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Energies
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Solar PV Potential at Urban Scale: From Buildings to Cities
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Solar PV Potential at Urban Scale: From Buildings to Cities

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2020) | Viewed by 15744

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Estefanía Caamaño-Martín

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Energía Solar, E.T.S. Ingenieros de Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Av. Complutense 30, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: active demand-side management; building integration; decentralized PV applications; PV rural electrification
Dr. Miguel Centeno Brito

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: solar radiation; photovoltaics; sustainable energy systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The integration of photovoltaic electricity in distribution grids is nowadays a reality worldwide, as a result of longstanding efforts from technological, economic, political, and social perspectives done in the last 40 years. However, an effective energy transition requires transforming our cities from being large energy sinks into energy-efficient and self-sufficient systems.

Solar photovoltaics is ready to be incorporated into buildings and urban spaces, and different tools already exist to address urban integration at all spatial resolutions, from urban to building levels. With the increasing cost-effectiveness of PV electricity in already mature and novel markets and the progressive electrification of economies, new topics have become increasingly relevant such as demanding the supply possibilities of PV at different scales (from individual buildings to blocks and districts) combined with load management and distributed storage (fixed and mobile, i.e., electric mobility; and individual and community-shared), building retrofit strategies with embedded PV solutions, 3D urban modelling for dynamic assessment of PV multi-functional properties, etc.

With these aspects in mind, this Special Issue of Energies journal entitled "Solar PV Potential at Urban Scale: From Buildings to Cities" aims to collect outstanding research and development outcomes and experiences from all over the world that will contribute to making PV potential a quantifiable reality in our cities in the near future. Please join!

Prof. Dr. Estefanía Caamaño-Martín
Prof. Dr. Miguel Centeno Brito
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

  • solar potential mapping 
  • distributed generation 
  • demand 
  • distributed storage 
  • urban modelling
  • validation of models

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 15382 KiB  
Article
A Methodological Analysis Approach to Assess Solar Energy Potential at the Neighborhood Scale
by Gabriele Lobaccaro, Malgorzata Maria Lisowska, Erika Saretta, Pierluigi Bonomo and Francesco Frontini
Energies 2019, 12(18), 3554; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12183554 - 17 Sep 2019
Cited by 43 | Viewed by 7218
Abstract
Rapid and uncontrolled urbanization is continuously increasing buildings’ energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. In this scenario, solar energy integrated into the built environment can play an important role in optimizing the use of renewable energy sources on urban surfaces. [...] Read more.
Rapid and uncontrolled urbanization is continuously increasing buildings’ energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. In this scenario, solar energy integrated into the built environment can play an important role in optimizing the use of renewable energy sources on urban surfaces. Preliminary solar analyses to map the solar accessibility and solar potential of building surfaces (roofs and façades) should become a common practice among urban planners, architects, and public authorities. This paper presents an approach to support urban actors to assess solar energy potential at the neighborhood scale and to address the use of solar energy by considering overshadowing effects and solar inter-building reflections in accordance with urban morphology and building characteristics. The approach starts with urban analysis and solar irradiation analysis to elaborate solar mapping of façades and roofs. Data processing allows assessment of the solar potential of the whole case study neighborhood of Sluppen in Trondheim (Norway) by localizing the most radiated parts of buildings’ surfaces. Reduction factors defined by a new method are used to estimate the final solar potential considering shadowing caused by the presence of buildings’ architectural elements (e.g., glazed surfaces, balconies, external staircases, projections) and self-shading. Finally, rough estimation of solar energy generation is assessed by providing preliminary recommendations for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems suited to local conditions. Results show that depending on urban morphology and buildings’ shapes, PV systems can cover more than 40% of the total buildings’ energy needs in Trondheim. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solar PV Potential at Urban Scale: From Buildings to Cities)
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13 pages, 3422 KiB  
Article
3D Solar Potential in the Urban Environment: A Case Study in Lisbon
by Miguel Centeno Brito, Paula Redweik, Cristina Catita, Sara Freitas and Miguel Santos
Energies 2019, 12(18), 3457; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12183457 - 7 Sep 2019
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 3482
Abstract
The assessment of solar potential in the urban environment is an important instrument for policy decision regarding renewable energy deployment in the city. This paper presents an experimentally validated 3D solar potential model for rooftops and facades from LIDAR data considering anisotropic diffuse [...] Read more.
The assessment of solar potential in the urban environment is an important instrument for policy decision regarding renewable energy deployment in the city. This paper presents an experimentally validated 3D solar potential model for rooftops and facades from LIDAR data considering anisotropic diffuse irradiation. The data visualization is rendered in the ArcGIS platform using CityEngine to automatically generate 3D models from 2D geometries. The model is validated against summer and winter measurements of photovoltaic performance on a facade. A case study for two densely packed urban areas in Lisbon, Portugal, are presented. Facades are shown to increase the solar potential by 10 to 15%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solar PV Potential at Urban Scale: From Buildings to Cities)
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17 pages, 5497 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Solar Panel Orientation Considering Temporal Volatility and Scenario-Based Photovoltaic Potential: A Case Study in Seoul National University
by Myeongchan Oh and Hyeong-Dong Park
Energies 2019, 12(17), 3262; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12173262 - 24 Aug 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4404
Abstract
University campuses accommodate large numbers of people and are suitable places to organize a microgrid. The solar potential in the university area is estimated and the optimal orientation of solar panels is presented in this study. The optimal orientation is analyzed considering temporal [...] Read more.
University campuses accommodate large numbers of people and are suitable places to organize a microgrid. The solar potential in the university area is estimated and the optimal orientation of solar panels is presented in this study. The optimal orientation is analyzed considering temporal volatility to increase the stability of the grid. Several variables are selected and scenarios are designed to consider various investments and technologies. Scenario-specific photovoltaic potentials were estimated using Geographic Information Systems analysis technology. Analysis of temporal volatility was conducted based on the difference between demand and supply of electricity. Optimal panel orientations were presented according to project objectives, such as highest efficiency or low volatility. As a result, the total potential of the study area was tens to hundreds of GWh/year depending on the scenario. The university has an advantage in hourly volatility, but has some problems in monthly volatility. The optimal orientation varies according to objectives and solar power supply ratio. The results of this study are expected to help researchers and technicians in the solar energy industry and assist in urban planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solar PV Potential at Urban Scale: From Buildings to Cities)
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