Browsing by Keyword "Energy transition"
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Item A Characterization of European Collective Action Initiatives and Their Role as Enablers of Citizens’ Participation in the Energy Transition(2021-12-14) Lupi, Veronica; Candelise, Chiara; Calull, Merce Almuni; Delvaux, Sarah; Valkering, Pieter; Hubert, Wit; Sciullo, Alessandro; Ivask, Nele; van der Waal, Esther; Iturriza, Izaskun Jimenez; Paci, Daniele; Della Valle, Nives; Koukoufikis, Giorgos; Dunlop, Tessa; Policies for Innovation and TechnologyThis paper provides novel additional evidence on the characteristics of Collective Action Initiatives (CAIs), investigating their role within the European energy sector. It analyses and presents results of a survey administered in six European countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Estonia, and Spain. CAIs are studied in light of four key dimensions, those being their creation dynamics, the way they are organized, financed, and the activities they undertake. The results presented are also interpreted to reflect on their role as drivers of social innovation (SI) within energy transition in Europe. The analysis shows that the contribution of CAIs to the energy transition has a much wider scope than the development of energy projects and provision of energy services. CAIs are intrinsically socially innovative models of implementation as characterised by a strong level of citizen involvement and participation. Moreover, they have a potential multi-level role in the energy transition, from the technological and social perspectives. Indeed, alongside traditional energy activities, our results show that CAIs are evolving and expanding towards socially innovative activities, raising awareness on environmental issues, promoting citizens’ mobilization, and fostering social inclusion.Item Energy-socio-economic-environmental modelling for the EU energy and post-COVID-19 transitions(2022-01-20) Cazcarro, Ignacio; García-Gusano, Diego; Iribarren, Diego; Linares, Pedro; Romero, José Carlos; Arocena, Pablo; Arto, Iñaki; Banacloche, Santacruz; Lechón, Yolanda; Miguel, Luis Javier; Zafrilla, Jorge; López, Luis-Antonio; Langarita, Raquel; Cadarso, María-Ángeles; Tecnalia Research & Innovation; PLANIFICACIÓN ENERGÉTICARelevant energy questions have arisen because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic shock leads to emissions’ reductions consistent with the rates of decrease required to achieve the Paris Agreement goals. Those unforeseen drastic reductions in emissions are temporary as long as they do not involve structural changes. However, the COVID-19 consequences and the subsequent policy response will affect the economy for decades. Focusing on the EU, this discussion article argues how recovery plans are an opportunity to deepen the way towards a low-carbon economy, improving at the same time employment, health, and equity and the role of modelling tools. Long-term alignment with the low-carbon path and the development of a resilient transition towards renewable sources should guide instruments and policies, conditioning aid to energy-intensive sectors such as transport, tourism, and the automotive industry. However, the potential dangers of short-termism and carbon leakage persist. The current energy-socio-economic-environmental modelling tools are precious to widen the scope and deal with these complex problems. The scientific community has to assess disparate, non-equilibrium, and non-ordinary scenarios, such as sectors and countries lockdowns, drastic changes in consumption patterns, significant investments in renewable energies, and disruptive technologies and incorporate uncertainty analysis. All these instruments will evaluate the cost-effectiveness of decarbonization options and potential consequences on employment, income distribution, and vulnerability.Item Exploring Institutional and Socio-Economic Settings for the Development of Energy Communities in Europe(2022-02-21) Sciullo, Alessandro; Gilcrease, Gregory Winston; Perugini, Mario; Padovan, Dario; Curli, Barbara; Gregg, Jay Sterling; Arrobbio, Osman; Meynaerts, Erika; Delvaux, Sarah; Polo-Alvarez, Lucia; Candelise, Chiara; van der Waal, Esther; van der Windt, Henny; Hubert, Wit; Ivask, Nele; Muiste, Marek; Tecnalia Research & Innovation; Policies for Innovation and TechnologyEnergy communities (ECs), intended as collective action initiatives in the energy field involving citizens’ participation, have been gaining relevance for the past