Tanaka N. (Ed.) Cities, Towns and Renewable Energy - Yes In My Front Yard

International Energy Agency (IEA) & OECD, 2009. — 186 p. — ISBN 9789264076884.It is within the powers of local governments to influence the energy choices of their citizens. Several leading and progressive cities and towns have already taken innovative decisions to enhance the deployment and use of renewable energy resources within their geographic boundaries. Since the beginning of this decade, and for the first time ever, over 50% of the world’s population now live in urban environments. This proportion will continue to grow over the next few decades. The energy infrastructure that every city and town depends on will therefore need to be continually adapted and upgraded if it is to meet the ever-increasing demands for energy services. This provides the opportunity for local government leaders to encourage increased deployment of renewable energy systems and hence gain the multi-benefits they offer.This report aims to: inspire the target readership of city mayors, councillors, local captains of industry, managers of small and medium enterprises, and indeed, all members of an urban community, to gain a greater understanding of the potential for renewable energy and to comprehend how its enhanced deployment could benefit local citizens and businesses; provide guidance to national, state and regional government policy-makers as to how to best incentivise their local communities in order to help meet national and international objectives relating to energy use; and enable policy-makers to appreciate the roles that local municipalities might play in increasing the deployment of renewable energy and moving further towards the desired transition from a fossil fuel future to a sustainable energy future.Executive summary
Rationale
Historic context and future projections
The vision
“A Tale of Two Cities”
”Bleak House”
”Great Expectations”
In summary
Current status
Spatial energy densities
In summary
The concept of sustainable energy supply
Distribution of energy through carriers
Storage
Electricity supply systems
Smart metering
Distributed generation
Intelligent grids
Micro-grids, building integration and electric vehicles
Utility restructuring
In summary
Renewable energy resources and technologies
Electricity generation
Solar
Wind
Small hydro and water supply systems
Geothermal
Bioenergy
Heat resources and technologies
Bioenergy
Solar thermal
Geothermal
Hydrogen
District heating and combined heat and power (CHP)
Cooling technologies
In summary
Transport resources and technologies
Electric rail
Electric vehicles
Biofuel production
In summary
Policy options
Influence of national policies
Climate change policies and measuring emissions
Voluntary carbon markets
Distributed energy policies
Heating and cooling policies
In summary
Case studies of cities
Tokyo, Japan
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Geothermal
Bioenergy
Heat resources and technologies
Bioenergy
Solar thermal
Geothermal
Hydrogen
District heating and combined heat and power (CHP)
Cooling technologies
In summary
Transport resources and technologies
Electric rail
Electric vehicles
Biofuel production
In summary
Policy options
Influence of national policies
Climate change policies and measuring emissions
Voluntary carbon markets
Distributed energy policies
Heating and cooling policies
In summary
Case studies of cities
Tokyo, Japan
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Nagpur, Maharashtra, India