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Sustainable Technology and Systems for the Integration of Renewables in the Energy Islands

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 17176

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Joey D. Ocon

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Interests: electrochemical energy storage; catalysis; energy systems; hydrogen; off-grid systems
Prof. Dr. Louis Angelo Danao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Interests: computational fluid dynamics; aerodynamics; wind turbines; marine renewable energy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transition to cleaner forms of energy poses several challenges for island nations. Climate change has increased the level of urgency to adopt more sustainable energy sources and has put pressure on island nations, as they have typically relied on imported fuels to keep their economies running. Additionally, they are more vulnerable to natural disasters, so much so that the level of devastation due to recent natural calamities has been observed to be greater than it has been in previous decades. Limited space for human activities offers a challenge to the governments of island nations in allocating their use of energy, food, and other priority areas. Be that as it may, island nations hold some advantages that may alleviate these problems and that may facilitate the transition to clean energy. Mainstream and alternative forms of renewable energy resources, from conventional geothermal and biomass to intermittent wind and solar to emerging wave and tidal currents, are abundant in several locations that have significant and sufficient potential for exploitation. Finally, most of these countries have some of the highest costs of electricity for conventional energy and may transition to renewable energy, which has become cost competitive and is expected to be easier and a major driver, because of the high costs of traditional sources of energy.

This Special Issue attempts to address the issues related to the transition to renewable energy sources  on islands, including small island states, archipelagic countries, and off-grid areas on large islands. From up-to-date resource assessments, appropriate technologies, and systems to economic and social suitability and policy studies as well as apposite co-applications, a wholistic perspective of the current and future landscape of clean energy systems employed on island nations is to be presented. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, studies related to islands that are focused on:

  1. Techno-economic assessments;
  2. Suitability studies;
  3. Social and policy studies;
  4. Off-grid and micro-grid systems ;
  5. Hybrid renewable energy systems;
  6. Productive co-applications of renewable energy;
  7. Energy storage and conversion technologies (i.e., batteries, hydrogen, flywheel, etc.);
  8. Energy efficiency and the circular economy;
  9. Climate-resilient urban and rural energy systems;
  10. The energy–water–agriculture nexus;
  11. Smart energy systems;
  12. Negative emissions energy systems;
  13. The electrification of transportation in the islands.

This Special Issue will be highly valuable in providing additional perspectives in the study of sustainable energy technologies on islands.

Prof. Dr. Joey D. Ocon
Prof. Dr. Louis Angelo Danao
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. 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

  • islands
  • renewable energy
  • smart grids
  • batteries
  • hydrogen
  • off-grid systems
  • hybrid systems
  • energy–water–agriculture nexus
  • electrification
  • negative emission technologies

