Rural electrification is a means not an end, explicitly or implicitly aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions and living standards of those living in rural areas. Yet, most policies and programs aimed at rural electrification solely target and are evaluated on extending connections, with mixed results. In this article, we argue that next generation electrification…
Month: February 2026
Should the EU ETS be Extended to Road Transport and Heating Fuels?
This paper considers the current proposal to extend the EU ETS to cover CO2 emissions from the combustion of heating and road transport fuels. We argue that increased coverage of the EU ETS, together with a binding cap consistent with a net zero trajectory, would provide an EU-wide quantity backstop ensuring that the EU’s cumulative…
Impact of Japanese House Insulation Subsidy System on Home Owners’ Energy-Saving Awareness
Achieving the massive target of reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the household sector requires that consumers be made aware of this issue. If consumers update their energy-saving awareness and related behaviors, the energy-efficiency effect can be expected to continue. For this purpose, this study analyzes the indirect effects of the housing eco-points system subsidy…
Empower the Consumer! Energy-related Financial Literacy and its Implications for Economic Decision Making
Untapped energy savings potential in the residential sector might lead to substantial welfare losses. While several studies have focused on the role of behavioral biases in explaining the lack of adoption of energy-efficient durable goods, little is known about the role of limited energy-specific knowledge and financial literacy. In this paper, we propose an integrated…
Electric Vehicles Rollout—Two Case Studies
We present and discuss evidence on electric-vehicle rollout in The Netherlands and Norway, two forerunners in this area. We demonstrate that the uptake of electric vehicles is essentially driven by financial and other benefits offered to their owners, and that a partial electrification of the vehicle fleet may be achieved even with limited public charging…
Inland Hard Coal Transportation Costs in the European Union—A Model Based Approach
Although some EU countries have already ceased coal-fired electricity generation, coal will still be a relevant topic within the European electricity mix in the medium term. A hard coal power plant competes in the merit order mainly with other hard coal power plants and also with gas power plants. One of the main cost drivers…
Energy Systems Integration: Economics of a New Paradigm
Energy Systems Integration (ESI) is an emerging paradigm emanating from a whole system perspective of the energy sector. It is based on a holistic view by which the main energy carriers are integrated to achieve horizontal synergies and efficiencies at all levels. The energy system may in turn integrate with other infrastructure sectors such as…
Drivers of Energy R&D in Manufacturing Industries
Energy R&D can have major social and economic impacts and is a critical factor in addressing the challenges presented by climate change mitigation policies. As well as the energy utilities themselves, firms in other sectors also invest in energy R&D; however, while various studies have examined the determinants of R&D in the former, there are…
Determinants of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in European SMEs
This paper empirically investigates the factors driving the adoption of energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) measures in a sample of 8,213 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in European countries. Our results suggest that sustainable energies actions (EE and RE) are highly persistent both at the firm level and across countries and that there…