{"id":1566,"date":"2020-07-29T14:29:49","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T14:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regalgrid.com\/magazine\/dalle-energy-community-alla-smart-city-verso-un-mondo-sempre-piu-intelligente\/"},"modified":"2024-09-25T12:59:03","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T12:59:03","slug":"smart-city-2","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/magazine\/smart-city-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The energy communities as driver of smart cities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Long recognised as hubs driving innovation and cultural evolution,\u00a0<strong>cities\u00a0<\/strong>are again the centre of attention, and not just for us, due to their role in the unrelenting development of all things \u201c<strong>smart<\/strong>\u201d. This term should be interpreted with its full range of meaning, including intelligence and even\u00a0<strong>awareness<\/strong>.\u00a0<strong>Technology that is truly at our service<\/strong>, in all aspects of life, should offer awareness of the\u00a0<strong>fundamental parameters of daily life<\/strong>, allowing lifestyle improvements. From phones to watches, right through to homes, and energy meters, grids and smart energy communities. The next stop:\u00a0<strong>Smart Cities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Smart cities are a key component of the United Nations goals.<\/h2>\n<p>In fact, when we talk about\u00a0<strong>digital energy<\/strong>, it is unavoidable to also discuss\u00a0<strong>urban centres<\/strong>, where it prospers: according to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/eurostat\/statistics-explained\/index.php\/Statistics_on_European_cities#Population\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eurostat data<\/a>, urban centres contain 75% of the European population, along with the relative energy consumption and carbon footprint.<\/p>\n<p>Taking a step back and considering the planet as a whole, this percentage drops to 50%, but the numbers are growing. According to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/unric.org\/en\/sdg-11\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Nations<\/a>, today there are 3.5 billion people living in urban areas globally, and this will grow by at least 10 percentage points by 2030. Covering just 3% of the earth&#8217;s surface, cities are responsible for at least 60% of world energy consumption and 75% of carbon emissions.<\/p>\n<p>Based on these figures, the natural evolution of cities towards a smart future will have to include crucial attention to\u00a0<strong>environmental sustainability<\/strong>\u00a0as a fundamental principle, promoted by the\u00a0<strong>digital transformation\u00a0<\/strong>to achieve goal no. 11 of the UN Agenda 2030:\u00a0<strong>\u201cMake cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0There are two targets that are particularly relevant here:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization<\/strong>\u00a0and capacity for\u00a0<strong>participatory, integrated and sustainable<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>human settlement<\/strong>\u00a0planning and management in all countries;<\/li>\n<li><strong>reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities<\/strong>, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The European Union\u00a0<strong>Urban Agenda<\/strong>, launched in 2016 with the\u00a0<strong>Pact of Amsterdam<\/strong>, follows the indications of the United Nations and forms part of a process of growth that also includes the Clean Energy Package.<\/p>\n<p><strong>At the service of the people living in them<\/strong>, smart cities must therefore hold this as their mission, alongside and inextricably tied to other spheres that characterise cities of the future.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Features of a smart city<\/h2>\n<p>As with all other smart entities, smart cities represent\u00a0<strong>far more than simply integrating technology into daily life<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>According to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/energy\/topics\/technology-and-innovation\/energy-and-smart-cities_en?redir=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">EU<\/a>, a smart city must\u00a0<strong>aim<\/strong>\u00a0to offer greater\u00a0<strong>awareness<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0<strong>improve<\/strong>\u00a0various aspects of the\u00a0<strong>lives<\/strong>\u00a0of its\u00a0<strong>citizens<\/strong>, starting from their participation in public life and services offered by the public administration. In a smart city, people are at the centre of the collective thought process and are involved in decision making and growth, driving\u00a0<strong>inclusiveness<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>participatory policy<\/strong>. The web and digital channels in general have allowed proliferation of ideas originating from virtual sharing, with\u00a0<strong>a bottom-up dynamic<\/strong>. The public administration has to respond to these\u00a0<strong>smart citizens<\/strong>\u00a0with the same energy and readiness to