Transitioning to a green economy is a global concern, considered a pathway to sustainable development. This paper aims to investigate the effect of the transition into a green economy on Vietnam’s sustainable development and its two economic and environmental dimensions, with consideration of several essential issues including renewable energy, technological innovation, natural resource rents (oils, forest, and minerals), foreign direct investment, and trade. This paper utilizes data from 1996 to 2020 and then applies the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method for analysis. The results conclude that renewable energy is a driving key to reducing environmental degradation, but it hampers economic growth, while the contrast occurs with technology. Our results emphasize the dependence on non-renewable energy, whereas the innovation of technology does not show a green orientation in Vietnam. Furthermore, there is a lack of sustainability in the effect of natural resource rents, foreign direct investment, and trade. Overall, the transition into a green economy in Vietnam does not illustrate the sustainable orientation. The findings of this research provide empirical evidence to clarify the relationship between this transition and its driving factor, with sustainable development and the two economic environment dimensions. In addition, this study will bring worthwhile implications for the policymakers and scholars on whether the transition to a green economy fulfills the orientation towards sustainability, then enhancing the economy's efficiency to achieve green growth, following the pathway to sustainable development.
2050 building stock might be buildings that already exist today. A large percentage of these buildings fail today’s energy performance standards. Highly inefficient buildings delay progress toward a zero-carbon-building goal (SDGs 7 and 13) and can lead to investments in renewable energy infrastructure. The study aims to investigate how bioclimatic design strategies enhance energy efficiency in selected orthopaedic hospitals in Nigeria. The study objective includes Identifying the bioclimatic design strategies that improve energy efficiency in orthopaedic hospitals, assessing the energy efficiency requirements in an orthopaedic hospital in Nigeria and analysing the effects of bioclimatic design strategies in enhancing energy efficiency in an orthopaedic hospital in Nigeria. The study engaged a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) research method. The investigators used case study research as a research design and a deductive approach as the research paradigm. The research employed a questionnaire survey for quantitative data while the in-depth Interview (IDI) guide and observation schedule for qualitative data. The findings present a relationship between bioclimatic design strategies and energy conservation practices in an orthopaedic hospital building. Therefore, implementing bioclimatic design strategies might enhance energy efficiency in hospital buildings. The result of the study revealed that bioclimatic hospital designs may cost the same amount to build but can save a great deal on energy costs. Despite the challenges, healthcare designers and owners are finding new ways to integrate bioclimatic design strategies into new healthcare construction to accelerate patient and planet healing.
Although much bibliometric research has been conducted to analyze publications on energy policy, a systematic investigation of the sustainability of nuclear energy use after the Fukushima nuclear accident is still lacking. Therefore, this study conducted a comprehensive bibliometric review of the sustainability of nuclear energy policy (NEP). This study discusses NEPs, highlighting their disadvantages; emerging research themes; and networks of the most productive authors, countries, journals, and institutions over the last 20 years (2002–2022). This timeframe was selected because of the Fukushima nuclear accident, which has been one of the largest environmental disasters in recent years. Bibliometric analysis was carried out by reviewing 1146 documents from the Scopus database using the keywords “energy policy” and “nuclear energy.” The OpenRefine software was used to deep-clean keywords with the same meaning, and VOSviewer was used to visualize them. The results show that over the past two decades, future research themes and trends in the study of NEP have focused on nuclear fuel, the Fukushima nuclear accident, risk perception, energy transition, and renewable energy. Bibliometric analysis has positively affected the development of NEP in countries that do not yet have nuclear power plants, such as Indonesia.
Electrical energy is known as an essential part of our day-to-day lives. Renewable energy resources can be regenerated through the natural method within a reasonably short time and can be used to bridge the gap in extended power outages. Achieving more renewable energy (RE) than the low levels typically found in today’s energy supply network will entail continuous additional integration efforts into the future. This study examined the impacts of integrating renewable energy on the power quality of transmission networks. This work considered majorly two prominent renewable technologies (solar photovoltaic and wind energy). To examine the effects, IEEE 9-bus (a transmission network) was used. The transmission network and renewable sources (solar photovoltaic and wind energy technologies) were modelled with MATLAB/SIMULINK®. The Newton-Raphson iteration method of solution was employed for the solution of the load flow owing to its fast convergence and simplicity. The effects of its integration on the quality of the power supply, especially the voltage profile and harmonic content, were determined. It was discovered that the optimal location, where the voltage profile is improved and harmonic distortion is minimal, was at Bus 8 for the wind energy and then Bus 5 for the solar photovoltaic source.
The present work conducts a comprehensive thermodynamic analysis of a 150 MWe Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) using Indian coal as the fuel source. The plant layout is modelled and simulated using the “Cycle-Tempo” software. In this study, an innovative approach is employed where the gasifier's bed material is heated by circulating hot water through pipes submerged within the bed. The analysis reveals that increasing the external heat supplied to the gasifier enhances the hydrogen (H2) content in the syngas, improving both its heating value and cold gas efficiency. Additionally, this increase in external heat favourably impacts the Steam-Methane reforming reaction, boosting the H2/CH4 ratio. The thermodynamic results show that the plant achieves an energy efficiency of 44.17% and an exergy efficiency of 40.43%. The study also identifies the condenser as the primary source of energy loss, while the combustor experiences the greatest exergy loss.
Building cooling load depends on heat gains from the outside environment. Appropriate orientation and masonry materials play vital roles in the reduction of overall thermal loads buildings. A net-zero energy building performance has been analyzed in order to ascertain the optimum orientation and wall material properties, under the climatic conditions of Owerri, Nigeria. Standard cooling load estimation techniques were employed for the determination of the diurnal interior load variations in a building incorporating renewable energy as the major energy source, and compared with the situation in a conventionally powered building. The results show a 19.28% reduction in the building’s cooling load when brick masonry was used for the wall construction. It was observed that a higher heat gain occurred when the building faced the East-West direction than when it was oriented in the North-South direction. Significant diurnal cooling loads variation as a result of radiation through the windows was also observed, with the east facing windows contributing significantly higher loads during the morning hours while the west facing windows contributed higher amounts in the evening. The economic analysis of the net-zero energy building showed an 11.63% reduction in energy cost compared to the conventional building, with a 7-year payback period for the use of Solar PV systems. Therefore, the concept of net-zero energy building will not only help in energy conservation, but also in cost savings, and the reduction of carbon footprint in the built environment.
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