Article on energy self-sufficient neighborhoods published
Researchers from SusTec have assessed the how, when and where of self-sufficient energy supply to a solar-powered neighborhood.
Regarding how to design self-sufficient neighborhoods, they find two promising technical configurations. The “PV-battery-hydrogen” configuration is projected to outperform a fossil-fueled and grid-connected reference configuration when energy prices increase by 2.5% annually and cost reductions in hydrogen-related technologies by a factor of two are achieved. Additionally, more cost-efficient deployment is found in neighborhoods where the end-use is small commercial or mixed and in regions where seasonal fluctuations are low and thus allow for reducing storage requirements.
Their findings based on a techno-economic model that assesses the cost of 100% self-sufficiency for both electricity and heat, comparing different technical configurations for a stylized neighborhood.
The article can be found Download here.