Energy Potential Mapping for Energy-Producing Neighborhoods

SUSB Journal

Technical Paper

Title No. SUSB-2011/014

DOI: 10.5390/SUSB.2011.2.2.170

Energy Potential Mapping for Energy-Producing Neighborhoods Andy van den Dobbelsteen*, Siebe Broersma, and Sven Stremke Abstract Over the past five years, the method of energy potential mapping (EPM) has evolved from a cartoonish charting of climatic features with energy consequences to a detailed methodology for the development of spatial plans based on energy-effective foundations. By means of EPM the rudimentary features and properties of an area are analyzed, made discrete and translated into maps of the specific area (be it a region, city, district or neighbourhood) depicting potentials for energy supply and generation. In the latest studies in accordance with EPM, these energy potential maps are presented as a stack at different heights (above the surface) and depths (underground), showing the maximum potential of an area. Based on these, a proposal can be made for the spatial organization of the area. In the full paper we will discuss the methodology of EPM and exemplify the method by means of recent studies, in particular De Groene Compagnie (‘The Green Campaign’), a new development area in the north of the Netherlands, which turned out to have the potential to become energy-productive. Keywords: Sustainable development, Energy potential mapping, Energy neutrality, Heat maps, Spatial planning, Regional development, Urban planning

1. BACKGROUND Although the earth receives almost 9000 times more energy from the sun than that mankind needs, energy is becoming a huge problem. Western societies heavily rely on energy, fossil fuels in particular. The Netherlands for instance produces less than 4% of its energy by means of sustainable sources [1]. The rest is fossils and a bit of imported nuclear energy. As Mackay [2] demonstrated, it is very difficult to establish a society fully run on renewables. However, Cullen and Alwood [3] showed that most of the energy we use is lost as non-functional waste energy. So the initial demand can be reduced by more effective usage, such as by low-exergy means [4]. Estimates of resources fluctuate, but it is apparent to both energy experts and oil companies that the end is coming near. We have passed peak oil [5]: these days we consume more oil than can be produced. That this is a literally dangerous situation was demonstrated by the two gulf wars and recent turmoil around gas from Russia (first: Ukraine disconnected, second: Belarus threatening to halt the throughput of Russian gas). Apart from this international perspective and its influence on the price of energy, few people from the West understand how dependent they have become on energy, and that a collapse in the provision would have devastating effects to everyday life. Last but certainly not least, the western hunger – or rather thirst – for energy is severely limiting the opportunities of * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] Article history Received February21, 2011 Accepted May 15, 2011 ©2011 SUSB Press. All rights reserved.

170

SUSB Vol.2 No.2 Jun.2011

developing and emerging regions to catch up in prosperity. As Fig.1 indicates, western countries owe their prosperity to limited use of energy in other parts of the world. Needless to say this situation deviates strongly from the equity goals posed by the Brundtland Committee in 1987 [6].

Fig.1 Developed countries above the equator infest on other regions for energy… Countries and the area of land respective to the amount of fuel they consume [7]

The abundance – until now – and relatively cheap and easy access to fossil energy has made the world lazy and inactive to search for local possibilities that would avoid demand from alien energy in the first place. We need to learn this again: planning and designing in such a way that local resources are optimally seized before any demand is posed upon other areas. Energy Potential Mapping (EPM) can support this.

A. Dobbelsteen, S. Broersma, and S. Stremke

Andy van den Dobbelsteen is full professor of Climate Design & Sustainability and coordinator of the Green Building Innovation research program of the Faculty of Architecture in Delft. Amongst others, he developed the method of Energy Potential Mapping (EPM) and the Rotterdam Energy Approach & Planning (REAP). Siebe Broersma is researcher with the chair of Climate Design & Sustainability, conducting various studies on energy potential mapping and sustainable building. He did his MSc thesis on facade-integrated PV systems. Sven Stremke is assistant professor with the chair of Landscape Architecture, involved with research and education in the area of energy and exergy landscapes, connecting these to theories on ecology. In the year 2010 he finished his PhD thesis on Designing Sustainable Energy Landscapes.

