METAANALYSIS:RENEWABLEENERGYSOURCES
KyleLin
ResearchScholarsProgram,HarvardStudentAgencies.IncollaborationwithLearnwithLeaders
ABSTRACT
researchhasbeenconductedinrecentyearsontheprospectsofrenewableenergysourcesasaresultofthegrowingneedforalongterm,sustainable,andecological friendlyenergysource.However,whiletheseresearchershaveidentifiedmanyindividualfactorsthatleadtothesuccessofrenewableenergycompaniesandinturn innovationofrenewableenergysources,theyneglecttoidentifytheinteractionsofthesefactorsaswellasthemostoptimizedroutetoinnovaterenewableenergy sources.Thisresearchpaperwillusethefindingsofpreviousresearchestolookatthebigpictureandfindgeneraltrendsofwhatcausesrenewableenergycompanies andthusrenewableenergysourcestosucceed.
KEYWORDS:Renewableenergy,fossilfuels,competitiveness,sustainability
INTRODUCTION
Society today has never relied so heavily on energy sources as it is currently Observably,thefossilfuelsthathumanshavereliedonsoheavilyasanenergy sourceisnotsustainableinthelongtermandheavilydamagestheenvironment. It would ideal to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources like solar, hydro,orwind.Thisisacomplicatedprocessthatwouldrequiregreatinvestment intermsoffinances,energy,manpowerandtime.
Manystudiesandexperimentshaveinvestigatedindividualfactorsthathaveprevented the replacement of fossil fuels and whether switching to renewable energysourcesisworththetrouble.Thesefactorsinclude,thecompetitivenessof companies that use renewable energy resources, the immediate investments of usingrenewableenergysources,thereturnoninvestment,andwhatisneededto maketheswitchtorenewableenergysourcespossible.
Thisresearchpaperwillbeacollectionofresultsonthesefactorsaswellassimulationofthesefactorsinarealisticenvironment.
LiteratureReview
Comparison of the Financial Standing of Companies Generating Electricity fromRenewableSourcesandFossilFuels:ANewHybridApproach
ResearchbyTomczakandSebastianKlaudiuszcomparestheuseofrenewable resourcestotraditionalfossilfuelsthroughtheirprofitability Duetorestrictions and available data, the team could only gather information from Poland, Hungary,Slovakia,CzechRepublic,Estonia,Latvia,Lithuania,andSloveniawhich totaled37companies.Usingeachcompany'sfinancialreports,theteamcarried outtheratioanalysis,Altmanmodelandthecluster,andStudent'stest.Theconclusionsofthisresearcharethatinvestinginthenewerrenewableresourcesfor generatingelectricitywouldnotbemoreprofitablethanthealreadyexistingelectricitygeneratorthatusefossilfuels.
Evaluation of the Economic Profitability of Using Renewable Energy Sources in Agro-IndustrialCompanies
AstudybyDenisSyromyatnikov,VarvaraDruzyanova,AleksandrBeloglazov, AlexanderBakshtanin,TatianaMatveevawhostemfromvaryingRussianfederations aims to identify the impact of funding and the competitiveness of agroindustrialenterpriseswhouserenewableenergysources.Thus,theteamuseda questionnairesurveytocollectdataon20Russianagro-industrialcompaniesto identifythekeyindicatorsandhowmuchtheyareintegratedintoanenterprise's competitiveness.Afterthat,theteamwouldfindthelevelofenergy-savingcosts toformmodelsthatwouldthenbeusedtohelpassessenergyconservationcosts byrunningthedatathrougharegressionanalysisalongwithahierarchicalsynthesis.Theresultsofthisstudywerethattherewasacloserelationshipbetween theavailabilityofrenewableresourcesandthecompetitivenessofacompanies under this study while there was a direct relationship between the use of said renewableresourcesandthecompetitivenessofthecompanies.Furthermore,the teamusedthisinformationtoconcludethatthecorrelationbetweenenergyconservation costs and the funding that is funneled into renewable energy has a decentlystrongcorrelation.Thus,theteamconcludedthatfundingandsupport fortheuseofrenewableresourcesinagro-industrialenterprisesdomakerenewableenergysourcesmoreefficient(especiallyastimepasses).However,thecompaniesinthisstudythatwerethemostcompetitivealsoonlystayedattheaverage levelintermsofgeneralcompetitiveness.
The Potential of Using Renewable Energy Sources in Poland Taking into AccounttheEconomicandEcologicalConditions
AnarticlebyMariuszNiekurzakwaswrittenabouttheprospectsofrenewable energysourcesinPoland.Tocollectthedata,thequestionnairemethodwasused withthesourceofthedatabeingtheEuropeanRenewableEnergyCenter'sdatabase,interviewswithusers,andcertainjustifiedvisits.Withthatdata,amyriad of calculations and analyzes were carried out to find the return on investment overperiodsofupto20yearsaswellascostsofreducinggreenhousegasemissions.Finally,conclusionssuchasthefundingmethods,prospects,paceofreturn investmentoutlays,optimalusesofeachtypeofrenewableenergysourcewere made. Moreover, the study concluded that even without significant breakthroughs, renewable energy sources could supply 75% of Poland's energy demands.However,itwasalsofoundthatcurrentindirectsupportmechanisms are ineffective and more direct financial incentives such as subsidies would be needed for the renewable energy source industry until major breakthroughs occur
Data&Methods
This research relies on the data and conclusions of previous researches named above. With these data points and previously arrived conclusions, a metaanalysis could be done. This meta-analysis will focus on how the factors that werestudiedbytheseresearchersinteractwithoneanother
The meta-analysis will be done by comparing and contrasting each research's data and conclusions with one another to find any contradictions or recurring themes.Additionally,sinceallthreeindividualresearchesyieldedreliabledata, thecontradictionsidentifiedduringtheanalysismustbeduetotheinteractionsof differentfactors.
However,sincethenatureofthisresearchpaperistotesttheresultsofisolated factors against an unisolated and uncontrolled environment, the possibility of other unidentified factors affecting the results could be true.Thus, only strong correlations between individual factors should be noted (and be eligible for futureresearch).
Results
Afterconsideringthedatafromeachresearch,itisobviousthatcertainpatterns exist. For example, every research mentioned have concluded that the current methods of harnessing renewable resources are not more profitable than traditionalfossilfuels.Insomecases,usingrenewableenergysourcesprovedtobe lessprofitablethanfossilfuels.
With that said, renewable energy companies that receive support from their respectivegovernmentstendedtobemorecompetitiveintheenergyindustryand provide more energy than companies with less government support. Another commonfindingwasthatastheuseofrenewableresourcescontinues,theirefficiencyandsustainabilityincreases.Inotherwords,inthelongterm,renewable energycompanieswouldonlybecomemorebeneficialandcompetitivethantraditionalcompaniesthatusefossilfuelsbecauseoffactorssuchasavailabilityof fossilfuelsandtheecologicaleffectsofburningfossilfuelsinsteadoftheinnate effectivenessorprofitabilityofrenewableenergysources.
Currently, energy companies that lack support from the government or other major investors usually were not competitive and were in financial distress.
Copyright©2023,IERJ.Thisopen-accessarticleispublishedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial4.0InternationalLicensewhichpermitsShare(copyandredistributethematerialinany mediumorformat)andAdapt(remix,transform,andbuilduponthematerial)undertheAttribution-NonCommercialterms.
Therefore, switching to renewable resources would force companies and governmentstoinvestlargesumsofresources(bothmonetaryandmaterial)intoan assetthatisnotprofitablecomparedtotraditionalfossilfuels.Additionally,these researchesalsoagreethatrenewableenergycompanieswouldnotbeabletosupply a significant amount of energy for at least a few decades. For example, Poland'srenewableresourcesharesbeingestimatedtoreach⅓by2050without any significant breakthroughs. However, in the case of Poland, coal mining would only be able to supply 60% of energy demands and domestic hard coal 20%inthemostoptimisticcalculationsby2050andisonlysettodecrease.
Discussion
Similartotheconclusionsoftheseindividualresearchstudies,themeta-analysis suggeststhatrenewableresourcesarenotsignificantlymoreprofitablethanfossilfuelseveninthelongterm.Onthecontrary,themainreasonwhyrenewable resourceswouldperformbetterthanfossilfuelsinthelongtermisbecauseofthe finite supply of fossil fuels as well as its ecological effects. Thus, renewable resourceswouldnotbeabletooverthrowfossilfuelsintermsofefficiencyand profitabilitybutsimplyinherittheposition.Alongwiththemajoramountofsupport that renewable energy companies need, these factors make switching to renewableenergysourcesverydifficult.
Thisbeingthecase,theswitchtorenewableenergysourcesisstillextremelynecessary as the supply of fossil fuels are beginning to deplete and the ecological effects of burning fossil fuels on a mass scale are being felt worldwide. Fortunately,itisrepeatedlyshownthatasrenewableenergycompaniesgainmoresupportandusage,thebettertheyperformandthefasterimprovementsaremade.
Althoughthisresearchidentifiesthegeneraltrendsthatareseenacrosstheboard withrenewableenergy,theexactinteractionsandimportanceofeachfactorisnot identified.As mentioned previously, another research could be conducted that focusesonhowtwofactorsthatproducedorhelptoproduceoneofthegeneral trends interact with each other in a controlled setting. The findings of that research could then be used to help optimize the growth of renewable energy sourcesandacceleratetheswitchfromfossilfuels.
Furthermore,thismeta-analysiscouldbefurtherimprovedbysubjectingthedata ofeachresearchtothecalculationsoftheotherresearcheswhereverpossibleto furtherverifythefindingsofeachresearch.Thiswouldalsohelpverifythegeneraltrendsthatwereidentifiedduringthisresearch.
Conclusions
In conclusion, from the dependence on government support, to the relative unprofitablenessofrenewableenergysourcestofossilfuels,theonlybenefitfor a company to adopt renewable energy is to be labeled “eco-friendly.” Consequently, the cost for setting up the equipment for harnessing renewable energy sources would simply be a large investment with little short-term return which furtherdiscouragescompaniesfromswitchingtorenewableenergysources.