhancement for the economics of a technology. The study patterns within the scope of techno-economics of advanced biofuel reveal that there is no generic answer as to which technology would be feasible at a commercial scale. It is therefore important to keep in mind that models can only simplify and give a simulation of reality to a certain extent. Nevertheless, reviewed studies do not reach the same results, but some results are logically similar.

The originality of this article specifically illustrates important technical and economic indicators that should be considered when conducting feasibility studies for advance biofuels.

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the agri-food sector are continuously transforming their global value chains (GVCs) to address sustainable development challenges of food security (SDG2) and climate change (SDG13). However, the central role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in (re)creating GVCs across multilevel stakeholders through innovative approaches to solve sustainability challenges remains under investigated. This explorative study investigates how international NGOs influence the transformation of large-scale industrial animal agriculture to a more sustainable (cell-based) agri-food GVC. The authors conducted a case study on the Good Food Institute (GFI), an international NGO, that has been an active player in the transition to alternative sources of protein to solve animal-based agriculture sustainability issues. The results show that an international NGO can contribute to the transition to a more sustainable GVC and can enhance the GVC’s innovation capabilities.

This paper aims to investigate the techno-economic feasibility of wind power potential for a tribal region located in Gachsaran in the South-West of Iran.

Techno-economic feasibility study and analysis of data were conducted by HOMER v2.68 software. Simulations and calculations were performed for 10 kW turbines, 8 Trojan L16P batteries, 12 kW converter and 12 kW generator. To anticipate the pay back period (PBP) or the time required to reach profitability, an engineering economic method named net equivalent uniform annual was applied.

The power plant construction cost, including the initial cost, installing, replacing and project operating costs for useful life of 20 years was equal to $40970. The net income of the project for each year was $8538 and the calculations were carried out using interest rate of 18%. Results indicated that PBP was 13 years which is lower than 20 years useful life of the turbine. Therefore, it is economically feasible to use this type of turbine for the nominated region.

There has not been conducted a research regarding remote areas in Iran; therefore, this study aims at closing this research gap. Moreover, this method could be used for any remote areas in any other developing country.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is facing a rapid growth in energy demand mainly because of factors like burgeoning population, economic growth, modernization and infrastructure development. It is estimated that between 2000 and 2017 the power consumption has increased from 120 to 315 TWh. The building sector has an important role in this respect as it accounts for around 80 percent of the total electricity consumption. The situation is imposing significant energy, environmental and economic challenges for the country. To tackle these problems and curtail its dependence on oil-based energy infrastructure, KSA is aiming to develop 9.5 GW of renewable energy projects by 2030. The campus of the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) has been considered as a case study. In the wake of recently announced net-metering policy, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the prospects of rooftop application of PV in buildings. ArcGIS and PVsyst software have been used to determine the rooftop area and undertake PV system modeling respectively. Performance of PV system has been investigated for both horizontal and tilted installations. The study also investigates the economic feasibility of the PV application with the help of various economic parameters such as benefit cost ratio, simple payback period (SPP) and equity payback periods. An environmental analysis has also been carried out with the help of RETScreen software to determine the savings in greenhouse gas emissions as a result of PV system.

This study examines the buildings of the university campus for utilizable rooftop areas for PV application. Various types of structural, architectural and utilities-related features affecting the use of building roofs for PV have been investigated to determine the corrected area. To optimize the performance of the PV system as well as space utilization, modeling has been carried out for both horizontal and tilted applications of panels. Detailed economic and environmental assessments of the rooftop PV systems have also been investigated in detail. Modern software tools such as PVsyst, ArcGIS and RETScreen have also been used for system design calculations.

