Techno-economic assessment of renewable energy potential in cities: Case studies of solar photovoltaic, waste-to-energy and wind energy

Abstract

Theoretically, all places on earth are endowed with renewable energy resources. However, the requirements for co-existence with existing energy and non-energy infrastructure limit the technical realization of these resources. Scientific publications on the renewable energy potential of cities mainly rely on geographic information system (GIS) data such as solar and wind maps. However, planning systems that realize the potential of renewable energy resources need additional tools beyond GIS. In this study, we consider two additional dimensions in the assessment of cities' renewable energy potential: competing space and competing resources. The findings show the impact of city land-use density, infrastructure and capital cost on the achievement of a transition to the energy sustainability objective with locally available renewable energy resources.