Urban areas, due to their high population density, intensive infrastructure,
and concentrated economic activities, are responsible for approximately 70% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and consume around 65% of the world’s total energy. In this context, Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) have emerged as an innovative and decentralize solution capable of reducing the environmental impact of cities by enabling local production, consumption, and sharing of clean energy.
The U-DECK (Urban Decarbonization) project has developed a dual
research strategy focused on both environmental sustainability and
economic viability of RECs. This strategy integrates two complementary
tools: a simulation tool designed to model and analyse energy flows within
renewable energy communities, and a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
tool aimed at optimizing the procurement of residual energy from
renewable sources on the market.
The simulation tool allows us to create and evaluate a wide range of community configurations by altering variables such as building typologies, geographic location, and technological setups. A central focus of the simulations has been the benefits of the electrification of domestic hot water (DHW) production. When compared to conventional systems that rely on fossil fuels for hot water production, a fully electrified DHW system with integrated thermal storage can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 16%. At the same time, the community’s selfconsumption rate increases by 13% and cost savings and the exploitation of subsidies improve by 14%.