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Smart Cities and the Need for Green Energy
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Smart Cities and the Need for Green Energy

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G1: Smart Cities and Urban Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 June 2025 | Viewed by 4375

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Bartolomeo Silvestri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Polytechnic University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy
Interests: operations management; renewable energy technologies; distributed generation
Prof. Dr. Francesco Facchini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Politecnico di Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy
Interests: warehouse management systems; logistics; waste management; artificial neural networks; ergonomics; cognitive ergonomics; Industry 4.0
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is a need to develop smart cities and green energy if we are to achieve net-zero emissions goals. The use of clean energy sources, specifically solar energy, micro-wind energy, hydrogen fuel, heat pump, geothermal energy, storage, and other technological innovations, are tools to support the development of city ecosystems oriented towards intelligent approaches.

The focus of smart city development is based on citizens’ behaviors: it becomes crucial to improve aspects related to the energy consumption of residential buildings, offices and industries. Additionally, there is a need to promote services related to city livability and resilience actions aimed at reducing environmental impacts for citizens (such as waste management, energy and transport management systems). Additionally, it is necessary to analyze the sustainable transportation of people based on personal, public, and sharing systems, as well as freight transportation in urban areas with last-mile logistics. Sustainable transportation is based on zero-emission and autonomous vehicles. ICT technologies and digitalization of the infrastructure are the pillars of the implementation of these strategies. Opportunities related to improvement and innovation are geared toward the study of the urban system and the impacts generated by the lives of citizens where energy consumption must be efficient or produced in an environmentally friendly fashion. An important aspect is the analysis of energy storage of urban systems, where consumption is very often not aligned with green energy production.

This Special Issue aims to collect recent innovative research, theoretical and practical insights for the stakeholders on smart cities and need for green energy. We welcome scientific contributions, ranging from basic research to applied research with case studies, pilot applications, and demos.

Dr. Bartolomeo Silvestri
Prof. Dr. Francesco Facchini
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. Energies 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 2600 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

  • smart cities
  • green energy
  • renewable energy
  • sustainability
  • digitalization
  • urban planning
  • green transport
  • circular economy
  • waste management
  • impact of urban freight transport
  • last-mile logistics

