Considering the challenge of accessing reliable household metering data in Nigeria, how can electricity consumption levels be determined? And how do disparities in electricity consumption patterns across the country affect the pursuit of sustainability, universal access and energy transition objectives? This study combined household-reported data on ownership of electrical appliances and energy expenditure with online sales records of household appliances to estimate current and future residential electricity demand in Nigeria, as well as the required generation capacity to achieve 100% electricity access, under various scenarios. Median residential electricity consumption was estimated at 18-27 kWh per capita but these estimates vary between the geographical zones with the North East and South West representing extremes. Under a universal access scenario, the future electricity supply system would be expected to have installed generation capacity sufficient to meet the estimated residential demand of 85 TWh. To further understand the required infrastructure investment as a whole and the approaches that might be preferred in rural versus urban areas, the disaggregated, zone-by-zone and urban/rural data may offer more insight than a whole-of-country approach. The data obtained is useful for identifying specific transitions at the sub-national level that can minimize the required investment while maximizing households' energy access.

As environmental problems associated with energy systems become more serious, it is necessary to address them with consideration of their interconnections-for example, the energy-mineral nexus. Specifically, it is unclear whether long-term energy scenarios assuming the expansion of low carbon energy technology are sustainable in terms of resource constraints. However, there are few studies that comprehensively analyze the possibility of resource constraints in the process of introducing low carbon energy technology from a long-term perspective. Hence, to provide guidelines for technological development and policy-making toward realizing the low carbon society, this paper undertakes the following: (1) Estimation of the impact of the expansion of low carbon energy technology on future metal demand based, on the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s scenarios; (2) estimation of the potential effects of low carbon energy technology recycling on the future supply-demand balance; (3) identification of critical metals that require priority measures. Results indicated that the introduction of solar power and next-generation vehicles may be hindered by resource depletion. Among the metals examined, indium, tellurium, silver, lithium, nickel and platinum were identified as critical metals that require specific measures. As recycling can reduce primary demand by 20%~70% for low carbon energy technology, countermeasures including recycling need to be considered.

This study aims to reveal the economic, technical, and environmental impacts of different system configurations (centralized or decentralized, components, and technologies) on transition plans to achieve a higher share of renewable energy and desalination supplies for regions facing water scarcity. The main contribution of this research is the comparative evaluation of on-grid decentralized or distributed renewable-powered desalination systems for sustainable water and energy supply planning. Applying a novel nexus approach, an interactive multi-period planning model is developed to highlight synergies and to identify conflicts of planning both energy and water sectors at the same time as endogenous subsystems of one overall system. For studying these synergies in this study, the pace of technology deployment and the path of decline in overall costs are assumed to be a function of experience and knowledge as two-factor learning curves. Using data from 81 projects, the levelized cost and capacity factor of utility-scale photovoltaic and wind supplies in the Middle East were calculated. The results indicate that a scenario with a decentralized water sector and renewable-powered multiple-effect distillation technology has the best overall performance among the proposed scenarios.

Smart grids (SGs) are being deployed as a transformational technology in energy transitions. However, negative consumer responses to both smart meters and new pricing systems indicate that building public acceptance of these transitions is critically important. Deliberative Pollings (DPs) offer the potential to effectively integrate public perceptions into energy transition decision-making. Most deliberative governance studies focus on western countries and very few examine the Asian context. This paper presents an exploratory study of undergraduate students' perceptions of dynamic pricing options in two pilot DPs conducted in the cities of Guangzhou and Kyoto. The study indicates that deliberative processes yield mixed outcomes in changing participants' choice of pricing options. While many welcomed new pricing options, a significant number supported status quo options. Second, the normative mechanisms and outcomes of deliberative participation seem to apply in the Asian context. DP appears to enhance participants' acceptance of complex and sophisticated pricing options. Dialogic processes enhanced the participants' ability to understand complex issues and weigh up trade-offs when comparing options. Third, national level contextual differences associated with public distrust and familiarity with market logic may explain the differences in responses between Chinese and Japanese participants. We argue that complex and controversial energy decision-making needs to be supported by deliberative participatory processes to enable citizens to make informed and considered choices.

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Growing modern economies are built on a variety of resources, and transitioning to the type of societies that are targeted by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require a dramatic increase of clean energy (SDG 7) and resources consumption (SDG 12). At the same time, they must be provided within the limits of local environments, with a consideration of the balance of local and global impacts and benefits. Based on mineral production and reserves data for Asian countries, and the predicted requirements of minerals for clean energy technologies for their climate mitigation policy (SDG 13), supply-demand balances are calculated under a variety of scenarios. The potential for supply restrictions of identified “critical” minerals in each economy is demonstrated. Policy issues related to transboundary governance of energy and material flows and their economic and environmental costs and benefits (across the supply chain) to achieve equitable opportunities for all, including for emerging resources such as deep ocean mining (SDG 14) are then discussed on the basis of the “nexus”. This “nexus” of resources and energy offers a different perspective on the overall implications for development than either goal individually, and this is the first such study to target the Asian region holistically.

The growing number of photovoltaic installations has created competition in land use between the need for electricity and food. Agrivoltaic systems (AVSs) can help solve this problem by increasing land use efficiency through the co-production of electricity and food. However, in Japan, where more than 2000 AVSs have been installed, some undesirable AVS cases have led to new problems. In this study, we developed an AVS installation model that is compatible with a regional society and limits the scale of AVS installation to a low-risk level. AVS projects have also entered local industrial clusters and stimulated the local economy. In this study, we used public information and geographic information systems to ensure quantifiability and applicability. The results revealed that the rural area targeted in this study had an AVS generation potential of 215% (equal to 17.8 GWh) of the region’s annual electricity consumption and an economic ripple effect of 108.9% (EUR 47.8 million) of the region’s gross regional product. Furthermore, the levelized cost of electricity was estimated to be 14.94–25.54 Euro cents/kWh under secure settings. This study provides solutions to food, economic, and energy problems in rural areas by promoting the installation of AVSs.