PLEA2009 - 26th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Quebec City, Canada, 22-24 June 2009

Quadruple the Potential: Scaling the energy supply

ROB ROGGEMA1, LUKE MIDDLETON2, ANDY VAN DEN DOBBELSTEEN3

1Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands; Earth System Sciences Group, Wageningen

University and Research Centre, the Netherlands; Department of regional planning, Province of Groningen, the Netherlands 2 EME Design Pty Ltd. Middle Park, Melbourne, Australia

3 Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands; Susteen Consult, Amsterdam, the Netherlands ABSTRACT: In times when scarcity and prices of energy increase rapidly the urgency to rely on local and sustainable resources grows as well. In planning practice there is a lack of useful information regarding the availability and local potentials of possible renewable energy sources. Thus, the solutions and a transition towards a sustainable energy supply system are unclear and not very successful. The old-fashioned global market rules dictate what is possible, desirable and realistic. But if the local potentials are studied a different view on energy supply can be distinguished, in which a far larger part of the energy use can be supplied locally, leading to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions far beyond policy ambitions. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a methodology in which the potentials can be discovered, mapped, used and calculated. This methodology is developed for four spatial scales and for several projects, each of them with their own characteristics. The paper will discuss these spatial scales and the interconnections between them as well as the benefits in term of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Keywords: Energy-potentials, spatial planning, urban design, architecture

INTRODUCTION The dependency on fossil fuels and the fact that oil, coal and gas are world markets and the rules within these markets dictate what is possible, desirable and realistic, prevent a real transition towards a sustainable energy supply from happening.

The traditional approach aims to make the existing system a little bit more sustainable. But still, world market rules define the framework within which the pace of changes is permitted to take place. This way of thinking generally leads to difficult reached agreements on ambitions. The 2020 objectives of the EU [Commission of the European Communities, 2007] for example, are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency both by 20% and aim to increase the proportion of renewable energy to 20%. The Dutch government formulates its goals alike: save energy by 20% and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in 2020 [1]. These ambitions do not seem enough if the IPCC is to be believed. The IPCC has concluded that CO2 emissions should be reduced by 50%-85% in 2050 in order to stabilise global warming between 2°C and 2.4°C [10]. The IEA states that a global revolution is necessary in the ways that energy is supplied and used [8]. Current pathways and transition paths seem not fast and ambitious enough.

However, the transition can be looked at from the opposite direction. If the availability or regional potential for sustainable energy in a certain region decides on the ambitions and the way energy is produced and supplied and not that global market rules dictate the available space for the use of sustainable energy, the usage of local and regional potentials will increase. The transformation of the energy supply into a renewable energy system, based on the local production of available renewables and a distribution system, which is based on the recent opportunities of communication technology, energy-web, is a new era in energy supply is apparent [6,12].

So far, few studies with the objective to find out how

local sustainable potentials can be used are conducted [3, 4, 6, 13]. These studies make visible by using maps where the potentials for different sustainable energy sources can be found.

If these studies are combined a system can be created,

which functions like the famous Droste effect: findings regarding the potentials for sustainable energy supply on the supra-regional scale determines what the potentials are on the regional scale, which determines what the potentials are on the local scale, which consequently determines what the potentials are on the building scale. Combining the potentials at all scales will result in far higher ambitions than the current policies define.

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PLEA2009 - 2

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26th Conference on

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PLEA2009 - 2

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26th Conference on

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PLEA2009 - 26th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Quebec City, Canada, 22-24 June 2009

Table 2: The role and benefits of different scales Scale Role Results Supra-regional

Which potentials are where Not relevant

Regional Which pattern of functions is best Potentials + exergy

Sustainable energy use: 50% CO2-emission reduction: 80%

Local How need the lay out of the function be Potentials, exergy + exchange with grid

Energy and CO2 neutrality or even energy surplus

Building What is the best design Potentials, exergy, grid & comfort

Sustainable energy used: 33% Energy saving: 64% CO2-emission reduction: 73-84,6 %

There are several interdependencies between the

different scales. The characteristics at the highest level mark the possibilities on the regional scale. Once the potentials are known on the regional level the most optimal functional zoning, including the available sustainable resources, can be proposed. At the regional level the principle of exergy is added. If the location for a certain function is known, the spatial design of the urban patterns can be undertaken, making use of the available resources. At the local level the exchange with the grid is added in the process. And once the lay out of the area is chosen the available resources to be used in the design of buildings. At the building level elements such as comfort and beauty are added.

