Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126

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Energy Strategy Reviews

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Achieving energy sustainability by using solar PV: System modelling and

comprehensive techno-economic-environmental analysis
Aamir Mehmood a, **, Jingzheng Ren a, *, Long Zhang b
a
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
b
School of Business, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, 464000, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The integration of renewable energy into existing energy infrastructure plays a significant role for promoting
Solar photovoltaic sustainable development, but it lacks the certain facets of comprehensive feasibility analysis regarding technical,
Decision tree economic, and environmental aspects. This study focuses on integrating solar photovoltaic (PV) energy into the
Synergies and trade-offs
residential sector using a decision tree and design parameters (DPs) optimisation to assess sustainability and
Information gain ratio
Impact and competitiveness
meet the electrification requirements of water, energy, and food elements in the residential sector. In this study,
Energy sustainability we first quantify the synergies and trade-offs between DPs using a statistical method, and identify influential DPs
for solar PV integration using the information gain ratio method. Then, we evaluate the impact of solar PV
systems on energy sustainability by considering optimised DPs and energy-economic-environmental decision
indicators. Finally, the competitiveness of various solar PV integrated energy systems is analysed using energy,
economic, and environmental indicators. The findings suggest that combining solar PV systems with grid power
has a greater impact, whereas combining them with battery energy storage systems is more competitive. This
study provides valuable insights for decision-making organisations to encourage renewable solar integration in
the residential sector, resulting in energy sustainability.

1. Introduction integrated energy systems.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United
Nations aim to create a peaceful and prosperous planet for its in­
habitants by 2030. These goals are multidimensional and interdepen­
dent with each other, and abundant water and food supply, sustainable
energy consumption, and climate change mitigation are thought to be
the critical pillars for better sustainability [1]. For instance, the food
sector accounts for 70% of global water withdrawal, 30% of global en­
ergy consumption, and 21–37% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emis­
sions [2]. Changes in the availability of water can have a substantial
impact on the agricultural sector. Energy is necessary for the production,
distribution, and processing of food, as well as the extraction of
groundwater. Additionally, energy is required for electrification in order
to make the lives of inhabitants more comfortable. These three sectors
have a substantial impact on climate change, which in turn affects the
water, energy, and food sectors [1,2]. However, energy is deemed as a
crucial link connecting all SDGs [3,4]. Therefore, an integrated
approach is the most effective way to investigating the sustainability of
In fact, achieving energy sustainability requires clean and affordable
energy for inhabitants. A significant amount of energy is demanded by
the residential sector to meet the electrification requirements of the
water, energy, and food supply of households. Meeting the electricity
demands in the residential sector directly supports three SDGs: clean
water and sanitation (SDG 6), affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), zero
hunger (SDG 2), and indirectly supports the other SDGs [5]. However,
the residential sector is responsible for approximately 22% of final en­
ergy consumption [6], and the energy demand is expected to become
threefold by 2050 owing to increasing population and improving living
standards [7]. A substantial percentage of this consumption is supplied
through fossil fuels whose combustion is polluting the environment
extensively [8]. Moreover, millions of people still lack access to safe
drinking water, sanitation services, and a balanced diet [9,10], while
hundreds of millions lack access to electricity and use inefficient and
polluting cooking methods [9]. Insight into the existing lack of essential
needs, rising demand of the growing population, and fear of climate
change, there is a need to find substitute energy solutions that can aid in

* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: aamir.mehmood@connect.polyu.hk (A. Mehmood), jzhren@polyu.edu.hk (J. Ren).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2023.101126
Received 4 October 2022; Received in revised form 29 April 2023; Accepted 3 July 2023
Available online 10 July 2023
2211-467X/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
A. Mehmood et al.
achieving sustainable energy transition.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) has been recognized as an important
contributor towards achieving energy sustainability [7,11–14] owing to
its characteristics of being less location specific compared to other re­
newables, such as wind, geothermal, tidal, and hydel, and having
strengthening nature in terms of economic and socio-cultural aspects
[12]. Numerous studies have been conducted by researchers over the
past few decades to efficiently integrate solar energy into existing
infrastructure [14–17]. Different techniques have been adopted to
enhance the performance of the solar PV system, such as Perturb and
Observe technique [18], system-level modifications incorporating wind
tunnel scaled solar farm [19], the magic square method to disperse the
shading effect [20], and manual and natural cleaning of PV modules
[21]. Studies have also been conducted to assess the net zero energy
building potential through grid-connected (GC) building integrated PV
system in India [22], and the economic feasibility of solar PV system
combined with reused electric vehicle batteries for the residential sector
in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam [23]. Researchers have
analysed the electrical, thermal, and combined performance of building
integrated PV Trombe wall and building integrated PV south façade
systems, and concluded that the combined performance of Trombe wall
system was higher than south façade system [7]. The
techno-economic-environmental feasibility of solar PV system for
United Arab Emirates has been assessed, and researchers have
concluded that GC configuration is more viable than off-grid (OG) [17].
In addition, a plenty of review articles have been published in
literature focusing on various aspects of solar PV system, such as stan­
dards and guidelines for GC solar PV systems [24], technical specifica­
tions of GC solar PV systems [25], technical issues regarding solar PV
deployment [26], techno-economic feasibility of GC solar PV systems
[27], development strategies and barriers to solar PV deployment from
sustainability perspective [28], grid synchronization and operation
control methods of small scale solar PV systems [29], optimal planning
of integrating solar PV systems combined with battery storage in the
residential sector having grid connectivity [14], performance of inte­
grating solar PV modules combined with heat pumps into buildings
aiming decarbonization [8], amongst others. Apparently, extensively
published literature indicate that researchers have paid great efforts on
the investigation of feasibility or performance of solar PV systems.
However, they have given less thought to assessing the feasibility of
different configurations of solar PV system from the perspective of
meeting the electricity needs for abundant, affordable, and sustainable
supply of drinking water, food diet and energy products and service in
the residential sector using scenario analysis-based approaches.
Furthermore, there is a lack of investigating on design parameters (DPs)
of solar PV systems that influence their integration into existing energy
infrastructure. Therefore, it is vital to examine the deployment of solar
PV systems for achieving energy sustainability in the residential sector,
particularly in developing countries, where the economic situation of
stakeholders is more sustainable for planning sustainable energy tran­
sition actions than unstable governments like Pakistan.
The purpose of this study is to address the highlighted gaps in
achieving energy sustainability and facilitate decision-making for sus­
tainable energy transition in the residential sector. This study evaluates
various strategic decision scenarios for a solar PV energy system that
meets the electrification requirements in the residential unit. Specif­
ically, it seeks to address the following questions.
• Considering various decision strategies (DSs) (combinations of
design parameters (DPs)) for integrating solar PV into the residential
energy infrastructure, which options are significant, and how does
the feasibility differ among latitudes?
• How do solar PV system DPs correlate with each other, and what are
the most influential DPs for energy sustainability?
• How do optimised DPs and energy-economic-environmental (3E)
decision indicators (DIs) impact energy sustainability, and how
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Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126
competitively do 3E indicators support solar PV integration into the
residential sector to meet the electricity needs in the residential
sector?
The remainder of the paper is structured as follows: Section 2 de­
scribes the developed multi-tier system modelling and performance
assessment framework; Section 3 highlights the case study regions, their
climatic information, and optimal slope angles; Section 4 demonstrates
the results that are discussed; Section 5 provides recommendations; and
Section 6 outlines the conclusion.
2. Methodology
A multi-tiered approach combining multiple methods was adopted to
determine the feasibility of successfully integrating clean solar PV into a
residential energy infrastructure that meets the electrification re­
quirements in the residential sector. The process began by estimating
electricity needs for abundant, affordable, and sustainable supply of
water, food, and energy in the residential unit (Section 2.1). Then, a
solar PV system for the residential unit was modelled using RETScreen
tool, which integrates various DPs, such as optimal monthly energy
demand (OMED), optimum slope angle (OSA), energy efficiency mea­
sures (EFMs), and PV module types (Section 2.2). A decision tree
comprising six DPs was then constructed to conceptualise the DSs, which
were modelled in RETScreen tool (Section 2.4). To evaluate the inter-
association of DPs and assess the impact and competitiveness of solar
PV systems targeting energy sustainability, a case study was undertaken
in nine metropolitan cities throughout Pakistan, which account for more
than 20% of the country’s population [30].
Once the PV energy system modelling was completed, we collated
the quantitative outcomes and analysed the datasets from various per­
spectives using different techniques to achieve the objectives. First, we
quantified monotonic correlation between DPs of the PV energy project
in a statistical sense, which captured the synergies and trade-offs be­
tween them. Second, we investigated the influential DPs of the PV en­
ergy project for energy sustainability using the information gain ratio
(IGR) method. Then, we evaluated the impact of the PV energy projects
by quantifying the optimised DP (OMED) and 3E DIs, and assessed the
competitiveness in terms of 3E DIs. Finally, the study concluded with a
discussion of its findings and recommendations for integrating solar
energy to attain energy sustainability in the residential sector. The in­
formation flow of the methodology adopted in this study is shown in
Fig. 1.
2.1. Electrical energy load characteristics for residential unit
To estimate the electricity needs in a residential unit, we conducted a
literature survey [17] and stakeholder discussions to calculate the
electrification requirements for abundant, affordable, and sustainable
supply of water, food, and energy. In the first step of the process, the
electric appliances were categorized into two groups: the main appli­
ances, which are used daily and for an extended period of time, and the
miscellaneous appliances, which are not used daily or for an extended
period of time. Then, we identified daily power consumption activities
in which EFMs could reduce load demand, such as replacing conven­
tional air-conditioning technology with new DC-inverter technology,
utilising LED lights instead of tube lights or fluorescent bulbs, and
consuming water in accordance with the World Health Organization and
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engi­
neers standards. These EFMs resulted in approximately 35% reduction in
energy demand. The electrical energy (EE) load characteristics for the
baseline and proposed cases to fulfil the electrification requirements in
the residential unit are listed in Table 1.
We included multiple appliances in the miscellaneous group that
could be used by regulating the utilisation of the primary appliances and
peak load. The appliances included an air cooler (160 W (W)), a washing
A. Mehmood et al. Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126

Fig. 1. The multi-tiered methodology framework for this study.

Table 1
Descriptions of main group appliances required to fulfil average electrification requirements in the residential unit.
Appliance Number of Intermittent resource-load Baseline case load Use per day load reduction_ Proposed Usage time reduction_
description appliances correlation (watt) (hours) case (%) Proposed case (%)

Lights 8 zero 320 10 25

Fans 3 zero 300 13
Television 1 zero 117 06
Air-conditioner 2 zero 3256 12 47
Refrigerator 1 zero 250 24
Computer 1 negative 250 2
Water pump 1 zero 1900 1 28
Water dispenser 1 zero 130 1 19
Baseline case Proposed case
Electric energy load–Daily–AC (kWh) 55.4 35.7

machine (500 W), a clothes dryer machine (3000 W), an electric oven demand, and the tracking mode parameter was set to a fixed angle value.
(2000 W), an electric kettle (2000 W), an electric stove (1000 W), an In order to optimise the modelled PV energy system, the OMED was
electric iron (1000 W), and a hair dryer (1000 W). estimated by considering the cooling and heating load requirements.
The OMED was calculated by following the procedural steps described in
Section 2.3. The slope angle of PV module parameter was set to either
2.2. Solar PV energy system the latitude angle or OSA (Section 3.2). The PV module type was selected
based on the efficiency, frame area, and capacity values shown in
To achieve sustainability in the energy aspect of the residential Table 2. EFMs were primarily used by considering cooling appliances,
sector, a solar PV energy system was modelled in the RETScreen soft­ which resulted in approximately 47% decrease in cooling load demand
ware tool, a validated software package developed by Natural Resources by replacing conventional air-conditioning units with DC-inverter
Canada [17,31], using DPs, as indicated in part 2 in Fig. 1. After esti­ technology. Finally, the cost parameters were defined through market
mating the energy load characteristics of the residential unit, the system
modelling commenced with parameters associated with geographical
Table 2
information and incident solar irradiance at study-related locations Characteristic feature values of selected energy conversion devices [31].
(Section 3.1). The energy source parameter for the baseline case was the
Feature Energy conversion device (PV module) type
grid electricity, which was generated by eight input energy sources [32]
and distributed through a central monitoring system in the country of mono-Si poly-Si
the case study. The solar PV system was modelled by considering two Device efficiency (%) 20.7 18.75
configuration types: OG and GC. To provide backup for the OG config­ Nominal operating temperature (oC) 45 45
uration, an energy storage system (ESS) in the form of a battery bank Frame area/PV device (m2) 2.071 1.627
Capacity per device unit (W) 435 305
was designed. The inverter DPs were determined based on the peak load