2. THE BOND BETWEEN ENERGY AND SPATIAL PLANNING More than half of the energy consumption in the developed world is related to the distribution of land uses [8]. Energyconscious design criteria are often limited to the building [9] or neighborhood scale [10]. Although a number of municipalities, such as Kalundborg (Denmark), and Güssing (Austria), have practiced energy-conscious planning and design at larger scales, projects focusing on either urban or rural environments miss some of the potential benefits when these two complementary realms merge at the regional scale [11]. Already in 1992 Strong stressed that “the whole concept of human settlements needs to be rethought, including (…] the broader issues of land use and urban planning” [12]. More recently, the inclusion in spatial planning of energy, particularly and most noticeably exergy, has received considerable attention from various disciplines [13, 14]. Stremke et al. [4] call this ‘second-law thinking’, referring to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Energy, secondlaw thinking in particular, and identifying means to decrease exergy consumption in the built environment is ever more new incentive for sustainable urban planning [e.g. 15, 16]. Several low-exergy (Low-Ex) neighborhoods based on the relationship between energy and space are under construction

[17]. Despite these achievements, in general, knowledge gaps exist in energy-conscious spatial planning and design. The relationship between energy (quality) and regional and urban design is not well understood on both sides of the spectrum between spatial planning and energy technology. This is especially problematic because the concepts of energy - exergy as well as entropy – are essential for sustainable development [18]. The method of Energy Potential Mapping can support a better understanding of the relationship between space and energy and form the basis for energyor exergy-based spatial planning. 3. ENERGY POTENTIAL MAPPING 3.1 Introduction In order to build a better, more sustainable built environment that swallows less (fossil) energy, it is important to take local available recourses into account when designing and making plans. The method of Energy Potential Mapping (EPM) has especially been designed to do this. The aim of EPM is to chart and quantify all different local potentials – on various scales, depending on the area of study – as clearly as possible. In this way the use of available potentials can even play a directive role in the design for urban patterns. Already in an early stage of the planning and designing process, the maps can contribute and be a helpful tool in locating different functions at the right positions on the urban and regional level and in elaborating their sustainable energy supplies. 3.2 Methodology With its origins in the Grounds for Change study [19], the method of EPM has evolved from a cartoonish charting of climatic features with energy consequences to a detailed methodology. The methodology results in orderly readable maps, contributing in the development of spatial plans based on energy-effective foundations.

Fig.2 Graphical outline of the method of EPM [20]

International Journal of Sustainable Building Technology and Urban Development / June 2011

171

Fig.3 Overlay map of the most significant energy potentials of the Dutch province of Groningen [20]

In the evolving process, the method obtained a structured approach of analyses of local properties, characteristics and features that, in the next step, are converted into quantified energy potentials for fuels, heat and cold, electricity and CO2 capture and sequestration. All maps joined together form a useful tool in the process of planning by visualizing all local energy potentials. Figure 2 clarifies the method of EPM. In the following sections, the most important executed EPM case studies are being described, exemplifying the method more clearly. 4. EPM CASE STUDIES 4.1 Province of Groningen For the Dutch Province of Groningen an EPM study was conducted to support the new provincial environmental plan (‘POP’ in Dutch). In the Netherlands this was the very first occasion where energy was taken into account in spatial planning, in this case at the regional level. Energy potential maps for fuels, heat and cold, electricity and carbon capture was done to determine the best locations for new developments or redevelopments from a sustainable energy point of view. Figure 3 shows the overlay map of most interesting energy potentials. The study produced interesting geological directions, for instance to optimally use waste heat from industries or where heat and cold could be easily stored in the underground [20]. 4.2 Municipality of Almere The city of Almere, not far from the Dutch capital of

172


Amsterdam, was selected by the national government as growth area that will have to expand from 75,000 households to 100,000-135,000 in 2030. The Municipality of Almere had pointed out four areas where the city could expand or grow through redevelopment. TU Delft was asked to execute EPM studies on two scales: the metropolitan area of Almere and its environs and each expansion area. Eventually only two EPM studies were commissioned: the large-scale one and one for Almere-Oost, the new eastern district of Almere. The EPM study of Almere-Oost [21] had to provide input for the new urban plan, involving local sustainable energy resources. Beforehand, four urban alternatives had already been proposed. Because of the presence of relatively large farms in this area, each with a considerable amount of organic or animal waste, energetically autonomous clusters can be formed of one farm along with about 30 dwellings. Only the northern edge of the area turned out to be appropriate for the storage of heat and cold in an open aquifer, which

Fig.4 Two urban extension variants for Almere East, based on the local energy potentials [21]


