Frontiers in Energy Research | New and Recent Articles

California’s push for deep decarbonization has put building electrification at the center of its climate strategy, but the distribution of costs and benefits across households remains poorly understood. This study systematically reviews empirical, modeling, and policy analyses of ratepayer-funded electrification and energy efficiency programs in California, with a focus on economic feasibility, d…

Enhancing the indoor environmental quality of existing buildings is crucial for realizing energy-efficient and user-friendly built environments. Traditional structures are usually subject to excessive sunlight penetration through windows and a lack of adequate daylight, leading to greater reliance on artificial illumination and mechanical air conditioning. Passive retrofitting methods are a viabl…

Global economic development is closely linked to energy use, yet rising fossil-fuel consumption has intensified carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and environmental degradation. This study examines the long-run and short-run relationship between renewable energy consumption and financial development in South Africa over the period 1990–2024 using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. The v…

High-penetration photovoltaic (PV) integration into distribution grids presents significant challenges, including diverse equipment characteristics, voltage instability induced by PV fluctuations, and the trade-off between economic and safety objectives. To address these issues, this paper proposes a two-stage, multi-timescale collaborative optimization framework. The day-ahead stage optimizes th…

The increasing penetration of renewable energy has intensified power-balance challenges and increased the need for coordinated electricity market mechanisms. This paper proposes a joint bidding strategy for a wind–pumped-hydro–battery hybrid energy system (WPB-HES) participating in intra-month medium- and long-term (MLT), spot, and frequency regulation ancillary service markets. First, a weekly b…

The challenge of monitoring gas-handling processes in gas-insulated power equipment stems from the fact that operating signals vary over time. Traditional fixed-threshold methods may have poor detection sensitivity or high false alarm rate as operating condition changes. This paper proposes a predictive monitoring approach based on adaptive statistical modeling combined with sequential learning, …

This paper proposes a novel bio-inspired optimization method named the migrating whale algorithm (MWA) for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in photovoltaic (PV) systems under partial shading conditions (PSCs). Distinct from existing whale-inspired algorithms that mimic humpback whales’ bubble-net hunting behavior (e.g., whale optimization algorithm, WOA), MWA innovatively simulates their long-…

Multiphysics models are often utilized for structural design, condition assessment, and response prediction of a system, such as the support structure of offshore wind turbines. Although multiphysics models are considered to be of high fidelity, discrepancies are often observed between the model predictions and actual data measurements from the real structure. The model updating process reduces t…

With the urgent need to achieve carbon neutrality goals and the rapid development of distributed energy resources, traditional electricity markets face challenges in effectively integrating environmental and economic values, lacking unified mechanisms to simultaneously clear energy and environmental transactions. This study proposes an energy credits–electricity joint trading mechanism for virtua…

Phase change materials (PCMs) serve as the functional medium in latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems, where their thermophysical properties directly dictate system performance. However, most commercial PCMs exhibit low thermal conductivity (0.2–5.0 W/m·K), which limits heat transfer rates and reduces charging–discharging efficiency. In addition, modest specific and latent heat capac…

Accurate short-to medium-term electricity load forecasting is essential for efficient operation and planning of smart grids, particularly in medium-sized urban-industrial cities experiencing rapid demand growth and heterogeneous consumption patterns. This study proposes a novel interpretable hybrid forecasting framework that integrates the Temporal Fusion Transformer (TFT) with LightGBM. The TFT …

Motivated by the need for pumped-storage planning under high renewable energy penetration, this study proposes a two-stage stochastic planning and layout model for pumped-storage power stations. The model considers hydrometeorological factors, source-load uncertainty, candidate-site heterogeneity, and multi-scenario operational verification. First, a meteorology-source-load–regulation-demand mapp…

Weak-grid rural settlements in remote areas often face fragile grid infrastructure and high fuel transportation costs, which severely limit both the economic performance and operational reliability of local energy systems. While the rapid growth of renewables helps reduce reliance on fossil fuels and strengthens resilience through multi-energy complementarity, the natural variability of wind and …

IntroductionThe accelerated growth of energy demand across multiple economic sectors compels strategic responsiveness from national energy departments to achieve reliable energy provisions. Nevertheless, aligning national energy strategies with the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains a challenge for governments whose economies are heavily dependent on fossil fuel. As …

Converter valves in ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) converter stations continuously release megawatt-level low-grade waste heat, which is typically rejected through cooling towers, resulting in energy loss and substantial auxiliary electricity consumption for valve-hall air conditioning. This study develops a cascade waste-heat utilization system in which converter-valve waste heat is u…

IntroductionWith the advancement of the DC transmission mode for renewable energy bases, the hybrid cascaded HVDC system has emerged as a dominant structural configuration. To tackle voltage stability issues in weak grid conditions at the sending end, this paper formulates a novel coordinated control strategy between the sending and receiving ends by leveraging the DC current dead band, aiming to…

To address the difficulty in accurately detecting and locating single-phase-to-ground faults in active distribution networks under random fluctuations of distributed energy resources and disturbances, this paper proposes a fault sensing and section location method based on the linear eigenvalue statistics of zero-sequence voltage. Firstly, from the perspective of high-dimensional space, the advan…

This paper proposes an internal inspection system based on electromagnetic coupling sensing and permanent magnet magnetization, providing a theoretical study on alternating magnetic field induction and magnetic flux leakage coupling technology. Simulation analysis and experimental validation were conducted to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of the proposed magnetic rope system (MRS). Thr…

As a cornerstone of the national economy, the energy sector plays a critical role in ensuring energy security and advancing the Dual Carbon goals. However, existing forecasting models often fail to capture systematic information in regression residuals and neglect the stochastic nature of optimization algorithms, raising concerns about reproducibility. To fill these gaps, this study develops a no…