Author Guidelines

All manuscripts must be written in English and prepared using Microsoft Word (.docx). Authors should read all guidelines carefully before submitting.

Template: A template file is available here. (Download here)
Reference: The reference style in the manuscript should be RAST style. (Download here)

1. Manuscript Length

Article Type

Word Count (excluding title, abstract, keywords, acknowledgments, and references)

Research Article

6,000 to 8,000 words

Review Article

8,000 to 10,000 words

2. Manuscript Structure
Manuscripts must follow this content order:

  1. Title: Short title of up to 40 characters, including spaces; a subtitle may be added if desired.
  2. Author Information: Full names of all authors, affiliations, postal addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, and fax numbers. Affiliations and addresses for co-authors must be clearly indicated.
  3. Abstract: A self-contained single paragraph of 200 to 250 words summarizing the aims, scope, and conclusions of the work. Include an abbreviated title suitable for use as a running headline. Acknowledgments may be included here if applicable.
  4. Keywords: A maximum of six keywords.
  5. Main Body of Text
  6. References
  7. Appendices
  8. Tables
  9. Captions to Illustrations
  10. Illustrations

3. Formatting Requirements

  • Paper size: A4 with 2.54 cm margins on all sides.
  • Line spacing: Double-spaced throughout.
  • Units: Follow the International System of Units (SI).
  • Recommended software: Microsoft Word (.docx).
  • Font size, type, grammar, illustrations, charts, drawings, sketches, and diagrams must be submitted on separate sheets and be ready for direct reproduction.

4. Figures and Illustrations
All illustrations must be consecutively numbered and accompanied by proper legends. Charts, drawings, sketches, and diagrams should be submitted on separate sheets and prepared for direct reproduction.

5. Tables

  • Tables must be consecutively numbered with Arabic numerals and given suitable captions.
  • Notes and references within a table must be included with that table.
  • Superscript letters should refer to notes.
  • Each column must have a clear explanatory heading.
  • Tables must not repeat data that already appears elsewhere in the article, such as in a figure.

6. References
Each reference must be sequentially numbered and cited in brackets within the text. The RAST reference style must be used. A downloadable reference style guide is available on the journal website.

Journal Article
[1] Author(s)., Title. Journal. Volume (Year) Pages, doi:.

Example:
[2] Dehghani-Sanij, A. R., Tharumalingam, E., Dusseault, M. B. and Fraser, R., Study of energy storage systems and environmental challenges of batteries. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 104 (2019) 192-208, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.01.023.

Book
[3] Author(s). Title. Edition edn, Publisher, Year, doi:.

Example:
[4] Xiong, R. Battery Management Algorithm for Electric Vehicles. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd., 2020.

Book Section
[5] Author(s). in Book Title: Title, Ch. Chapter, Publisher, (Year) Pages, doi:.

Example:
[6] Sunden, B. in Hydrogen, Batteries and Fuel Cells: Battery technologies, Ch. 4, Academic Press, (2019) 57-79.

Conference Proceedings
[7] Author(s). Title. in Conference Name. (Year Published), Pages, doi:.

Example:
[8] Phumeesut, K., Suriwong, T., Ketjoy, N. and Chamsa-ard, W. GIS-based Analysis of Solar Power Plant Suitability in Thailand: Minimizing Natural Disaster Risks. in 8th International Conference on Business and Industrial Research (ICBIR). (2023) 1182-1187, doi: 10.1109/ICBIR57571.2023.10147566.

Website
[9] Author(s). Title, <URL> (Year).

Example:
[10] Bhutada, G. Ranked: Top 25 Nations Producing Battery Metals for the EV Supply Chain, https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-top-25-nations-for-battery-metals/ (2021).

Report
[11] Author(s). Title. Report No., Institution, Place Published, (Year) Pages, doi:.

Example:
[12] Denholm, P., Cole, W., Frazier, A. W., Podkaminer, K. and Blair, N. The Four Phases of Storage Deployment: A Framework for the Expanding Role of Storage in the U.S. Power System. Report No. NREL/TP-6A20-77480, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), (2021) 1-56.