allows a mix of functions (housing combined with offices, retail and light industry) in high density, through which the required number of households could be met while leaving the agricultural land open, in contrast to the urban alternatives proposed. Figure 4 shows two alternatives proposed on the basis of energy potentials. 4.3 District of De Groene Compagnie De Groene Compagnie ('The Green Campaign') is a new to be built district south of the town of Hoogezand in the province of Groningen. Already in the earliest phase of the development of this area an EPM research was executed to contribute to the urban plan [22]. In a previous energy research for the airport area of Schiphol, stacked maps appeared for the first time, showing all energy potentials in one overview. In the Hoogezand research, the stacked maps, with one map for each form of available energy, clarified the local potentials yet even clearer. Not only the theoretical potentials were visualized, but also realistically harvestable amounts of energy, taking into account technical efficiencies. These were calculated and presentedby horizontal comparable bars next to each map. Together with the piles of the electric and thermal future energy demand of the neighborhood, the potentials deployed turned out to be several times larger than the total demand. This was without large interventions such as building solar power plants or turning agriculture from producing food into energy crops. This not only means that it is easy to pick out some ‘ingredients’ of the various sustainable energy sources to fulfill the demand, but it will also be possible to become an energy-producing neighborhood. Figure 5 shows the energy potential pile for the Green Campaign. With the help of the energy potential map for De Groene Compagnie, three different types of urban plans with completely different sustainable energy systems were proposed. The proposals made clear how the different local energy potencies could be exploited. At the relative small scale for which this EPM research had been executed, it was possible to calculate exact amounts of producible biogas of local farms. At a spot near a specific chicken farm with very good potential for heat and cold storage in the underground, an energy-neutral neighborhood was proposed, seizing these local potentials. The neighborhood of 150 households would get its electric and thermal energy from a small CHP (Combined Heat and Power) running on biogas locally produced out of the chicken manure. The heat produced in summertime would be stored in the underground and used during colder periods. A small heat network would provide the dwellings with the heatrequired. Another interesting example from the study was a neighborhood where all dwellers would become shareholders in their own energy company, which by increasing occupancy could grow and produce ever more energy exceeding the local needs. The study was well-received and Hoogezand is currently

elaborating the plan. 5. Outlook Energy Potential Mapping has proven to be very useful in spatial planning at various scales: the country, region, city, district and neighborhood. It will support the insight into the spatial distribution of energy in a particular, hence specific, area and facilitate a built environment that more effectively seizes local energy opportunities before requiring import from elsewhere. Thus these areas can become more self-sufficient and in some cases energy-producing, as De Groene Compagnie indicated. 5.1 Heat maps of the Netherlands The latest example of EPM research was recently finished. It concerns a study done for the Dutch energy research agency Agentschap NL, in which (only) different types of thermal energy werecharted [23]. For the first time the goal was to map these on a national scale (Fig.6). To visualize the different heat sources and sinks, for the first time the potential maps were executed as 3-dimensional maps with stepped reliefs and piles. Spots with a specific energy demand or potential were pulled out or down in accordance with the amount of energy available or required, whereas greater areas with a specific demand or potential, were pulled out or down as a plane with a specific energy demand per hectare. Technical potentials such as residual heat from power plants, waste incinerators, other industries or supermarkets were presented as piles on top of the map; technical ‘spot demands’ such as hospitals and swimming pools formed ‘negative’ piles. Areas with specific demands or potentials such as residential areas or greenhouses were madevisible as planes just as natural potentials from the underground or from the sun. These natural potentials were quantified by their useful potential. This means that potentials from solar heat, for instance,were quantified to the harvestable amount of heat from solar collectors mounted on suitable roofs or from heat collectors integrated in tarmac roads. Simultaneously some exemplary maps were made of regional areas, zooming in onto the scale of a municipality. This was executed for the city harbors of Rotterdam and the smaller rural city of Emmen with its surroundings (Fig.7). This scale showed more detailed heat supply and demand. The heat maps only concerned types of energy that were connected to their location, since thermal energy can only be exported over small distances via heat networks. Other forms of energy, such as electricity or bio-fuels, are easier to transport over a longer distance. They may be available or suitable to be produced on the spot but not necessarily consumed nearby. For this reason, not only thermal potentials werecharted; the demand side of thermal energy was also emphasized. All heat potentials and demands wereconverted to comparable quantities in GJ or GJ/hectare. For planners this makes opportunities in sustainable interventions clearly visible: peaks and dips of comparable size offer great possibilities in CO2 reduction by connecting them.


173

Fig.5 The stacked energy potential pile of ‘De Groene Compagnie’ in Hoogezand [22]

174



Fig.6 Heat map of the Netherlands, depicting all heat demand and availability, both natural (relatively constant over the country) and technical, anthropogenic (local, district) [23]

municipalities, provinces and research centers. New existing amounts of residual heat from industries would be mapped each time if data comes available. The exergetic value or energy quality (e.g. temperature levels) of sources and sinks are essential for a proper matching of supply and demand. Amounts of energythat are already used and connected with heat grids can be charted as well. A digital map in the form of Google Maps offers the possibilities to zoom in and out to different scales where each time new information pops up, fitting to its scale. More data can be found behind the different energetic interventions on the map, by clicking on it; information on amounts, temperatures, and division of availability during day time and during the year. Information of the underground, such as geothermal energy and potentials for heat and cold storage, will become more available. The Dutch research institute TNO recently launched the digital program of ThermoGIS (www.thermogis.nl). By means of this, for the first time, quantified potential maps of the underground on the national scale are extractable from this program. These digital maps of the underground will be a useful addition to the digital potential maps. REFERENCES

