Energy Self-Sufficiency Urban Module (ESSUM): GIS-LCA-based multi-criteria methodology to analyze the urban potential of solar energy generation and its environmental implications

S Guillén-Lambea; J Sierra-Pérez; S García-Pérez; A L Montealegre; M Monzón-Chavarrías

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163077

Energy Self-Sufficiency Urban Module (ESSUM): GIS-LCA-based multi-criteria methodology to analyze the urban potential of solar energy generation and its environmental implications

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jun 25:879:163077. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163077. Epub 2023 Mar 28.

Authors

S Guillén-Lambea¹, J Sierra-Pérez², S García-Pérez³, A L Montealegre⁴, M Monzón-Chavarrías⁵

Affiliations

¹ Thermal Engineering and Energy Systems Group (GITSE), Aragón Institute for Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: sguillen@unizar.es.
² Department of Design and Manufacturing Engineering, EINA, University of Zaragoza, María de Luna 3, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain; Water and Environmental Health-IUCA Research Group, University of Zaragoza, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: jsierra@unizar.es.
³ Department of Architecture, EINA, University of Zaragoza, María de Luna 3, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: sgarciap@unizar.es.
⁴ GEOFOREST-IUCA Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Zaragoza, Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Centro Universitario de la Defensa de Zaragoza, Academia General Militar, Ctra. de Huesca s/n, 50090 Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: monteale@unizar.es.
⁵ Department of Architecture, EINA, University of Zaragoza, María de Luna 3, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: monzonch@unizar.es.

PMID: 36990244
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163077

Abstract

The concentration of the population in cities has turned them into sources of environmental pollution, however, cities have a great potential for generating clean energy through renewable sources such as a responsible use of solar energy that reaches its rooftops. This work proposes a methodology to estimate the level of energy self-sufficiency in urban areas, particularly in a district of the city of Zaragoza (Spain). First, the Energy Self-Sufficiency Urban Module concept (ESSUM) is defined, then the self-sufficiency capacity of the city or district is determined using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) point clouds and cadastral data. Secondly, the environmental implications of the implementation of these modules in the rooftops of the city using the LCA methodology are calculated. The results obtained show that total self-sufficiency of Domestic Hot Water (DHW) can be achieved using 21 % of available rooftop area, meanwhile the rest of rooftop area, dedicated to photovoltaic (PV), can reach 20 % of electricity self-sufficiency, supposing a final balance of a reduction in CO₂ emissions of 12,695.4 t CO_2eq/y and energy savings of 372,468.5 GJ/y. This corresponds to a scenario where full self-sufficiency of DHW was prioritized, with the remaining roof area dedicated to PV installation. In addition, other scenarios have been analyzed, such as the implementation of the energy systems separately.

Keywords: GIS; LCA; Renewable energy; Self-sufficiency; Urban metabolism.