Energy: IEA Report 2016, cities as strategic innovation labs

Currently over half of the world’s population and 80% of global wealth are concentrated in cities, accounting for two thirds of  global energy demand and 70% of carbon emissions. Without change in current policies, these figures are bound to significantly increase by 2050: urban energy demand and the related carbon emissions will increase by 70% and 50% respectively.

These are the estimates from the latest International Energy Agency Report, “Energy Technology Perspectives 2016” on the development and deployement of clean technologies to limit the increase in global warming well below 2 degrees C, as set at COP21 in Paris.

“The study was presented for the first time in Italy at the Conference “Towards Sustainable Urban Systems”, organized by ENEA – the Italian delegate for end-use technologies and current Chair of the thematic group “Building” of the Energy Technology Network at the IEA - and the Ministry of the Economic Development, in collaboration with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the IEA. “Cities can play a strategic role in creating an ambitious global scenario of climate change mitigation that would also entail savings in energy costs and an increased flexibility of the energy system, through sustainable energy policies and cooperation among local and national decision makers- Kamel Ben Naceur, IEA Director for Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks, pointed out”.

“In Italy cities are home to over 40% of the population- Alessandro Lanza, Member of the ENEA Board of Directors, said- therefore cities must take the lead in developing a new model combining economic growth with environmental sustainability. The IEA Report shows clearly the pathway to be followed also by our Country: promoting a wide diffusion of energy efficiency and the integration of renewable sources, with a coordinated approach at local and national level on the best technological choices for cutting emissions. This meeting was an opportunity to debate on the capability, the opportunities and the best practices of local energy planning in our Country. An activity ENEA has been conducting for years in its double role as National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and a Sustainable Economic Development and, in particular, as National Agency for Energy Efficiency, acting as an interface between local and central administrations for the definition and the implementation of sustainable energy actions”.

The most significant contribution could come from energy efficiency (38%) and renewables (32%).  Among the most mature technologies to be promoted in urban areas, the report mentions solar roofs- they alone can cover up to 32% of the urban energy demand, equal to 17% of the total demand by 2050-, heat pumps, district heating networks and energy recovery from waste, highlighting some key advantages: accessibility, safety, distributed supply (microgrid) and the active role of  citizens as new energy producers and not just consumers, the so called prosumers.

The IEA estimates that carbon emissions from cities could potentially be cut by 70% by 2050, with positive effects on air quality and health; in its best-case scenario the IEA foresees one billion of circulating electric vehicles and the use of public transport more than doubled by 2050. The introduction of a diversified mix of energy technologies in cities will allow to cut by 30% (he demand for primary energy and by 70% emissions by the middle of this century, cutting by two third the carbon intensity, representing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of GDP.

Michele De Nigris, RSE, affirmed- In this regard integrated energy grids and in particular smart electrical grids will have a fundamental role. They, in fact, comprise two fundamental key elements: energy and communication. Around this core all the features of a smart city can be developed, such as energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, the integration of renewables and the participation of citizens”.

As regards the single sectors, the IEA Report shows buildings to be the  most energy-consuming sector, also in Italy, where 70% of the building stock is over 40 years old. In order to slash costs by 30-50% by 2050, the Agency defines some paths to follow, such as the construction of near zero energy buildings, the energy  rehabilitation of the existing ones and the improved  efficiency of air conditioning- currently accounting for 40% of total energy  consumption- at low environmental impact but providing the same comfort.

Turin (the other two are Stockolm and Qianxi), which has been working at becoming a smart city for several years, as underscored by Stefano Corgnati, Head of the Analysis and Energy Models Laboratory of the Turin Politecnico, which has contributed to the ETP2016 analysis.

“For a city such as Turin, we have estimated that the combination between an “in-depth” rehabilitation of buildings and the extension and modernisation of district heating grids could save up to 1 billion euro on the total cost by 2050 compared to a scenario characterized by individual, non-integrated interventions”.

Andrea Ponta, IREN ”the first renewable energy source to use for district heating networks is energy efficiency. Only by improving  efficiency it will be possible to reduce waste and thermal losses and optimize the use of thermal energy increasing the potentials of renewable energy sources for DH, particularly solar thermal and geothermal”.

For more information:

Presentations of the speakers
http://www.iea.org/etp/etp2016/

Ezilda Costanzo, Energy Efficiency Technical Unit, ezilda.costanzo@enea.it