Fig.7 Detailed heat map of the central district of the city of Rotterdam: hollow cores indicate heat demands, full cores and layers are heat potentials, natural and anthropogenic [23]

5.2 Future steps for EPM A logical next step in further evolving energy potential maps would be to make digital 3-dimensional charts that can be updated real-time by different stakeholders as

[1] CBS, “Duurzame energie in Nederland,” CBS, Heerlen, 2008. [2] MacKay, D.J.C., “Sustainable Energy - without the hot air,” UIT Cambridge Ltd, Cambridge, 2009. [3] Cullen, J.M., Allwood, J.M., “The efficient use of energy: tracing the global flow of energy from fuel to service,” Energy Policy, Vol. 38, No. 1, 2010, pp. 75-81. [4] Stremke, S., Dobbelsteen, A. Van den and Koh, J., “Exergy landscapes: Exploration of second-law thinking towards sustainable landscape design,” International Journal of Exergy, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2011, pp. 148-174. [5] ITPOES (Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil & Energy Security), “The Oil Crunch – A wake-up call for the UK economy,” http://peakoiltaskforce.net, February 2010. [6] Brundtland, G.H. (ed.) et al., “World Commission on Environment and Development,” Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York, 1987. [7] Dorling, D., Newman, M. and Barford, A., “The Atlas of the Real World - Mapping the way we live,” Thomas & Hudson, 2009. [8] Owens S.E., “Land use planning for energy efficiency,” Cullingworth, J.B. (Ed.), Energy, Land, and Public Policy, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, 1990, pp. 53-98. [9] Williams, D.E., “Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture, and Planning,” John Wiley, Hoboken, 2007. [10] Witberg, N., Zinger, E., “Nationaal Pakket Duurzame Stedebouw,” Nationaal Dubo Centrum, Rotterdam, 1990. [11] Stremke, S., Koh, J., “Ecological concepts and strategies with relevance to energy conscious spatial planning and design,” Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, Vol. 37, 2010, pp. 518–532. [12] Strong, M.F., “Energy, environment and development,” Energy Policy, Vol. 20, 1992, pp. 490–494. [13] Dwulf, J., Van Langenhove, H., Muys, B., Bruers, S., Bakshi, B., Grubb, G., Paulus, D. and Sciubba, E., “Exergy: its potential and limitations in environmental science and Technology,” Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 42, No. 7, 2008, pp. 2221–2232.


175

[14] Dincer, I., “The role of exergy in energy policy making,” Energy Policy, Vol. 30, No. 2, 2002, pp. 137–149. [15] Balocco, C., Grazzini, G., “Thermodynamic parameters for energy sustainability of urban areas,” Solar Energy, Vol. 69, No. 4, 2000, pp. 351–356. [16] LowEx, Network of International Society for Low Exergy Systems in Buildings. http://www.lowex.net, accessed 10/10/ 2009. [17] Schmidt, D., Fazio, P., Ge, H., Rao, J. and Desmarais, G. (Eds.), “Exergy-conscious design in the built environment,” Research in Building Physics and Building Engineering, Taylor &Francis, London,2006, pp. 563–569. [18] Dincer, I., Rosen, M.A., “Exergy, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development,” Elsevier, Oxford, 2007. [19] Roggema, R., Dobbelsteen, A.,Van den and Stegenga, K. (eds.), “Pallet of Possibilities - Bridging to the Future, Spatial Team, Grounds for Change,” Province of Groningen, Groningen, 2006

176


[20] Dobbelsteen, A., Van den, Jansen, S., Timmeren, A. Van and Roggema, R., “Energy Potential Mapping - A systematic approach to sustainable regional planning based on climate change, local potentials and exergy,” Proceedings of the CIB World Building Congress 2007, CIB/CSIR, Cape Town, 2007. [21] Dobbelsteen, A., Van den, Grinten, B. Van der, Timmeren, A., Van, and Veldhuisen, S., “Energiepotenties Almere Energiepotentiestudie Almere-Oost,” TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture, 2008. [22] Broersma, S., Dobbelsteen, A. van den, Grinten, B. van der and Stremke, S., “Energiepotenties Groningen - Energiepotentiestudie De Groene Compagnie,” TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture, 2009. [23] Broersma, S., Fremouw, M., Dobbelsteen, A. van den and Rovers, R., “Warmtekaarten - Nederlandse warmtekarakteristieken in kaart gebracht,” TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture, 2010.
