Economics of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Systems

As the European Commission emphasizes, the world—and Europe in particular—needs to step up its investment in energy efficiency and renewable technologies, and the development of clean energy business models, embracing new opportunities and consumer empowerment brought about by digitization. However, the transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy, e.g., by shifting generation to renewable energy-sources (RES), introducing demand-response (DR) programs, and enabling technologies, is a difficult and costly process. Due to the intermittent and unpredictable nature of wind and solar power, a massive introduction of RES can affect prices paid to procure balancing resources and, consequently, the costs charged to end users. On the demand side, the transition involves not only technologies but also policies, user practices, information sharing, and a behavioral change among electricity consumers. This Special Issue, therefore, seeks to contribute to the literature through cutting-edge and multi-disciplinary research that addresses the (socio-)economics of sustainable and renewable energy-systems. We invite papers on innovative scientific developments, sound case studies, as well as reviews.