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Environmental Sustainability and Energy Economy: 2nd Edition
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Environmental Sustainability and Energy Economy: 2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 December 2025 | Viewed by 2891

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Susana Silva

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CEF.UP, Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-464 Porto, Portugal
Interests: data analytics regarding economic, social, and environmental issues; policy making; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Erika Laranjeira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. COMEGI, Centro Universitário Lusíada Norte, Rua de Moçambique 21 e 71, Aldoar, 4100-348 Porto, Portugal
2. CEF.UP, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto, R. Roberto Frias, 4200-464 Porto, Portugal
Interests: economics; energy; environment; sustainability; health economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change and environmental problems are forcing all countries in the world to work together to reverse the situation. Policies worldwide are attempting to minimize the negative environmental impacts of economic activities to the greatest possible extent, since this is key to detaching economic growth from environmental degradation. Furthermore, the energy sector is one of the main industries responsible for greenhouse gas emissions; hence, it is under pressure to take effective and urgent measures to reduce its environmental impact.

This Special Issue will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the connections between energy, the environment, and the economy.

Topics to be covered in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • The environmental impacts and sustainability of the energy transition;
  • Renewable energy sources;
  • Energy efficiency;
  • Impacts on energy markets and energy prices;
  • The stability of energy supply and energy security;
  • Demand-side management;
  • Energy and the circular economy.

Dr. Susana Silva
Dr. Erika Laranjeira
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 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

  • energy
  • environment
  • renewable energy
  • economy
  • energy transition
  • sustainability
  • circular economy

