Submit to Energies Review for Energies Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Energy Policies and Sustainable Development

Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 May 2026) | Viewed by 7720

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ramona Simut

E-Mail
Guest Editor

Department of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania
Interests: development and application of statistical and econometric methods; energy economy; energy policy; sustainability

Prof. Dr. Alina Badulescu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania
Interests: innovation; sustainability; entrepreneurship; energy economy; energy policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable development is an urgent necessity to secure a future for our planet and all living species. Amidst considerable economic and ecological degradation, the integration of economic, social, and environmental dimensions of development has become paramount. Additionally, the critical role of energy within the broader sustainability context has spurred extensive scholarly work and a focused engagement among policymakers and practitioners.

In response to this pressing need, we invite contributions that explore, but are not limited to, the following areas:

Challenges and strategies for advancing sustainable energy systems;
Economic dimensions of energy, including market dynamics, trade, demand and supply factors, pricing, taxation, and investment;
Social aspects related to energy, such as the nexus of energy–population, energy–urbanization, energy–poverty etc.;
Enhancing energy efficiency and reducing overall consumption;
Expanding access to affordable and sustainable energy sources, with a focus on renewable energy sources;
Fostering research, development, and innovation to promote new energy technologies;
Establishing robust frameworks for national and international policy, institutional cooperation, and policy alignment with sustainable production and consumption principles;
Promoting investment and mobilizing resources—both human and financial—for sustainable energy projects and initiatives;
Developing and implementing effective measures to balance energy supply and demand;
Identifying trends and proposing solutions within sustainable energy policy;
Designing exemplary policies informed by best practices on both the national and global scales.

Dr. Ramona Simut
Prof. Dr. Alina Badulescu
Guest Editors

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

sustainable energy systems
energy strategies
energy economy
energy efficiency
renewable energy sources
energy supply and demand
energy policy

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 (5 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

25 pages, 8159 KB

Open AccessArticle

Marine Spatial Planning-Based Siting Methodology for Co-Located Offshore Wind and Wave Energy

by Emily Cullen and Breiffni Fitzgerald

Energies 2026, 19(7), 1746; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19071746 - 2 Apr 2026

Viewed by 419

Abstract

This paper develops a marine spatial planning (MSP) methodology for strategic siting of co-located offshore wind and wave energy systems, demonstrated for Ireland’s west coast. Although Ireland has exceptional wind and wave resources, objective spatial methods for assessing combined development potential remain limited. The proposed framework integrates a two-stage screening process comprising Boolean exclusion criteria and a weighted multi-criteria suitability index (SI) spanning technical, environmental, and socio-economic factors. The western Irish Exclusive Economic Zone is discretised into 189 grid cells, and site conditions are quantified using 20 years of ECMWF ERA5 metocean data (2002–2022) together with marine-use, environmental protection, and infrastructure datasets from Ireland’s Marine Atlas and associated public sources. Three representative west-coast locations were evaluated in detail. Under the equal-weighting scenario, the site at 52.5° N, 10° W (approximately 40 km west of Moneypoint) achieved the lowest SI score (4.231) and was therefore ranked most suitable compared with 6.634 at 52° N, 11.5° W and 8.093 at 54° N, 10.5° W. The selected site combines comparatively low spatial constraints with favourable depth (−52.4 m) and moderate wind–wave correlation (r = 0.4636), while the resource assessment confirms strong west-coast conditions overall. The framework provides a transparent, transferable, and stakeholder-informed decision-support methodology for early-stage MSP and strategic siting of hybrid offshore renewable energy developments in Ireland and other maritime regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Policies and Sustainable Development)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

30 pages, 1502 KB

Open AccessArticle

Forecasting the Development of Renewable Energy Sources in Poland in the Context of Energy Policy of the European Union

by Piotr Bórawski, Rafał Wyszomierski, Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska, Mariola Grzybowska-Brzezińska and Rafał Warżała

Energies 2026, 19(5), 1340; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19051340 - 6 Mar 2026

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 647

Abstract

Renewable energy sources (RES) will be the main source of energy in the future. The main goal of this study was to analyze and elaborate a prognosis for the development of renewable energy sources in Poland. Specific objectives included: evaluation of the prognosis developed as part of Poland’s energy policy (PEP), development of our own forecast of the share of renewable energy sources, and comparison of the forecast developed for Poland’s energy policy with our own forecast. We have also elaborated a hypothesis that the prognosis for the development of renewable energy sources for Poland prepared by PEP, and our own prognosis based on Autoregressive Moving Average (ARIMA) models, are both promising and confirm the development of the renewable energy sector in the future. We used the Augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) test as well as ARIMA models. Moreover, we compared own RES prognosis with prognoses proposed by the European Union. Cumulative capital expenditures from 2021 to 2040, including financing costs, will amount to PLN 300 billion, of which PLN 195 billion go towards renewable energy sources alone. Photovoltaics (PV) will account for the largest share of energy production, reaching 16 GW of achievable capacity, followed by onshore wind farms with 9.7 GW. Solid biomass accounts for the largest share of renewable energy consumption in heating and cooling, although its share is gradually decreasing from 98.6% in 2005 to a projected 75% in 2040. Heat pumps, which had no share in 2005, are expected to increase their share to a projected 11.8% in 2040. Solar technology has also increased from 0% in 2005 to a projected 5.6% in 2040. The share of renewable energy in this energy sector is increasing from 22.1% in 2020 to 31.8% in 2030 and 39.7% in 2040. The prognosis elaborated by PEP for 2025–2040 are very optimistic and the prognosis elaborated based on ARIMA models is also promising. Both prognoses predict the development of RES in the future and the transformation of the energy sector in Poland. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Policies and Sustainable Development)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

