Photovoltaic (PV) technology is the most promising renewable energy source to be integrated on urban building surfaces. Modeling and simulating urban PV systems pose more challenges than the conventional ones installed in open field due to rich urban morphology. Herein, a comprehensive workflow to estimate urban solar PV potential is developed where TU Delft campus is used as a case study. This workflow only requires light detection and ranging data and building footprints as data inputs, and multiple levels of result can be delivered including accurate geo‐referenced 3D building models, annual solar irradiation map, annual DC/AC yield maps and classified roof segments according to the specific yield of mounted PV system. The study reports a total of ≈8.1 GWh year−1 of PV energy which can be collected from campus building roofs and facades. Given the total electricity demand on the entire campus being 82.6 GWh/year, this PV potential can cover roughly 10% of the current electricity demand. The results constitute an initial assessment of solar PV potential on TU Delft campus buildings that is currently being used to prioritize PV integration on buildings and accelerate the transition toward a climate‐neutral campus.
The Paris Agreement released in 2015 states that the global warming should be limited to 1.5 C. [1] In response to this agreement, the Dutch government issued the National Climate Agreement in 2019, and an ambitious goal was established where by 2030 the greenhouse gas emission must be reduced by 49% compared to 1990 levels. [2] It is also expected that 70% of the electricity generation will be covered by renewable energy sources by 2030 and become fully sustainable by 2050. To achieve this goal, a boost of green energy penetration in the energy system is required.Current energy distribution system is predominantly featured with centralized generator and monodirectional distribution network. This means that electricity is mainly produced in a giant power plant and transported through long-distance cables to reach consumer end. Unfortunately, the green future scenario cannot be simply achieved by replacing the conventional power plants with large green energy farms. One of the reasons lies in the fact that centralized paradigm lacks reliability because the entire grid can fail with the failure in central power plant. [3] Considering the intermittent nature of renewable energies, optimizing the energy system reliability will be even more challenging. Another argument against centralization is the power loss during long-distance transportation and distribution of electricity. [4] As a solution, decentralized green energy sources allow one to produce electricity locally. It distributes the responsibility of electricity generation over small-sized producers, and power loss as a result of transmission can also be effectively minimized because the generator is either on site or near-site. Meanwhile, given the fact that the majority people will be living in densely populated cities in the future, [5] developing decentralized renewable energy sources in urban environment will play a major role in the green energy transition.Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is aiming for a climate-neutral campus by 2030. [6] Of all the renewable energy sources, photovoltaic (PV) is the most promising technology to fulfil this target. It can be integrated with most urban elements such as buildings, [7] roads, [8] and waterways, [9] without demanding additional urban space. [10] Currently, only 1.2 MWp of solar capacity is installed on campus buildings. [11] To reach TU Delft ambitious goal, the number of mounted PV panels needs to be drastically increased such that 50% of electricity generation on campus can be covered. Although PV technology is preferred due to its high compatibility, designing PV system in the urban environment is no easy task. Densely constructed cities restrict the incoming sunlight, and rich urban morphology including buildings, infrastructures and vegetations can cause complex shading patterns. Therefore, it is fundamental to understand the urban context such that available building surfaces can be
Urban areas rely on the wide implementation of X-Integrated Photovoltaic (X-IPV) systems to provide green electricity for the sustainable electrification. In this research, a modelling framework to accurately predicting their output energy yield and asses their impact on the low voltage distribution grid has been developed. This tool can compute a densely populated urban area at a pace of 2.5 seconds per building. In this contribution, we present the results of a pilot project executed in a Dutch neighborhood of 4873 separate roof owners located in the city of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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