RT Journal Article
T1 Advancing towards a sustainable energy model, uncovering the untapped potential of rural areas
A1 Miramontes Viña, Vanessa
A1 Romero Castro, Noelia María
A1 López Cabarcos, María Ángeles
K1 Sustainable energy transition
K1 Sustainable rural development
K1 Rural renewable energy potential
K1 Composite indicator
K1 Principal Component Analysis
AB Rural areas are essential to moving towards the necessary sustainable energy transition andclimate change mitigation through renewable energy (RE) technologies. However, RE planning anddecision-making in rural locations have not been developed to date with a focus on the local level andaccompanied by a careful and thorough assessment of the simultaneous availability of alternative REsources in a specific territory. Quite differently, RE investments in rural locations have been primarilydriven by the interests of large power utilities to exploit a particular RE source, with benefits escapingfrom the rural economies to end up in the income statements of those large corporations. There is aneed to approach RE planning at the municipal scale considering the availability of alternative REsources. This study suggests the development of a rural RE potential index that could help in theidentification of appropriate locations for the implementation of hybrid renewable energy systems(HRESs). The construction of a composite indicator to measure rural RE potential is exemplifiedthrough a case study that deals with ten indicators in the context of Galician rural municipalities,involving different RE potentials and some technical or regulatory constraints. Equal weighting andPrincipal Component Analysis are considered alternative methods for the index construction.Municipalities are the relevant local decision level where energy policy should be focused in order todiversify both the RE mix and the investor base. The proposed index could be the basis for futureanalyses aimed at optimizing the design and implementation of HRESs in rural environments at alocal-regional-national scale.
PB AIMS Press
SN 2372-0352
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/34522
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/34522
LA eng
NO Vanessa Miramontes-Viña, Noelia Romero-Castro, M. Ángeles López-Cabarcos. Advancing towards a sustainable energy model, uncovering the untapped potential of rural areas[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2023, 10(2): 287-312. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2023017
NO N. Romero-Castro acknowledges financial support by Agencia Estatal de Investigación(Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under research project with reference PID2021-124336OB-I00.
DS Minerva
RD 30 abr 2026