Positive Energy Districts: Identifying Challenges and Interdependencies

Abstract

Positive Energy Districts (PED) are areas within cities that generate more renewable energy than they consume, contributing to cities’ energy system transformation toward carbon neutrality. Since PED is a novel concept, the implementation is very challenging. Within the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action, which offers an open space for collaboration among scientists across Europe (and beyond), this paper asks what the needs for supporting the implementation of PEDs are. To answer this, it draws on Delphi process (expert reviews) as the main method alongside the literature review and also uses surveys as supplementary methods to identify the main challenges for developing PEDs. Initial findings reveal seven interacting topics that later were ranked as highest to the lowest as the following: governance, incentive, social, process, market, technology and context. These are interrelated and interdependent, implying that none can be considered in isolation of the others and cannot be left out in order to ensure the successful development of PEDs. The resources that are needed to address these challenges are a common need for systematic understanding of the processes behind them, as well as cross-disciplinary models and protocols to manage the complexity of developing PEDs. The results can be the basis for devising the conceptual framework on the development of new PED guides and tools.

Positive Energy Districts: The 10 Replicated Solutions in Maia, Reykjavik, Kifissia, Kladno and Lviv

“…As highlighted in the first study of the five cities [53], it is unfair to expect cities will tackle all of their local challenges during the project. Nonetheless, as claimed by several earlier studies, most city challenges circle around governance, technology, funding and community interest [7,64,65,68,69].…”

“…Research evidence shows that many PED projects are still in very early phases, thus there is no reliable source of reference, as highlighted by several previous studies [12,64,65]. It is known that PEDs demand a thorough understanding of the cities' strategies and resources [66].…”

The architecture of procurement in sustainable and zero-emission neighborhood projects—strategic challenges and new realities

“…For instance, the neighborhood level requires different tracking programs and assessment tools, such as GHG accounting, LEED-ND, 5 and BREEAM communities. Lead organizations, including major developers and property owners, may need to add incentives and motivational programs to their procurement missions (Krangsås et al 2021), especially if the gap between policies and regulations is wide. A good example of an incentive program is found in the Sluppen case.…”

A Comprehensive PED-Database for Mapping and Comparing Positive Energy Districts Experiences at European Level

“…The COST Action CA19126 "Positive Energy Districts European Network (PED-EU-NET)" [20,21] and the International Energy Agency's Energy in Buildings and Communities (IEA-EBC) Annex 83 "PEDs" [22,23] are international initiatives focused on developing an in-depth definition of PEDs, collecting the adopted technologies, providing the planning tools and analyzing the decision-making processes related to PEDs.…”

“…In this sense, business and governance models that support the concrete implementation of renewal interventions are promoted, e.g., realization of One-Stop-Shop, promotion of Turnkeys and Cornerstone and diffusion of the Public-Private Partnership model [36,37]. These models must be based on the improvement of services, technologies, quality of life and comfort of the inhabitants, policies or on urban management between the public and private sectors; these requirements necessitate different capabilities to those in traditional governments [21].…”