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The Benefits of Positive Energy Districts

Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) are a promising approach to urban energy transformation, aiming to optimize local energy systems and deliver environmental, social and economic benefits. However, their effectiveness and justification for investment rely on understanding the additional value they provide (additionality) in comparison to current policies and planning methods. The additionality perspective is not used yet in current evaluations of PED demonstrations and pilots. Therefore, this paper introduces the concept of additionality in the evaluation of PEDs, focusing on the additional benefits they bring and the circumstances under which they are most effective. We discuss the additionality of PEDs in addressing the challenges of climate neutrality and energy system transformation in three European cities that are funded by the European Commission’s H2020 Programme. It should be noted that given the ongoing status of these projects, the assessment is mainly based on preliminary results, as monitoring is still ongoing and quantitative results are not yet available. The paper discusses the drivers and barriers specific to PEDs, and highlights the challenges posed by technical complexities, financing aspects and social and legal restrictions. Conclusions are drawn regarding the concept of additionality and its implications for the wider development of PEDs as a response to the challenges of climate neutrality and energy system transformation in cities. We conclude that the additionality perspective provides valuable insights into the impact and potential of PEDs for societal goals and recommend this approach for use in the final evaluation of R&I projects involving PEDs using actual monitored data on PEDs.

The role of perceived contribution to the energy transition in acceptance of renewable energy sources

Shaping energy norms in digital communities

Reducing energy consumption in urban households is essential for reaching the necessary climate research and policy targets for CO2 reduction and sustainability. The dominant approach has been to invest in technological innovations that increase household energy efficiency. This article moves beyond this approach, first by emphasising the need to prioritise reducing energy demand over increasing energy efficiency and, second, by addressing the challenge of energy consumption at the level of the community, not the individual household. It argues that energy consumption is shaped in and by social communities, which construct consciousness of the energy implications of lifestyle choices. By analysing a specific type of community, a digital community, it looks at the role that communication on online discussion boards plays in the social process of questioning energy needs and shaping a “decent lifestyle”. The article explores three social processes of community interaction around energy practices – coercive, mimetic, and normative – questioning the ways in which they contribute to the activation of energy discursive consciousness. In conclusion, the article reflects on the potential implications of these social processes for future research and interventions aimed at reducing energy demand. To illustrate how the three selected social processes influence one another, the article builds on the results of a research project conducted in Amsterdam, analysing the potential contribution of online discussion boards in shaping energy norms in the Sustainable Community of Amsterdam Facebook group.

Energy Citizenship in New Energy Concepts

It is assumed by the projects demonstrating Positive Energy District (PED) concepts in cities across Europe that citizens should want and need to be involved in the development of new energy concepts, such as PEDs for these concepts to be deployed successfully. Six different PED research and innovation projects are investigating the types and expectations of citizen engagement. They evaluate the impact of energy citizenship on the success of PED deployment across Europe.

Towards Energy Citizenship for a Just and Inclusive Transition: Lessons Learned on Collaborative Approach of Positive Energy Districts from the EU Horizon2020 Smart Cities and Communities Projects

To achieve the “well below 2 degrees” targets, a new ecosystem needs to be defined where citizens become more active, co-managing with relevant stakeholders, the government, and third parties. This means moving from the traditional concept of citizens-as-consumers towards energy citizenship. Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) will be the test-bed area where this transformation will take place through social, technological, and governance innovation. This paper focuses on benefits and barriers towards energy citizenships and gathers a diverse set of experiences for the definition of PEDs and Local Energy Markets from the Horizon2020 Smart Cities and Communities projects: Making City, Pocityf, and Atelier.

Comparative analysis of market structures of P2P energy trading in a local energy system

Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading has been recognized as an important technology to increase the local self-consumption of photovoltaics in the local energy system. Different auction mechanisms and bidding strategies haven been investigated in previous studies. However, there has been no comparatively analysis on how different market structures influence the local energy system’s overall performance. This paper presents and compares two market structures, namely a centralized market and a decentralized market. Two pricing mechanisms in the centralized market and two bidding strategies in the decentralized market are developed. The results show that the centralized market leads to higher overall system self-consumption and profits. In the decentralized market, some electricity is directly sold to the grid due to unmatchable bids and asks. Bidding strategies based on the learning algorithm can achieve better performance compared to the random method.