EnergyCityConcepts - Methods and concepts for the implementation of sustainable energy systems in cities

Status

ongoing

Summary

Starting point / motivation

Due to urban growth, decentralized energy infrastructures on the level of municipalities play an important role to reach the climate targets. Cities and city quarters aim to increase regional and national value added as well as the security of supply. It is comprehensible that a combination of urban planning and energy planning the combination of different energy and municipality infrastructures in urban regions is increasingly important. The major challenges, as well on technical as on the non-technical side is to analyze future energy system combinations in a holistic approach in order to obtain a broad consensus between stakeholders in the field of urban and energy planning.

Contents and goals

In the current project these challenges will be addressed and on the base of two concrete model regions (small city “Gleisdorf” and urban city quarter “Salzburg-Schallmoos”) new methodical approaches will be developed. Both model regions combine ambitious political commitments to a 100% renewable or rather CO2-neutral energy supply.

The transition of two existing energy supply systems based on major parts of fossil energy sources to an energy system with (volatile) renewable sources require an interdisciplinary and comprehensive handling of complex questions (e.g. coupling energy infrastructures, grid expansion versus increase of energy efficiency, transition to flexible power sector versus coupling heat and power infrastructure, etc.) and cause a general new methodical approach in the technical as well in the non-technical field.

Methods

Technical research questions deal with the territorial urban analysis of energy savings and energy resource potentials within the balance limits of both model regions as a basis of development and optimization of integrated energy systems. The challenge to realistically represent the technical-physical and the interdependency between the single components of the energy systems (generation system, grids, storage and user) across a defined time period (minutes, hours, years) will be crucial. The application of GIS-based tools and further software (like balance tools, statistical and/or dynamic physical and hydraulic models, optimization of algorithm, etc.) are required.

Non-technical research questions address new approaches of organizational, terminal and methodical links of city planning (urban and regional planning) and energy planning as well as the implementation in both model regions. The challenge lies in the implementation of interdisciplinary cooperation of city planners and energy planners as basic requirement to establish “good urban governance”.

Expected Results

Finally, for both model regions integrated energy system concepts will be developed and optimized according to the ambitious political targets and along different scenarios (technical, ecological and economical). The two final energy system concepts will be discussed and defined with relevant stakeholders in an interdisciplinary process of urban energy planning.

Based on the knowledge of the numeric model building and development process consistent and transferable methodical approaches are offered for holistic urban energy planning. It is therefore aimed to transfer the methodical approach to other urban regions with different basic conditions.

Project management

AEE – Institute for Sustainable Technologies (AEE INTEC)

Project or cooperation partners

• Institut für Wärmetechnik, Technische Universität Graz (IWT)

• SIR – Salzburger Institut für Raumordnung und Wohnen (SIR)

• Studio iSPACE / RSA FG (iSpace)

• Stadtwerke Gleisdorf (StG)

• Salzburg AG (SAG)

AEE – Institute for Sustainable Technologies
Jürgen Fluch
Feldgasse 19
A-8200 Gleisdorf
Tel.: +43 (3112) 5886 0
Fax: +43 (3312) 5886 18
E-Mail: j.fluch@aee-intec.at
Web: www.aee.at