Polityka Energetyczna - Energy Policy Journal

This paper discusses the issue of just transition and presents the general directions of Poland’s energy transition until 2040. The just transition plays an important role in the process of Poland’s green energy transition and not without reason – it is the first pillar of Poland’s Energy Policy until 2040. Therefore, the paper attempts to discuss the legal, economic and social aspects of the planned changes. The next part of the paper describes the just transition from the level of the European Union. It points out what challenges member states are facing and what actions they will have to take to meet the transition requirements set by the European goal of climate neutrality by 2050. Particular attention was paid to the activities of the European Commission, which is particularly involved in the process of transforming the European Union’s energy mix. This issue is extremely important for our country as it is going to be the major beneficiary of the EU transition fund.
The penultimate section discusses research performed from 15 to 20 February 2022 on a group of 120 people living in different regions of Poland. The respondents answered a series of questions about general aspects of the energy transition, a just transition as well as the risks resulting from following the European Union’s climate and energy trends. Based on the answers provided, pie charts and bar graphs have been produced in order to make the analysis of the issues discussed clear and understandable. The whole study was concluded with a summary.

The main objective of this paper is (і) to determinate the energy sector as an important part of the resource economy in conditions of increasing epidemiological risks, and (іі) to present the potential of crisis management instruments to influence and strengthen the energy sector in Ukraine. This study uses expert assessments and monographic methods (for the assessment of crisis-management instruments) graphical methods Practical measures aimed at improving and reshaping the energy sector in Ukraine are defined by means of synthesis and economic analysis; statistical and interstate comparisons are used to analyze the Spanish experience of anti-crisis management measures in the post-COVID energy sector.
The study of the world electricity distribution issue shows its direct connection with the energy production source, including renewable energy use, which increased under the impact of COVID-19. The analysis of developed crisis-management systems provides the basis to propose measures to improve and reshape the energy sector in Ukraine. Thus, the results section represents findings to strengthen the energy sector, supporting crisis-management-system development in Ukraine.
The study is a part of a research cycle on energy-sector development, its management and financing. The proposed measures to improve and reshape the energy sector in Ukraine can be applied to specific energy-sector projects, the optimization of investments in the energy sector, as well as being used for the modeling of complex crisis-management systems of various spheres of the economy.

This paper discusses the impact of the European Green Deal policy on the clean energy transformation in the European Union, focusing on the generation of electricity reaching a significant milestone for the EU in 2020 – renewable energy sources for the first time in history surpassing combined fossil fuels in the generation of electrical energy. This achievement, although partially influenced by the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and the electricity demand shock, is primarily an effect of the Clean Energy for all Europeans Package implementing the European Green Deal strategy designed to position the EU as a global leader in the green transformation, leading by example and turning climate challenges into a growth opportunity, and in doing so presenting an optimistic policy perspective for a global transformation towards a 100% renewable energy world, thus supporting mitigation of the global-warming threats by significantly cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. With the immediate effects of the 2018 recast Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001/EU) and other related clean-energy policies under the umbrella of the European Green Deal, coal and lignite electric generation has fallen in 2020 by as much as 22% (87 TWh) and the nuclear generation has dropped by 11% (79 TWh), with natural gas to a much lesser extent, yet still noting an annual drop of 3%, while renewables grew, surpassing the combined fossil fuels electricity output in the whole of the EU. This is an impressive result confirmed in late 2021 and a hallmark of the European Green Deal initial success, the sustainability of which is yet to be assessed in the coming years, especially in view of the recent international situation of major destabilization. In this context, it should be added that although the newest 2022 Global Energy Review report by the IEA confirmed in 2021, the highest global CO ₂emission level in history (following the post -pandemic economic rebound and also due to the gas-price crisis of late 2021 causing gas-to-coal shifts in electricity-mix, which in the EU, resulted in a 7% relative annual emissions increase), Europe’s emission level has remained in a diminishing trend following the European achievements of 2020, with an overall CO ₂ emissions decrease of 2.4% in comparison with the level of 2019. Most likely, however, the 2021 gas-price crisis was only a mere prelude to a much more robust long- -term perturbation that will be expectedly due to the war in Ukraine and the necessary sanctions policy, especially impacting the energy market and probably further hampering the green-transition process jointly with other economic factors.