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surveys. These cost parameters included the following: engineering and a three-step procedure was developed that considers the C&H-DDs and
development, PV module, inverter, ESS, system component (e.g., AC-DC corresponding air-conditioning and space-heating load as influential
breaker changeover switch), EFMs, and reverse-metering endorsement variables. The procedural steps were as follows.
(in case of GC application). The numeric values of the input DPs required Step I. Calculate the required reduced C&H-DDs for the mth month of
for modelling PV energy systems are listed in Table 3. the year with reference to the month with the maximum required C&H-
We made several assumptions for the PV energy project modelling, DDs by Eq. (1):
such as converting local market prices to USD using an exchange rate of
dr = dm /dmax (1)
1 USD to 200 PKR. Financial determinants were based on December
2021 since the economic market had been unpredictable in 2022, where dr represents the required reduced C&H-DDs for the mth month of
making it challenging to determine the average of any variable pattern. the year in comparison with dmax , dm represents the actual C&H-DDs
requirement for the mth month of the year, and dmax denotes the
maximum number of C&H-DDs among ‘M’ months of the year.
2.3. Optimal monthly energy demand (OMED) estimation procedure
Step II. Calculate the reduction in cooling and heating (C&H) load
corresponding to the required reduced number of C&H-DDs (dr ) by Eq.
A substantial portion of the EE demand is weather-dependant,
(2):
notably for appliances such as air-conditioning and space-heating
units required for maintaining a comfortable environment, which ac­ Lr = Lmax − (dr ∗ Lmax ) (2)
counts for approximately 50% of the total EE demand. The energy de­
mand is also affected by the required cooling and heating degree days where Lr represents the reduction in C&H load in watts for the mth
(C&H-DDs), which defines the required number of degrees above or month of the year relating to the corresponding reduced C&H-DDs (dr )
below the set comfort zone temperature (=18 ◦ C) for cooling or heating and Lmax represents the maximum C&H load value exits among ‘M’
applications, respectively [31]. The C&H-DDs vary depending on the months of the year.
weather conditions of each location, as illustrated in Figure S-1 of the Step III. Estimating the OMED using Eq. (3):
supplementary material (SM). Therefore, in order to estimate the OMED, (
Ltotal − Lr
)
Lopt = ∗ 100 (3)
Ltotal
Table 3
Input design parameter statistics. where Lopt represents the percentage OMED estimated for the mth month
Factor/property Characteristic value of the year and Ltotal represents the total EE load to fulfil the electrifi­
cation requirements in the residential unit.
Baseline case power source Grid electricity
Power tariff rate 0.1241 $/kWh [33]
Transmission and distribution loss 17.5% [34]
factor 2.4. Decision tree structure
Annual peak load demand 4.912 kW
Operating days per week 7 To conceptualise the strategic possibilities of integrating solar PV
Proposed case power system
renewables in the residential sector for energy sustainability, a decision
Renewable energy technology Solar Photovoltaic
Power grid type Off-grid/grid-connected tree was constructed with six design parametric variables, as shown in
Energy conversion devices mono-Si/poly-Si part 3 in Fig. 1, based on the work presented in Ref. [36] where a de­
Energy conversion device control Clamped cision tree comprised of nine parameters was constructed to analyse the
method competitiveness and impact of developing geothermal district heating in
Inverter efficiency 95%
Inverter capacity 5.2 kW
Geneva, Switzerland. In our constructed decision tree, the first variable
Backup/storage options Grid power (for GC configuration); ESS was the configuration of the energy system, which had two options: OG
(for OG configuration) and GC. The second variable was the choice between mono-crystalline
ESS types Lead acid battery/Dry-cell battery silicon (mono-Si) and polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) PV technologies
ESS voltage 12-V
for the energy conversion device (ECD). Specific models of PV modules
Days of autonomy 1 day (24 h)
Maximum discharging depth for ESS 80% were selected from the available 2001 and 2743 choices of mono-Si and
Efficiency of charge controller for ESS 90% poly-Si [31] options, respectively. The selection criteria were based on
ESS temperature control method Ambient efficiency, frame area, capacity, and availability in the market. The third
System installation & component cost (investment) variable was the installation slope angle, which had two options: lati­
mono-Si PV device cost 0.35 $/W
poly-Si type PV device cost 0.32 $/W
tude and determined OSA values for study-related locations, as
Inverter price 0.146 $/W described in Section 3.2. The fourth variable was the PV energy system
Lead acid cell price 0.865 $/Ah capacity, where 99–100% capacity was selected for OG applications,
Dry cell price 2.25 $/Ah and an equivalent number of PV units was selected for GC strategies. The
Changing of lead acid ESS (repetition After four years
fifth variable concerned the provision of a backup source, where backup
cost)
Changing of dry cell ESS (repetition After seven years power was supplied by an ESS, with two options, lead-acid (LA) and
cost) dry-cell (DrC), for the OG application and conventional grid power for
Energy project development cost 5–7% of the total PV devices cost the GC application. The sixth variable involved study-related locations,
(labour & transportation) where the modelled DSs were evaluated for nine metropolitan cities in
System accessories 3–5% of energy project cost
Operation and maintenance cost 1–2% of energy project cost
Pakistan, representing various geographical orientations and provinces.
(annual repetition cost) Geographical and meteorological information for study-related loca­
Incremental cost for EFMs 1000 $ tions is described in Section 3.1.
Net metering cost (for GC 500 $
configuration)
Financial Determinants 3. A case study of Pakistan
Inflation rate 12.3% [35]
Fuel cost escalation rate 17% [35] Pakistan is a developing country with abundant resources, such as
Discount rate 9.75% solar irradiance, coastal air corridors, rivers, and agricultural land, that
Estimated project life 20 years
can support water, energy and food supply in the residential sector [37,

