REPOSITORY > RESULTS

Abstract

Achieving ambitious targets for energy efficiency, increasing the share of renewable energy and
accelerating the transition to a climate-neutral society faces a number of technical, environmental
and social barriers. Challenges include the difficulty of siting energy facilities, balancing public
benefits, bottlenecks in energy infrastructure, fluctuations in the energy market and the frequency
of energy infrastructure incidents. These challenges underline the need for a systematic and
integrated approach to energy systems planning.
In this context, local energy communities are becoming an important instrument for achieving
the goals of a just transition towards a climate-neutral society. Nevertheless, the participation of
energy-intensive companies in joint projects with local communities remains relatively limited.
Moreover, sustainable energy projects implemented within these communities often do not
provide optimal solutions for the whole community.
This dissertation focuses on the development of a scientific basis for advanced analyses and
tools, including the improvement of the systematic planning of local energy infrastructure and
sustainable energy projects and the optimal integration of energy sectors.
In order to systematically model the energy systems under consideration and to involve all
relevant actors in the process of sustainable local energy system planning, a reference architecture
of the Energy Community Model has been developed. The proposed methodology has been tested
on a practical example of the use of excess heat from the production process of an energy intensive
company to improve the energy efficiency of its own processes and to provide heat to the local
community.
The objectives of the local (energy) community should cover environmental, energy, social,
economic and other aspects. Local communities should develop implementation strategies and
measure the success of their implementation. It is therefore crucial to clearly define the national
context of sustainable development and to monitor the implementation of the selected strategies
in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals. The thesis proposes a process for developing
strategies for sustainable local planning and integration of energy sectors, which has been tested
by analysing the local environment and developing alternative contents for a Local Energy
Concept for a local community in Slovenia.
Coherent planning and operation of the energy system as a whole is key to an efficient,
affordable and thoroughly decarbonised society. This is the only way to reduce the costs of the
transition to a climate-neutral society and to fairly integrate the long-term interests of all relevant
stakeholders.