Urban Energy Systems: Challenges and Prospects for a Sustainable Future
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B: Energy and Environment".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2025 | Viewed by 42
Special Issue Editors
Interests: building; energy systems; thermal energy systems; CHP; optimization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Urban areas present both a challenge and an opportunity for climate action. They are responsible for 75% of greenhouse gas emissions and are also highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. As countries transition their energy supply systems towards net-zero emission targets, a holistic and multi-sectoral approach is crucial to ensure that the proposed efficient and cost-effective solutions are aligned with sustainable development goals and transcend into practical implementation.
This Special Issue focuses on the challenges and prospects in urban energy systems, exploring the dimensions of the energy trilemma: energy security, energy equity, and environmental sustainability. The sustainable transition of cities requires a coordinated effort towards the implementation of innovative technologies that valorize local resources, harness environmental and waste energy sources, and integrate into existing and future energy infrastructure (e.g., district energy networks) to meet urban heating and cooling needs across the territory, from building to national scales. Additionally, the increased relevance of prosumers and social behavioral changes, such as mobility, will strain existing energy distribution infrastructure, demanding new frameworks for planning and control to ensure supply security. Finally, social actors’ abilities to influence energy-related issues must be considered in assessing the effectiveness of climate change policies.
Dr. Eduardo Antonio Pina
Dr. Ana Catarina Gouveia Braz
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- urban energy systems
- socio-technical transition
- district heating and cooling networks
- optimization
- energy modeling
- energy transition
- energy hubs
- waste heat valorization
- energy storage
- waste-water-energy nexus
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