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38]. Researchers have investigated the supply of water, energy and food 3.1. Climate data for study-related locations
by focusing on different perspectives [39–41], for example, evaluation
of bioethanol production [42], water infrastructure development to To model the solar PV energy system, we utilised geographical and
improve agricultural sector growth [43], and evaluation of the impact of meteorological information, such as latitude, longitude, air temperature,
water and energy conservation efforts in different buildings [44]. wind speed, earth temperature, monthly averaged daily solar radiation,
However, the current literature indicates that scholars have not exten­ cooling degree days (C-DDs), and heating degree days (H-DDs). These
sively focused on the integrated assessment of energy systems aiming at data were reported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administra­
achieving energy sustainability in Pakistan. Achieving energy, food, and tion and embedded into the RETScreen software database [31]. Impor­
water security is one of the seven pillars of Vision-2025, which aims to tant meteorological information for assessing solar energy applications
transform Pakistan into the next Asian Tiger, making it imperative to are monthly averaged daily incident solar radiation (horizontal and
focus on achieving sustainability. However, 24% of the population lacks tilted), annual solar energy output, and C&H-DDs [17] (illustrated in
access to electricity [45], the hunger index is severe, and a small per­ Figures S-1 and S-2 in SM). The geographical and meteorological in­
centage of the population has access to safe drinking water facilities formation for the study-related metropolitan cities in Pakistan is sum­
[46]. Pakistan has recently faced severe flooding, which has damaged marised in Tables S–1, and Figures S-1 and S-2 in SM.
the agricultural sector and disrupted power transmission and distribu­
tion systems. Given the challenges and risks highlighted by experts [47],
3.2. Optimum slope angle (OSA) for study-related locations
urgent efforts are required to achieve energy sustainability in Pakistan.
Conducting a comprehensive assessment of renewable-based energy
The performance of a solar PV energy system is directly proportional
systems is crucial, particularly to satisfy the electrification requirements
to the amount of solar radiation reaching the PV array. As the Earth
in the residential sector. Such an assessment can provide insights into
rotates around the sun and its own axis, the angle of rotation affects the
the correlations between DPs, identify influential DPs, quantify the
amount of incident energy received. To ensure that the energy system
impact and competitiveness of integrating solar energy into residential
performs efficiently throughout the year, it is recommended to tilt the
infrastructure, and facilitate a comparative assessment of DSs to deter­
PV module at a slope angle equivalent to the latitude [49,50]. However,
mine the best options for implementing solar RE systems and promoting
latitude may not necessarily be an OSA. To determine the OSA, we
the transition towards clean energy. To this effect, we modelled twelve
executed the solar PV energy model developed in RETScreen software by
DSs using the constructed decision tree to evaluate the feasibility of
varying the PV module slope angle from 15◦ to 50◦ with a 0.1◦ interval.
integrating solar PV into the energy infrastructure of Pakistan, with a
The decision was made based on the EE value delivered by PV module
focus on the residential sector in nine metropolitan cities. Fig. 2 depicts
indicator. The slope angle that resulted in the highest EE delivered value
the locations of these cities: Islamabad/Rawalpindi (ISL/RWP), Karachi
was identified as the OSA. The OSA values for the study-related locations
(KHI), Lahore (LHR), Peshawar (PEW), Quetta (QTA), Faisalabad (FSD),
are listed in the figure legend, and the EE output is plotted against the
Gujranwala (GRW), Multan (MTN), and Hyderabad (HYD). Table 4
incident solar radiation tilted in Fig. 3.
provides a summary of the modelled DSs for the PV energy system.
Among these DSs, GC strategies are linked with OG strategies in terms of
4. Results and analysis
having a similar number of PV module units, such as DS-7 and DS-8,
which are equivalent to DS-1 and DS-2, respectively, whereas DS-9
The results are analysed and presented as follows: quantification of
and DS-10 are equal to DS-3&5 and DS-4&6, respectively. DS-11 and
synergies and trade-offs between DPs, influential DPs of solar PV system
DS-12 have the same number of PV units as DS-9 and DS-10, but differ in
for energy sustainability, and impact and competitiveness of the
the PV module slope angle.
modelled solar PV energy systems.

Fig. 2. Geographical locations of study-related metropolitan cities of Pakistan [48].

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A. Mehmood et al. Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126

Table 4
A summary of decision strategies (DSs) modelled using the decision tree structure.
DP ES configuration Energy conversion device choice ECD slope Backup power Energy storage system

DS-# OG GC mono-Si poly-Si Lat. OSA LA DrC

1 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
2 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
3 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
4 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
5 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
6 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
7 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
8 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
9 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
10 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
11 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
12 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Fig. 3. The electrical energy delivered in relation to varying PV module slope angles and identified optimum slope angles for study-related locations.

4.1. Synergies and trade-offs between design parameters
The monotonic statistical correlation between the DPs was calcu­
lated to determine synergies and trade-offs. For this purpose, we utilised
datasets for DPs, which were used in RETScreen tool for modelling DSs
of solar PV system. To quantify the monotonic relationship between DPs,
the Pearson’s correlation analyses approach, which measures the linear
dependence between two variables, was employed in IBM SPSS software
by getting reflection from the work presented in Ref. [51] where cor­
relation analysis approach was used to study the interaction between
SDGs. We quantified the correlation between DPs in terms of the Pearson
correlation coefficient whose value varies between 1 and − 1, with 1
representing total positive interaction (synergy) between the two
variables and − 1 representing total negative interaction (trade-off),
whereas zero denotes no interaction between the two variables [52].
The results are shown in Fig. 4. From the overall perspective, the anal­
ysis revealed that the number of synergies was slightly higher than the
trade-offs, with only around 2% difference. Eleven DPs exhibited more
trade-offs than synergies, while module efficiency did not interact with
any of the other 15 DPs.
From the perspective of DPs, precipitation, PV module units, and
their associated corresponding covered area parameters exhibited the
greatest number of synergistic interactions. Air temperature, earth
temperature, C-DDs, and OMED parameters all had more synergies than
trade-offs. However, the slope angle and H-DDs had the highest number
of trade-offs, followed by atmospheric pressure and total investment cost

