Avoided CO2 Emissions Research Articles

Decarbonization of cement production by electrification

This study presents the techno-economic assessment of four electrified cement plants: i) using direct electrification and plasma technologies (eC-pK case); ii) consisting of indirect electrification via H2 combustion and oxy-combustion of alternative fuels (OC-HK); iii) combining direct electrification, alternative fuels combustion and post-combustion CO2 capture (eC-afK); iv) consisting in the electrification of the hydraulic Calcium Hydro Silicate production process (e-hCHS). Process modeling in Aspen Plus is used to estimate mass and energy balances and calculate techno-economic key performance indicators. The study finds that all the electrified alternatives achieve high levels of equivalent CO2 emissions avoidance (87.2%–101.8%), with a trade-off between the electricity demand (604–1341 kWh/tclk) and the amount of captured CO2 to be handled by the transport & storage infrastructure (357–834 kgCO2/tclk). With an electricity price of 50 €/MWh, the partially electrified alternatives (OC-HK, eC-afK) showed competitive additional cost of clinker (87 €/tclk) and cost of avoided CO2 (101 €/tCO2) against a benchmark case, though higher than the cost of the best CO2 capture technologies from the literature. The eC-pK case resulted in lower economic performance associated mainly to the higher price of electricity per unit of final energy supplied compared to alternative fuels.

Full oxygen blast furnace steelmaking: From direct hydrogen injection to methanized BFG injection

This paper presents a novel concept of Power to Gas in an oxygen blast furnace, through blast furnace gas methanation and direct H2 injection. The PEM electrolyser produces H2, which reacts with the CO and CO2 from the blast furnace gas forming synthetic natural gas. The latter gas is injected into the blast furnace, closing a carbon loop and avoiding CO2 emissions. A parametric analysis is performed to vary the H2:CO2 ratio in the methanation reaction. Different ratios are simulated and compared, among of which the most representative are: (i) 2.5, where unreacted CO2 is directly recycled with the synthetic natural gas; (ii) 4, where stoichiometric conditions are found and the synthetic gas is composed mostly by CH4; and (iii) 8, where an excess of H2 is found in the synthetic gas; and (iv) an infinite ratio, where only H2 is injected in the blast furnace. In the latter, the methanation plant is not required, and no synthetic natural gas is produced. The results show that low H2:CO2 ratios perform poorly, involving high PEM sizes and high costs but only a 5% of CO2 avoidance (compared to conventional blast furnaces). A H2:CO2 ratio of 4 and full H2 injection results in higher reduction of CO2 emissions (33.8 % and 28.6%) with carbon abatement costs of 260 and 245 €/tCO2, respectively.

Solar panel adoption among Mexican small and medium-sized commercial and service businesses

We analyze the determinants of adoption of distributed solar photovoltaic systems, focusing on small and medium-sized commercial and service firms. We use monthly billing data that are perfectly matched with data from a novel survey that gathers information on electricity consumption, stock of electric equipment, and a rich set of firm characteristics in the Metropolitan Area of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Using an econometric model, we find evidence that a set of explanatory variables such as business characteristics, the economic sector, ownership status, stock and usage of equipment and appliances, presence of other solar technologies, and views about the use of renewable energy are important determinants of the probability of adoption of solar panel systems. Furthermore, using machine learning methods to identify the best predictors of solar adoption, we indirectly validate the theory-driven empirical model by assessing a large set of explanatory variables and selecting a subset of these variables. In addition, we investigate relevant cases where a priori solar panel adoption seems to be cost-effective but structural adoption barriers and adoption gaps might coexist for certain groups of electricity users. We also calculate the social cost savings and the avoided CO2 emissions. Finally, based on our results, we provide several policy implications and recommendations.

Comparative study of a combined heat and power plant retrofitted by CO2 capture during the combustion of syngas from sewage sludge gasification versus zero-emission combustion of hydrogen produced using renewables

With ecological requirements aimed at limiting the production of CO2, it is necessary to produce all, or most of the energy from RES. During the transformation process, ecological and highly efficient combustion power plants will be needed. The classic cycle of combined heat and power (CCGT) with green improvements will continue to be one of the most suitable technologies for this task. This article presents the modernization of the CCGT power plant in Zielona Góra in terms of possible solutions to reduce CO2 emissions and cooperation with RES producing hydrogen. Two variants of retrofit were considered: CO2 capture following the combustion of syngas obtained from gasification of sewage sludge, and emission-free hydrogen combustion in a gas turbine. Calculations were made using numerical modelling and the obtained results were validated. Avoided CO2 emissions for both solutions are shown. The proposed upgrades were compared with the basic variant and other gaseous fuels.

