Abstract
A rise in the number of EVs (electric vehicles) in Europe is putting pressure on power grids. At an urban scale, Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) are devised as archetypes of (small) urban districts managing a set of interconnected buildings and district elements (lighting system, vehicles, smart grid, etc.). This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the impact of e-mobility in a PED, simulated using MATLAB-Simulink software. The PED, a small district in northern Spain, is assessed in five scenarios representing varying requirements in terms of energy efficiency of buildings, type of street lighting and number of EVs. The results suggest that the energy rating of the buildings (ranging from A for the most efficient to E) conditions the annual energy balance. A PED with six interconnected buildings (3 residential and 3 of public use) and 405 EVs (as a baseline) only achieves positivity when the buildings have a high energy rating (certificate A or B). In the most efficient case (A-rated buildings), simulation results show that the PED can support 695 EVs; in other words, it can provide nearly 9 million green kilometres. This result represents a potential 71% saving in carbon emissions from e-mobility alone (as compared to the use of fossil-fuel vehicles), thus contributing a reduction in the carbon footprint of the district and the city as a whole.
Highlights
In the long fight against climate change, one of the most pressing issues that needs to be tackled to make cities more sustainable and eco-friendly is mobility; in 2018, road transport accounted for 15% of total CO2 emissions, at 8.26 Gt [1], coming a close third to electricity and heating [2]
Case Study Used for the Experimentation This study defines a Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) archetype that includes: (a) six facilities, three entirely new residential buildings, and three renovated public buildings [25]; (b) a smart grid handling the energy provided by PV panels; (c) electrochemical (Li-Ion) energy storage systems (ESSs) based on a communitarian dispatch; (d) EVs; and (e) smart lighting systems and other communication and sensing services
The results present monthly and annual energy balances of a PED archetype, where archTehtyepme eisthdoedfionloegdyaussaedPEtoDmmeoasduerleththaet icmanparectporefsee‐nmtombialnityyaunrabraenasdiinstariPctEsDin aEpuprroopaceh
Summary
In the long fight against climate change, one of the most pressing issues that needs to be tackled to make cities more sustainable and eco-friendly is mobility; in 2018, road transport accounted for 15% of total CO2 emissions, at 8.26 Gt [1], coming a close third to electricity and heating [2]. In California, for example, an increase of about 50% in demand (from 280 TWh to 420 TWh) is forecast by 2045 as a result of the electrification of demand, in e-mobility (EVs). This will be accompanied by increased power production from renewables (photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, biomass, etc.) [5]. The move to e-mobility has the backing of the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector [6], which envisages a major increase in uptake in EVs from a current figure of 5% of sales to 60% by 2040. This report is closely in line with other EU proposals
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