It is possible, with incorporation the higher levels of

scale in the energy supply chain to reach much higher levels of use of sustainable energy and reduction of green house gas emissions than current policies aim can be reached. The examples in this paper illustrate that result up to four times higher can be reached. This means that policy objectives can be quadrupled easily. DISCUSSION The results in the different studies show that far higher objectives can be reached than in current policies are written down. The added gains at every spatial level offer a quadruple effect. If an energy efficient house is built certain saving objectives are reached. If the same house is built in a sustainable energy directed urban pattern these houses profit from the right circumstances. And if the neighbourhood is planned at the right place in the region and making use of the available resources the results show that the potentials can be quadrupled. Major constraints to implement the method are the existing power balances between decision-makers. As long as large energy companies remain power over infrastructure their dominance over the decisions on used resources cannot be changed. The hidden agreement between governments and energy companies about a mutual dependency on global market rules and the fact

that it is impossible to change anything about is leading to the continuation of the existing system. Finally, it is far easier for people to decide on what they are used to instead of decide for a breakthrough or an innovation. This makes it hard to start the process of thinking from the other side than the usual and prevents us from reaching quadruple results. REFERENCES 1. CDA, PvdA, CU (2007); Coalition treaty between political parties of CDA, PvdA and Christen Unie; 7 February 2007 2. Commission of the European Communities (2008); 20 20 by 2020, Europe’s climate change opportunity; Communication from the commission to the European Parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions; Brussels 3. Dobbelsteen, A. van den, Jansen, S and Timmeren, A. van (2007); Towards an energy steered regional plan Groningen: Spatial steering through energy potentials and heat cascading; TU Delft, Provincie Groningen, Groningen 4. Dobbelsteen, A. van den, Grinten, B. van der and Timmeren, A. van (2008); Energy potential study Almere East; TU Delft, gemeente Almere; Delft 5. Dobbelsteen, A. van der, Boersma, S. and Stremke, S. (2009); Energy potential study The Green Campaign Towards an energy neutral Hoogezand; TU Delft & Wageningen University and Research centre; Province of Groningen & Municipality of Hoogezand 6. Droege, P. (2006); Renewable City, A Comprehensive Guide to an Urban Revolution; John Wiley &Sons Ltd, CHhichester, England 7. Grinten, B. van der (2008); Drawing of the combination of energy potentials on a provincial level; TU Delft; Delft 8. IEA (2008); Energy Technology Perspectives, Scenarios & Strategies to 2050; OECD/IEA; Paris, France 9. IEA Annex 49: Low Exergy Systems for High-Performance Buildings and Communities 10. IPCC (2007); Climate Change 2007: The physical science basis, Working Group I Contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report; IPCC; Cambridge University Press, New York 11. Itoh, S. (2003); Proposals for the International Competition of Sustainable Urban Systems Design; 22nd World Gas Conference; Tokyo 12. Rifkin, J. (2002); The Hydrogen Economy: The Creation of the World-Wide Energy Web and the Redistribution of Power on Earth (transl.); Lemniscaat b.v.; Rotterdam 13. Roggema, R., Dobbelsteen, A. van den and Stegenga, K. (2006); Pallet of Possibilities, Grounds for Change; Province of Groningen, Groningen 14. Saman, W., Oliphant, M., Mudge, L., Halawa, E. (2008); Study of the Effect of Temperature Settings on AccuRate Cooling Energy Requirements and Comparison with Monitored Data; June 2008. 15. Shukuya M. (2004); Basics and Chances of the Exergy Concept; Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Passive Low-Energy Architecture (PLEA2004); TU Eindhoven 16. Sustainable Energy Authority Victoria (2002); Energy Smart Housing Manual; [Online], Available: http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/ [4 Dec 2006]