7. CRediT Author Contributions Statement
For research and review articles with multiple authors, the corresponding author must provide a CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) statement describing each co-author's specific contributions. CRediT helps clarify individual contributions, reduce authorship disputes, and support collaboration.

The 14 CRediT roles are: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing (original draft), and Writing (review and editing).

Authors may have contributed through more than one role. Contributors who do not qualify for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section instead.

Example CRediT statement:
"Firstname Lastname 1: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Investigation, Writing (original draft), Visualization. Firstname Lastname 2: Writing (review and editing). Firstname Lastname 3: Writing (review and editing). Firstname Lastname 4: Supervision, Resources. Firstname Lastname 5: Supervision, Resources."

A downloadable summary of all CRediT roles is available on the journal website.

8. Declaration of Competing Interests
Authors must use the official manuscript template and complete the Declarations section. Choose one of the following:

If no conflicts exist: State in the manuscript: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."

If conflicts exist: Disclose all relevant interests for each author, covering both financial and non-financial relationships.

Financial interests to disclose include: employment or consultancy arrangements, honoraria, travel support, research funding or in-kind support, equity or stock options, royalties, paid testimony, and patents (planned, pending, issued, or licensed).

Non-financial interests to disclose include: unpaid advisory or board roles, editorial roles, advocacy positions, close personal or academic relationships, direct academic competition, or strongly held views that are directly related to the work.

Funding transparency: In the Funding or Declarations section of the template, list all funding sources and describe their role, or state "no role," in study design, data collection and analysis, manuscript preparation, and the decision to publish.

Editorial roles at RAST: If an author holds an editorial role at RAST, include the following statement: "[Name] serves as [role] at RAST and was not involved in the review or decision of this manuscript."

Responsibility: The corresponding author is responsible for the accuracy of all disclosures for all co-authors and must update the information if any changes occur during revision or before acceptance. When in doubt, disclose clearly and concisely. Incomplete or inaccurate disclosure may lead to rejection, delays, or post-publication notices.

A manuscript template file is available for download on the journal website.

9. Guidelines for Using AI in Academic Writing
The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) into energy research and software development necessitates strict guidelines to maintain academic integrity, transparency, and accountability.

  • Authorship Eligibility: AI tools and LLMs do not meet the criteria for authorship. They cannot be held accountable for the work; therefore, no AI tool may be listed as an author or co-author on any manuscript submitted to RAST.
  • Transparency and Disclosure: Authors must explicitly disclose the use of any AI tools utilized in the preparation of the manuscript. This disclosure must be placed in the Methods or Acknowledgments section.
  • Author Accountability: Human authors assume full, irrevocable responsibility for the entire content of the manuscript. Authors must carefully review and verify all AI-generated text, data, code, and citations to ensure factual accuracy, scientific validity, and the absence of bias.
  • Prohibited Applications: AI tools must strictly not be used to fabricate, alter, or manipulate experimental data, statistical results, algorithms, or images.
  • Originality and Plagiarism: The use of AI to generate text or code without significant human oversight and contribution constitutes academic misconduct.

Permitted Uses of AI (Allowed Cases)
The following uses of AI tools are permitted, provided that full disclosure is made in the Methods or Acknowledgments section and the authors review all output:

  • Language and Grammar Editing: AI tools may be used to proofread, correct grammar, improve readability, or polish English language expression.
    Example (Disclosure statement): "ChatGPT 4.0 was used to proofread and improve the English readability of this manuscript. The authors reviewed and take full responsibility for the final content."
  • Literature Summarization: AI tools may be used to assist in summarising existing literature, provided that all sources are independently verified and properly cited by the authors.
    Example (Disclosure statement): "Semantic Scholar's AI-powered search was used to assist in identifying relevant literature. All sources were independently reviewed and cited by the authors."
  • Code Assistance: AI tools may be used to assist in writing, debugging, or explaining code, provided that the authors thoroughly test, validate, and take full responsibility for all code used in the research.
    Example (Disclosure statement): "GitHub Copilot was used to assist in drafting simulation code. All code was reviewed, tested, and validated by the authors."
  • Data Visualization Assistance: AI tools may be used to suggest chart types or formatting for figures derived from real, author-collected data.
    Example (Disclosure statement): "ChatGPT was used to suggest formatting improvements for figures. All data presented are original and collected by the research team."