Saudi Arabia is embarking on a massive solar energy program as it plans to have over 200 GW of installed capacity by 2030. With solar energy being the most abundant of the available renewable resource for the country, PV is going to be one of the main technologies in achieving the set targets. The country has, however, unlike global trends, traditionally overlooked the small-scale and building-related application of solar PV, focusing mainly on larger projects. This study explores the prospects of utilization of solar PV on building roofs. Building rooftops are constrained in terms of PV application owing to wide ranging obstacles that can be classified into five types – structural, services, accessibility, maintenance and others. The total building rooftop area in the study zone, calculated through ArcGIS has been found to be 857,408 m² of which 352,244 m² is being used as car parking and hence is not available for PV application. The available roof area, 505,165 m² is further hampered by construction and utilities related features including staircases, HVAC systems, skylights, water tanks and satellite dish antennas. Taking into account the relevant obstructive features, the net rooftop area covered by PV panels has been found to be in the range 25–41 percent depending upon the building typology, with residential buildings offering the least. To optimize both the system efficiency and space utilization, PV modeling has been carried out with the help of PVsyst software for both the tilted and horizontal installations. In terms of output, PV panels with tilt angle of 24° have been found to be 9 percent more efficient compared to the horizontally installed ones. Modeling results provide a net annual output 37,750 and 46,050 MWh from 21.44 and 28.51 MW of tilted and horizontal application of PV panels, sufficient to respectively meet 16 and 20 percent of the total campus electricity requirements. Findings of the economic analysis reveal the average SPP for horizontal and tilted applications of the PV to be 9.2 and 8.4 years, respectively. The benefit cost ratio for different types of buildings for horizontal and tilted application has been found to be ranging between 0.89 and 2.08 and 0.83 and 2.15, respectively. As electricity tariff in Saudi Arabia has been increased this year by as much as 45 percent and there are plans to remove $54bn of subsidy by 2020, the cost effectiveness of PV systems will be greatly helped. Application of PV in buildings can significantly improve their environmental performance as the findings of this study reveal that the annual greenhouse gas emission in the KFUPM campus can be reduced by as much as 40,199 tons carbon dioxide equivalent.

The PV application on building roof especially from economic perspective is an area which has not been addressed thus far. Khan et al. (2017) studied the power generation potential for PV application on residential buildings in KSA. Asif (2016) also investigated power output potential of PV system in different types of buildings. Dehwas et al. (2018) adopted a detailed approach to determine utilizability of PV on residential building roofs. None of these studies have covered the economics of PV systems. This study attempts to address the gap and contribute to the scholarship on the subject. It targets to determine the power output from different types of building in an urban environment by taking into account building roof conditions. It also provides detailed economic assessment of PV systems. Subsequent environmental savings are also calculated.

Egypt has set plans to transform into a green economy which requires major reforms in the waste sector as one of the most vital sectors crucial for this transformation. This study aims at inspecting the current status of the Egyptian waste sector to highlight the major policy reforms needed. Furthermore, it assesses the economic viability of establishing waste-to-energy (WtE) projects under the current regulations that govern the sector.

The study employed an inductive analytical approach to scrutinize the institutional and regulatory framework of the waste and WtE sectors. Furthermore, a novel techno-economic analysis was conducted to assess the profitability of a WtE plant that employs moving grate incineration technology.

The analysis of the waste sector revealed its deteriorating state and the dire need for immediate restructuring through more stringent regulations to establish an integrated waste management system (IWMS) that incorporates WtE technologies as well as a number of corrective actions that would help enhance the sector. Additionally, the techno-economic analysis revealed the need to amend the current WtE regulation to comprise a gate fee as an indispensable revenue stream for WtE projects.

This study is one of a few studies that uses a new technique of analysis to explore the potential role that WtE projects can play in Egypt as a part of an IWMS that aims at transforming the waste sector into a resource sector while providing a renewable and sustainable source of energy.

Buildings are among the biggest contributors to environmental impacts. To achieve energy-saving and decarbonisation objectives while also improving living conditions, it is imperative to undertake large-scale renovations of existing buildings, which constitute the greater part of building stock and have relatively low energy efficiency. However, building renovation projects poses significant challenges owing to the absence of optimised tools and methods for planning and executing renovation works, coupled with the need for a high degree of interaction with occupants.

This paper describes the development of an automated process, based on building information modelling (BIM) and the principal component analysis method, for overcoming building renovation challenges. The process involves the assessment and simulation of renovation scenarios in terms of duration, cost, effort needed and disruptive potential. The proposed process was tested in three case studies; multi-residence apartment buildings comprising different construction components and systems, located in Greece, France and Denmark, on which six different renovation strategies were evaluated using sensitivity analysis.