This article is devoted to an analytical review of the situation in the energy sector of Ukraine, taking into account constructive changes in the connection of the Ukrainian energy system to ENTSO-E and the destructive situation caused by industrial infrastructure failures and economic renewal. It focuses on Ukraine in the context of the principles of decentralization in the direction of significantly increasing the net cost of microgeneration, decarbonization and the transition to “green” energy. The national resource potential of energy-efficient and energy-saving technologies is systematized and the applied recommendations are provided to support state and local trends in energy sector development, namely energy storage projects, distributed generation and microgeneration based on Net Energy Metering to support small projects that solve energy problems. Included are institutional proposals for the establishment of the Agency for Decarbonization in Ukraine for the “green” transition, with broad powers of communication and the ability to make decisions on reducing carbon emissions in all areas. The possibility and expediency of using the concept of innovation is considered both from the global point of view of Ukrainian industry (with the potential prospect of using Ukraine’s industrial and logistics infrastructure as a mega-industrial park for the EU) and in the local sense of national energy, including improvements to the EU’s energy balance. It has been proven that the use of the nearshoring mechanism in Ukrainian industry in general, and in the energy sector in particular, can improve Europe’s energy balance, which has deteriorated over the past five years. Thus, the negative trend of the EU energy balance in thousands of tons of oil equivalent and in percentage terms was demonstrated. To improve the situation, the forecast of energy prices for individual EU countries was calculated taking into account Ukraine’s integration into the European energy system. The analysis and calculations revealed a potentially possible level of price reductions in some EU countries up to 20%. Recommendations are for improving energy-management efficiency at the regional level in particular, ensuring transparency in the development of renewable energy sources, using significant national potential of biofuels and increasing natural gas production, developing a business model of gas distribution center in Western Ukraine, which will be part of national gas distribution system and the European energy market.

This paper proves that the trend of development of modern transport in the world is to maximize the level of providing the personal use of electric vehicles. This mechanism would also partially solve the environmental problems of mankind. To implement this idea, some global automakers have announced the decision of the full transition of production to electric vehicles. At the same time, for effective functioning of the electric-vehicle market, adequate infrastructure needs to be created. There is a positive trend in the annual growth of the charging-station network in developed countries, that characterizes the charging-station market as dynamic and promising, but mostly chaotic and imbalanced at the regional level.
The main hypothesis of the research is about the independence between the level of electric-vehicle market development and networks of charging stations. The object of the study is the Washington (USA) electric-vehicle market, as it is the market segment with the highest development characteristics.
To test the hypothesis, the authors provided a multifactor analysis of the local electric-vehicle market and the existing charging infrastructure. A comprehensive analysis of the electric-vehicle market and the charging-station network in Washington (USA) was performed, and the market characteristics were defined accordingly: the degree of electric-vehicle spread in the regional localities; the level of charging-station-network coverage and concentration; the ratio of electric vehicles to charging stations.
Authors identified the tendency of the state location to innovations connected with electric vehicles. Clusterization and recommendations according to the level of development of the electric-vehicle market aimed to balance and grow the total electric-vehicle market and connected infrastructure.

The smart-city concept refers to a city that uses information and communication technologies to increase the interactivity and efficiency of urban infrastructure and its components, as well as raising awareness among residents of, for example, such socially important issues as energy efficiency and decarbonization. The current priorities and strategic goals of cities and metropolitan areas include climate protection, the reduction of pollution caused by the use of means of transport and heat or energy sources. The development of technology and the evolving smart-city concept are in line with the more efficient use of resources, global demographic trends, and ongoing urbanization processes. This results from the evolving potential of cities that the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) have set in motion. A change in the way cities function is a part of the concept of sustainable development, which involves the thoughtful use of resources in such a way that they are sufficient to not only ensure the well-being of the present generation but to also meet the needs of the future. Particularly important is the principle of sustainable development, which involves the greatest possible synergy between people and the world around them. Therefore, the essence of the idea of sustainable development is the pursuit of the well-being of society while maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem. Studies carried out among inhabitants of cities show that according to their understanding of the smart-city concept, the technological element is as important as the fact that the city is resident-friendly, smartly managed, and well organized, and the entities needed are always in the right place and at the right time. The purpose of this study is to analyze the innovation potential of selected cities of a large metropolis in terms of the smart city concept and 4T capitals. The subject is related to the search by city authorities for new models and tools to shape sustainable development in order to improve their residents’ access to municipal services and amenities, as well as to increase their influence on the future of their cities in such difficult ongoing processes as decarbonization. The main objective of the study was to identify how the authorities of the selected cities incorporate smart-city and 4T-capital topics into local policies to achieve decarbonization goals. The study was based on surveys of residents and municipal employees and on an analysis of local documents and environmental data of pollutions.