A novel sustainable biomass-fueled cogeneration cycle integrated with carbon dioxide capture utilizing LNG regasification and green hydrogen production via PEM electrolysis: Thermodynamic assessment

This paper proposes a novel biomass-fueled sustainable cogeneration power cycle with hydrogen production via a PEM electrolyzer. In this system, exiting product gases from the combustion chamber undergoes a CO2 capture process utilizing LNG regasification to avoid CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Since biomass has a lower emission rate compared to fossil fuels and is subject to easier replacement and conversion, this system is considered to have a zero CO2 emission rate. LNG is the only cooling medium in this system; no exterior fluid like water is used to cool the system, making the overall process more environmentally friendly. This present system offers a unique structure utilizing renewable technologies for future zero-emission power layouts with sustainable and clean commodities such as green energy and hydrogen. A parametric study for this system is performed and results of energy and exergy analyses are presented to depict a better view of the system's performance and its advantages. The system includes a gas Brayton cycle as the main cycle, a LNG expander, as well as one steam Rankine and three organic Rankine cycles as bottoming cycles. Generated power from the organic Rankine cycles and LNG expander is allocated to the PEM electrolyzer for green hydrogen production. Municipal waste is the sole source of fuel for this system; a downdraft gasifier is used to convert it to syngas for combustion. For a fixed net power generation rate (10 MW), of which a portion is fed to the electrolyzer, the system consumes around 0.66 kg/s of municipal waste, and captures around 1.32 kg/s of CO2 using LNG regasification. Energy and exergy efficiencies of 84% and 50% respectively as well as 47 kmol/h green hydrogen generation are achieved.

A GIS-based multi-criteria decision-making approach for site suitability analysis of solar-powered hydrogen production in the Souss-Massa Region, Morocco

The transition towards sustainable energy systems underscores the significance of hydrogen production through renewable resources. This study investigates the potential for solar-hydrogen conversion in the Souss-Massa region using a comprehensive approach that integrates the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. Ten distinct criteria, grouped into technical and economic categories, are evaluated to identify optimal areas for hydrogen generation, with environmental criteria being used as exclusion factors. Hydrogen production potential emerges as the primary determinant, with the western region, emerging as a focal point for solar-hydrogen projects. A comparative analysis between AHP and Fuzzy AHP (FAHP) results demonstrates the robustness of the methodology. Sensitivity analysis sheds light on the impact of criteria weighting on suitability outcomes, providing valuable insights for decision-makers and energy stakeholders. The study further quantifies avoided CO2 emissions and presents compelling Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) and the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). The LCOE is found to be as low as 35.75 $/MWh, positioning the proposed solar-hydrogen conversion selected location as a cost-effective energy site. The LCOH for the designated location stands at 2.9 $/kg, reflecting its competitive stance. These findings collectively underscore the environmental and economic viability of sustainable hydrogen production in the Souss-Massa region.

Affordable and sustainable transportation: Key drivers and policy choices for a megacity in India

The city of Bengaluru is one of the latest entrants to the list of 33 mega cities in the world. The transportation infrastructure of the city is expanding to accommodate the rapidly increasing population. As such, there is a need to reevaluate public transport policies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 11.2. In this study, we conducted a socio-economic survey of 1350 households belonging to the low and low-middle income categories in Bengaluru city to understand their travel behaviour and transportation mode choices in the event of changing transport infrastructure dynamics of the city. While two-wheelers are the dominant mode among employed working males in the age group of 18–45 years, buses are preferred for long-distance travel. Metro ridership is low even where metro stations are accessible at the start of the journey because low- and middle-income groups are unable to afford metro services. Additionally, we used Random Forest model to assess the contribution of each explanatory variable in mode choice determination. The results shows that travel cost followed by travel time and travel distance are the most important explanators in determining the mode choice for our sample population. Based on these findings, the authors have created two scenarios to assess the impact of metro fare rationalisation on metro ridership. This study quantifies the co-benefits of the proposed policy changes in terms of economic benefits to the operators and the avoidance of air pollution and CO2 emissions.

How to achieve energy efficiency and sustainability of large ships: a new tool to optimize the operation of on-board diesel generators

In this paper a novel dynamic simulation model for enhancing the sustainability of transportation systems equipped with diesel co-generators is presented. In each simulation time step of the carried out energy performance analyses, the best operation/combination of generators as well as their optimal part load ratio are determined with the aim to achieve the minimum fuel consumption. Input to the model are: size of each installed diesel generator; number of engines; required power profile; route scheduling and hourly weather data. The developed simulation model is implemented in TRNSYS environment. Here, a new in-house TRNSYS type written in Fortran is also included. With the presented approach - especially helpful for cruise ship designers, manufacturers and owners - new design criteria and useful technical results can be obtained.To show the capability of the tool a novel case study is presented. It concerns on an existing cruise ship to be refurbished from the energy point of view. Here, four diesel generators are installed on-board. The ship energy system includes five electric chillers, two auxiliary boilers, two reverse osmosis and two multi-stage flash desalination devices (driven by the diesel generators waste heat recoveries). Simulation results show remarkable energy savings obtained through the proposed optimization approach. Specifically, a maximum primary energy saving of about 15 GWh/y is obtained compared to the initial reference scenario. It corresponds to a fuel consumption reduction of 2.5 kt/y (-1.6 M$/y) and to an avoided CO2 emission of 8.0 kt/y.

Grid connected photovoltaic system design an example application for İstanbul province

It is seen that the damage to the environment has increased with the use of fossil fuels around the world. It is known that studies continue to minimize the damage to the environment with alternative energy generation methods. Recently, it is seen that generating electrical energy using solar energy, known as clean energy, has an important place. With the developing semiconductor technologies, the use of photovoltaic systems is increasing day by day. The aim of this study is to estimate the amount of energy that will be produced by simulating and modeling the performance of PV (Photovoltaic) systems using PVsyst and PV*SOL programs before the Photovoltaic systems are installed in the region. In the study, grid-connected roof system modeling was made in Bakırköy district of Istanbul province. In the modeling of the system, a total of 90 solar panels were placed on an area of 114.9 m2 , in East and West directions. In total, it is predicted that 17.1 kW of energy will be obtained when the system is used. In the system design, the avoided CO₂ emission is calculated as 8,856 kg/year and the amortization period is calculated as 7.2 years. When the programs are used, the analysis of the system is made before the implementation and it is seen that time and cost savings are achieved.

Grass from Road Verges as a Substrate for Biogas Production

Maintenance of urban green infrastructure generates a large amount of biomass that can be considered a valuable feedstock for biogas production. This study aims to determine the effect of the cutting time and method of substrate preservation on the specific methane yield (SMY) of urban grass collected from road verges and median strips between roadways in wet (WF) and dry fermentation (DF) technology. The grass was collected three times in a growing season, including in spring, summer, and autumn. The biochemical methane potential (BMP) test was performed on fresh grass, grass ensiled without additives, and grass ensiled with microbiological additives. In addition, the energy potentially produced from biogas and the avoided CO2 emissions were calculated. The highest SMY (274.18 ± 22.59 NL kgVS−1) was observed for the fresh grass collected in spring and subjected to WF. At the same time, the lowest CH4 production (182.63 ± 0.48 NL kgVS−1) was found in the grass ensiled without additives, collected in summer, and digested in DF technology. A comparison of the SMY obtained from the same grass samples in the WF and DF technologies revealed that higher CH4 yields were produced in WF. The electricity and heat production were affected by the time of grass cutting, ensilage method, and AD technology. Generally, less electricity but more heat was produced in DF technology. The least electricity (469–548 kWh tDM−1) was produced from the grass cut in spring and subjected to DF, while the most electricity (621–698 kWh tDM−1) was obtained from the grass collected in autumn and subjected to WF. In the case of heat production, the situation was reversed. The least heat (1.4–1.9 GJ tDM−1) was produced by the grass collected in spring and subjected to WF, while the most heat (2.2–2.7 GJ tDM−1) was produced by the grass collected in autumn and subjected to DF. Ensilage decreased the electricity and heat production in almost all the cuttings. The total reduction in CO2 emissions may amount to 2400 kg CO2 per 1 hectare of road verges. This significant reduction demonstrates that the use of grass from roadside verges in biogas plants should be considered a feasible option. Even though urban grass should be considered a co-substrate only, it can be a valuable feedstock that may partially substitute energy crops and reduce the area needed for energy purposes. Our results reveal that biogas production from the grass waste in WF technology is a stable process. The cutting time and preservation method do not affect the AD process. In DF technology, fresh grass, especially from the late growing season used as feedstock, extends the time of biomass decomposition and, therefore, should be avoided in a real-life biogas plant.

Turning CO2 from fuel combustion into e-Fuel? Consider alternative pathways

Carbon capture and utilisation technologies for the separation and conversion of CO2 into chemical products via electrochemical processes (i.e., so called electro-fuels/e-Fuels, or electro-chemicals/e-Chemicals) are envisaged to be an option in the forthcoming decarbonisation of energy and industry, but their effectiveness in terms of carbon emissions avoidance is debated. This work challenges the exploitation of CO2 from fuel combustion for the synthesis of e-Fuels, as opposed to alternative pathways. The investigated conversion routes refer to a case study for the abatement of CO2 emissions from a refinery fuel gas via production of synthetic fuels based on: (i) hydrogenation of CO2 with green H2 (i.e., e-Fuel); or (ii) electrified heating and electrified reforming of the fuel gas. For both options, two products are compared: methanol and Fischer–Tropsch syncrude. The study shows that avoiding CO2 emissions by turning CO2 from fuel combustion into an e-Fuel results in higher electricity demand, higher capital costs, and higher fuel costs than the electrification of heat supply and the direct conversion of the original fuel into a higher value synthetic fuel via electrified reforming.

Enhancing the production of liquid hydrocarbons by coupling blast furnace gas (BFG) of steelwork with syngas in the GTL process

Steelwork is one of the main emitters of CO2 in the world. For this reason, many efforts are being made to reduce or avoid CO2 emissions by unit optimization or by carbon capture and storage (CCS) or utilization (CCU) processes. In the steelwork, three main off-gases are generated including the Blast Furnace Gas (BFG), the Coke-Oven Gas (COG), and the Basic Oxygen Furnace Gas (BOFG). Different processes and technologies can be proposed for recovery based on the volume and composition of the steelwork off-gases. In this paper, the BFG stream is utilized to improve the efficiency of the GTL process and reduce CO2 emissions. For this purpose, a part of the BFG gases is mixed with the syngas produced in the methane autothermal reforming process and injected into the Fischer-Tropsch reactor to produce liquid hydrocarbons. The BFG flow rate was determined according to the optimum H2/CO value. The pressure and volume of the reactor were set at 10 bar and 300 m3 for optimal hydrocarbon production. The simulation results showed that mixing a portion of the BFG with the syngas increases the C5 + production by 11268 bbl/day, while the CO2 emissions decreased by 146529 ton/yr.

Land cover change effects from community forest management in Michoacán, Mexico

More than half of Mexico’s forests and about a third of the forests of the world are communally owned. Despite this, community forest management (CFM) is the least studied forest management policy, and existing studies have focused on the effects of CFM on deforestation. In this paper, we evaluate the effect of CFM on land cover more broadly, to understand how CFM affects a community’s land use decisions. Mexico’s forestry administration mandates that to legally sell timber, communities must adopt forest management plans designed by a certified forester. In this study, we use differential access to foresters to identify the effect of community management on land cover and deforestation. We find that over time communities that adopt management plans see relatively more primary forest, a limited expansion of the agricultural frontier, and a decrease in deforestation. The decrease in deforestation is economically significant since the economic benefits from the avoided CO2 emissions alone could far outweigh the costs of adopting the management plans.

Solar-assisted district heating networks: Development and experimental validation of a novel simulation tool for the energy optimization

Due to the growing interest in 4th and 5th generation district heating systems, characterized by lower working fluid temperatures compared to the past, poligenerative solar-assisted networks are experiencing increasing attention from the research community. In this framework, the adoption of large solar-based thermal systems will become more common for such applications. Therefore, optimising the design and operation of each solar field servicing a specific network will be crucial to improving its overall performance. In this context, the objective of the current research is to develop a method to maximise the performance of solar-assisted poligenerative district heating networks by optimising each associated solar system separately. To this end, a novel dynamic simulation tool for solar thermal field design and optimization has been developed and experimentally calibrated in the Simulink/Simscape environment. The tool is capable of investigating innovative control logics, and accurately assessing both the thermal and hydraulic behaviour of the systems. The latter is one of its novelty, as ignoring the hydronic behaviour of the system can lead to the adoption of flawed design or control logic. The resulting tool will enable accurate optimization of the design and management of each solar field servicing a given district heating network, thereby improving the efficiency of the system as a whole. In order to demonstrate the viability of the proposed method and the capabilities of the developed simulation tool, a proof-of-concept analysis is conducted on an existing solar thermal field serving the Geneva district heating network. Diverse control logics (including Rule-Based and Model Predictive Control) are evaluated for the selected case study. The performed analysis demonstrates that the proposed method has the potential to accomplish significant primary energy reductions (up to 10.3%) and CO2 emissions avoidance (up to 10.9 tCO2/year).

