BackgroundThis research study applied the 'Integrated Energy Landscape Approach and the Ecosystem Services Framework' to formulate a pre-proposal for a Positive Energy District in the Hoogkerk Zuid neighborhood in Groningen, the Netherlands.ResultsThe proposed energy saving and energy generation interventions are sufficient to cover the energy usage of the district, while an energy surplus is generated. The pre-proposal has been developed within a participatory process, organized by the authors in close collaboration with key local stakeholders. The identification of local ecosystem services served as a crucial starting point for this study, while it also served for the basis for analysing the subsequent trade-offs and synergies derived from the proposed energy transition interventions. Then, a sustainable business case model was developed based on this Positive Energy District pre-proposal. The main outcome of the model lies in the value creation through cost savings from not using traditional energy sources and selling electricity to the grid. In addition, the economic value of the preserved ecosystem services and of the synergies generated by the pre-proposal are also included in the model.ConclusionsBeyond the local case, the results lay the groundwork for more systematic studies on merging the methodologies of Positive Energy District development, the Ecosystem Framework and the Integrated Energy Landscape approach. Finally, by adding the benefits of ecosystem services and synergies as a significant contributor in the financial analysis and decision-making process, this study opens the door to a new approach to the evaluation of sustainable projects.
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This research study applied the Integrated Energy Landscape Approach and the Ecosystem Services Framework in order to formulate a pre-proposal for a Positive Energy District in the Hoogkerk Zuid neighborhood in Groningen, the Netherlands. The proposed interventions are sufficient to cover the energy usage of the district, while an energy surplus is generated. The pre-proposal has been developed within a participatory process, organized by the authors in close collaboration with key local stakeholders. The identification of the local ecosystem services served as a crucial starting point for this study, while it also provided the transparent information base for analyzing the subsequent trade-offs and synergies derived by the proposed energy transition interventions. Then, a sustainable business case model has been developed based on this Positive Energy District pre-proposal. The main outcome of the model lies within the value creation through cost savings from foregoing traditional energy sources and sale of electricity to the grid, but also through including the economic value of ecosystem services and synergies when integrating the Renewable Energy Technologies. Beyond the local case, the findings lay the groundwork for more systematic studies on merging the methodologies of Positive Energy District development, the Ecosystem Framework and the Integrated Energy Landscape approach. Finally, by adding the benefits of ecosystem services and synergies as a significant contributor in the financial analysis and decision making process, this study opens the door for a new approach of valuing sustainable projects.
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Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) have the potential of accelerating the decarbonization of urban areas and promoting scalability between cities. The development and real-world implementation of such innovative concepts can be enhanced through urban energy modelling. However, assessing PEDs can be challenging, and information on this topic is scarce and fragmented. The main contribution of this paper is collecting and analyzing challenges and limitations of energy modelling software for assessing PEDs through five case studies in Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark and Canada. Case studies are assessed first from a modelling approach, then the main identified challenges and limitations of modelling tools for PEDs are discussed, and finally, various ongoing trends and research needs in this field are suggested.
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