Incidence of Photovoltaics in Cities Based on Indicators of Occupancy and Urban Sustainability

Antonio Barragán-Escandón, Esteban Zalamea-León and Julio Terrados-Cepeda
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Antonio Barragán-Escandón: Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Calle Vieja 12-30 y Elia Liut, Cuenca 010102, Ecuador
Esteban Zalamea-León: Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca 010103, Ecuador
Julio Terrados-Cepeda: Department of Graphic Engineering, Design and Projects, Universidad de Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-26

Abstract: Previous research has assessed the potential of solar energy against possible demand; however, the sustainability issues associated with the use of large-scale photovoltaic deployment in urban areas have not been jointly established. In this paper, the impact of photovoltaic energy in the total urban energy mix is estimated using a series of indicators that consider the economic, environmental and social dimensions. These indicators have been previously applied at the country level; the main contribution of this research is applying them at the urban level to the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. Cuenca is close to the equatorial line and at a high altitude, enabling this area to reach the maximum self-supply index because of the high irradiation levels and reduced demand. The solar potential was estimated using a simple methodology that applies several indexes that were proven reliable in a local context considering this particular sun path. The results demonstrate that the solar potential can meet the electric power demand of this city, and only the indicator related to employment is positive and substantially affected. The indicators related to the price of energy, emissions and fossil fuel dependency do not change significantly, unless a fuel-to-electricity transport system conversions take place.

Keywords: urban renewable energy; urban photovoltaics; urban solar potential (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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