28 pages, 2169 KB

Open AccessArticle

Analyzing the Causal Relationships Among Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Sustainable Energy Enterprises in India

by T. A. Alka, Raghu Raman and M. Suresh

Energies 2025, 18(16), 4373; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18164373 - 16 Aug 2025

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1360

Abstract

Sustainable energy entrepreneurs promote sustainable development by focusing more on energy efficiency. This study examines the interdependence and driving–dependent relationships among the socioeconomic factors (SEFs) influencing sustainable energy enterprises (SEEs). A mixed-methods approach is used, beginning with a literature review and expert consensus, followed by total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) and cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) analysis. Seven key SEFs are finalized through interviews with 12 experts. Data are then collected from 11 SEEs. The study reveals that the regulatory and institutional framework emerges as the primary driving factor influencing other SEFs, including financial accessibility, market demand, technological innovation, and infrastructure readiness. Social and cultural acceptance is identified as the most dependent factor. The study proposes future research directions by identifying the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) related to the antecedents, decisions, and outcomes with theoretical linkages through the Antecedents–Decisions–Outcomes (ADO) framework. The major SDGs identified are SDG 4 (education), SDG 7 (energy), SDG 9 (industry), SDG 11 (communities), and SDG 13 (climate). The study highlights that regulatory support, funding access, skill development, and technology transfer are required areas for strategic focus. Understanding the hierarchy of SEs supports business model innovation, investment planning, and risk management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Policies and Sustainable Development)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

35 pages, 1927 KB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Lights, Policy, Action: A Multi-Level Perspective on Policy Instrument Mix Interactions for Community Energy Initiatives

by Aamina Teladia and Henny van der Windt

Energies 2025, 18(11), 2823; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18112823 - 29 May 2025

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2226

Abstract

Community energy initiatives (CEIs) have the potential to accelerate energy transitions, but their scalability depends heavily on the alignment of policies across various governance levels. This study offers a comprehensive analysis of the multi-level policy instrument mix (PIM) supporting CEIs in the Netherlands, using the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) to conceptualize CEIs as niche innovations within the broader energy regime. Our findings reveal that while national, regional, and local policies in the Netherlands align with overarching decarbonization and community involvement goals, significant misalignments persist. Specifically, the 50 percent local ownership ambition is inconsistently enforced, and grid infrastructure bottlenecks continue to hinder project implementation. These gaps underscore the need for improved coordination and clear role definitions across governance levels. In contrast, well-aligned policy instruments (such as coherent subsidy schemes and regional plans under the national Climate Act) have played a tangible role in supporting the growth of CEIs. This multi-level analysis contributes valuable insights not only for the Netherlands but also for countries seeking to integrate CEIs into their energy strategies. We conclude that a cohesive policy framework—combining top-down targets, bottom-up empowerment, and cross-level collaboration—is essential to empower communities and accelerate a just energy transition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Policies and Sustainable Development)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 655 KB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling and Analyzing Critical Policies for Improving Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing Sector: An Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) Approach

by Yuanyuan Li, Alina Badulescu and Daniel Badulescu

Energies 2025, 18(4), 893; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18040893 - 13 Feb 2025

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1757

Abstract

The manufacturing sector’s carbon emissions and energy consumption is much greater than other counterparts, which needs to be remedied. To solve this issue, energy efficiency is an essential element for sustainable production in the manufacturing process. While a number of studies have examined different energy efficiency policies, no prior study has delved into their interactions. Moreover, there is a lack of studies classifying the policies based on their driving and dependence power. To fill these research gaps, this study identified twelve policies through researching literature, which were further analyzed using the ISM MICMAC approach. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) was used to develop contextual relationships among identified policies, whereas cross-impact matrix multiplication was applied to classification (MICMAC) to analyze driving and dependence power. The study results reveal that “strategic planning” and “green capabilities” are the most influential policies for energy efficiency, while “green marketing” and “green production” have reduced roles in energy efficiency. The findings of this study can be used to manufacture sustainable goods and services, which can enhance overall corporate sustainability. Businesses can lessen their environmental impact while maintaining their financial sustainability through an energy efficiency scheme. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Policies and Sustainable Development)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Energy Policies and Sustainable Development

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI