Nasirov, S., Agostini, C., Silva, C., & Caceres, G. (2018). Renewable energy transition: a market-driven solution for the energy and environmental concerns in Chile. Clean Technol. Environ. Policy, 20(1), 3–12.
Abstract: Chile is undergoing a remarkable energy matrix transition to renewable energy. Renewable energies are expanding extraordinarily fast, exceeding earlier predictions. As a result, the country is expected to meet its 2025 goal of generating 20% of its electricity from renewable energy sources quite before. Chile has become one of the first countries in the world with subsidy-free markets, where renewable projects compete directly with other conventional sources. Favorable market conditions and successful policy reforms were keys to fostering this renewable energy development. Although the country has achieved a substantial growth in renewable energy investment in a relatively short period of time, this optimism should be treated with caution. A successful transition requires a combination of a clear decision making, persistent and consistent government policies, and a clear commitment to tackling challenges to accommodate renewable energy in the power system. In this context, this paper analyses the Chilean renewable industry and the required government policies to succeed in this transition. For this purpose, we identify several critical factors that have attracted and that could attract investment to the renewable energy sector and propose key recommendations to effectively address the major challenges faced for the future development of the industry.
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Talreja, N., Ashfaq, M., Chauhan, D., & Mangalaraja, R. V. (2024). A novel synthesis of iron-oxy-halides (FOX)-based metallic microsponges (FOX-MS): an efficient photodegradation of antibiotics. Clean Technol. Environ. Policy, Early Access.
Abstract: The present study is related to the synthesis of metallic oxy halide nanosheets (FOX) assembled metallic micron-sponge (FOX-MS)-based photocatalytic materials using hydrothermal process to degrade tetracycline (TC) antibiotics. The synthesis of FOX-MS is accomplished by exchanging O- with I- that efficiently tunes the electronic structure (Fe3O4 or Fe2O3 to form FeOI) and band gap of FeOI. Interestingly, the band gap value decreases with increasing the reaction temperature from 120 to 180 degrees C attributed to the formation of stable FeOI due to maximum O- exchange with I-. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy were used to characterize synthesized FOX-MS-based photocatalyst materials. Additionally, upon increasing the Fe metal amount (from 0.5 to 1 mM) during the synthesis the band gap decreases. However, further increment in the amount of Fe metal during synthesis increases the band gap value. The lower band gap value of similar to 1.82 eV with E-CB and E-VB value of 0.48 eV and 2.3 eV is in good agreement with the reported low band gap semiconductors for the degradation of various pollutants. The synthesized FOX-MS was efficiently degrading similar to 63% at 10 mgL(-1) of TC. Interestingly, Fenton activity of FOX-MS-based photocatalytic materials improved the TC degradation and achieved maximum degradation of similar to 94% at 10 mgL(-1) of TC antibiotics. The degradation of TC antibiotics was also performed under acidic and basic pH conditions to confirm the mechanistic pattern of degradation of TC using FeOI-based metallic microsponge. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the synthesis of FeOI metallic microsponge using a hydrothermal process.
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