Volume 7: Urban Energy Systems: Building, Transport, Environment, Industry, and Integration

Transition Towards Low Carbon Cities Using Renewable and Waste- To-Energy Technologies: A Singapore Case Study Lanyu Li, Marc Bordui, Chi-Hwa Wang, Xiaonan Wang*

Abstract

Energy consumption in cities can be a great environmental burden. Renewable energy and waste-to- energy technologies are promising methods to assist the transition of energy- and carbon-intensive urban environment towards low carbon cities. This study aims to investigate the economic and environmental feasibility of renewable energy and waste-to-energy technologies in cities for low carbon transition. Being a well-known city-state, Singapore is taken as an example for the case study. An optimization-based decision support framework is used to estimate the optimum energy mix that minimizes the greenhouse gas emissions of the urban energy system while meeting the energy demand of Singapore. It is found by incorporating solar PV and waste-to-energy facilities to the current natural gas dominating energy system, a 9-10% of renewable energy penetration is achievable in Singapore.

Keywords urban energy systems, hybrid renewable energy system, wastes to energy and resources, urban emissions mitigation, biochar