Assessment of the impact of local energy policies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Abstract

The present work investigates the potential energy savings coming from a careful and detailed local energy policy. The paper analyzes and assesses from technical, economic and environmental viewpoints different initiatives in the energy sector aimed at increasing energy efficiency in end-uses and reducing overall carbon emissions. The results are based on energy planning for five Italian urban areas sized at about fifty thousand inhabitants. The analysis has been developed with the aim of reaching generally applicable criteria suitable for evaluating the local energy policy contribution to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. Several initiatives for the private and public sectors have been considered, such as: (i) the introduction of combined heat and power generation based on useful thermal demand, suitable for the industry and service sectors (swimming pools, large distribution organizations); (ii) generation of electricity from renewables (solar energy, biomass); (iii) thermal insulation of private and public buildings, such as schools; (iv) introduction of micro-combined heat and power generation in the residential sector. For each solution the primary energy reduction and the consequent reduction in GHG emissions have been evaluated and a feasibility analysis has been developed in order to assess the profitability of the investment. Great attention has been paid to the public sector, which has an important role in providing leadership and driving changes in other sectors; furthermore, a rational use of energy combined with the exploitation of country-based incentives is able to reduce the public administrative expenditure. The results show that local energy policy can give an important contribution to gas emission reduction targets, and underline the fundamental role of public sector initiatives.

Covenant of Mayors: Reasons for Being an Environmentally and Energy Friendly Municipality

“…Likewise, some studies discuss if the collective action of networks of municipal or regional governments are reshaping and challenging the character of national and global climate governance (Andonova, Betsill, & Bulkeley, ; Bouteligier, ; Bulkeley & Newell, ; Gordon, ; Gore, ; Kern & Bulkeley, ; Toly, ). Additionally, some studies have focused on the energy and environmental plans development by some cities (Arteconi, Brandoni, Bartolini, & Polonara, ; Brandoni, Arteconi, Ciriachi, & Polonara, ; Butera, ; Holmgren & Henning, ; Hou, Zhang, Tian, Yuan, & Yang, ; Lin & Huang, ), while others have compared the actions of a group of major world cities, group of cities of a particular country, or have undertaken comparative research projects that consider a more geographically diverse range. Among them are Croci et al (), Bulkeley (), Bulkeley and Castán Broto (), Carbon Disclosure Project (), Castán Broto and Bulkeley (2012), and Johnson ().…”

Technical and economic aspects of municipal energy planning

“…High effi ciency requirement in new buildings can give an important contribution to energy consumption reduction and, as shown in a previous analysis [9,22], they turn out to be less expensive when implemented at a planning stage. Furthermore, energy standards defi ned in building codes are often used as effi ciency targets for refurbishment existing buildings.…”

“…First of all, we have proceeded to evaluate the primary energy reduction derived from energy-saving actions; then, we have analyzed the feasibility of the same actions, taking into consideration applicability factors based both on literatures and the authors' experience. However, more detailed information about economic aspects can be found in the previous work developed by the same authors [9]. The GHG's emission reduction has been calculated using an emission factor of 3 tonCO 2 /toe, on the basis of the actual savings assessed.…”

“…The analysis of operating costs and potential savings in operating costs is also necessary to correctly evaluate the profi tability of each energy-saving initiative. The present paper focuses on the assessment of the investments, while a more detailed economic analysis has been developed in a previous work by the same authors [9]. On the basis of the analysis developed a GHG emission target is defi ned.…”

“…The work is based on data coming from three municipal energy plans, two of which have already been analyzed in a previous work of the same authors [9]. Municipal plans were developed for urban areas located in Marche Region, in the center of Italy, characterized by a number of inhabitants ranging from 5,000 to 100,000, in order to investigate critical aspects connected to the public administration size.…”