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 752 KiB  
Article
Adaptation of Existent Methods for Setting Decarbonization Targets in the Brazilian Power Sector Companies
by Hugo Barros Bozelli, Bruna Silveira Guimarães, Alex Azevedo dos Santos, Priscila Grutzmacher, Caroline Cristine Botta, José Eduardo Nunes da Rocha and Amaro Olimpio Pereira Jr.
Sustainability 2025, 17(2), 479; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020479 - 9 Jan 2025
Viewed by 794
Abstract
Power sector companies are crucial in global decarbonization, accounting for 32% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Despite frameworks like the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), there is ongoing debate about the adequacy of current target-setting methods and emissions allocation. This paper focuses on Brazil’s [...] Read more.
Power sector companies are crucial in global decarbonization, accounting for 32% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Despite frameworks like the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), there is ongoing debate about the adequacy of current target-setting methods and emissions allocation. This paper focuses on Brazil’s diverse, renewable-heavy energy mix and complex regulatory environment. It highlights the challenges faced by vertically integrated and predominantly renewable energy companies in meeting SBTi goals, despite their commitment to climate action. The study finds that the current SBTi methodology fails to accurately reflect the efforts of these companies, often penalizing them for emissions beyond their control. An alternative methodology is proposed that excludes unmanageable emissions, aligning targets more closely with operational actions while maintaining transparency in reporting. A key finding is that this new methodology avoids distortions caused by external factors, ensuring emissions reductions are tied to company actions. For renewable power utilities, the methodology emphasizes high-emission categories within the value chain, such as asset construction and maintenance, promoting deeper engagement in decarbonization. A new tool and scenarios were developed, showing that proposed adjustments enhance target accuracy, support global emissions reduction goals, and provide a more transparent and equitable way for companies to report emissions, distinguishing between controllable and external factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Technology and Systems for the Integration of Renewables in the Energy Islands)
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20 pages, 7269 KiB  
Article
A Study on Carbon-Reduction Strategies for Rural Residential Buildings Based on Economic Benefits in the Gannan Tibetan Area, China
by Jingjing Yang and Xilong Zhang
Sustainability 2025, 17(1), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010131 - 27 Dec 2024
Viewed by 513
Abstract
The building sector contributes approximately half of all carbon emissions. The heating stage accounts for the largest proportion of building carbon emissions. The focus on carbon-reduction strategies in rural areas could not be copied from urban buildings due to different heating modes limited [...] Read more.
The building sector contributes approximately half of all carbon emissions. The heating stage accounts for the largest proportion of building carbon emissions. The focus on carbon-reduction strategies in rural areas could not be copied from urban buildings due to different heating modes limited by economic factors. The Gannan region in Gansu province was selected to carry out an on-site survey on heating conditions, including the heating modes, the energy used for heating, heating fees, residents’ satisfaction with heating, and the thermal environment of the typical building. The results showed that local rural residents burnt scattered coal for heating using primitive heating stoves with low efficiency, causing low air temperatures and high heating fees. The carbon emissions generated by heating reached 5743.28 kgCO2e·m−2. Several strategies for reducing carbon emissions were proposed, considering the economic benefits limited by rural economic development. A parameter of reduced carbon emissions per investment input was proposed to evaluate the carbon-reduction strategies. The results showed that biomass was the most economical way to reduce carbon emissions. Reduced carbon emissions per investment input reached 44.19 kgCO2e·CNY−1 with energy efficiency of 50%, followed by thermal insulation design of 32.31 kgCO2e·CNY−1, natural gas furnaces of 26.08 kgCO2e·CNY−1, and air-source heat pumps of 20.27 kgCO2e·CNY−1. In addition, carbon emissions generated by biomass were 12.4% and 24% of those caused by coal and natural gas supplying the same energy. Moreover, building insulation should be increased according to economic benefits. The optimum energy efficiency was 55% in Gannan. The results provided a reference for building low-carbon heating in rural areas, which could help achieve the low-carbon goal with low investments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Technology and Systems for the Integration of Renewables in the Energy Islands)
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19 pages, 5010 KiB  
Article
Mapping of Suitable Sites for Concentrated Solar Power Plants in the Philippines Using Geographic Information System and Analytic Hierarchy Process
by Ana Therese A. Levosada, Renz Paolo T. Ogena, Jan Ray V. Santos and Louis Angelo M. Danao
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12260; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912260 - 27 Sep 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 9850
Abstract
Solar energy is a renewable source of energy harnessed from the sun. Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants harness this energy by focusing sunlight on a limited area to heat a working fluid, which is used to generate steam and power a thermodynamic cycle [...] Read more.
Solar energy is a renewable source of energy harnessed from the sun. Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants harness this energy by focusing sunlight on a limited area to heat a working fluid, which is used to generate steam and power a thermodynamic cycle that produces electricity. There are currently no CSP plants in the Philippines, and this study aimed to locate the most suitable sites for this type of power plant. The first step was to mask out areas totally unsuitable as plant sites; we identified five exclusion factors for this: protected areas, slope, direct normal irradiance (DNI), water bodies, and land cover type. A scoring gradient was then applied to the remaining suitable areas according to seven ranking factors: DNI, slope, typhoon frequency, capacity of the nearest grid line, distance to the nearest grid line, distance to the nearest road, and distance to the nearest water body. Next, to reflect the actual degrees of influence of the factors to site suitability, we determined their relative numeric weights using analytic hierarchy process, with the weights derived from inputs from interviews with academic and industry experts. Finally, using ArcGIS Pro, we used a weighted sum of the ranking scores to produce a suitability map covering the entire Philippines. Suitable sites in the following provinces were found: Ilocos Sur, Pampanga, Mindoro, Masbate, and Maguindanao. These areas have a total area of 27.9 km2 and a projected total power output of 733 MW. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Technology and Systems for the Integration of Renewables in the Energy Islands)
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12 pages, 4053 KiB  
Article
Spatio-Temporal Solar–Wind Complementarity Assessment in the Province of Kalinga-Apayao, Philippines Using Canonical Correlation Analysis
by Karl Ezra S. Pilario, Jessa A. Ibañez, Xaviery N. Penisa, Johndel B. Obra, Carl Michael F. Odulio and Joey D. Ocon
Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3253; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063253 - 10 Mar 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3976
Abstract
Increased utilization of renewable energy (RE) resources is critical in achieving key climate goals by 2050. The intermittent nature of RE, especially solar and wind, however, poses reliability concerns to the utility grid. One way to address this problem is to harmonize the [...] Read more.
Increased utilization of renewable energy (RE) resources is critical in achieving key climate goals by 2050. The intermittent nature of RE, especially solar and wind, however, poses reliability concerns to the utility grid. One way to address this problem is to harmonize the RE resources using spatio-temporal complementarity analysis. Two RE resources are said to be complementary if the lack of one is balanced by the abundance of the other, and vice versa. In this work, solar–wind complementarity was analyzed across the provinces of Kalinga and Apayao, Philippines, which are potential locations for harvesting RE as suggested by the Philippine Department of Energy. Global horizontal irradiance (GHI) and wind speed data sets were obtained from the NASA POWER database and then studied using canonical correlation analysis (CCA), a multivariate statistical technique that finds maximum correlations between time series data. We modified the standard CCA to identify pairs of locations within the region of study with the highest solar–wind complementarity. Results show that the two RE resources exhibit balancing in the resulting locations. By identifying these locations, solar and wind resources in the Philippine islands can be integrated optimally and sustainably, leading to a more stable power and increased utility grid reliability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Technology and Systems for the Integration of Renewables in the Energy Islands)
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Review