The developed tool was successfully able to model and simulate the six renovation scenarios across the three demonstration sites. The ability to simulate various renovation scenarios for a given project can help to strategise renovation interventions based on selected key performance indicators as well as their correlation at two different levels: the building level and the renovated surface area level.

The objectives of this paper are twofold: firstly, to present an automated process, using BIM, for evaluating and comparing renovation scenarios in terms of duration, cost, workers needed and disruptive potential; next, to show the subsequent testing of the process and the analysis of its applicability and behaviour when applied on three live demonstration sites located in three different European countries (France, Greece and Denmark), involving six renovation scenarios.

This study aims to provide and illustrate the application of a framework for conducting techno-economic analyses (TEA) of early-stage designs for net-zero water and energy, single-family homes that meet affordable housing criteria in diverse locations.

The framework is developed and applied in a case example of a TEA of four designs for achieving net zero-water and energy in an affordable home in Saint Lucie County, Florida.

Homes built and sold at current market prices, using combinations of well versus rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems and grid-tied versus hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, can meet affordable housing criteria for moderate-income families, when 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are at 2%–3%. As rates rise to 6%, unless battery costs drop by 40% and 60%, respectively, homes using hybrid solar PV systems combined with well versus RWH systems cease to meet affordable housing criteria. For studied water and electricity usage and 6% interest rates, only well and grid-tied solar PV systems provide water and electricity at costs below current public supply prices.

This article provides a highly adaptable framework for conducting TEAs in diverse locations for designs of individual net-zero water and energy affordable homes and whole subdivisions of such homes. The framework includes a new technique for sizing storage tanks for residential RWH systems and provides a foundation for future research at the intersection of affordable housing development and residential net-zero water and energy systems design.

Energy use in buildings needs to be reduced to meet political goals; however, reducing energy use can conflict with heritage preservation objectives. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a method that combines quantitative and qualitative analyses of the potential of energy savings in an historic building stock. Specifically, this study examines how requirements of historic building preservation affect the energy saving potential on a building stock level.

Using the World Heritage Town of Visby, Sweden as a case study, this paper illustrates a step-by-step method as a basis for implementing energy savings techniques in an historic building stock. The method contains the following steps: categorisation of a building stock, definition of restriction levels for energy renovation scenarios and life cycle costs optimisation of energy measures in archetype buildings representing the building stock. Finally, this study analyses how different energy renovation strategies will impact heritage values and energy saving potentials for different categories of buildings.

The outcome of the study is twofold: first, the method has been tested and proven useful and second, the results from the application of the method have been used to formulate differentiated energy renovation strategies for the case study.

The study shows that it is possible to integrate techno-economic analysis with assessment of heritage values in a given building stock in order to facilitate a strategic discussion balancing policies and targets for energy savings with policies for the preservation of heritage values. The findings will contribute to sounder policy development and planning for historic building stocks.

This study aims to share experiences of an easy to adapt service-learning approach in a graduate course on life cycle assessment (LCA). Specifically, it reports on how students helped the university’s cafeteria to assess meals by conducting an LCA for 25 meals and identifying environmental hotspots.

A descriptive case study of a graduate course at Ulm University is presented. The course included lectures and problem-based exercises, both theoretical and software assisted. A course evaluation was conducted during the course and one year after completion to poll improvement potentials, as well as its impacts on students’ everyday life.

It was found that although it was the first LCA for all students, the resulting LCA information of 25 different meals were homogeneous, comparable to the scientific literature and beneficial to the cafeteria’s sustainable development strategy. The concept of service-learning had a higher impact on students’ motivation than a good grade and active-learning is explicitly requested by students. The course design sensitized students to the real-life problems of LCA and made their consumption patterns more elaborate and ecological. Furthermore, this digitization of higher education could be carried out with only minor changes in the present COVID-19 pandemic situation.

As the subject of service-learning in natural sciences is still expandable, this study presents an easy to adapt case study on how to integrate such an approach into university curricula dominated by traditional learning. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this case study presents the first published LCA university course explicitly describing and evaluating a service-learning approach. The topic touches the everyday lives of students, allows comparisons between different student groups, is easily scalable to different group sizes and credits, and supports learning both how to study in small groups and cooperation between groups to ensure comparability of LCA results.