Positive Energy Neighborhoods:
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What is a Positive Energy Neighborhood?
Simply put, Positive Energy Neighborhoods, or PENs, are a new approach to urban development where energy production and consumption are managed at the neighborhood level.
Instead of making each home individually climate-neutral, this goal is approached at the level of multiple buildings or entire neighborhoods. This aggregation offers several advantages. PENs are designed to be energy-efficient and produce net-zero greenhouse gases, ideally with a surplus of renewable energy. Achieving this requires coordination between buildings, users, regional energy grids, and mobility systems.
The Pillars of PEN
To realize a PEN, several components must be considered:
1. Energy Efficiency: Undertaking various energy-saving and efficiency-enhancing actions, such as better home insulation, energy-efficient appliances, and smart home technologies.
2. Renewable Energy Sources: Utilizing solar panels, wind turbines, and other renewable energy sources to produce clean energy. These sources allow for energy production without emissions but depend on environmental conditions. Therefore, energy storage is crucial to balance supply and demand.
3. Energy Flexibility: Adjusting energy production and consumption to fluctuations. When a community can respond to these fluctuations, it maximizes the use of renewable energy sources. This pillar includes the use of energy storage, whether at the individual or neighborhood level.
4. Electric Mobility: Integrating infrastructure for electric vehicles, including public charging infrastructure and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology. V2G allows EVs to return energy to the grid during peak periods, enhancing flexibility.
Innovative Opportunities for PENs
In addition to the pillars mentioned above, various technological solutions could contribute to the realization of PENs:
• DC Microgrids: Using DC within the PEN as a microgrid can minimize energy losses by reducing conversion losses.
• Battery Storage at Different Levels: As previously mentioned, energy storage is crucial for balancing supply and demand. There are various possibilities here, such as providing batteries at the individual level or at the neighborhood level. The latter could contribute to flexibility.
• District Heating: District heating can use residual heat from industrial processes or solar boilers to heat homes, providing an efficient and sustainable solution for heating needs.
Social Impact and Community Involvement
Successfully implementing PENs requires more than just technological advancement and commitment. Social, political, and financial engagements from neighborhood residents, among others, are essential. Broad support and participation in a PEN can only be ensured if all stakeholders are sufficiently involved. Clear legal frameworks must be established to effectively manage energy sharing and financial agreements.
The benefits of PENs extend beyond energy efficiency and neutrality. A PEN fosters a sense of community. Residents experience improvements in aspects such as health, quality of life, and safety. Local businesses and employment opportunities can grow as a result of urban renewal and improved community facilities and public spaces.
oPEN Lab and Cast4All
A prominent example of a PEN initiative is the oPEN Lab project, funded by the European Union, aimed at realizing PENs in Tartu (Estonia), Pamplona (Spain), and Genk (Belgium). In Genk, the Nieuw-Texas neighborhood is undergoing extensive renovations to create highly energy-efficient buildings. This project involves optimizing innovative construction technologies at both individual and collective levels, creating a replicable model for future developments. oPEN Lab aims to test, monitor, and compare various renovation measures, energy technologies, and systems. General guidelines for scalable designs of positive energy neighborhoods will be developed, balancing collective and individual efforts.
Cast4All contributes by monitoring and managing the housing and energy systems. This is done in collaboration with the research group VITO, which will calculate the optimal control points for energy management systems (EMS).
Conclusion
Positive Energy Neighborhoods embody a holistic approach to sustainable urban development. By leveraging energy efficiency, renewable energy, flexibility, and e-mobility, these communities can achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and produce an energy surplus. The success of PENs depends on active community involvement, robust legal frameworks, and financial viability. Initiatives like oPEN Lab demonstrate the potential of PENs to transform neighborhoods, promoting both ecological sustainability and an improved quality of life for residents.
For more information about this project, be sure to visit https://openlab-project.eu.