This article presents the current and future situation of heat consumption in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The predicted growth of thermal loads until 2030 is shown in the example of Karaganda city. Therefore, the task of creating and implementing automated heat points into the system of heat-supply complexes of cities of the Republic of Kazakhstan is relevant. The article considers the concept of measurement and processing of information in district heating supply systems based on variable cycles of the interrogation of parameters of heat supply at the heat points. As a result of the conducted research, a microcontroller SMART-system for the implementation of rational modes of heat supply used in the process of obtaining and processing information on heat-consumption parameters and making control decisions regarding variable cycles of heat-supply-parameter interrogation at heat points was developed and implemented. The results of the study have been successfully tested on the facilities equipped with automated heat points.

Diesel generator engines operate in wide load modes; therefore, it is necessary to change the percentage of the mixture of diesel and biodiesel fuel depending on the operating mode of the engine; this ensures its technical performance at the required level in all operating modes, including starting and stopping the engine. This article describes an algorithm for the operation of a diesel generator and an algorithm for determining the composition of the fuel mixture. During the study, the ratio between the components of the mixture changed, taking into account the load modes of operation of the diesel generator, indicators of fuel supply and the formulation of the fuel mixture to ensure optimal values of technical and economic indicators. To assess the efficiency of the flow of working processes in a diesel cylinder, their duration was selected, which is estimated by the duration of the processes of fuel injection, evaporation and combustion. Using the dynamic regulation of the composition of the diesel and biodiesel fuel, the total fuel consumption increased by 5.9%, but the cost of purchasing the fuel is reduced by 10% (at prices as of November 2021) and by 14.6% (based on prices as of the beginning of 2022) compared to engine operation with diesel fuel. This confirms the expediency of using the dynamic adjustment of the composition of the fuel mixture. In addition, even higher economic indicators can be achieved by using an autonomous power plant with a diesel power capacity higher than the generator capacity.

The energy strategy of Ukraine until 2035 forecasts that 12% of energy production will be from biomass. Currently, the share of biomass energy in the total structure of energy supplies in Ukraine is only 2%. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the diversification of the energy sector became extremely important. Rising fuels prices, problems with the fuel supply and the availability of agricultural biomass make biofuels an attractive alternative to fossil fuels. Ukraine has the potential to develop the production and use of all types of biofuels: solid, liquid and gaseous. Currently, the existing capacity and feedstock potential of biofuel production in Ukraine have not been fully realized. The experience of leading countries in the field of biofuel production shows that at the basis of the governments’ growing commitment to developing the biofuel sector is a desire to diversify the energy supply, create new jobs, improve energy security and reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other gases that contribute to global warming. The aim of the study is to construct the theoretical and practical principles of the implementation of the strategy for biofuel production from agrobiomass in Ukraine. We came to the conclusion that the trigger for the development of the bioenergy industry is the adoption at the state level of the strategy for the production of biofuels from agrobiomass. The implementation of the strategy for biofuel production will help to increase the production and use of biofuels that will strengthen Ukraine’s energy sector, help to stabilize fuel prices and will have a positive impact on the economic development of the country.

Today, ensuring energy security is becoming increasingly important. It has been proven that agricultural crops are currently the dominant feedstock for the production of biofuels and first-generation biofuels dominate both in Ukraine and around the world and can potentially pose a threat to food security. The research aims to analyze the state of food security in Ukraine in order to estimate the economic basis for the use of surplus food crops for biofuel production for substantiating the required areas for growing energy crops in the volumes that could ensure balance between the food and energy use of crops. An analysis of food security of Ukraine showed that the agricultural sector provides the population with most of the necessary food products, but it is advisable to modernize the food supply standards. It has been proven that crops that can be used for the production of first-generation biofuels in Ukraine are produced in sufficient quantities to ensure food security, and they are exported without compromising the food security of the state and export potential.
As calculated, Ukraine can use about 11–12 million hectares of arable land for growing energy crops with their subsequent processing into biofuels. It has been proven that in the future in Ukraine, it is recommended to develop the production of biofuels (biogas and solid biofuels) from crop and livestock waste, as well as organic waste from processing enterprises. This would not pose a threat to food security and would address a number of environmental issues related to waste disposal. Today, under the condition of war in Ukraine, food security and energy independence are priority issues and energy diversity, including the production and consumption of biofuels, is a top factor for further development.