(373z) A Multi-Scale Optimization Framework for a Sustainable Energy Transition in Urban Areas

Urban areas are significant energy consumers, leading to significant environmental impacts. Consequently, they are expected to play a critical role in the energy transition towards sustainable development. Moving towards low-carbon scenarios presents unique challenges, such as integrating diverse renewable energy sources, managing increasing energy demands, and effectively coordinating multiple energy carriers [1-2]. In the past, urban areas were regarded as energy consumers only, and power systems, gas systems, and heating and cooling systems were designed individually and operated separately. Modern urban energy systems design necessitates an integrated approach that complements multi-energy systems, combines different energy processes, coordinates design, installation, operation, and decommissioning phases, and considers trade-offs between multiple criteria, including cost, efficiencies, emissions, and land and material use. An integrated urban energy system design offers a promising approach to holistically address these challenges [3-5]. While several studies have focused on modeling and planning tools for urban energy systems [6-9], there remains a gap in addressing the design of systems that simultaneously consider short- and long-term decisions for electricity, heating, and cooling requirements.

In this work, we propose a mathematical programming optimization framework for the design and planning the infrastructure of energy systems in urban areas. The model aims to determine the optimal configuration and capacity of energy generation and storage units, as well as decisions regarding facility installation and decommissioning, while meeting the demands for electricity, heating, and cooling simultaneously. It considers the intermittency and availability of resources, existing infrastructure and its lifespan, sustainability goals, and policy choices. The proposed framework is applied in a case study focusing on the energy transition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, which has a target of net-zero carbon energy by 2048. Treating the campus as a living laboratory can aid in further developing the model for application in other campuses, towns, cities, or urban areas. The outputs of this model include a scientifically informed and optimized roadmap toward carbon neutrality, along with evaluations of different policy scenarios.

References

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