energies-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Green Energy Markets and Environmental Economics: Opportunities and Barriers

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "C: Energy Economics and Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2026 | Viewed by 1894

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Economics, The Jacob of Paradies University, 66-400 Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland
Interests: renewable energy development and sustainability; green energy; management; enterpreneurship

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am honored to invite you to contribute to an interdisciplinary Special Issue devoted to one of the most important challenges of our time – energy transition, sustainable development, and the economic and social aspects of implementing renewable energy sources. This Special Issue, titled "Green Energy Markets and Environmental Economics: Opportunities and Barriers," will be a collection of scientific articles, analyses, and case studies that will demonstrate the potential and limitations of green energy development worldwide.

Our goal is to create a space for in-depth reflection on the directions of change in the energy economy, which are crucial both for the natural environment and for economic and social stability. This publication is intended to serve not only the academic community but also practitioners, entrepreneurs, farmers, decision-makers, and all stakeholders involved in the development of an environmentally friendly economy.

Thematic scope will include:

Green energy and biogas—the importance of biogas plants in energy transition and rural development; the ecological and economic benefits of using organic waste for energy production. Agriculture and Sustainable Development—The role of modern agricultural practices in reducing emissions, the circular economy, and the effective management of natural resources.

Renewable Energy Sources (RES)—Development prospects for solar, wind, hydropower, and biomass; opportunities for their integration into the national energy mix; challenges related to infrastructure and energy storage.

Geothermal Energy—The potential of geothermal energy in Poland and globally; Innovative technologies for extracting and converting thermal energy from the Earth's interior; Economic Viability and Impact on Local Economies.

Financing Green Energy—The Role of Banks, Investment Funds, EU Funds, and Public Instruments in Stimulating Sector Development; Mechanisms Supporting Individual Investors and Enterprises.

Problems of Businesses and Households—Legal, Economic, and Technological Barriers Limiting Access to Green Energy; Ways to Counteract Energy Inequalities.

Opportunities in Education and Entrepreneurship Education—Environmental and Energy Education at Various Stages of Education; Shaping Entrepreneurial Attitudes in Green Technologies; Developing Competencies for the Future Labor Market. Support for start-ups and new business models—the development of innovative enterprises in the green energy sector; examples of good practices, acceleration programs, and ecosystems supporting innovation.

Artificial intelligence in green energy and sustainable development — opportunities for using digital tools and AI algorithms to forecast energy production, optimize distribution, monitor environmental processes, and create new business models.

This Special Issue will be interdisciplinary in nature, so we invite authors representing various fields—economics, engineering, social sciences, natural sciences, law, and education—to collaborate. Both studies based on scientific research and texts presenting practitioners' experiences, market analyses, implementation project reports, and case studies will be valuable.

I believe that bringing together diverse perspectives in a single volume will allow us to create a picture of current trends, identify areas requiring support, and develop recommendations for public policy and economic practice. This Special Issue aims not only to summarize the state of knowledge but also to inspire further research and action in the field of renewable energy and sustainable development.

This Special Issue aims to answer the following questions: What opportunities does the development of geothermal, solar, and wind energy offer? What barriers do households, businesses, and farmers face in transitioning to green energy? How can financial institutions support ecological investments? How can education, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence be leveraged to accelerate the energy transition and make it more socially just?

We encourage submissions of chapter proposals in the form of scientific articles, reviews, analytical essays, case studies, or practical papers.

We hope that through our joint efforts, we will be able to create a valuable publication that will make a significant contribution to the debate on the future of energy and environmental economics, and will also inspire further research and implementation efforts.

Dr. Anna Sobczak
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • green energy
  • renewable energy sources (RES)
  • geothermal energy
  • solar energy
  • wind energy
  • hydropower
  • biogas
  • biomass
  • agriculture and renewable energy
  • sustainable development
  • environmental economics
  • financing green energy
  • financial instruments and EU funds
  • barriers to energy transition
  • energy inequality
  • households and renewable energy
  • businesses and the green transition
  • environmental education
  • entrepreneurship education
  • startups in the green technology sector
  • innovations and new business models
  • artificial intelligence in the energy sector
  • digital technologies and sustainable development
  • energy policy
  • energy transition

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

24 pages, 642 KB  
Article
Green Energy Markets: Towards an Internal Rate of Return and ESG Factors
by Zbysław Dobrowolski, Paweł Dziekański, Grzegorz Drozdowski, Izabella Kęsy, Oleksandr Novoseletskyy and Arkadiusz Babczuk
Energies 2026, 19(8), 1884; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19081884 - 13 Apr 2026
Viewed by 568
Abstract
The contemporary green transformation of the economy is a strategic imperative for businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the energy market, forcing the integration of sustainable practices in decision-making processes, including investment efficiency assessment. Classic financial tools, such as the [...] Read more.
The contemporary green transformation of the economy is a strategic imperative for businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the energy market, forcing the integration of sustainable practices in decision-making processes, including investment efficiency assessment. Classic financial tools, such as the internal rate of return (IRR) and net present value (NPV), commonly used in the SME sector, do not always adequately account for environmental, regulatory, and social risks associated with green transformation, as—particularly in the case of IRR—they rely on the assumption of stable cash flows and do not incorporate regulatory uncertainty, environmental externalities, or ESG-related risks into discounting parameters. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of nominal and real discount rates, adjusted for a synthetic measure of green transformation, on investment decisions. The research methodology combines advanced multi-criteria decision-making techniques, specifically TOPSIS and CRITIC, with sustainable finance concepts, offering an innovative approach to investment decision-making in the SME sector. The study shows that integrating environmental factors, when treated as a risk component, increases the cost of capital and reduces the net present value, while maintaining the profitability of the analysed projects. Incorporating green components into the discount rate enhances valuation appropriateness and improves investment risk management, particularly under macroeconomic uncertainty. The main contribution of the study lies in linking a synthetic green transformation indicator with dynamic discount rate adjustment within a multicriteria framework, extending existing ESG-adjusted valuation models by enabling a more structured and data-driven incorporation of environmental transition risk. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 1187 KB  
Article
Animal Waste-Based Biogas—Toward Closing the Loop in the EU Countries
by Dorota Janiszewska and Luiza Ossowska
Energies 2025, 18(23), 6201; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18236201 - 26 Nov 2025
Viewed by 916
Abstract
The production and use of biogas can play a key role in the transition to a low-emission and circular economy. Animal waste is an available, local substrate for biogas plants, although it is used less frequently than plant waste. Therefore, the main aim [...] Read more.
The production and use of biogas can play a key role in the transition to a low-emission and circular economy. Animal waste is an available, local substrate for biogas plants, although it is used less frequently than plant waste. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to assess the potential of animal biomass and the possibility of producing biogas from it to meet energy needs in EU countries. The potential was estimated for the 27 European Union Member States. Data comes from the Statistical Office of the European Union from 2024. Biomass volumes and the potential for biogas production were estimated using formulas available in the literature. Analyses indicate that European Union countries have significant potential for biogas production from existing biomass from animal waste. Even in countries with relatively high current production, there is significant potential for the production and use of larger quantities of biogas. To achieve climate goals, besides large investments, micro-biogas plants are gaining importance. Small installations may prove to be a solution for countries with quite small and dispersed animal production. Widespread utilization of the potential of biomass from animal waste requires institutional support as well as dissemination of knowledge among various stakeholder groups. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop