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A Critical Perspective on Positive Energy Districts in Climatically Favoured Regions: An Open-Source Modelling Approach Disclosing Implications and Possibilities

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  • Axel Bruck

    (Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias, Departamento Energías Renovables, Playa de Pozo Izquierdo s/n, Santa Lucía de Tirajana, 35119 Gran Canaria, Spain
    Energy Economics Group, Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives, Technische Universität Wien, Gusshausstraße 25-29/370-3, A-1040 Vienna, Austria)

  • Santiago Díaz Ruano

    (Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias, Departamento Energías Renovables, Playa de Pozo Izquierdo s/n, Santa Lucía de Tirajana, 35119 Gran Canaria, Spain)

  • Hans Auer

    (Energy Economics Group, Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives, Technische Universität Wien, Gusshausstraße 25-29/370-3, A-1040 Vienna, Austria)

Abstract

Urban areas have been responsible for the majority of the European Union (EU)-wide primary energy demand and C O 2 emissions. To address this issue, the European Union introduced the concept of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). PEDs are required to have an annual positive primary energy balance. However, if directly addressed in the literature, this energy balance only includes annually fixed primary energy factors and often neglects grid impacts. To bridge this gap, this work proposes a mathematical optimisation approach for PEDs, working towards an open-source model. The model’s main novelty is an hourly primary energy balance constraint. The performed case study on the island La Palma for both an urban and a rural neighbourhood show that the PED concept has a higher net present value (NPV) than solely buying electricity from the grid in all feasible cases. Depending on the space available for PV installations, the NPV increases between 29 and 31% and 25–27% for the rural and urban PED scenarios, respectively. However, in the scenarios with reduced grid impact, the NPV decreases due to the expensive battery installations. Comparing the significantly fossil-based electricity grid mix of La Palma with the renewable-based one of El Hierro shows that the primary energy-based optimisation has more room for flexibility in the high renewable mix. While the dynamic primary energy balance constraint appears promising for operational optimisation, the allocation of correct primary energy factors is crucial.

Suggested Citation

  • Axel Bruck & Santiago Díaz Ruano & Hans Auer, 2021. "A Critical Perspective on Positive Energy Districts in Climatically Favoured Regions: An Open-Source Modelling Approach Disclosing Implications and Possibilities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-25, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:16:p:4864-:d:611262
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zwickl-Bernhard, Sebastian & Auer, Hans, 2021. "Open-source modeling of a low-carbon urban neighborhood with high shares of local renewable generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(PA).
    2. Andrea Gabaldón Moreno & Fredy Vélez & Beril Alpagut & Patxi Hernández & Cecilia Sanz Montalvillo, 2021. "How to Achieve Positive Energy Districts for Sustainable Cities: A Proposed Calculation Methodology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.
    3. Fina, Bernadette & Auer, Hans & Friedl, Werner, 2019. "Profitability of PV sharing in energy communities: Use cases for different settlement patterns," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
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    1. Axel Bruck & Luca Casamassima & Ardak Akhatova & Lukas Kranzl & Kostas Galanakis, 2022. "Creating Comparability among European Neighbourhoods to Enable the Transition of District Energy Infrastructures towards Positive Energy Districts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Karla G. Cedano & Tiare Robles-Bonilla & Oscar S. Santillán & Manuel Martínez, 2021. "Assessing Energy Poverty in Urban Regions of Mexico: The Role of Thermal Comfort and Bioclimatic Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-13, September.
    3. Luca Casamassima & Luigi Bottecchia & Axel Bruck & Lukas Kranzl & Reinhard Haas, 2022. "Economic, social, and environmental aspects of Positive Energy Districts—A review," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(6), November.

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