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Renewable Energy in Smart Cities

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 December 2025 | Viewed by 511

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Electrical Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Staatsartillerie Road, Pretoria West 0183, South Africa
Interests: hybrid energy storage system; power electronics; electric vehicles; renewable energy; battery energy management systems

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electrical Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Staatsartillerie Road, Pretoria West 0183, South Africa
Interests: Internet of Things; energy-efficient radio resource management; spectrum design and analysis; autonomous robotics; Internet of Everything

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Guest Editor
1. The Independent Institute of Education (IIEMSA), School of Engineering, Science and Health (SESH), Johannesburg 1724, South Africa
2. S5 Enterprises, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
Interests: power systems analysis; microgrids; active distribution networks; energy management; renewable energy systems; minigrids

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid urbanization of the 21st century has placed unprecedented demands on energy resources, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability. Smart cities, powered by renewable energy, are emerging as a transformative solution to these challenges. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), cities account for over 70% of global energy consumption and 75% of carbon emissions. Integrating renewable energy systems into smart city frameworks is critical to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). This Special Issue of the Journal of Applied Sciences aims to explore the innovative approaches, technologies, and policies that enable the seamless integration of renewable energy into smart urban ecosystems. We invite researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to contribute innovative research that addresses the technical of this transition.

Keywords:

  • Renewable energy integration.
  • Smart grids.
  • Urban sustainability.
  • Energy-efficient buildings.
  • IoT for energy management.
  • Decentralised energy systems.
  • Climate-resilient cities.

Key areas of interest:

  • Advanced renewable energy technologies for urban environments (e.g. solar, wind, geothermal).
  • Smart grid systems and energy storage solutions for cities.
  • IoT and AI-driven energy management in smart cities.
  • Energy-efficient building design and retrofitting.
  • Decentralised and community-based energy systems.
  • Technical frameworks and models for renewable energy adoption.
  • Climate resilience and adaptation strategies for urban energy systems.

This special issue seeks to provide a comprehensive platform for interdisciplinary research that drives the transition toward sustainable, resilient, and energy-efficient smart cities.

Dr. Mpho J. Lencwe
Prof. Dr. Thomas O. Olwal
Prof. Dr. Shyama Pada Daniel Chowdhury
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hybrid energy storage system
  • power electronics
  • electric vehicles
  • renewable energy
  • battery energy management systems
  • energy storage systems
  • electric vehicle charging systems

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 17377 KiB  
Article
Numerical Modeling of the Groundwater Temperature Variation Generated by a Ground-Source Heat Pump System in Milan
by Sara Barbieri, Matteo Antelmi, Pietro Mazzon, Sara Rizzo and Luca Alberti
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(10), 5522; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15105522 - 15 May 2025
Viewed by 346
Abstract
The study presents the first application of the Connected Linear Network (CLN) package implemented in MODFLOW-USG to an existing Ground-Source Heat Pump (GSHP) system. The numerical element was specifically adapted by the authors in a previous study to simulate vertical Borehole Heat Exchangers [...] Read more.
The study presents the first application of the Connected Linear Network (CLN) package implemented in MODFLOW-USG to an existing Ground-Source Heat Pump (GSHP) system. The numerical element was specifically adapted by the authors in a previous study to simulate vertical Borehole Heat Exchangers (BHEs) and is here applied for the first time to evaluate the heat transfer in Milano subsurface induced by a GSHP system. The evaluation of interference between geothermal systems and wells is an important topic, especially in densely populated areas, which has scarcely been explored in the literature. Specifically, the aim is to evaluate the thermal perturbation and the possible interference between BHE systems and the drinkable water wells of the Armi pumping station managed by MM S.p.A. The simulation results show moderate groundwater thermal perturbation: approximately 3 °C at 100 m downgradient of the borefield and, furthermore, a limited impact (maximum 1 °C) in just two wells of the Armi pumping station. After 3 years of GSHP system operation, the thermal perturbation can extend for kilometers, but with limited variation in groundwater temperature (lower than 1 °C). Although the predicted groundwater temperature variation is not critical, the real-time monitoring of temperatures coupled with numerical modeling is essential to prevent thermal interference and optimize GSHP system performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renewable Energy in Smart Cities)
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