Energy is all pervasive. Nearly everything that is produced or consumed requires energy and the global demand for energy is expected to double by 2050. This means that carbon dioxide emissions from energy use will continue to increase from 30’000 million tons of carbon dioxide to 62’000 million tons by 2050 – unless bold steps are taken to reduce emissions (IEA 2017). A rapid deployment of low-carbon electricity generation technologies will be needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the goal set by the Paris Agreement.
This can be achieved by shifting energy consumption to electrification. Compared to coal, electricity generated by hydro, wind, solar and geothermal power can bring substantial reductions in emissions, not only of greenhouse gases (by more than 90 percent) but also pollutants harmful to human health and ecosystems (by 60-90 percent) (UNEP 2015).
Cities have a key role to play in setting clear goals for decarbonization, aggregating demand for renewable energy, promoting energy efficiency, and increasingly shifting urban energy consumption to electricity. Renewable energies must be integrated into neighbourhood projects and the access to the benefits of on-grid and off-grid renewable energies need to be democratised. A carbon neutral pathway for neighbourhoods involves the following:
Energy conservation and minimization of the demand with efficient urban forms and demand management
Systems integration at neighbourhood level to increase efficiency
Electrifying the neighbourhood energy based on waste-to energy and renewable energy inputs, connecting efficiently these energy inputs to smart grids while increasing the grid resilience
Connecting the grid, buildings, cars and appliances with sensors and smart devices (Internet of Things).
Conserve energy and minimise the demand
Efficient energy planning must be mostly driven by demand. It is always demand that comes first and must be optimised beforehand, notably through efficient spatial planning.
Integrate energy systems
Hybrid combinations of renewable energy systems maximise efficiency, which hybrid combinations are feasible at the neighbourhood scale. Four steps need to be taken to achieve such integrated energy systems.
electrify with renewables
Once demand reduction measures implemented, renewable energy supply at the neighbourhood scale is an effective whole-systems strategy of getting close to zero-carbon.
interconnect with smart grids
Digital transformation offers the opportunity to create new architectures of interconnected energy systems, including removing the traditional boundaries between demand and supply.
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