Shaping energy transition at municipal scale: A net-zero energy scenario-based approach

In recent years, it has become apparent that both policymaking and planning need to promote energy transition, linking its spatial dimensions to the sustainable development of territories. However, the interactions and implication of this process for urban and rural regions are uncertain, dynamic and complex, increasing pressure on local actors. This study focusses on the municipal scale, developing a Net-Zero Energy scenario-based approach to strengthening the integration of renewable energy production and energy efficiency into the formulation of policies and spatial planning. Here, the concept of energy balance is adopted to plan the municipality as a self-reliant system able to anticipate and adapt to future transformations and changes associated with energy transition. Using as a case study a Portuguese municipality with 73 % of land occupied by rural areas and about 27 % by urbanised areas, the method qualifies and quantifies the spatial relationships associated with the energy balance, combining energy statistics with Land Use dataset and vectorial layers, in a GIS environment. Results reveal how shaping energy transition depends on the understanding of both the spatial and functional dimensions of urban and rural land-use, which should be the core focus to developing incremental and adaptive place-based policies toward net-zero energy municipalities.