Exploring the thermal behaviour and thermo-mechanical properties of Ferula Communis reinforced plaster and mortar composites: An integrated experimental and numerical approach

This research investigated the effect of adding Ferula Communis to building materials. Four ratios of this additive (2, 4, 6, and 8%) were used to replace gypsum in plasterboard and sand in mortar. Based on thermo-physical characterisation, it was observed that increasing the Ferula Communis content in the basic materials improved their thermal properties and lightness. However, despite this promising enhancement, increasing the additive’s concentration negatively impacted the composites’ mechanical performance. Thus, it was found that incorporating 8% of the aggregate into the plaster and 6% into the mortar decreased their mechanical strength by 44.62% and 91.2% during bending, respectively. Additionally, compression experiments of the mortar matrix showed an approximate reduction of 87.93%. According to these results, 4% aggregate in mortar and 8% aggregate in plaster were selected to be integrated into a bio-based wall, which was numerically simulated using the heat transfer equation. The obtained results prove the wall’s thermal ability to reduce the average heating and cooling energy loads by 13 kWh/m2.year calculated over the four orientations (north, east, south, and west) which is equivalent to 6.47 $/m2 of energy savings and 5.64 kgCO2eq/m2.year of avoided CO2 emissions.

Electricity, Transportation, and Water Provision of 100% Renewable Energy for Remote Areas

The integration of variable renewable energy sources in islands has become crucial in reducing their dependency on imported fossil fuels. This study aimed to assess the energy transition of an island towards a 100% renewable energy system for power generation, inland transport, and potable water provision. Linking various fossil-fuel-consuming sectors, such as transport and potable water supply systems, may strongly assist in reducing the possible mismatch between renewable energy source production and demand and contribute to fulfilling other system requirements. The use of energy storage technologies is vital and unlike traditional power systems; as the number of components in the system increases, their proper capacity needs to be accurately determined. This work employs a multi-objective optimization assessment using a modified NSGA-II algorithm to depict the energy transition for Porto Santo Island. To evaluate the solutions, we considered the main criteria of energy cost, avoided environmental impacts (CO2-equivalent emissions) of the proposed system, and loss of power supply. The Pareto front contains various solutions under different system configurations. Results indicate that full inland transport electrification (introducing 3000 EVs) can account for 18% of the avoided CO2 emissions of the island while sharing 28–40% of the up-front cost of the system, depending on the proposed system’s components. The EV’s costs incorporate subsidies and their battery replacement. Another interesting finding from the optimization process is that the solution with the highest avoided CO2 emissions involves keeping a diesel generator for supplying 4% of the island’s total demand and using an underwater compressed air energy storage with a capacity of 280 MWh. This suggests that adding more installed wind turbines or PV panels may not necessarily contribute to reducing the emissions of the entire system.

The overarching role of electric vehicles, power‑to‑hydrogen, and pumped hydro storage technologies in maximizing renewable energy integration and power generation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Globally, efforts are underway to keep global warming well below 1.5–2 °C as outlined in the Paris Agreement. Ghana plans to achieve 10 % renewable energy (RE) participation in the national energy mix by 2030. In the Renewable Energy Masterplan 2030, the target is a total installed RE utility scale of 1094.63 MW. In the current work, we propose a better pathway to gradual decarbonization of the Ghanaian energy sector (power, transport, industry, residential, and others) at higher technical levels of variable RE (VRE) penetration, 0 critical excess electricity production (CEEP), and lower cost than the 2030 Business-as-Usual (BAU) scenario. In our proposed scenario, High Renewable Energy Penetration (HREP) 2030, we assess the overarching role of electric vehicle integration, power-to-gas (hydrogen), and pumped hydro storage technologies in maximizing VRE penetration in Ghana. The results from the current study show that it is technically feasible to include solar and wind power penetrations of 32.66 % and 38.11 % in the 2030 HREP scenario compared to the 2.64 % and 1.99 % of the 2030 BAU case, respectively. The HREP scenario will ultimately lead to 26.45, 30.86, and 23.34 % contribution of solar, wind, and thermal in the total electricity production in 2030 compared to the 2.36, 1.78, and 74 % of the BAU scenario, respectively. The CO2 emissions and its cost in the HREP case are 22.5 and 22.81 % lower than in the BAU case, and the total annual cost of the former is 12 % lower than the latter. The total electricity production from wind and solar energy alone in the 2030 HREP will create an additional 723 jobs and 11.96 Mt avoided CO2 emissions. The proposal made in the current study could usher in a long-term transition pathway that leads from the current fossil-based system to an affordable, efficient, sustainable, and secure energy future for Ghana. The findings presented in the current study should be of significance to decision-makers in formulating and adopting zero and low-carbon strategies for long-term decarbonization targets and planning in Ghana beyond 2030.