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19 pages, 2253 KiB  
Review
Recent Progress in Research on the Design and Use of an Archimedes Screw Turbine: A Review
by Piotr Sołowiej and Krzysztof Łapiński
Sustainability 2025, 17(1), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010201 - 30 Dec 2024
Viewed by 655
Abstract
Due to the ever-increasing demand for clean energy derived from renewable sources, new options for obtaining it are being sought. The energy of water streams, compared to wind energy or solar energy, has the advantage that it can be supplied continuously. A relatively [...] Read more.
Due to the ever-increasing demand for clean energy derived from renewable sources, new options for obtaining it are being sought. The energy of water streams, compared to wind energy or solar energy, has the advantage that it can be supplied continuously. A relatively new solution used in hydro power plants is the AST (Archimedes screw turbine), which perfectly complements the possibilities of energy use of water courses. This solution can be used at lower heads and lower flows than is the case with power plants using Kaplan, Francis, or similar turbines. An AST power plant is cheaper to build and operate and has less negative environmental impact than traditional solutions. Accordingly, research is being conducted to improve the efficiency of the AST in terms of its environmental impact, efficiency, length, angle of inclination, and others. These studies revealed sources of losses, optimal operating conditions, and turbine design methods. They also showed the much lower environmental impact of Archimedes screw turbines compared to the others. In the course of compiling this review, the authors noticed some differences regarding the description proposed by different authors of the characteristic geometric dimensions of turbines and other quantities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Technology and Systems for the Integration of Renewables in the Energy Islands)
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