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Economic Analysis and Policies in the Energy Sector—2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 November 2025 | Viewed by 1107

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Department of Economics, University of Thessaly, Volos, 38445 Nea Ionia, Greece
Interests: energy economies and policies; applied statistics and econometrics; simulations of economic modeling natural resource and environmental economics; applied micro-economics with emphasis in welfare economics; air pollution; game theory; mathematical models (non-linear programming)
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, there has been a growing research interest in tackling various environmental problems, with associated findings related to empirical applications and their policy implications. The aim of this Special Issue is to consider economic analyses in terms of the most updated and advanced empirical and theoretical methods applied to energy problems.

The main purpose of this Special Issue is to feature the theoretical and empirical practice of sustainable policy performance measurements. The progress of the green economy includes methodological issues in order to indicate and present spatio-temporal patterns of resource and energy use and its associated pollution. Results will be discussed in support of sustainable energy policies. This Special Issue seeks the methodological framework to contribute to sustainable energy policy development, provide energy policy initiatives targeted to socio-economic goods/benefits to capture sustainability obstacles and negative environmental impacts, and to highlight the links and interactions between economic and environmental systems.

The expected outcome is to set targets, propose models for sustainable growth and energy policies, and analyze policy interactions. Potential contributors include researchers and specialists in energy economics and policies.

Prof. Dr. George Halkos
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

  • economic growth and the environment: eco-friendly policies
  • methodologies for studying the environment in all its dimensions: the visual dimension, pollution, the despoliation of resources, air and water quality, noise pollution
  • biodiversity and valuation
  • acid rain, deforestation, ozone depletion, polluted seas
  • global warming and climate change
  • population, poverty and economic growth
  • decoupling of environmental and resource pressures
  • sustainable transportation
  • sustainable tourism
  • environmental efficiency and productivity analysis
  • sustainable development
  • waste management
  • unexpected events

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 1261 KB  
Article
Speculators and Price Inertia in a Day-Ahead Electricity Market: An Irish Case Study
by Joseph Collins, Andreas Amann and Kieran Mulchrone
Energies 2025, 18(17), 4764; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18174764 - 8 Sep 2025
Viewed by 421
Abstract
Short-term dynamics in auction-based Day-Ahead electricity markets remain insufficiently studied. This paper investigates two such aspects in the Irish Day-Ahead market. First, we address an empirical gap by examining the extent of speculator (financial trader) participation and its evolution over time in a [...] Read more.
Short-term dynamics in auction-based Day-Ahead electricity markets remain insufficiently studied. This paper investigates two such aspects in the Irish Day-Ahead market. First, we address an empirical gap by examining the extent of speculator (financial trader) participation and its evolution over time in a European Day-Ahead setting. Using granular participant-level order and trade data, we quantify speculators’ share of overall market activity and assess how often they are marginal in the auction. Although their share of orders and trades is relatively small, speculators are marginal in a substantial proportion of trading periods and their behaviour changes significantly following a Brexit-related structural shift in market coupling. Second, we introduce a sensitivity-based measure of price inertia defined as the resistance of prices to small changes in demand or supply, adapted to the Day-Ahead auction context, a dimension of market behaviour that has received little prior attention. We find that inertia levels vary considerably and also shift following the structural change. Taken together, these analyses provide empirical evidence that speculators play a non-negligible role in a European auction-based Day-Ahead market, while price inertia offers an additional lens through which to examine short-term market dynamics and their evolution under different market conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis and Policies in the Energy Sector—2nd Edition)
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19 pages, 3355 KB  
Article
EU Energy Markets and Renewable Energy Sources—Are We Waiting for a Crisis?
by Tomasz Sieńko and Jerzy Szczepanik
Energies 2025, 18(15), 4201; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18154201 - 7 Aug 2025
Viewed by 375
Abstract
Interactions between the increased penetration of the power system by renewable energy sources (RESs) and the energy pricing mechanism in the EU (day-ahead market) can lead to many unexpected and paradoxical consequences. This article analyses the case of the long-term maintenance of prices [...] Read more.
Interactions between the increased penetration of the power system by renewable energy sources (RESs) and the energy pricing mechanism in the EU (day-ahead market) can lead to many unexpected and paradoxical consequences. This article analyses the case of the long-term maintenance of prices around zero on the day-ahead market in south-western Europe at a certain time of a day. This is an important case since, at the same time, this area generates electricity from a similar source mix as it is in the target for the EU. Zero or very low energy prices are becoming increasingly common across the EU. This can pose a problem for the stability of the electricity supply, as it translates into a lower power of used disposable power sources, which can be used as a reserve when the majority of the energy supply comes from renewable energy sources. Furthermore, this work refutes the most frequently proposed solution to the problem of excessively low prices based on energy storage systems. This work attempts to analyze the long-term low-price situation in Spain and extrapolate the expected consequences based on it; however, it is difficult to find all the factors that occur in the power system and influence the price market and vice versa. The issue is multidimensional and complex, and the analyzed situation revealed a number of trends. Therefore, a multifaceted problem remains. A constant electricity supply must be ensured at a reasonable price, thus avoiding the exposure of individual consumers to energy shortages or significant price increases, while, at the same time, the EU must reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and its legislation must push for reduced CO2 emissions. On the other hand, the EU must provide some type of market mechanism to support the achievement of these goals because the current pricing mechanism based on the day-ahead market does not seem to be effective. This article aims to spark a discussion about this problem; it does not provide any simple solutions to it. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis and Policies in the Energy Sector—2nd Edition)
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