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

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 2206 KB  
Article
Energy Management in an Insular Region with Renewable Energy Sources and Hydrogen: The Case of Graciosa, Azores
by Luís Azevedo, Susana Silva, António Vilanova and Erika Laranjeira
Energies 2025, 18(19), 5196; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18195196 - 30 Sep 2025
Abstract
Insular regions face unique energy management challenges due to physical isolation. Graciosa (Azores) has high renewable energy sources (RES) potential, theoretically enabling a 100% green system. However, RES intermittency combined with the lack of energy storage solutions reduces renewable penetration and raises curtailment. [...] Read more.
Insular regions face unique energy management challenges due to physical isolation. Graciosa (Azores) has high renewable energy sources (RES) potential, theoretically enabling a 100% green system. However, RES intermittency combined with the lack of energy storage solutions reduces renewable penetration and raises curtailment. This article studies the technical and economic feasibility of producing green hydrogen from curtailment energy in Graciosa through two distinct case studies. Case Study 1 targets maximum renewable penetration with green hydrogen serving as chemical storage, converted back to electricity via fuel cells during RES shortages. Case Study 2 focuses on maximum profitability, where produced gases are sold to monetize curtailment, without additional electricity production. Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) values of €3.06/kgH2 and €2.68/kgH2, respectively, and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) values of 3.7% and 17.1% were obtained for Case Studies 1 and 2, with payback periods of 15.2 and 6.1 years. Hence, only Case Study 2 is economically viable, but it does not allow increasing the renewable share in the energy mix. Sensitivity analysis for Case Study 1 shows that overall efficiency and CAPEX are the main factors affecting viability, highlighting the need for technological advances and economies of scale, as well as the importance of public funding to promote projects like this. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Sustainability and Energy Economy: 2nd Edition)
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19 pages, 2555 KB  
Article
Real Options-Based Feasibility Evaluation of Offshore Wind Farm Development in Korea’s Idle Coastal Areas
by Seoungbeom Na, Jaebin Lee and Woosik Jang
Energies 2025, 18(18), 4976; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18184976 - 19 Sep 2025
Viewed by 253
Abstract
This study evaluates the economic feasibility of offshore wind farm development on idle coastal areas in Korea, focusing on the Wando Geumil Offshore Wind Farm (GOWF) as a representative case. Offshore wind farms are increasingly recognized as key contributors to achieving carbon neutrality, [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the economic feasibility of offshore wind farm development on idle coastal areas in Korea, focusing on the Wando Geumil Offshore Wind Farm (GOWF) as a representative case. Offshore wind farms are increasingly recognized as key contributors to achieving carbon neutrality, and Korea’s coastal idle zones offer strategic potential for large-scale deployment with minimal land-use conflict. To address market uncertainty—particularly the sensitivity of revenues to the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) weight—this research applies both the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) method and Real Options Analysis (ROA), incorporating expansion and contraction scenarios. Using eleven years of historical System Marginal Price (SMP) and REC data, we estimate price volatility via a Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) model (σ = 23.04%). The DCF results indicate a negative Net Present Value (NPV) of −313.7 million USD, suggesting baseline infeasibility. In contrast, ROA adds strategic value, with the expansion option yielding 69.6 million USD and the contraction option 2.1 million USD in additional project value. These findings demonstrate that integrating policy-driven revenue uncertainty into ROA substantially alters investment recommendations, offering practical guidance for optimizing offshore wind farm deployment on Korea’s idle coastal sites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Sustainability and Energy Economy: 2nd Edition)
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20 pages, 697 KB  
Article
The Impact of Government Open Data on Firms’ Energy Efficiency: Analyse the Mediating Role of Capacity Utilization and Biased Technological Progress
by Ya Su, Diyun Peng, Yafei Wang and Zhixiong Tan
Energies 2025, 18(17), 4626; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18174626 - 30 Aug 2025
Viewed by 450
Abstract
As a new type of production factor, releasing data dividends is of great significance in improving corporate energy efficiency. Based on the data of listed enterprises in China from 2011 to 2022, the establishment of government open data platforms in each prefecture-level city [...] Read more.
As a new type of production factor, releasing data dividends is of great significance in improving corporate energy efficiency. Based on the data of listed enterprises in China from 2011 to 2022, the establishment of government open data platforms in each prefecture-level city is taken as a policy shock event, and the impact of government open data on corporate energy efficiency is empirically examined through a multi-period DID model. The results show that government open data improves enterprise energy efficiency by approximately 2.5% (relative to the mean), and capacity utilization and biased technological progress are the main pathways of action. In addition, the application of big data technology can better fulfill the role of data factors in improving enterprise energy efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis finds that government open data has a stronger effect on enterprise energy efficiency improvement in areas with high manufacturing concentration, environmental tax rate leveling, and high Internet penetration. The study suggests that enterprises should apply big data technology and build a mechanism for integrating data assets and energy management so as to fulfill the important role of data elements in the green development of enterprises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Sustainability and Energy Economy: 2nd Edition)
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25 pages, 10608 KB  
Article
Integrating Energy Transition into Protected Landscapes: Geoinformatic Solution for Low Visual Impact of Energy Infrastructure Development—A Case Study from Roztoczański National Park (Poland)
by Szymon Chmielewski
Energies 2025, 18(16), 4414; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18164414 - 19 Aug 2025
Viewed by 755
Abstract
Energy transition, encompassing the development of renewable energy sources and associated power transmission grids, may significantly impact landscape visual resources, particularly those legally protected. Large-scale energy transitions require a mandatory visual impact assessment procedure, which utilises proximity and visibility analyses to comply with [...] Read more.
Energy transition, encompassing the development of renewable energy sources and associated power transmission grids, may significantly impact landscape visual resources, particularly those legally protected. Large-scale energy transitions require a mandatory visual impact assessment procedure, which utilises proximity and visibility analyses to comply with legal regulations and achieve minimal visual impact. While design stage proximity provides full compliance with the given country’s legal acts, the following visual impact analysis is more about demonstrating the low visual impact of design variants. Notably, at the energy infrastructure planning stage, the information on visual landscape resources remains insufficient; hence, avoiding conflicts is particularly challenging. To address this issue, a geoinformatic framework for Visual Landscape Absorption Capacity (VLAC) is proposed to support the sustainable planning of energy infrastructure right before the visual impact assessment. The framework involves identifying sensitive and valuable vantage points across the analysed landscape and determining the dimensions of energy infrastructure to be developed in a sustainable way regarding visual landscape resources. This paper presents a case study from Roztocze National Park in Poland, a protected area under significant pressure from solar farms and accompanying power transmission lines development. The results provide a critical assessment of the existing transmission lines (110 kV) and solar farms in relation to landscape visual resources, while also identifying three key areas where further infrastructure development can occur without landscape resource degradation. The framework geocomputation is based on digital elevation models, enabling easy replication in other locations to support the decision-making process and facilitate sustainable energy facility planning, thereby minimising potential conflicts with landscape resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Sustainability and Energy Economy: 2nd Edition)
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Review

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22 pages, 1189 KB  
Review
EU Bioenergy—Status and Potential
by Manfred Kircher
Energies 2025, 18(18), 4857; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18184857 - 12 Sep 2025
Viewed by 425
Abstract
In the interest of climate protection and the promotion of a sustainable economy, the European Union (EU) is pursuing a policy of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energies. The objective of this initiative is twofold: first, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, [...] Read more.
In the interest of climate protection and the promotion of a sustainable economy, the European Union (EU) is pursuing a policy of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energies. The objective of this initiative is twofold: first, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and second, to decrease the reliance on energy imports. This article utilizes publicly accessible databases and studies to assess the extent to which bioenergy (including fuels, heat, and electricity) contributes to these objectives and its long-term potential. Presently, bioenergy constitutes approximately 14% of Europe’s energy supply, with a share of 60% ranking as the foremost source of renewable energy. The evaluation of bioenergy-related GHG is hindered by the fact that the official databases do not satisfy the criteria necessary for scientific analysis. Further expansion of bioenergy should be based on European non-food biomass, as required by the current Renewable Energy Directive REDIII. Taking competing non-energy uses into account, the potential for further growth, contribution to total energy supply, and independence from imports is likely to be limited. As part of the strategic development of bioenergy, there is a considerable need for research into the use of biomass for competing energy and material use pathways, taking into account the different economic potential. To this end, the introduction of a new economic indicator of value creation intensity is proposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Sustainability and Energy Economy: 2nd Edition)
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