Author Guidelines

Energy Sustainability welcomes submissions of high-quality manuscripts in the field of sustainable energy systems, renewable energy, power systems, smart grids, microgrids, energy storage, energy efficiency, mechanical and thermal energy systems, energy economics, energy policy, sustainability assessment, and digital technologies for energy applications. Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by another journal or conference.

1. Manuscript Types

The journal accepts the following types of manuscripts:

  1. Original Research Articles
    Full-length papers presenting original research findings, experimental results, modelling, simulation, optimization, or case studies.
  2. Review Articles
    Comprehensive reviews of recent developments, challenges, methods, and future directions in sustainable energy systems.
  3. Short Communications
    Concise reports of significant preliminary findings, novel concepts, or emerging technical developments.
  4. Technical Notes
    Brief articles describing technical methods, tools, experimental setups, datasets, models, or practical engineering applications.
  5. Case Studies
    Applied studies based on real-world implementation, field data, institutional energy systems, industrial systems, or community energy projects.

2. Manuscript Language

All manuscripts must be written in English. Authors are responsible for ensuring that the manuscript is clear, grammatically correct, and suitable for international scholarly publication.

3. Manuscript Length

Recommended manuscript length:

  • Original research article: 6,000–8,000 words
  • Short communication: 3,000–4,000 words
  • Review article: 8,000–12,000 words
  • Technical note / case study: 3,000–6,000 words

The word count generally excludes references, tables, figures, and appendices.

4. Manuscript Structure

Manuscripts should generally include the following sections:

Title
The title should be concise, informative, and clearly reflect the content of the study.

Author Names and Affiliations
Provide the full names, institutional affiliations, city, country, and email address of the corresponding author.

Abstract
The abstract should be written as a single paragraph of approximately 150–250 words. It should briefly state the background, objective, method, main findings, and conclusion.

Keywords
Provide 4–6 keywords that represent the main topic of the manuscript.

Introduction
The introduction should present the background, research problem, literature gap, novelty, objectives, and contribution of the study.

Methods / Methodology
This section should clearly describe the research design, system configuration, data collection, modelling, simulation, optimization, experimental setup, assumptions, and validation methods.

Results and Discussion
Present the main findings clearly using text, tables, and figures. Discuss the results in relation to the research objectives, previous studies, practical implications, and limitations.

Limitation and Future Work
Authors should explain the main limitations of the study and suggest possible directions for future research.

Conclusion
The conclusion should summarize the main findings, answer the research objectives, and highlight the scientific or practical contribution of the study.

Declarations
Include conflict of interest, funding information, authorship contribution, data availability, and ethics statement where applicable.

References
References must follow the journal’s numbered citation style based on Number Style.

5. Formatting Requirements

Authors should prepare their manuscripts using the official Energy Sustainability manuscript template. The manuscript should be formatted clearly and consistently. The template can be download by this link.

General formatting requirements:

  • Use clear section and subsection headings.
  • Number tables and figures consecutively.
  • Place figure captions below figures.
  • Place table titles above tables.
  • Define all abbreviations at first use.
  • Use SI units where applicable.
  • Number all equations consecutively.
  • Cite all figures, tables, and equations in the text.
  • Ensure that all references cited in the text appear in the reference list.

6. Figures, Tables, and Equations

Figures and tables must be clear, readable, and relevant to the manuscript. Authors should ensure that images, diagrams, graphs, and tables have sufficient quality for publication.

Figures should be cited as Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and so on. Tables should be cited as Table 1, Table 2, and so on.

Equations should be numbered consecutively using parentheses, for example:

(1), (2), (3)

All variables and parameters used in equations must be clearly defined.

7. Reference Style

Energy Sustainability uses a numbered citation style based on Number Style. References should be cited sequentially in the text using square brackets, for example:

[1], [2, 3], or [4–6]

The reference list must be arranged according to the order of citation, not alphabetically. The journal accepts references from journal articles, conference papers, books, book chapters, theses, dissertations, standards, reports, and reliable online sources where appropriate.

8. Originality and Plagiarism

Submitted manuscripts must be original and free from plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, and unethical manipulation of research findings. Manuscripts may be checked using plagiarism detection software. Manuscripts with excessive similarity or ethical concerns may be returned, rejected, or investigated according to the journal’s publication ethics policy.

9. Peer Review Process

All submitted manuscripts will undergo initial editorial screening to assess relevance, originality, formatting, and compliance with the journal’s focus and scope. Manuscripts that pass the initial screening will be sent for double-blind peer review. Final editorial decisions are based on reviewer recommendations, manuscript quality, originality, methodological soundness, and relevance to the journal.

10. Copyright and Open Access

Authors retain the copyright of their published work and grant Energy Sustainability the right of first publication. Published articles are made available as open-access articles, normally under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), allowing others to share and reuse the work with proper attribution.

11. Ethical Requirements

For studies involving human participants, surveys, interviews, personal data, medical data, or behavioural research, authors should include an ethics statement and confirm that informed consent was obtained where required. Research involving animals must comply with relevant institutional and national ethical standards.

Authors must also disclose any conflicts of interest, funding sources, and relevant acknowledgements.

12. Submission Process

Authors should submit their manuscripts through the Energy Sustainability online submission system. Before submission, authors should ensure that:

  • The manuscript follows the journal template.
  • The manuscript is written in English.
  • The abstract and keywords are included.
  • All figures and tables are cited in the text.
  • All references are complete and correctly formatted.
  • Ethical statements and declarations are included where applicable.
  • The manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere.

13. After Submission

After submission, the editorial office will check the manuscript for completeness, formatting, scope suitability, and ethical compliance. Authors may be asked to revise the manuscript before peer review if the submission does not follow the journal guidelines.