Abstract
Urban environments can be key to sustainable energy in terms of driving innovation and action. Urban areas are responsible for a significant part of energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The share of greenhouse gas emissions is likely to increase as global urban populations increase. As over half of the human population will live in cities in the near future, the management of energy supply and demand in urban environments will become essential. Developments such as the transformation of the electricity grid from a centralised to a decentralised system as well as the electrification of the transportation and heating systems in buildings will transform the urban energy landscape. Efficient heating systems, sustainable energy technologies, and electric vehicles will be critical to decarbonise cities. An overview of emerging technologies and concepts in the built environment is provided in this literature review on the basis of four main areas, namely, energy demand, supply, storage, and integration aspects. The Netherlands is used as a case study for demonstrating evidence-based results and feasibility of innovative urban energy solutions, as well as supportive policies.
Highlights
As over half of the human population will live in an urban environment in the near future [1], management of energy supply and demand will become essential
Urban environments can be key to sustainable energy, and drive innovation and action
Strategies to enable low-carbon urban systems must take into account the particular energy patterns and governance models of a city
Summary
As over half of the human population will live in an urban environment in the near future [1], management of energy supply and demand will become essential. Even though cities occupy only 3% of the Earth’s land, the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that urban areas consume between 67% and 76% of global energy and generate about three quarters of global carbon emissions [2]. This share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is likely to increase as global urban populations increase. For the convenience of the reader, an overall system architecture of the physical power system and the electricity sector organisation in the European context, including a description of the main actors and their roles, can be found in [7]
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