Renewable energy in urban areas. Critical aspects and technological selection

Abstract

Environmental deterioration including the effects of global warming will require changes in the way in which the city is conceived. Thus, the need arises for public policy and planning to include the development of energy provided from cities own resources. Given the stresses that cities place on the environment, the proposed changes must be selected so as to promote sustainability. Current technology allows a city to modify how energy is provided in response to external sources. This article presents a set of technologies that could take advantage of urban resources for energy supply. Experts from several countries were surveyed to identify technologies that will have an impact on the urban energy matrix, and to identify morphological, social, and other key aspects of selection. Solar energy, both photovoltaic and thermal, were found to elicit the greatest interest among the technologies evaluated. Besides costs, politics and regulations were identified as possible determining factors when developing energy resources within cities.