reform local bureaucracy. In the same vein,\u00a0<strong>businesses\u00a0<\/strong>also need to be promoted and spotlighted by new technology, in a context of\u00a0<strong>participatory economics<\/strong>, and\u00a0<strong>increased productivity and employment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The focus of smart cities on well-being of citizens must regard services for\u00a0<strong>health<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>education<\/strong>, key aspects of daily life with significant scope for technological improvement, as we have seen during the period of lockdown, e.g. via remote learning. It is also important not to overlook\u00a0<strong>safety<\/strong>: innovation can allow real-time control and warning systems to effectively combat crime and make public spaces safer, giving new life and purpose to such areas.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s get right to the heart of what a \u201csmart city\u201d really is, which is particularly relevant for us.<\/p>\n<p>A smart city focuses on\u00a0<strong>smart mobility<\/strong>: from\u00a0<strong>shared mobility<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0<strong>slow mobility<\/strong>, which involves rethinking the flows of traffic of citizens to promote use of bicycles or travelling on foot, and through to\u00a0<strong>e-mobility<\/strong>, i.e. electric public transport powered with photovoltaic systems, as well as\u00a0<strong>smart parking\u00a0<\/strong>systems that ease traffic, optimising average parking times. All of these solutions reduce the environmental impact of the city, increasing energy savings and reducing long-term costs.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, but certainly the most important aspect of the\u00a0<strong>smart environment\u00a0<\/strong>for us, is the category including all solutions introduced to drastically\u00a0<strong>cut energy wastage, greenhouse gas emissions and waste<\/strong>. Environmentally sustainable development is founded on concepts that we value greatly:\u00a0<strong>energy upgrading<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>increasing efficiency\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>smart and digital energy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Energy communities as a driver of smart cities<\/h2>\n<p>This aspect of smart cities requires the creation of a\u00a0<strong>smart grid<\/strong>\u00a0connecting\u00a0<strong>smart buildings<\/strong>\u00a0capable of\u00a0<strong>optimising<\/strong>\u00a0their\u00a0<strong>consumption<\/strong>: in short, a\u00a0<strong>smart grid<\/strong>\u00a0that requires a new,\u00a0<strong>decentralised, local and collective energy model<\/strong>, in the form of\u00a0<strong>energy communities<\/strong>. The key thing to highlight here is that not only highly developed cities such as\u00a0<strong>London<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Singapore<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>New York<\/strong>\u00a0are capable of integrating energy communities to increase levels of sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>digital-energy\u00a0<\/strong>revolution can also begin from small urban centres. Energy communities can already prosper in\u00a0<strong>towns and cities of any size<\/strong>, simplifying citizen\u2019s lives, making them more aware of their energy consumption and allowing them to optimise consumption through sharing. Dimensions and concentration do not affect the natural suitability of urban centres for energy sharing. It is in cities with a\u00a0<strong>variety of energy profiles<\/strong>\u00a0combined intelligently via Regalgrid\u2019s algorithms where perfect energy communities can be created. Currently, the true requirements to launch an energy community are related to the individual residential units, which must be powered by the same low or medium-voltage transformer substation, and a desire to be part of the energy of tomorrow. Regalgrid\u2019s\u00a0<strong>SNOCU<\/strong>\u00a0units allow anybody to be an\u00a0<strong>actor of change<\/strong>, whether you are an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/magazine\/the-artisan-new-promoter-of-energy-community\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">artisan<\/a>, commercial business, public administration or simply a citizen, and whether you have a photovoltaic system, storage system or you are just a\u00a0<strong>consumer<\/strong>. This revolution in the energy sector is the first essential step towards the broader innovation characterising smart cities.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":4380,"parent":0,"template":"","category-magazine":[42],"class_list":["post-1566","magazine","type-magazine","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine-smart-eco-and-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/magazine"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4382,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1566\/revisions\/4382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category-magazine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category-magazine?post=1566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}