Renewable Energy Sources in Smart Cities

Dear Colleagues, 

There is no doubt that smart cities are the future - and many would still argue that they are our present. Smart and sustainable cities have a positive impact on the environment, as the main theme of their development is the reduction of CO₂ emissions, the improvement of energy efficiency and energy storage, as well as the development of alternative sources. As clean energy technologies evolve tenfold, it will take much more flexibility for these energy sources to provide the availability and reliability we require. This includes investing in interconnected systems, abundant control over when and how we use energy and most importantly - safe, reliable and efficient energy storage (electrical/thermal/cooling).

Globally, every nation and its cities thrive on a green environment goal of cost-effective clean renewable energy and a significant reduction in carbon emissions. Overpopulation, over-dependence on fossil fuels and population aging are some of the 3 major challenges for the future of the world energy map, resulting in increased use of currently available energy. This energy comes mainly from non-renewable sources. Although renewable energy is the way of the future, there are still concerns about how this will all be possible - especially as our cities continue to grow larger, smarter and more demanding. This uncertainty has risen valid but tough questions as renewable energy sources such as wind and solar depend heavily on the weather, will we be able to be permanently independent of coal, oil and gas? And with the transition to electric cars, will our energy system be able to handle the increased demand on the grid? The smart city is provided as the best solution to meet the challenges associated with exponential population growth and urbanization.

Renewable energy sources are available in many forms, such as geothermal, wind, solar, biomass and tidal energy. Renewable energy sources and energy efficiency are ready to shape the future development of smart cities. The energy goals achieved will provide citizens with clean energy at affordable prices and a refreshing global ecosystem that will remain under manageable conditions. But the fact is that each region has its own unique geographical boundaries, climatic zones and accessibility to a specific renewable resource. On the other hand, the transition to renewable resources means giving an urban area a completely new form of energy. Any building, transport and other utilities require a review at the primary level. Basically, an extremely strict and holistic approach is required to regulate usage.

The need for renewable energy sources has come to a head, and while many nations are taking the right steps forward, more needs to be done. A strong, efficient, and sustainable future depends on the creation of smart technologies to provide flexibility – and energy storage is just the first step. However, significant challenges concerning clean energy technologies for production and storage energy for electrification, heating and cooling, energy management systems, migrogrids, ICT infrastructures, cost of design, operation and maintenance, heterogeneity among devices, enormous data collection and analysis, information security, social awareness still remain.

In this Special Issue, we invite contributions that aim to expand the application field of RES in Smart Cities in fields like modern clean energy and energy-saving technologies, methods of monitoring and forecasting infrastructure, proposing and experimenting Big Data analytics in actual smart cities as well as maintaining an alternative and sustainable energy supply, development of smart energy grids, introduction and promotion of "green" certificates, exploiting benefits of heterogeneous devices, address existing challenges, and bring forward new problems. Both original research and comprehensive review papers are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Pantelis N. Botsaris
Guest Editor

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.

• renewable energy sources
• smart and sustainable cities
• energy efficiency
• clean energy technologies for production and storage energy (electricity/heating/cooling), Internet of Things (IoT)