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Advancing Renewable and Low-Carbon Energy Systems for Long-Term Energy Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 1182

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
Interests: renewable energy; solar energy; solar thermal energy systems; soiling; combined PV thermal systems; thermal enhancement techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy efficiency, and secure long-term energy supply has driven the rapid development of renewable and low-carbon energy technologies. As the global demand for energy continues to rise, there is increasing pressure on researchers, engineers, and policymakers to identify innovative techniques for integrating renewable sources, advancing system modeling, and enhancing the performance of energy technologies. The transition toward sustainable energy systems is not only a technological challenge, but also a key requirement for meeting global climate goals and supporting sustainable development.

This Special Issue aims to bring together the latest advances in renewable energy systems, low-carbon technologies, and energy efficiency solutions, with a focus on modeling, optimization, and implementation strategies. In line with the scope of Sustainability, contributions are invited from across disciplines to address the technical, environmental, and economic aspects of energy transition. By combining expertise in energy modeling, system integration, and innovative technologies, this Special Issue seeks to highlight promising pathways for achieving resilient and long-term sustainable energy systems.

In this Special Issue, original research articles, reviews, and case studies are welcome. Potential research areas include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Renewable energy technologies and system integration
  • Photovoltaic systems and solar energy applications
  • Computational fluid dynamics and numerical modeling for energy systems
  • Heat transfer and thermal management in renewable energy devices
  • Energy efficiency measures and demand-side management
  • Hybrid and low-carbon energy systems for sustainability
  • Advanced modeling and simulation of renewable energy processes
  • Policy, economic, and environmental assessments of renewable energy systems

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ahmed Amine Hachicha
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • renewable energy
  • low-carbon energy
  • energy efficiency
  • photovoltaics
  • solar energy
  • computational fluid dynamics
  • heat transfer
  • numerical modeling
  • energy transition
  • sustainable systems

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 745 KB  
Article
Electrification Using Renewable Energy Sources in Relation to the Operational Carbon and Water Footprint in Non-Residential Buildings
by Michał Kaczmarczyk and Marta Czapka
Sustainability 2026, 18(7), 3641; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18073641 - 7 Apr 2026
Viewed by 367
Abstract
Long-term energy sustainability in the built environment depends not only on deploying renewables but also on maintaining high energy efficiency that consistently lowers demand and enables more effective use of low-carbon electricity over time. This paper presents an illustrative case study that demonstrates [...] Read more.
Long-term energy sustainability in the built environment depends not only on deploying renewables but also on maintaining high energy efficiency that consistently lowers demand and enables more effective use of low-carbon electricity over time. This paper presents an illustrative case study that demonstrates a low-data, EPC/audit-based screening workflow for assessing operational energy, carbon, and water-related indicators in a non-residential building. An explanatory case study is conducted for a mixed-use logistics facility in Poland (≈610 m2), combining approaches to useful/final/primary energy indicators with operational carbon and water footprints. The operational water footprint is evaluated as a screening metric (L/kWh) applied to the annual electricity balance and tested across PV self-consumption levels (25/50/75%) to reflect the role of energy management and flexibility. The results indicate that an efficiency-oriented modernization pathway supported by PV integration (≈64 kWp; ~57,350 kWh/yr) reduces the primary energy performance indicator EP from 154 to 62.5 kWh/m2·yr, corresponding to a 59% reduction in annual primary energy demand. The operational water footprint indicator decreases nearly linearly with increasing PV self-consumption, demonstrating that long-term benefits depend on sustained efficiency and on maximizing on-site renewable utilization through controls, demand shifting, and/or storage. Overall, the framework supports transparent benchmarking and the development of staged pathways for integrating renewable and low-carbon energy systems into logistics-building portfolios, while maintaining an analytical focus on operational energy, carbon, and water performances. Full article
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20 pages, 2083 KB  
Article
Zero Photovoltaic Leakage Current Boost Inverter Using Modified Symmetrical Switch Common Ground Topology with Lower Device Stress
by Eltaib Abdeen D. Ibrahim, Mokhtar Aly and Mohamed Orabi
Sustainability 2026, 18(3), 1663; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18031663 - 6 Feb 2026
Viewed by 399
Abstract
The transition to clean photovoltaic sustainable generation sources has motivated several developments in required power electronics interface systems. The conventional solution is based on two cascaded conversion stages, leading to reduced efficiency, inevitable leakage currents, and/or a high number of required components. Another [...] Read more.
The transition to clean photovoltaic sustainable generation sources has motivated several developments in required power electronics interface systems. The conventional solution is based on two cascaded conversion stages, leading to reduced efficiency, inevitable leakage currents, and/or a high number of required components. Another solution is the use of integrated two-stage solutions suffering from asymmetrical switch structures, discontinuous input side currents, and/or complex modulation and control requirements. This paper presents a modified configuration with symmetrical six switches based on the common ground boost inverter solution. Furthermore, the proposed solution presents a continuous input side current and a simple modulation strategy. Moreover, the proposed CG topology offers a reduction of the current stress on the power switch by diverting the load current away from the power switch during the inductor charging. The operation, modulation, and control of the developed solution are presented in the paper, including comprehensive performance comparisons with boost inverter solutions in the literature. Simulation and experimental prototype-based results confirm the advantages and superiority of the proposed topology over existing topologies. Full article
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