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 907 KiB  
Article
Energy Efficiency Optimization in Swarm Robotics for Smart Photovoltaic Monitoring
by Dimitris Ziouzios, Nikolaos Baras, Minas Dasygenis, Vayos Karayannis and Constantinos Tsanaktsidis
Energies 2025, 18(7), 1587; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18071587 - 22 Mar 2025
Viewed by 334
Abstract
Photovoltaic park (PV) and power generator monitoring is a crucial activity that calls for effective coverage path planning. Artificial intelligence and particularly swarm robotics have brought new methods to tasks such as coverage path planning by having multiple robots work together to cover [...] Read more.
Photovoltaic park (PV) and power generator monitoring is a crucial activity that calls for effective coverage path planning. Artificial intelligence and particularly swarm robotics have brought new methods to tasks such as coverage path planning by having multiple robots work together to cover a specific area. Nonetheless, enhancing energy efficiency in these systems continues to be a crucial obstacle, particularly with the growing focus on sustainability. This research investigates techniques to enhance energy efficiency in swarm robotics, focusing on coverage path planning assignments. The proposed approach merges advanced swarm robotics algorithms with energy-efficient methods to reduce power consumption while still ensuring effective coverage. Thorough simulations in simulated environments of Western Macedonia assess the efficiency of the proposed approach. Even though the proposed approach has a longer convergence time compared to a generic ACO approach, the findings of the simulations indicate that the MOACO approach has substantial enhancements up to 22% in path travel time, in terms of solution quality and energy consumption metrics. The findings of the present work offer valuable insights into the design of sustainable robotic systems and underscore the potential of swarm robotics in achieving efficient coverage path planning. This study adds to the overall objective of creating eco-friendly technologies in robotics, leading to upcoming advancements in the industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and the Need for Green Energy)
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19 pages, 5460 KiB  
Article
Contemporary Challenges for Heating Historic Church Buildings from the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
by Robert Cichowicz, Tomasz Jerominko, Tomasz Grzelakowski and Artur Zaguła
Energies 2025, 18(4), 889; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18040889 - 13 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 418
Abstract
Over the past two decades, the construction and architectural industries have increasingly recognized the need to create and maintain a sustainable built environment. This approach emphasizes reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maximizing energy efficiency to minimize environmental impact. Implementing such solutions in new [...] Read more.
Over the past two decades, the construction and architectural industries have increasingly recognized the need to create and maintain a sustainable built environment. This approach emphasizes reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maximizing energy efficiency to minimize environmental impact. Implementing such solutions in new constructions is relatively easy. However, these buildings represent a small fraction of the overall built environment. Most of the built environment is composed of existing facilities, many of which were constructed before the enactment of current environmental regulations or even before the establishment of any standards. Historical objects present a particularly challenging category in this context. The uniqueness of these structures lies not only in their altered or original functions, but also in their vital role as custodians of history and their contributions to the evolution of architecture and art. Consequently, aligning these buildings with sustainability requirements, or even approximating them, is an intricate task. Common approaches are exempting these buildings from adhering to any standards or applying only the most basic and limited criteria. However, this can adversely affect the usability of these structures and the conservation of historically significant construction elements and artifacts. Introducing new solutions into these existing structures presents additional conservation challenges. This article examines the energy efficiency challenges facing three churches in central Poland. The churches exemplify the predominant Christian religious denominations in Middle–Eastern Europe. This study analyzes the architectural characteristics of these churches and includes energy calculations to validate the effectiveness of proposed energy-efficiency measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and the Need for Green Energy)
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16 pages, 2531 KiB  
Article
Modeling and Simulation of Electric Vehicles Charging Services by a Time Colored Petri Net Framework
by Agostino Marcello Mangini, Maria Pia Fanti, Bartolomeo Silvestri, Luigi Ranieri and Michele Roccotelli
Energies 2025, 18(4), 867; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18040867 - 12 Feb 2025
Viewed by 774
Abstract
The transport sector is responsible for about 60% of emissions in the atmosphere due to the exhaust-polluting gases of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. An effective solution to this issue is the electrification of the transport means, which can significantly reduce pollution, especially [...] Read more.
The transport sector is responsible for about 60% of emissions in the atmosphere due to the exhaust-polluting gases of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. An effective solution to this issue is the electrification of the transport means, which can significantly reduce pollution, especially in urban areas. Apart from the necessary technological advancements that must improve the battery performances, the diffusion of electric vehicles (EVs) must be further supported and facilitated by new dedicated services and tools for electric vehicle users and operators aiming at improving the travel and charging experience. To this goal, this paper proposes new models based on Timed Colored Petri Nets (TCPN) to simulate and manage the charge demand of the EV fleet. At first, the proposed tool must take into account the charging requests from different EV drivers with different charging need located in different geographical areas. This is possible by knowing input data such as EV current location, battery data, charge points (CPs) availability, and compatibility. In particular, EV drivers are simulated when finding and booking the preferred charge option according to the available infrastructure in the area of interest and the CPs tariff and power rate. The proposed TCPN is designed to model the multi-user charging demand in specific geographic areas, and it is evaluated in several scenarios of a case study to measure its performance in serving multiple EV users. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and the Need for Green Energy)
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16 pages, 720 KiB  
Article
Augmenting Residential AC Electric Water Heating with Dedicated Direct-to-Element DC Solar Photovoltaic
by Daniel Pfister, Arnold Johan Rix and Marthinus Johannes Booysen
Energies 2025, 18(4), 792; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18040792 - 8 Feb 2025
Viewed by 565
Abstract
Residential water heating represents one of the most energy-intensive household applications, particularly in South Africa, where immersed resistive element heating dominates. Solar photovoltaic systems provide a promising solution for augmenting grid-based electrical water heaters, offering energy cost savings and environmental benefits. This study [...] Read more.
Residential water heating represents one of the most energy-intensive household applications, particularly in South Africa, where immersed resistive element heating dominates. Solar photovoltaic systems provide a promising solution for augmenting grid-based electrical water heaters, offering energy cost savings and environmental benefits. This study evaluates a novel approach to integrate solar photovoltaic directly into electrical water heater systems without using inverters. Using a combination of field experiments and simulation, four heating strategies were assessed, namely: “grid only”, “solar medium”, “solar heavy”, and “solar timer”. Metrics such as solar augmentation ratio, solar utilization, and cold event frequency were analyzed for different seasons using real-world and simulated water usage profiles. Results demonstrate significant grid energy reductions through solar augmentation, particularly in warmer seasons. However, the effectiveness of the strategies varies, with increased solar utilization often correlated with a higher frequency of cold events. A hybrid seasonal strategy is proposed to optimize energy savings while maintaining user comfort. This work highlights the potential of direct DC solar photovoltaic integration as a cost-effective and sustainable enhancement for residential water heating. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and the Need for Green Energy)
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Review

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36 pages, 420 KiB  
Review
Hydrogen as a Sustainable Fuel: Transforming Maritime Logistics
by Seyedeh Azadeh Alavi-Borazjani, Shahzada Adeel and Valentina Chkoniya
Energies 2025, 18(5), 1231; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18051231 - 3 Mar 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1570
Abstract
The marine industry, being the backbone of world trade, is under tremendous pressure to reduce its environmental impact, mainly driven by reliance on fossil fuels and significant greenhouse gas emissions. This paper looks at hydrogen as a transformative energy vector for maritime logistics. [...] Read more.
The marine industry, being the backbone of world trade, is under tremendous pressure to reduce its environmental impact, mainly driven by reliance on fossil fuels and significant greenhouse gas emissions. This paper looks at hydrogen as a transformative energy vector for maritime logistics. It delves into the methods of hydrogen production, innovative propulsion technologies, and the environmental advantages of adopting hydrogen. The analysis extends to the economic feasibility of this transition and undertakes a comparative evaluation with other alternative fuels to emphasize the distinct strengths and weaknesses of hydrogen. Furthermore, based on case studies and pilot projects, this study elaborates on how hydrogen can be used in real-world maritime contexts, concluding that the combination of ammonia and green hydrogen in hybrid propulsion systems presents increased flexibility, with ammonia serving as the primary fuel while hydrogen enhances efficiency and powers auxiliary systems. This approach represents a promising solution for reducing the shipping sector’s carbon footprint, enabling the industry to achieve greater sustainability while maintaining the efficiency and scalability essential for global trade. Overall, this work bridges the gap between theoretical concepts and actionable solutions, therefore offering valuable insights into decarbonization in the maritime sector and achieving global sustainability goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and the Need for Green Energy)
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