decades as an alternative way to organize the energy chain to challenge the incumbent system. With Europe’s recently adopted Clean Energy Package, ECs found a formal recognition by the European Union as potential actors of the transition of the energy system towards a wider and more decentralized use of renewable sources. Although the potential role of ECs in the transition is therefore hardly questionable, a thorough comprehension of the enabling factors that might foster their diffusion and scaling up is still lacking. Through a comparative analysis of the evolutionary trajectories in six EU countries regarding their energy systems, their regulatory frameworks and their historical evolution of ECs, namely through the example of cooperative models, this paper aims at providing some preliminary evidence about the factors and dynamics that seem to have played, and may play, a role in hampering or facilitating EC model diffusion. Attention is therefore specifically paid to three dimensions of analysis referring to: the energy mix and market structure; the institutional and policy landscape; the wider social attitudes towards environmental issues and cooperation among citizens. In addition to providing a wide comparison of different EU countries, the paper shows that the historical evolution pathways have to be carefully taken into account to understand what might trigger ECs exploitation in the EU.Item Towards an Integrated Approach to Urban Decarbonisation in Practice: The Case of Vitoria-Gasteiz: the case of vitoria-gasteiz(2021-08-07) Urrutia-Azcona, Koldo; Molina-Costa, Patricia; Muñoz, Iñigo; Maya-Drysdale, David; Garcia-Madruga, Carolina; Flores-Abascal, Iván; Tecnalia Research & Innovation; LABORATORIO DE TRANSFORMACIÓN URBANA; GENERAL; PLANIFICACIÓN ENERGÉTICAHow can local authorities effectively approach the decarbonisation of urban environments? Recent efforts to redirect cities into a less energy-intensive model have been mostly approached from a sectoral perspective, with specific energy policies and plans being issued without deeply considering their ties with other urban aspects. In this sense, well-established urban planning procedures have not been part of those, with the consequence of barriers in the implementation phase of those energy plans. The Cities4ZERO methodology was developed to guide effective integration between urban planning and energy policies, plans, and practices. It provides a holistic approach to strategic municipal processes for urban decarbonisation in the mid-long term, which includes key local stakeholders’ engagement into integrated energy planning processes, as well as tools for effective energy decarbonisation modelling. This paper analyses the application of the Cities4ZERO decarbonisation methodology on its strategic stage in the development of Vitoria-Gasteiz’s Action Plan for an Integrated Energy Transition 2030 (APIET 2030). It suggests that in order to accelerate urban decarbonisation, it is critical to: (a) foster interdepartmental collaboration; (b) allow for flexibility on the land-use planning regulations; (c) back decisions with detailed urban-energy models; and (d) truly engage key local stakeholders in the planning and implementation processes.Item Transición energética hacia distritos sostenibles mediante nodos energéticos renovables(2019) Eguiarte-Fernández, Olaia; de Agustin-Camacho, Pablo; Uriarte, Amaia; Usobiaga, Elena; Tecnalia Research & InnovationActualmente, los edificios son los causantes del 36% de las emisiones de CO2 en Europa, lo que los convierte en uno de los objetivos principales de actuacion local para el cumplimiento de los objetivos energeticos y medioambientales de la Union Europea (UE). Para alcanzar la transicion hacia barrios sostenibles y neutros en carbono es necesaria una regeneracion urbana hacia los edificios de consumo casi nulo (nZEB) o incluso, siendo mas ambiciosos, edificios energeticamente positivos. Para conseguirlo, no solo se deben construir nuevos edificios para que cumplan estas exigencias, sino que el parque edificado actual debe ser rehabilitado con el fin de reducir su demanda energetica, la cual deberá ser cubierta en gran medida por energias renovables. Sin embargo, la integracion y gestion de algunas tecnologias, como la solar termica y fotovoltaica, en los edificios presentan un reto debido a la intermitencia de las mismas, el desajuste entre las horas de generacion y las de consumo en sectores como el residencial, o la disponibilidad de espacio para desplegarlas.