This study investigates the potential for solar energy to promote sustainable development in Nepal, focusing on financial viability, socioeconomic impact, and adoption issues in urban, rural, and remote areas. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines household surveys, expert interviews, statistical evaluations, and policy analysis. The findings show that solar adoption has effectively reduced reliance on fossil fuels and increased electricity availability, particularly in marginalized populations. However, fundamental impediments remain, such as high startup expenses, low public awareness, insufficient maintenance infrastructure, and inconsistent policy implementation. Surveyed families reported significant cost savings and increased energy security, but adoption trends differed by region. Urban areas benefited from stronger infrastructure and financial support, whereas outlying regions faced persisting logistical and economic challenges. Although government subsidies reduced budgetary restrictions, inefficiencies in distribution and ambiguous qualifying requirements limited their effectiveness. Experts stressed the need of local technical skills and ongoing maintenance support. Economic assessments, such as cost-benefit and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) analyses, show that solar energy becomes more cost-effective over time. The paper concludes with recommendations for targeted legislative reforms, enhanced subsidy systems, and more public-private collaboration to increase solar adoption. These initiatives are vital for achieving Nepal's energy security goals and advancing its commitments to environmental sustainability.
This study investigates the techno-economic potential of deploying community solar in stormwater detention basins located in or near Low- and Moderate-Income (LMI) households to reduce energy costs and offset environmental emissions. Focusing on communities with limited access to traditional rooftop solar due to physical, financial, or regulatory constraints, the paper analyzes the technical viability, economic feasibility, and environmental benefits of this approach across four Southcentral U.S. states: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Louisiana. The analysis evaluates the spatial and techno-economic feasibility of community solar for both traditional households (electricity and natural gas) and all-electric households, modeling energy use and system performance under varying pricing and incentive scenarios. Results indicate that all-electric communities required smaller solar systems than traditional households, reflecting lower energy demand and evolving grid emissions trends. From a technical perspective, only communities selected in Louisiana and New Mexico had sufficient basin area to support viable systems, while those in Texas and Oklahoma faced spatial limitations. Economically, floating solar systems proved more cost-effective than carport-type systems. New Mexico's all-electric floating solar configuration achieved profitability, whereas the Louisiana case required significant incentives to break even. Environmentally, emissions reductions ranged from 103% to 214% annually, demonstrating strong potential to support residential sector decarbonization. These findings highlight community solar detention basins as a promising strategy to provide more equitable access to renewable energy, reduce residential emissions, and alleviate energy poverty. However, spatial and financial barriers necessitate tailored policy support to enable widespread adoption across diverse regional contexts.
This study presented a sustainable methodology for designing collagen-based biomaterials by using natural reinforcing agents and environmentally friendly cross-linking to improve water absorption, water retention and thermal stability − key features for biomedical and environmental applications. Collagen films were enhanced with keratin and natural polysaccharides (carboxymethyl cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, acacia gum, soy protein, and carrageenan), then cross-linked by Vitex agnus-castus (VAC) extract as an eco-friendly alternative for synthetic cross-linkers. Glutaraldehyde was used for comparative analysis. A series of comprehensive analyses were conducted, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and water absorption testing. Among all compositions, films containing 30% acacia gum and 3% VAC demonstrated the highest water absorption and retention capacity (5.90 g/g after 48 h) and enhanced thermal stability, with the minimal weight loss observed at 600 °C. FTIR analysis confirmed enhanced molecular connections through cross-linking, while DSC results validated increased structural resilience. The results indicated that VAC serves as both a structural and functional cross-linker, facilitating the creation of biodegradable, thermally resilient, and moisture-retentive films. This natural system presents significant potential for wound dressing and other biomedical applications within a sustainable material framework.
Construction projects are associated with huge amount of embodied and operational energy. Therefore, the construction industry contributes significantly to the emission of energy related greenhouse gases (GHGs). Adopting sustainable green construction and the concept of net-zero energy buildings (NZEB) could reduce GHGs emissions from the construction sector and lower its contribution to global warming. However, implementing NZEB comes with different challenges, especially for developing countries. One of the main challenges is the lack of interest from landlords, property developers and investors. Motivating and empowering construction stakeholders to embrace the NZEB approach are crucial for developing countries aiming to lower their GHGs emissions. However, assessment and verification of NZEB face challenges in these countries due to the absence of viable assessment methods that consider local and national needs. Simplification of the process could encourage property developers to be engaged and adopt the concept of NZEB. This paper aims to propose a simplified approach for the assessment of sustainability of buildings. It provides property developers and stakeholders with a viable and affordable tool that produce timely results to demonstrate the sustainability of their new developments. The proposed approach eliminates several costly and time-consuming aspects and focuses on main factors within the three primary phases of construction projects; design, construction and operation. The implementation of the proposed simplified approach is illustrated, and it has been shown that the approach is viable, simple and easy to apply. It could lead to significant savings in energy and reduction in the associated GHGs.
In a climate change scenario that is increasingly affecting our daily lives, it is essential to rethink the reuse of existing resources and avoid the exploitation of raw materials. If we consider the stock of existing buildings in Italy, we cannot ignore the fact that most of them are in a state of decay or in need of major maintenance; the recovery or demolition of these buildings generates a considerable amount of waste that has a negative impact on the environment, from transport to disposal. A sustainable design approach can achieve interesting results in terms of economic, environmental and social impact. Starting from the final phase of the life cycle of buildings, this paper aims to show the possibilities of recovering traditional building materials such as cement, brick and tuff. The use of innovative production technologies will allow the reintroduction of these materials to the market, with consequent benefits in all aspects of the ‘sustainability triad'. The aim of the work is to identify a practical, easy-to-use process for the production of eco-sustainable materials that, while retaining their intrinsic chemical-mineralogical characteristics, can be easily used in the context of the existing built heritage thanks to the compatibility between these new materials and the pre-existing substrate. The innovative results obtained as part of an international research project show how the use of demolition waste for the composition of geopolymer mixtures allows the reuse of large percentages of construction waste, while guaranteeing the mechanical performance of materials produced with traditional techniques, which have a high level of emissions; the production of geopolymers allows an 80% reduction in emissions compared to the production of Portland cement. The paper is intended to serve as a starting point for further in-depth application of the mixtures produced and to provide reflections and future research directions.
