The Energy Mosaic Austria—A Nationwide Energy and Greenhouse Gas Inventory on Municipal Level as Action Field of Integrated Spatial and Energy Planning

While climate agreements are made on an international level, the measures for mitigating climate change must be executed on a local scale. Designing energy and climate related strategies on the level of municipalities has been hampered by the lack of comprehensive data on the current status of energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions on the local level. A novel approach based on the so-called spatial turn in energy and climate policies has now been established in the form of the Energy Mosaic Austria, which represents a comprehensive energy and greenhouse gas inventory for all Austrian municipalities considering different purposes of energy consumption and different energy sources. The inventory is based on the linkage of bottom-up and top-down operations, utilizing data on land use and mobility structures on the municipal level. The outcomes provide a detailed insight into the pattern of energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions that are resolved on the municipal level. A spatially differentiated analysis of the inventory yields dependencies of the energy consumption and the greenhouse gas emissions on spatial structures particularly due to the fractions of different types of land use including mobility. With the energy mosaic Austria, local policy makers are given an inventory with unprecedented spatial and contentual resolution, which is fully coherent with more coarse-grained provincial and nationwide compilations of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and elucidates the scope of action in energy and climate policy from the municipal to the nationwide level

Interdisciplinary decision support model for grid-bound heat supply systems in urban areas

Abstract Background In the past two centuries, energy consumption per capita has significantly increased. At the same time the fundamentals of energy provision have continuously developed towards fossil energy sources. This extended use of finite, unequally distributed and emission-intensive energy sources poses a challenge to both the energy, the climate and therefore the socio-ecological systems. Consequently, solutions are needed to reduce the fossil energy demand while fulfilling our daily energy services. District heating systems powered by renewable energy can contribute to this societal mission. Methods This paper presents the co called Eco.District.Heat-kit, a novel planning model supporting future decision-making processes regarding grid-bound heating. The interdisciplinary approach assesses the feasibility of district heating systems at different locations from a qualitative and quantitative perspective. Given the lack of quick and simple planning tools in this field, the Eco.District.Heat-kit provides a time-efficient pre-evaluation on the basis of widely available input data. Results The decision support model rates district heating networks regarding the thematic areas of (1) integrated spatial and energy planning (2) costs, (3) resources, and (4) environment and climate. In addition, it involves a long-term planning horizon by including spatial development and climate scenarios until 2050. Finally, the Eco.District.Heat-kit identifies parameters both positively and negatively influencing the overall rating. This enables end-users to sort out non-optimal configurations before entering a more detailed planning stage. Conclusions Due to the straightforward methodological approach and the focus on basic parameters of district heating system planning, the Eco.District.Heat-kit supports energy suppliers, urban-planners and decision-makers at the beginning of planning processes. In order to increase both transparency and applicability of the model, its functionality and input parameters are disclosed within this paper, enabling the recreation and adaptation towards user-specific needs and local situations

Future compatibility of district heating in urban areas — a case study analysis in the context of integrated spatial and energy planning

Abstract Background District heating is widely used for thermal energy supply and offers a broad range of benefits like the possibility to integrate decentral heat supply technologies or to foster the utilisation of renewable energy sources. Thus, district heating has the potential to gradually contribute to a more sustainable thermal energy supply and to consequently facilitate the energy turn. However, due to specific requirements of this technology, strategic planning is required for the successful implementation of district heating networks. Previous research mainly focuses on either economic, environmental, or technological aspects of district heating. This study therefore aims to execute a comprehensive assessment of district heating systems in the following four sections: (1) integrated spatial and energy planning, (2) costs, (3) resources and (4) environment and climate. Methods To this end, the recently developed Eco.District.Heat kit (EDHk) is used to evaluate and rate eight case studies consisting of 14 different urban typologies, while considering the aforementioned sections of interest. The paper applies the EDHk to assess different spatial structures and grid configurations as well as a broad mix of different thermal energy sources. Results With regard to integrated spatial and energy planning (section 1), the assessment shows heterogenous ratings whereas the case studies exhibit quite constant positive ratings with regard to costs (2), environment and climate (4). Although a lot of material is used for the construction of networks (i.e. resources, section 3), the question whether or not to dismantle old grids for resource utilisation cannot be answered definitely. According to our results, future development scenarios in the context of climate change and building renovation until 2050 have little influence on the final ratings. Conclusions Based on the comprehensive assessment of eight case studies, it can be concluded that district heating systems offer a long-term and sustainable solution of heat supply for different spatial archetypes and types of urban fabrics. Furthermore, the proposed methodology allows users to critically examine planned projects and to detect shortcomings at an early planning stage. The EDHk thus provides a suitable methodology to support strategic decisions in integrated spatial and energy planning

Energieraumpläne – ein Meilenstein am Weg zur nachhaltigen Energiezukunft Wiens

Die Energieraumplanung rückt Fragen nach unserem Energiebedarf, den erneuerbaren Energiepotenzialen und der Energieinfrastruktur in den Fokus der Stadtplanung. Ziel ist die Schaffung von standort- und klimagerechten Energieversorgungslösungen. Mit der Verordnung von Energieraumplänen kommt die Stadt Wien diesem Ziel einen großen Schritt näher: Neubauten, die sich innerhalb ausgewiesener Klimaschutz-Gebiete befinden, dürfen aus-schließlich mit hocheffizienten, alternativen Energiesystemen zur Aufbereitung von Raumwärme und Warmwasser versorgt werden. Dazu zählen unter anderem Systeme wie die Wiener Fernwärme oder Wärmepumpen. Im Umkehrschluss sind Öl- oder Erdgasheizungen verboten. Neben der Einsparung von Treibhausgasen im Sinne des Klimaschutzes werden mit dem Instrument der Energieraumpläne doppelte Infrastrukturen - d.h. Fernwärme- und Gasnetze - entflochten und damit volkswirtschaftliche Kosten reduziert. Schließlich erhöht die räumliche Steuerung von Versor-gungsoptionen die Planungssicherheit für Investierende, Stadtentwicklung und Energieversorgungsunternehmen.28371