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A. Mehmood et al.
Fig. 4. Monotonic correlation between design parameters, illustrating synergies and trade-offs.
DPs. The relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed had more
trade-offs than synergies, placing them in third place. The ESS capacity
and resultant cost parameters ranked fourth in terms of more trade-offs
compared to synergistic interactions.
The analysis of the percentage difference between synergies and
trade-offs revealed that the precipitation parameter had the largest
difference of nine interactions, followed by PV module units and the
corresponding covered area, H-DDs, and slope angle parameters, with
differences ranging from seven to eight interactions. The remaining DPs
had a difference of one-three interactions between synergies and trade-
offs.
4.2. Influential design parameters for energy sustainability
To identify the influential DPs for the sustainability of the solar PV-
powered energy system, we adopted an established quantitative feature
selection method, IGR method, as adopted by Shahzad et al. to investi­
gate the landslide influencing factors [53]. We considered three repre­
sentative 3E DIs: EP, GHGer, and NPV. We utilised the datasets for DPs
and DIs, which were used in RETScreen software for modelling DSs and
the outcomes of analysis for DIs, respectively. Using the IGR method
approach in the R-Studio user interface, as described in Section I in SM,
we calculated the IGR coefficient in the [0,1] interval for each DP to
establish its significance in relation to the supplied DIs. The higher value
of IGR coefficient indicates the higher contribution of a particular
parameter for solar PV system modelling and consequently for energy
sustainability. We analysed the results to highlight the influential DPs of
solar PV energy systems, as illustrated in Fig. 5 and Figures S-3 to S-14 in
the SM.
Fig. 5 presents an analysis of influential DPs for 3E DIs from an
overall perspective, where vertical axis demonstrates the IGR coefficient
value for DPs for 3E indicators (EP, GHGer, and NPV). The analysis
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Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126
demonstrated that the cost-related DPs, such as the total investment
cost, ESS capacity, and ESS cost, were deemed critical for all 3E in­
dicators. Other important DPs for energy indicators included OMED
estimation, air temperature, and C&H-DDs. For environmental and
economic DIs, the influential DPs were the station latitude, installation
slope angle, and atmospheric pressure. The total investment cost was
determined to be the most influential parameter for all 3E indicators.
The analysis of influential DPs for 3E indicators from the perspective
of OG- and GC-configured energy systems is illustrated in Figure S-3 in
the SM. For the energy indicator, the key DPs for OG configurations were
OMED estimation, station latitude, earth temperature, C&H-DDs, and
incident solar radiation, whereas, for GC configurations, they were
C&H-DDs, incident solar radiation, OMED estimation, and atmospheric
pressure. Interestingly, the energy model- and cost-related DPs did not
significantly contribute to the feasibility of the PV energy system from
an energy indicator perspective. For environmental and economic DIs,
energy model- and cost-related DPs were found to be more influential for
OG configurations than weather-related DPs, whereas, for GC configu­
rations, station latitude, PV device quantity, corresponding covered
area, and total investment cost were identified to be critical DPs.
The influential DPs for different ECD choices, mono-Si and poly-Si,
are illustrated in Figure S-4 in the SM. The results demonstrated that
the importance pattern of DPs was identical for both choices. The total
investment cost, ESS capacity, and its cost DPs were determined to be
the most influential for all 3E indicators. The OMED estimation and H-
DDs were found to be influential DPs for the energy indicator, followed
by station latitude and installation slope angle DPs for environmental
and economic DIs.
Moreover, we conducted separate analyses for each of the DSs for all
study-related locations in order to confirm the influential DPs identified
from different perspectives, which are portrayed in Fig. 5 and Figures S-
3 and S-4. Our analysis revealed that the key DPs for each DS were
A. Mehmood et al. Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126

Fig. 5. Importance of PV energy system design parameters from an overall perspective, incorporating all modelled decision strategies.

consistent with those identified from the OG configuration perspective. investment cost, and station latitude were found to be influential for
For example, OMED estimation, C&H-DDs, and earth temperature were environmental and economic DIs. Similar trends were observed for DS-7
found to be influential DPs for the energy indicator in DS-1 to DS-6, to DS-12, with incident solar radiation, OMED estimation, and earth
whereas the installation slope angle, ESS capacity and its cost, total temperature as the most influential DPs for the energy indicator.

Fig. 6. The potential for reducing grid power dependency.

