Energy-space concept for the transition to a low-carbon energy society

Indre Siksnelyte-Butkiene; Dalia Streimikiene; Giulio Paolo Agnusdei; Tomas Balezentis

doi:10.1007/s10668-022-02697-6

Energy-space concept for the transition to a low-carbon energy society

Environ Dev Sustain. 2022 Oct 7:1-21. doi: 10.1007/s10668-022-02697-6. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Indre Siksnelyte-Butkiene¹, Dalia Streimikiene¹, Giulio Paolo Agnusdei^{2

3}, Tomas Balezentis¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Economics and Rural Development, Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, A. Vivulskio Str. 4A-13, 03220 Vilnius, Lithuania.
² Department of Innovation Engineering, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
³ Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7031 Trondheim, Norway.

Abstract

Urban and regional development is indispensable from energy systems that function in a sustainable and resilient manner. The generation of renewable energy has seen significant upturn in the last decade. Renewables can be exploited to meet the global energy needs and climate change mitigation goals. Therefore, development of urban and regional energy systems must take into account the possibilities and challenges posed by the increasing penetration of the renewable. The achievement of goals of the energy system in the context of transition to low-carbon energy society rises numerous complex decisions over development of infrastructure and technologies. Although renewable energy devices generate clean energy, they also change landscape. The term of energy-scape encourages discussion about interactions between the energy system and the environment, and other ecosystem services at local level. The paper reviews previous studies analysing energy-scape elements and provides the insights towards the transition to low-carbon energy and low-carbon society in general. The systematic literature review allows clearly outlining the problem and gives reliable background for further studies. The main contribution of the article to the existing literature is the creation of framework for the analysis and assessment of new renewable energy technologies installation and infrastructure. The presented framework can be applied for all renewable energy technologies and infrastructure in both urban and rural areas and allows to attain a decision acceptable to the local community.

Keywords: Energy infrastructure; Energy transition; Energy-scape; Landscape; Low-carbon energy; Renewable energy.

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