Techno-economic analysis (TEA) is a critical decision-support framework used to assess the cost-competitiveness and readiness of energy technologies. However, the global hydrogen sector currently faces a significant challenge: differences in TEA tools and assumptions often produce inconsistent results, complicating decision making. This research presents the findings from a round-robin TEA focused on electrolytic hydrogen production from solar photovoltaics. This study compares levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) estimates from seven national research institutes, each using their native models and assumptions, and presents an initial framework for meta-analysis of the input and output variables produced by each institute. The reported LCOH values vary by about $4/kg H₂, a disparity driven primarily by differences in assumptions about photovoltaic capital costs and performance, electrolyzer costs, and soft costs such as installation and financing. The meta-analysis further shows that cost categories for capital, operations, and energy are not consistently defined across institutes. Capital cost factors were found to drive the majority of variance in the chosen simplified scenario. The outcome of this study suggests that future work should prioritize TEA harmonization and progress towards further refinement of meta-analysis frameworks and the exploration of optimized system configurations, as this study analyzed a simplified configuration not intended to minimize LCOH.
The rapid expansion of global PV trade is accompanied by a notable “energy leakage” effect, where energy-intensive production processes are relocated via international trade to regions with lower energy efficiency, thereby undermining the overall emission reduction potential of the PV industry. This study integrates life-cycle data of PV products from 139 countries and constructs a multi-regional model based on 2021 actual trade flows, uncovering the embodied energy transfer characteristics across the entire supply chain from silicon feedstock, wafers to modules. The results reveal a profound fossil energy dependence (91.3–92.69%) throughout the supply chain. While current trade patterns enhance local energy efficiency through specialization, regional electricity mix disparities and cross-border transportation result in a net increase of 347.6 billion MJ energy input in the global supply chain, creating a vicious cycle of “scale expansion–energy leakage escalation”. Policy interventions show divergent effects: carbon tariffs and geopolitical conflicts reduce energy leakage through regionalized production reshoring at the cost of $2.3 billion trade losses, whereas technological breakthroughs achieve a win-win of “scale expansion and energy consumption reduction” (cutting 12.8 billion MJ fossil energy input). The study proposes a clean transition pathway leveraging process-specific differentiation and regional synergy to resolve the energy-environment paradox in PV trade.
Utility-scale solar PV deployment in emerging electricity markets turns on whether policy and institutional arrangements make projects financeable, not on irradiation and hardware prices alone. This paper develops an integrated assessment framework linking four dimensions usually treated separately, namely technical performance, grid deliverability, financial viability, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG). The framework is applied to Abuja Solar One, a proposed 1 GW PV project in Nigeria, using feasibility-study data, comparative benchmarks, and a new compound scenario model. The case shows strong technical fundamentals, including a reported post-tax levelised cost of electricity of USD 0.0663/kWh from the feasibility study. Technical viability alone does not ensure bankability. A compound uncertainty analysis spanning 81 deterministic combinations of generation, curtailment, tariff, and CAPEX, to which no probabilities are assigned, shows that 6 combinations return an unlevered project IRR at or above an illustrative 15% cut-off, 54 fall between 12% and 15%, and 21 fall below 12%. Curtailment is the dominant single downside driver, while tariff compression and CAPEX escalation add to the downside additively, not through interaction, since the two-way curtailment and tariff interaction term is negligible. The threshold structure survives a complete change of the national fiscal incentive regime and the introduction of debt, although leverage relocates the binding constraint from the return test to debt service coverage. The findings suggest that in high-risk electricity markets the central assessment question is not whether gigawatt-scale solar can be built, but under what institutional conditions it can attract capital and remain investable.
Circular bioenergy systems can improve waste management, energy access, and rural livelihoods, but their justice implications remain insufficiently examined. This study assesses the Sertanejo Biodigester Program as a circular rural-energy intervention, focusing on distributive, procedural, and recognitional justice and on the Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) principles of directionality, inclusivity, and reflexivity. We use a qualitative case-study design that combines documentary analysis, 20 semi-structured stakeholder interviews, and five days of field observation in Mirandiba and Verdejante, Pernambuco. The evidence indicates perceived reductions in purchases of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and firewood, sanitation benefits, and productive use of digestate; these are reported or observed co-benefits rather than quantitatively estimated impacts. Participation is concentrated in installation and training, with limited evidence of upstream influence over technology design, beneficiary selection, or long-term governance. Evidence concerning women's participation suggests gendered exclusion from some decision-making spaces, while evidence on Indigenous and Quilombola inclusion is too limited for population-wide conclusions. The study contributes an operational qualitative framework that links Environmental Justice (EJ) dimensions to TIP governance criteria and shows that transformative potential depends on transparent allocation, participatory governance, recognition of local knowledge, and sustained post-installation support. Because field observations are confined to two municipalities, program-wide claims are made only where supported by broader documentary and institutional evidence.
Small communities account for approximately 43% of the global population. Yet they remain underrepresented in operational decarbonization frameworks. Existing frameworks are predominantly urban-centric, sector-specific, and conceptual, lacking community-level validation and a coherent rationale for initiating decarbonization in small communities. This study develops an integrated framework structured around six interconnected pillars: (1) GHG inventory and digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (dMRV) systems; (2) sectoral mitigation roadmaps; (3) financing and carbon market integration; (4) capacity building and inclusion; (5) governance and institutional coordination; and (6) just transition safeguards. The steps for inventory, resource assessment, and pathway design under the developed framework have been demonstrated through a case study of Chiryapur Village, a displaced tribal community located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain of India. Using IPCC Tier-1 methodology and AR5 GWP100 values, baseline emissions were estimated at 3178 tCO2e/year, with the energy sector as the largest contributor (50.8%), followed by AFOLU (35.7%), waste (11.0%), and IPPU (2.5%). A two-phase low-carbon pathway that includes community-scale biogas production, pyrolysis, rooftop solar, and the conversion of a vertical-shaft brick kiln was assessed to reduce/eliminate fossil fuel use. The analyzed pathway could reduce community baseline emissions by approximately 48%, directly supporting SDG7 (affordable and clean energy) and SDG11 (sustainable cities and communities). With a combined payback period of 3.7 years, the proposed intervention would generate about $99,300 in annual revenue and savings. This case study demonstrates the practical application of the inventory, resource assessment, and modeled pathway in a single village and presents an evidence-based pathway for accelerating decarbonization in small communities. However, the wider applicability of the proposed framework would require multi-site implementation and evaluation.