Production of purified H2, heat and biochar from wood: Techno-economic and life cycle assessment of small scale units

Hydrogen is forecasted to contribute to the energy transition. This study evaluates the production of purified H2, heat and biochar from woodchips. Three pyrogasification processes are compared: gasification (O2/H2O) with or without catalytic reforming and water gas-shift, autothermal pyrolysis. Techno-economic and life cycle assessments were conducted based on detailed mass and energy balances. On the economic front, the historical market prices of hydrogen, heat and biochar are not sufficient to reach profitability. The subsidies required to reach profitability and the avoided CO2 emissions from reference steam methane reforming (SMR) process were evaluated. It is estimated between 130 and 310€/tCO2 avoided which can be reduced with higher price of hydrogen. On the environmental front, the pyrogasification processes are more attractive than SMR regarding global warming, ozone depletion layer and fossil fuel consumption potentials. Meanwhile, the acidification potential and the photochemical oxidant formation are higher than SMR.

Thermodynamic analysis of concentrated solar energy layouts integrated with combined power system

Solar Thermal Energy is currently used for power generation as a reliable carbon-free source in many countries. Unfortunately, none commercial project under operation is verified in Brazil although a great solar potential is verified. In this context, an interesting strategy to transition is to develop a hybrid solar plant that can be applied to current thermoelectric power plants. Therefore, the present work investigates several layout alternatives for coupling a solar thermal plant with an operational plant based on a combined cycle (Brayton and Rankine cycle) located in Brazil. A parabolic trough collector was selected for this study, considering oil and molten salt as working fluids. The thermodynamic modeling and additional mathematical models were developed on the open-source software OpenModelica. The thermodynamic modeling of the current power plant model was validated through real operating data, kindly provided by a private company. Moreover, a typical concentrate solar plant with thermal storage was modeled and validated through reference software called System Advisor Model (SAM) from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). A proposed solar plant with thermal storage is integrated into the Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) considering six layouts with synthetic oil and six layouts with molten salt as working fluid on the solar field, where the solar plant is used either to preheat water, to evaporate steam, to superheat steam, or a combination of these processes in parallel with the HRSG. Results showed the layouts that use solar energy to superheat saturated steam taken from the drum, in a parallel configuration to the HRSG superheaters, have the best thermodynamic performance, with solar-to-electric conversion efficiency up to 32.29 %, and increases of 1.46 % in average daily steam turbine power under nominal Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) conditions. Moreover, it was evaluated that on an annual basis the hybrid powerplant has the potential to avoid fossil fuel consumption up to 34,410 MMBtu, representing up to 1,997 ton CO2 emissions avoidance and up to US$ 458,682.52 fuel cost savings.

Exploitation of Mediterranean Cooperation Projects’ Tools for the Development of Public Buildings’ Energy Efficiency Plans at Local Level: A Case Study in Greece

Ever since European Directive 2012/27/EU, particular attention has been focused on the improvement of the energy efficiency of the public building stock. According to the directive, local public authorities, regions and municipalities, are expected to develop and implement energy efficiency retrofitting plans for their public building stocks. While conducting such plans, important challenges are raised mainly related to data collection and the manipulation of key performance indicators (KPIs) for many buildings. The present paper deals with the aforementioned challenges through (a) the evaluation of freely available tools developed in the framework of Mediterranean territorial cooperation projects, with respect to the main pillars of energy efficiency planning, and (b) the introduction of a stepwise methodology using selected tools toward a reliable energy efficiency plan extending from the classification of the building stock to the prioritization of projects in terms of a gradual renovation plan based on energy and cost criteria. The methodology is applied for a case study in Greece, which refers to 10 public buildings of the Municipality of Aigialeia in Greece. A reliable renovation plan is developed, taking into account the municipal authority’s directions in a specialized decision-making scheme. It is concluded that the suggested methodology is very practical for planning purposes, while for the case studied, a 6-year gradual renovation plan is emerged until a deep retrofit of all buildings, associated with an estimated primary energy saving and CO2 emissions avoidance of more than 1850 MWh and 400 tns, respectively, with a total investment of about EUR 3 million.