Study Note - Renewable Energy in Sustainable Cities

Sustainable cities, or eco-cities, are designed or managed to reduce their carbon footprint. The use of renewable energy technologies are one of the most viable ways of contributing to that goal. Here, we will look at some examples of cities that are implementing large-scale changes to their energy supplies in an attempt to reach sustainability.

Barcelona – solar power

Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain, has committed itself to installing 100,000m2 of solar panels which should reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 15,000 tonnes a year. Barcelona has used regulation rather than just incentives, and every new large building has to have solar panels on the roof. Similar schemes are also in place in Bordeaux.

Vienna – Biomass power plant

In 2006 the largest wood biomass power plant in Europe was finished in Vienna, Austria. The power plant has a capacity of 66MW and provides electricity for 48,000 homes. By burning wood instead of coal or oil the city saves approximately 144,000 tonnes in CO2 emissions each year. The power plant also produces heat for 12,000 homes, reducing the reliance on gas and coal further.

Torraca – LED lights

Traditional filament lights are very inefficient, as it takes a lot of energy to heat a filament to the stage where it produces light. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are far more efficient, and can save energy and, importantly for civic authorities, money. The town of Torraca switched all its street lighting to LED bulbs powered by solar panels, saving 70% in energy and maintenance costs. Torraca is a good example to use, as it has built its own solar energy plants to provide power, but other examples include Boston, MA and Toronto, Canada.

Copenhagen – Wind power

Copenhagen, well known as a city in the midst of climate science thanks to the IPCC Convention of 2009, has recently taken part in two large offshore wind farms which provides power to the city. The success of this particular campaign lies in the co-operative nature of it, as local families can become shareholders, a position that brings with it tax incentives.

Reykjavik – Geothermal energy

Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, gets 95% of its energy from geothermal sources, and has done for a while (the first geothermal energy supply was established in 1930). The use of geothermal energy has prevented an estimated 110,000,000 tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmostphere since 1944.