Diagnostic Approach and Tool for Assessing and Increasing the Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects

Jing Tian, Sam Culley, Holger R. Maier (), Aaron C. Zecchin and James Hopeward
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Jing Tian: School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Sam Culley: School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Holger R. Maier: School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Aaron C. Zecchin: School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
James Hopeward: UniSA STEM, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: The imperative of achieving net zero carbon emissions is driving the transition to renewable energy sources. However, this often leads to carbon tunnel vision by narrowly focusing on carbon metrics and overlooking broader sustainability impacts. To enable these broader impacts to be considered, we have developed a generic approach and a freely available assessment tool on GitHub that not only facilitate the high-level sustainability assessment of renewable energy projects but also indicate whether project-level decisions have positive, negative, or neutral impacts on each of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This information highlights potential problem areas and which actions can be taken to increase the sustainability of renewable energy projects. The tool is designed to be accessible and user-friendly by developing it in MS Excel and by only requiring yes/no answers to approximately 60 diagnostic questions. The utility of the approach and tool are illustrated via three desktop case studies performed by the authors. The three illustrative case studies are located in Australia and include a large-scale solar farm, biogas production from wastewater plants, and an offshore wind farm. Results show that the case study projects impact the SDGs in different and unique ways and that different project–level decisions are most influential, highlighting the value of the proposed approach and tool to provide insight into specific projects and their sustainability implications, as well as which actions can be taken to increase project sustainability.

Keywords: renewable energy; sustainable management; sustainable development goals (SDGs); sustainable management tool; ex-ante; biomass; hydropower; solar; geothermal; wind; ocean energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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