Simply Positive – Supporting innovative and ambitious cities and municipalities on their pathway to Positive Energy Districts through easy, clear and understandable guidelines, targets and strategies

SIMPLY POSITIVE supports the emergence of Positive Energy Districts and the transition to Climate Neutral Cities. On the example of four focus districts from different European Countries we will establish and test strategies how to tackle the necessary energy transition. We will analyze different areas which were selected as important by the focus districts:

· Photo voltaic solar panels (PV) maximization,

· integration of electric vehicles in mobility concepts and usage as energy storage,

· usage patterns to increase energy efficiency and

· common climate and energy action plans.

Based on a common Positive energy district definition framework for existing urban districts we will show how to best monitor and visualize achieved results. Fitting participation concepts shall ensure active stakeholder participation and motivate further cities to join the pathway towards reaching 1000s of Positive Energy Districts and Positive Energy Neighborhoods all over Europe.

Key facts

Start of the project: January 2023

End of the project: December 2024

Project type: Applied Research

Goals

Develop innovative strategies, concepts, and guidelines to increase the participation level of municipalities and cities to foster the creation of Positive Energy Districts and Positive Energy Neighborhoods:

· focus on existing urban strategies for clean energy maximization

· create a standardized energy balance calculation process based on available data

· monitoring system to see, qualify and verify actions

evaluate participation strategies based on impact and acceptance.

Methods

In this project we will develop a SIMPLY POSITIVE PED framework for re-designing existing urban areas. The methodology on hand is the orientation on best practices and guiding principles of net zero city transition processes coming from the covenant of mayors for climate and energy. SIMPLY POSITIVE will further focus on tangible and distinct innovative strategies to support municipalities on their way towards energy autarky:

Urban PV Maximization

The joint research activities will carry out a very realistic PV potential for the focus city of Amsterdam while providing with a blueprint for extending this methodology to other focus districts. Due to the wide spatial scope of this research, automation, and speed of the computation as well as automation of decision across four different installation modes of PV modules will be defined to optimize energy usage and minimize esthetical interference. This will raise awareness of the given PV potential and how to untap it with respect to economical, energetic, architectural, and governance requirements, as installation of additional PV modules is one of the biggest chances to raise the local production of renewable energies.

Local RES as support for e-mobility

The improvement of EV charging infrastructure is a current key topic for urban planners. Using local renewable resources should both help to install the necessary infrastructure points, as well as increasing energy autarky. A feasibility study will be done on the example of Settimo Torinese to verify the degree which can be covered by local RES in dependence on PV installation potential, EV charging needs, and smart charging / bi-directional charging developments. With an expected total storage capacity of over 300 GWh by 2025, EV batteries will be already very soon the largest distributed resource available to the European energy system, which must be anticipated in city planning and Positive Energy District/Neighborhood implementation plans.

Embedding Climate Action Targets in City Policies

In order to drive sustainable change towards climate change mitigation, city policies should include climate protection measures. Therefore, climate action targets are expected to form the basis for such measures. For this purpose, a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) will be developed for the city of Resita, which will include strategic objectives and climate action targets aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). So that the objectives and targets are feasibly defined, the study will include technical assessments which can measure the status quo of the municipality’s energy performance (carbon footprint calculation, monitoring emission inventory and climate risk & vulnerability assessment) and will also take into consideration stakeholder engagement. In order to later monitor the progress against the targets, a demonstrator tool will be developed, that will permit accurate tracking of the specific indicators defined according to SDGs. The complete process of defining, developing, and monitoring climate action targets, embedded in city policies, will be documented and presented at the end of the projects as a replicable framework which could be applied by other municipalities.

Reducing Energy and Carbon Footprint through Behavioral Change

Next to energy production and energy flexibility, energy efficiency is one of the key topics to achieve energy autarky. Available saving potentials through adaptations of usage patterns related to electricity, heat and mobility will be discussed with all four focus districts and collected in a set of practicable demand side actions.

Next to the innovative strategies and guidelines SIMPLY POSITIVE focuses on the easy application of these actions through participation strategies and stakeholder involvement on the one hand, and practicable and simple monitoring tools with good visualisation of reached achievements on the other hand. The comprehensive approach of the project ensures ideal support for innovative and ambitious cities and municipalities – allowing them to being SIMPLY POSITIVE.

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