8
A. Mehmood et al.
Furthermore, we analysed the DSs for each study-related location and
discovered that certain DPs were important for specific latitudes, such as
relative humidity and precipitation for the KHI station and H-DDs for the
ISL/RWP and QTA stations. The same energy model- and cost-related
DPs, such as total investment cost, ESS capacity, ESS cost, and PV de­
vice quantity and corresponding covered area, were found to influence
environmental and economic DIs across all study-related locations.
Additionally, the installation slope angle was an important environ­
mental indicator, but weather-related DPs did not significantly
contribute to the feasibility of energy projects for both environmental
and economic DIs. The importance of DPs for each DS at each study-
related locations is illustrated in Figures S-5 to S-14 in the SM.
4.3. Impact of solar PV energy system strategies on energy sustainability
The impact of the modelled strategies of the solar PV system on en­
ergy sustainability was quantified, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 and
Figure S-15. For this purpose, the modelled DSs of solar PV energy
system were executed and analysed in RETScreen tool. The analyses
were concluded with the datasets of techno-economic-environmental
indicators, which were imported into Microsoft Excel to quantify the
cumulative impact of the modelled DSs on energy sustainability. This
was accomplished by considering the optimised DPs (OMED estimation)
and 3E DIs (reduction in grid power dependency, reduction in electricity
bills, and potential for cleaner production).
4.3.1. Impact of design parameter optimisation
Impact of optimising the DPs on energy sustainability was quantified
in terms of the OMED parameter. For this purpose, we followed proce­
dural steps to estimate the OMED for nine study-related cities in
Pakistan. In our calculations, we made a fundamental assumption that
only the cooling and heating load element would be required. The re­
sults of the OMED estimations for the study-related latitudes are pre­
sented in Figure S-15 in the SM. Our analysis revealed that seven out of
nine stations, including ISL/RWP, KHI, LHR, PEW, FSD, GRW, and MTN,
had the highest energy demands in June. QTA and HYD had the highest
energy demands in July and May, respectively. Intensive cooling ap­
plications in the summer months led to the highest energy demand.
During the winter months, the QTA station had the highest demand
Fig. 7. Cleaner production potential of the modelled PV projects at study-related locations.
9
Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126
value in January and December, followed by the KHI station in
November. This was owing to higher heating load requirements at the
QTA station. We compared the scenarios modelled with and without
considering OMED estimations and discovered that applying this
approach had the potential to reduce 13–19% of the total EE demand
value, with the highest reduction values for the GRW, PEW, and FSD
stations and the lowest reduction values for the KHI and HYD stations.
This reduction in the energy demand could help make solar PV systems
more techno-economically viable.
4.3.2. Potential for reduction in grid power dependency
The potential for reduction in grid power dependency that can be
achieved through an RE project depends on its configuration and size. In
our study, we modelled two possible configurations of the PV energy
system, OG and GC. The analysis of the results revealed the potential of
reducing reliance on grid power source, as depicted in Fig. 6. For the OG
configuration, the solar PV system had no connection to the grid, which
meant that it did not rely on the grid energy source as long as it could
fulfil the electrification needs in the residential unit via direct and stored
energy sources. In contrast, the GC configuration had a dual impact on
the energy infrastructure of the country. On the one hand, it could
export 12–17 MWh EE to the grid, whereas on the other hand, it could
reduce dependency on grid power source. For the GC configuration, the
analysis elaborated that 12–18% of the total EE demand value still
required grid power source, which was equivalent to 8–15% of its
exported EE value to grid. This implied that there was potential for an
82–87% reduction in dependency on grid power source for modelled
GC-configured solar PV systems. From the perspective of DSs, OG con­
figurations were found to be equally significant with the same EE
generated by PV modules; however, DS-7 and DS-8 configurations were
found to be more significant among GC configurations with a greater
potential of reduction in grid power dependency compared to rest of GC
configurations.
4.3.3. Economic impact
The economic impact of the modelled strategies of the solar PV
system on energy sustainability was quantified in terms of the reduction
in electricity bills. This reduction in electricity bills was calculated by
multiplying the quantified reduction in grid power consumption value
A. Mehmood et al.
with the baseline power tariff rate, which is mentioned in Table 3. The
reduction in electricity bills was first estimated in terms of quantified
impact of OMED parameter. The analysis revealed that estimating the
OMED resulted in approximately 35–36% decrease in monthly elec­
tricity bills in a residential unit.
Then, the estimation of reduction in electricity bills in terms of the
modelled OG and GC configurations revealed that the electricity bills
reduced to 98–99% for OG configurations with total annual savings of
2.192–2.385 thousand USD. Whereas for GC configurations, electricity
bills reduced by 82–87% with total annual savings of 3.073–3.379
thousand USD. The revenue was additionally generated by GC config­
urations, which was equivalent to 732–892 USD per annum through the
sale of electricity exported to the grid. As a result of reduced dependency
on grid power, a substantial economic impact was estimated in terms of
fuel cost savings that is needed to invest for importing fuels (Fig. 7) to
generate electricity, as Pakistan electricity generation infrastructure
relies on imported fuels [54]. The comparative analysis of OG and GC
configurations revealed that GC configurations found more economi­
cally impactful, with multiple economic benefits, than OG
configurations.
4.3.4. Potential for cleaner production
The goal of achieving a sustainable energy transition is linked to the
environmental targets of SDG 13. The substitution of high-carbon-
emitting fuels with RE sources remains the primary focus of ongoing
debates for creating a cleaner planet for future generations. Despite
introducing several protocols (e.g., Kyoto protocol) and incentive
schemes (e.g., carbon credits), decision-making authorities are
contemplating the deployment of carbon taxation policies to encourage
