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Reaching energy autonomy in a medium‐sized city – three scenarios to model possible future energy developments in the residential building sector
Author(s) -
Dobler Claudia,
Pfeifer Dominik,
Streicher Wolfgang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
sustainable development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.115
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1099-1719
pISSN - 0968-0802
DOI - 10.1002/sd.1855
Subject(s) - scenario analysis , fossil fuel , renewable energy , energy transition , energy sector , environmental economics , natural resource economics , business , environmental science , architectural engineering , economics , engineering , waste management , medicine , alternative medicine , panacea (medicine) , electrical engineering , finance , pathology
Abstract A city energy model was developed to demonstrate possible future trajectories for the residential building sector up until 2050 for the city of Innsbruck in Austria, a medium‐sized city in the Austrian Alps. It examines final and delivered energy, respectively, from a demand side perspective. Three different scenarios are defined to illustrate the range of future developments in the residential building sector (scenario analysis). The base scenario 1 represents a continuation of recent trends (business‐as‐usual). The middle course scenario 2 is characterized by stricter thermal standards for the building envelope and a beginning of withdrawal from fossil fuels from 2031. The target scenario 3 objective is specified as a 50% reduction in delivered energy and a complete transition to renewable energies by 2050. Scenario 3 differs from scenario 2 primarily in the aspect of an earlier implementation date for certain measures, for example, the beginning of the withdrawal from fossil fuels is scheduled for 2021.