Special Issue "Renewable Energy Consumption and Economic Growth"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. José Alberto Fuinhas
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, 3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: energy economics; environmental economics
Dr. Matheus Koengkan
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, 3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: energy economics; environmental economics
Mr. Renato Filipe de Barros Santiago
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Management and Economics, University of Beira Interior, 6200-209 Covilhã, Portugal
Interests: development economics; economic policy; energy economics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, because of the environmental problems that our world faces, there is a need to change the energy production/consumption paradigm and to accelerate the worldwide energy transition process. Although it is true that it is becoming imperative to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, we should not neglect the impact that this transition can have on countries’ macroeconomic stability, namely on their economic output. Bearing this in mind, this Special Issue from Sustainability will be primarily focused on the identification and analysis of the effects that the consumption of renewable energy has on economic growth. In fact, although the studies that have been produced centered on renewable energy–economic growth nexus, there are still a considerable number of questions and implications that need further assessment. Overall, there is the need to increase the theoretical and empirical evidence on the effects of the development and deployment of renewable energy on economic growth, especially given that the economic results from the energy transition could be very different if we consider, for example, the countries’ development stages, the countries’ capacity to absorb new technologies or the dependence of the countries on the fossil fuel exportation/importation. In summary, the results from these types of studies are important in order to help policymakers with the development of measures focused on fostering green growth, so that countries will be economically compensated by their investments in the energy transition. In this sense, for this Special Issue, we seek papers that are able to address the renewable energy consumption and economic growth relationship, and that can shed some light on the strategies that should be followed in order to ensure sustainable development.

Dr. José Alberto Fuinhas
Dr. Matheus Koengkan
Mr. Renato Filipe de Barros Santiago
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 papers will be 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. 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 1900 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 economics
  • energy consumption
  • economic growth
  • economic development
  • developing countries
  • developed countries
  • renewable energy
  • fossil fuels

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Industry Leaders’ Perceptions of Residential Wood Pellet Technology Diffusion in the Northeastern U.S.
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4178; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084178 - 09 Apr 2021
Viewed by 546
Abstract
Within a shifting climate of renewable energy options, technology innovations in the energy sector are vital in combating fossil-fuel-driven climate change and economic growth. To enter this market dominated by fossil fuels, renewable energy innovations need to overcome significant barriers related to cost, [...] Read more.
Within a shifting climate of renewable energy options, technology innovations in the energy sector are vital in combating fossil-fuel-driven climate change and economic growth. To enter this market dominated by fossil fuels, renewable energy innovations need to overcome significant barriers related to cost, relative advantages compared to fossil fuels, and policy incentive programs. A better understanding of the innovation diffusion of new technologies in establishing the renewable energy industry can aid policy makers in designing and implementing other renewable energy support programs and improving adoption rates within existing programs. This study assessed industry leaders’ perceptions through semi-structured interviews. We explored the innovation diffusion process of wood pellet residential heating technology, as well as policy needs and barriers within this industry that are hindering successful long-term diffusion and sustainability. We show that while there is high potential to the wood pellet industry in terms of local resources and overall advantages to fossil fuels, it can be difficult to achieve sustainable economic growth with current cost barriers and further policy programs and incentives are needed in addition to improved communication to reduce adoption barriers for wood pellet technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renewable Energy Consumption and Economic Growth)
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