GHG reduction strategies. As shown in Fig. 7, the modelled solar PV
projects offer significant potential for cleaner production, as measured
in terms of barrels of crude oil not consumed, equivalent GHGer, and
equivalent tonnes of waste recycled. These quantifications were
concluded while analysing the DSs in RETScreen tool, and the cumula­
tive potential was estimated by importing and analysing the outcomes in
Microsoft Excel. Our analysis elaborated that a unit scale modelled PV
energy system would save 21–24 barrels of crude oil or 4055–4411 L of
gasoline fuel annually for OG configurations and 36–42 barrels of crude
oil or 6667–7746 L of gasoline fuel annually for GC configurations. This
would lead to a reduction of GHG emissions equivalent to 9.4–10.3 tCO2
for OG configurations and 15.5–18 tCO2 for GC configurations per
annum, which equates to recycling 3.3–3.5 tonnes of waste for OG
configurations and 5.4–6.2 tonnes of waste for GC configurations. All
OG configurations were found to be equally significant, whereas, among
the GC configurations, DS-7 and DS-9 had higher cleaner production
potential compared to other DSs. Cumulatively, a modelled solar PV
system had the potential to reduce emissions by 187–203 tCO2 for OG
configurations and 307–357 tCO2 for GC configurations during their
proposed twenty-year lifespans. By incorporating solar PV energy into
modelled energy systems, we could achieve environmental sustainabil­
ity and conserve fossil fuels for future generations.
4.4. Competitiveness of solar PV energy system strategies
The competitiveness of the conceptualised DSs of the modelled solar
PV energy system was evaluated in terms of various energy, economic,
and environmental indicators. For this purpose, we utilised the outcome
datasets of indicators obtained after analysing the DSs of solar PV system
in RETScreen tool.
First, the competitiveness of the conceptualised DSs was evaluated
within the context of energy indicators, which included the power sys­
tem capacity factor, EE generated by the PV modules, net EE exported to
the grid, and backup energy source requirement. The analysis in terms of
energy indicators is presented in Fig. 8 and S-16.
The competitiveness of the DSs in terms of the power system capacity
factor at study-related latitudes is presented in Figure S-16 in the SM.
10
Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126
The comparison revealed that the capacity factor of the GC-configured
DSs was more than twice that of OG strategies. This is primarily
related to the configuration type, as a GC configuration allows excess
generated EE to be exported to the grid, whereas an OG configuration
lacks this facility. Additionally, the difference in the backup source ca­
pacity limit prevents the export of all excess power to the ESS in OG
configurations. Other factors that govern the power system capacity
factor include the incident solar radiation, latitude, ECD type, and PV
module control methodology [17]. The most competitive latitudes for
OG-configured DSs were QTA, PEW, HYD, and GRW, whereas QTA was
the most competitive latitude for GC-configured DSs with the highest
capacity factor value, followed by GRW, PEW, KHI, MTN, HYD = FSD,
LHR, and ISL/RWP, in descending competitive feasibility order.
Regarding EE generated by PV modules, EE exported to the grid, and
required backup or ESS indicators, the analysis presented in Figs. 6 and 8
illustrates that both OG- and GC-configured DSs had their own strengths
and weaknesses. OG-configured DSs generated less EE than GC-
configured DSs, but they were more reliable since they did not depend
on grid power source, which is not always available in countries such as
Pakistan owing to load-shedding phenomena. In contrast, GC-
configured DSs were found to be more cost-effective and sustainable
as they generated more EE, wasted less energy, required less than half
the investment required for OG configurations, and did not necessitate
the replacement and management of ESS. However, they were less
reliable than OG-configured DSs because they depended on grid power
source. Considering energy indicator-based competitiveness in the
context of latitudes, it was determined that KHI was the most feasible
latitude for OG-configured DSs, followed by HYD, QTA, and others. For
GC-configured DSs, KHI competed with QTA and MTN for being the
most feasible.
From the perspective of environmental indicators, the competitive­
ness of the conceptualised DSs was evaluated by analysing their poten­
tial for GHGer. Fig. 7 illustrates the results, which demonstrated that GC-
configured DSs had greater potential for GHGer owing to the larger
amount of EE generated, which could replace the use of crude oil or
gasoline. Regarding latitude, KHI had the highest environmental po­
tential for GC-configured DSs, followed by QTA and MTN, while for OG-
configured DSs, HYD competes with KHI, followed by QTA. In terms of
GHGer indicator, ISL/RWP and GRW had the least environmental sus­
tainability potential for GC- and OG-configured DSs, respectively.
The economic competitiveness of the conceptualised DSs was
investigated to determine the manner of attracting investors and pro­
moting solar renewable market growth. As indicated in Fig. 9, the
financial determinants used to evaluate economic competitiveness
include NPV, payback period (PBP), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and total
initial investment (see Figure S-17 in the SM including all financial de­
terminants). Among these determinants, the initial investment was the
most persuasive to investors, whereas NPV was important from an
economist’s perspective. NPV, PBP, and BCR can be calculated using the
relations defined in Refs. [17,55].
After analysing the results, it was found that GC-configured DSs
required 26–30% less investment than OG-configured DSs paired with
lead-acid ESS and 49–55% less investment than OG strategies paired
with dry-cell ESS. Hence, GC-configured DSs were more competitive,
with less than half of the PBP and more than double the NPV and BCR.
The required covered area of the solar PV system was also an impedi­
ment to its implementation, as a large area (67–98 m2) is required for the
project, which may not be accessible to every residential unit in society.
From an economic standpoint, the GC-configured DSs were found to
be more competitive, with up to 2.25 and 1.5 times the NPV of the OG
strategies paired with dry-cell and lead-acid ESS, respectively. The de­
cision tree parameter-based analysis showed that using poly-Si ECD
could improve NPV by 5–10%. Mounting the PV devices at OSA could
improve NPV by 0–11% for OG configurations and 0.5–0.2% for GC
configurations. However, using a dry-cell ESS decreases the NPV by
16–24% owing to the increased investment.
A. Mehmood et al. Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126

