Sustainable energy technologies, renewable sources of energy, energy storage, and resource management. Design, production, application, synergy, and process integration (PRA 1)

The development and use of renewable energy should be treated with the highest priority, especially in light of growing awareness of the adverse impact of fossil fuel energy production on the environment. The need for sustainable development in the energy sector increases rapidly around the world. The wide use of renewables is crucial to achieving power sustainability in both developing and already industrialised countries. The use of renewable resources and power technologies becomes essential because their impact on the environment, compared to other sources of energy, is less harmful. The variety of renewable energy sources provides a broad spectrum of potential uses. However, it is crucial to remember that renewable energy sources, although seemingly clean technologies by definition, during their life cycle, could become sources of liability related to waste emission, resource extraction, or other environmental disruptions.

 

New solutions are conducive to the de-centralisation of the system and promote local soultions that can be, to a certain degree, independent of the national grid. This, in turn, increases the flexibility of the system and provides economic benefits to small and isolated receivers. The major challenge for renewable energy sources is to introduce them to a fail-proof market, making them competitive with fossil fuel energy and without disturbing the local economy. Knowledge on renewable energy technology should be bolstered by launching educational programmes and training courses. Research & development and demonstration projects in the field of energy should receive support to improve information accessibility and raise social awareness. The process of technology transfer and development should be institutionalised by international exchanges and the creation of research networks. To overcome the limitations in the initial phase of the implementation of renewable energy sources, programmes must be developed and supported to stimulate the renewable energy market so that particular options could be used by both industry and individual receivers.