Prohibited Uses of AI (Disallowed Cases)
The following uses of AI constitute academic misconduct and are strictly prohibited:

  • Fabrication of Data or Results: AI must not be used to generate, fabricate, or manipulate experimental data, statistical results, or research findings.
    Example of violation: Using AI to generate fictitious system load profiles, invent simulation results, or produce graphs from non-existent datasets.
  • Fabrication of Citations: AI must not be used to generate academic citations or references. AI tools are known to produce hallucinated (non-existent) references.
    Example of violation: Inserting AI-generated references such as "Smith et al. (2022) Energy Systems, 45(3), 112–120" without verifying that the article exists.
  • Ghost-writing or Undisclosed AI Authorship: AI must not be used to draft the substantive intellectual content of the manuscript (introduction, methodology, results, discussion, or conclusions) without disclosure and significant human intellectual contribution.
    Example of violation: Submitting a manuscript where the entire Methods section was generated by an AI tool without human expert review or disclosure.
  • Image Manipulation: AI must not be used to generate, alter, or enhance experimental images, micrographs, or figures in a way that misrepresents the actual findings.
    Example of violation: Using AI image tools to remove noise artifacts from microscopy images in a manner that changes the scientific interpretation.
  • Circumventing Plagiarism Detection: AI must not be used to paraphrase or rewrite text from other sources in order to avoid plagiarism detection while retaining the original ideas without proper attribution.
    Example of violation: Using AI to rephrase a paragraph from a published paper and submitting it as original work without citation.

10. Human and Animal Subjects Research

Ethical Concerns in Research Involving Human and Animal Subjects
The Journal of Renewable Energy and Smart Grid Technology (RAST) is committed to upholding the highest standards of scientific and ethical integrity. While energy and engineering research primarily focuses on technical systems, studies occasionally involve human participants or animal subjects/habitats. All submitted manuscripts must demonstrate rigorous adherence to ethical protocols.

Human Subjects Research
All research involving human participants or human data must comply with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

  • Institutional Approval: Authors must provide a formal statement confirming that the study protocol was reviewed and approved by an appropriate institutional ethical review board (e.g., Institutional Review Board [IRB]).
    Example: Studies involving surveys on community acceptance of smart grid policies, or interviews regarding household energy consumption, must explicitly state the Certificate of Approval (COA) number or provide an official exemption letter from the ethics committee.
  • Informed Consent: Explicit, written informed consent must be obtained from all participants. For surveys and questionnaires, consent mechanisms must be clearly described. The manuscript must explicitly state that consent was secured.
  • Privacy and Confidentiality: Authors must ensure that all participant data is fully anonymized. Identifying information must not be published unless strictly necessary for scientific purposes and accompanied by explicit written permission from the subject.

Animal Subjects Research
Research impacting animal subjects or biological systems must be conducted responsibly and adhere to internationally accepted ethical standards for animal welfare.

  • Institutional Approval: Authors must confirm that all experimental procedures were approved by the relevant institutional or national animal welfare committee (e.g., Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee [IACUC]).
    Example: Research assessing the ecological impact of renewable energy installations (such as the effect of wind turbines on local bird populations, or thermal discharge from power plants on aquatic life) must include the ethical approval number and state the guidelines followed.
  • The 3Rs Principle: RAST expects authors to explicitly apply the principles of the 3Rs: Replacement (using computational models where possible), Reduction (using the minimum number of subjects), and Refinement (minimizing potential distress).