Fig. 8. Energy indicator-based competitiveness of decision strategies at study-related locations.

Fig. 9. Economic competitiveness of decision strategies at study-related locations.

11
A. Mehmood et al.
PBP and BCR determinants favoured poly-Si ECD over mono-Si, with
0.7–1.2 years less PBP and 0.2–0.4 higher BCR values. DSs modelled for
OSA executed fractional reduction in PBP of 0.1–0.7 years for OG con­
figurations and increased BCR by 0–0.1. In contrast, energy systems
combined with dry-cell ESS had a higher PBP (4.3–5.5) years and BCR
(0.7–1.5) compared to energy systems combined with lead-acid ESS. The
overall analysis of PBP and BCR results demonstrated that GC-
configured DSs were more competitive with 4.8–7.8 and 9.1–13.3
years shorter PBPs and 4.2–5.5 and 4.9–7 higher BCRs than OG con­
figurations combined with lead-acid and dry-cell ESS, respectively. The
competitiveness of latitude stations followed similar feasibility trending
curves for PBP and BCR determinants, with ISL/RWP having the highest
PBP and lowest BCR values. KHI had the lowest PBP values and second
highest BCR values, whereas HYD had the highest BCR values.
5. Discussion and recommendations
The feasibility of the solar PV-powered energy system to achieve
energy sustainability was investigated by modelling DSs by combining
the DPs of the PV system. To facilitate this process, a decision tree
structure was constructed, which revealed several key DPs that have a
substantial impact on the performance of the solar PV energy systems.
The configuration type was determined to be the most significant, with
GC configurations proving more effective than OG configurations
because of the lower wastage of produced EE. Poly-Si ECD was discov­
ered to be more technologically and economically efficient than mono-Si
owing to its performance at higher nominal temperatures and lower
capital costs, despite having lower efficiency values [17].
In terms of backup energy source, the grid energy source was found
to be more favourable than the ESS, with a lower levelised cost of
electricity, absence of power fluctuations, and no replacement concerns.
However, in the case study country, grid power is unreliable owing to
load-shedding phenomena [56]; therefore, combining ESS may be
preferred depending on the willingness of investors to compromise on
investment-related concerns [57]. The PV energy system was designed
and analysed with a load factor of 0.9–1.0, which favours a high-class
locality. However, it should also be designed with a low load factor to
verify its feasibility in low- and medium-class localities.
Examining the DPs of the energy system revealed that the cost pa­
rameters have an impact on the technical feasibility of the solar PV
energy system, whereas the weather parameters have the greatest effect
on the economic and environmental indicators of the system. A para­
metric correlation examination revealed a synergistic relationship be­
tween cost and weather parameters. Optimising the PV energy system by
estimating the monthly energy demand confirmed that factors such as
latitude, climatic conditions, and set temperature values of electric ap­
pliances can greatly affect the total energy demand value, resulting in a
13–19% reduction in the EE demand in the residential unit. The
reduction in grid power source dependence is also contingent on the
exergy value of the solar PV system, which is influenced by the solar
incident radiation weather parameters [50]. The potential for cleaner
production depends on the amount of fossil fuels combusted to fulfil EE
demand, and a greater amount of EE generated by solar PV energy
systems will necessitate less fossil fuel combustion. In countries that rely
on imported fuel [54], such as Pakistan, the combustion of fossil fuels
can be detrimental to the environmental sustainability and economy of
the country. Therefore, conducting a feasibility study before installing
PV-powered energy systems is crucial for addressing the increasing en­
ergy demand caused by urbanisation. This should result in optimum
performance for the smallest possible expenditure and can aid in
achieving energy sustainability in the residential sector.
The results of this study and their associated discussion offer several
suggestions for promoting the energy sustainability in the residential
sector of Pakistan.
12
Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126
• The government should encourage the installation of domestic-scale
energy systems with decentralised power transmission and distri­
bution in order to achieve energy sustainability in the residential
sector and prevent central power line overloading factor.
• Electric energy sharing at the residential level should be permitted
via sub-metering to aid low-income communities in reaping the
benefits of having access to electricity.
• Specific incentive schemes, such as credits for cleaner production,
should be introduced to reduce GHG emissions, enhance the impact
and competitiveness of renewable-powered energy systems, and
attract investors.
• Compliance with food, water, and energy consumption monitoring
systems based on established standards should be enforced, and
waste surcharging can be implemented to reduce waste and
contribute to achieving the sustainability in the residential sector.
• Both GC- and OG-configured solar PV energy systems should be
promoted with corresponding incentives to encourage residents of
different economic circles to install them according to affordability,
thereby reducing the load on the central power grid.
6. Conclusions
To achieve energy sustainability in the residential sector, it is crucial
to optimally design and investigate renewable-based energy systems,
particularly in developing countries. This study developed an energy
model that incorporated the electrification requirements in the resi­
dential unit and analysed it by incorporating renewable solar PV. The
model optimises the electric energy load characteristics by developing a
cooling and heating load estimation procedure. To assess the feasibility
of integrating solar PV renewables for energy sustainability, this study
conceptualised DSs by constructing a decision tree structure containing
six DPs of the energy model. The DSs were thoroughly evaluated in a
case study of nine metropolitan cities in Pakistan by calculating the
OSAs for all latitudes.
In this study, we concluded that synergies and trade-offs among the
DPs of solar PV energy systems were nearly equal, with synergies
exceeding trade-offs by around 2%. However, most DPs had greater
trade-offs than synergies when considered individually. According to the
influential DPs of the solar PV system for energy sustainability, the cost
parameters were comparatively more important followed by the sug­
gested OMED parameter in overall perspective. The weather-related DPs
had a greater importance for energy indicators, while solar PV energy
model-related technical and cost-related DPs had a greater importance
for environmental and economic DIs.
Optimising the energy load characteristics by considering optimal
load estimation, energy efficiency measures, standard water consump­
tion, and energy waste prevention for food sector activities could result
in approximately 35% reduction in the energy demand in the residential
unit. The impact assessment of the OMED estimation parameter alone
could reduce the energy demand by 13–19%, positively impacting the
energy sustainability. The study also concluded that GC configurations
could result in an 82–87% reduction in reliance on grid power source,
supporting a 36–42 barrels reduction in crude oil consumption, whereas
OG configurations supported a reduction in crude oil consumption
equivalent to 21–24 barrels.
This study assessed the impact and competitiveness of solar PV sys­
tem strategies for energy sustainability in the residential sector, taking
into account 3E DIs. It was discovered that the GC and OG configurations
strongly impacted and competed for sustainability. The comparative
assessment concluded that GC configurations had a greater impact
because of the additional EE delivered to the grid, the higher power
system capacity factors, the higher cleaner production potential and
equivalent fossil fuel savings, the lower required investment cost, the
higher NPVs, and the lower PBPs. In contrast, OG configurations elim­
inated the dependence on grid power.
Consequently, the overall impact and competitiveness analysis
A. Mehmood et al.
revealed that both GC and OG configurations might be pursued to
initiate the integration of solar PV in the residential sector in order to
fulfill the electrification requirements, with a slight preference for GC
configurations. Among the GC configurations, DS-7 and DS-8 proved to
be more important than the others, whereas the OG configurations
proved to be equally important. The study recommends that solar PV
energy systems should be modeled using poly-Si energy conversion de­
vices mounted at OSA, as supported by 3E assessment indicators.
Furthermore, it suggests that lead-acid energy storage systems should be
used as a backup in OG configurations, which have additional heat
generation, replacement, and end-of-life management concerns
compared to dry-cell storage.
The comparative analysis revealed that KHI and HYD were the most
competitively feasible locations, whereas QTA and KHI were compara­
tively more feasible with a greater impact. On the contrary, ISL/RWP
was regarded as the least feasible option from all perspectives.
This investigation is a first step in comprehending all the pre-
feasibility aspects of solar PV energy systems that should be under­
stood prior to integrating solar PV to achieve energy sustainability in the
residential sector. The primary limitation of this study is that it only
considers fulfilling the electric energy needs through solar PV renew­
ables. The solar PV energy system is designed and analysed with a
0.9–1.0 load factor range, which favours a high-class locality. This
project could also be designed for low- and medium-class localities.
Expanding the energy model and decision tree structure for hybrid RE
source-powered systems and interpreting their correlations would be an
interesting continuation of this work.
Credit author statement
Aamir Mehmood: Data curation, Methodology, Formal analysis,
Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing; Jingzheng Ren:
Supervision, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – review &
editing, Funding acquisition; Long Zhang: Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgments
The work presented was supported by a grant from Research Grant
Council-The Hong Kong Ph.D. Fellowship (Ph.D. Fellowship awardee:
Aamir Mehmood), Research Committee of The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University under student account code RLMD. This work was also sup­
ported by a grant from the Research Institute for Advanced
Manufacturing (RIAM), the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)
Project No.:1-CD4J, Project ID:P0041367), and a grant from Research
Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE),
the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) (Project No.:1-BBEC,
Project ID: P0043023).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.esr.2023.101126.
13
Energy Strategy Reviews 49 (2023) 101126
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