Linking energy efficiency and renewable energy to upscale Positive Energy Districts

Panel: 7. Policies for a green recovery in the buildings sector

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Sophie Shnapp, European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) Ispra, Italy

Abstract

In recent years the EU has been moving towards a more decentralised structure, as the energy landscape evolves and the importance of communities being key to decarbonising Europe is recognised as crucial. Positive energy districts (PED) use the energy efficiency first principle coupled with green technology and renewable systems to achieve decarbonised neighbourhoods. This paper introduces the concept of Positive Energy Districts and shows how to handle energy performance targets by moving beyond individual buildings towards a district level.

This is a relatively new endeavour in both scientific research and realised projects.

One route towards this could be to have the minimum energy performance requirements imposed by the EPBD also be applied to a cluster of buildings in a specific district. In practice, this means setting legal requirements that enable communities to become zero or positive energy districts (for example through municipal or regional requirements).

From a financial point of view, a zero-energy district (ZED) or positive energy district (PED) project needs to be investible whilst providing the municipality and district-dwellers with low-carbon solutions that provide co-benefits to the citizens and local authorities (such as, inter alia, better wellbeing and health, job creation, increased GDP and tourism). In order to assess potential cost and benefits, this paper finds the EPBD’s cost-benefit calculation methodology for the setting of minimum energy performance requirements can be utilised on a district scale by aggregating the individual buildings.

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