Infrastructure‐scale sustainable energy planning in the cityscape: Transforming urban energy metabolism in East Asia

Abstract

Transformation of the urban energy metabolism is possible when sustainable energy is positioned as an infrastructure‐scale tool. A review of urban energy planning research is complemented by an examination of assessment methods in use to gauge the feasibility of planning sustainable energy as a new infrastructure to power cities. A case study analysis of the city of Daejeon is offered to operationalize this planning strategy. In particular, the integrated application of the “savings city” and “solar city” concepts where, respectively, citywide deployment of energy efficiency and rooftop photovoltaic energy systems is envisioned at a large‐scale, is explored for Daejeon through the innovative use of geospatial assessment methods and a visualization tool that can guide urban policy. This assessment and its visualization illustrates not only grid energy use divisions throughout the city but also reveals possible energy planning trajectories in pursuit of positioning sustainable energy as urban infrastructure. The assessment finds that cities like Daejeon could fulfill over half of their electricity service needs through in‐city deployment of sustainable energy at the infrastructure‐scale. Cities that embark on this “sustainable city” trajectory essentially reform the lived experience of “the city” and reshape the city‐energy relationship. This article is categorized under: Energy Efficiency > Systems and Infrastructure Energy Policy and Planning > Systems and Infrastructure Energy and Urban Design > Systems and Infrastructure

Feasibility of Low Carbon Renewable Energy City Integrated with Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems

“…Flat-plate solar collectors were selected for the ST systems. The performance of the ST systems was analyzed using the solar collector test data provided by the domestic manufacturer, as shown in Equation (2).…”

“…In recent years, extensive efforts have been made to increase the applicability of various renewable energy systems to cities to respond to climate crisis beyond climate change. As part of such efforts, various studies have been conducted on the establishment of "solar cities" based on renewable energy using photovoltaic (PV) systems on roofs in cities [1][2][3].…”

“…Various studies related to the possibility of increasing building efficiency in cities have also been conducted, and an energy saving of approximately 20-40% has been predicted [4][5][6]. Taminiau et al [2] presented the concepts of a "savings city" in terms of energy efficiency and a "solar city" based on the installation of PV systems in the city of Daejeon, and analyzed the possibility of a sustainable city. They found that a renewable energy penetration rate of 56% per year could be achieved if PV systems were installed on the roofs of all buildings in Daejeon and building efficiency was improved.…”

Inferential‐ and measurement‐based methods to estimate rooftop “solar city” potential in megacity Seoul, South Korea

“…Critically, urban policy and decision-makers are pursuing practical deployment of large-scale renewable energy (Adesanya et al, 2020;Kona et al, 2018Kona et al, , 2019. In fact, urban planners increasingly attempt to position citywide deployment of rooftop solar technology to establish themselves as "solar cities" (Taminiau et al, 2021;Taminiau & Byrne, 2020). For example, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) launched its "Solar City Seoul" initiative (a plan to install one gigawatt of solar electricity capacity throughout the city by 2022) in November 2017 (Nam, 2017).…”

“…Global rooftop solar PV installation potential could deliver up to 32% of global urban electricity demand or 17% of total global electricity demand (IEA, 2016). Even single cities can deliver significant renewable electricity contributions as recent analyses of rooftop solar potential in New York City, Seoul, and Daejeon (South Korea) identified multiple gigawatts of opportunities (Byrne et al, 2017; Byrne & Taminiau, 2018; Taminiau et al, 2021; Taminiau & Byrne, 2020).…”