Key success factors for global application of micro energy grid model

Abstract As the climate has rapidly changed, the need for reducing carbon emissions in building sectors, especially in sustainable communities and cities has increased. A micro energy grid, a subset of the electricity, gas, and heat energy grid operating either as part of the macro energy grid or autonomously, can be a key solution for the development of sustainable and low carbon cities. Thus, the impact of micro energy grid on the carbon emissions reduction and implementation feasibility was investigated. The baseline micro energy grid model developed for a community in China was applied to four cities in different regions around the globe. Technical and economical analysis for the micro energy grid model were conducted considering climate conditions, tariff structures, carbon emission factors of energy sources and political environments. Based on the baseline micro energy grid model analysis for different locations around the globe, optimized micro energy grid models for different cities were investigated and several factors were derived for a successful implementation of the micro energy grid. Among various key success factors, energy tariff structure and governmental support were found to be most important to implement feasible micro energy grid model for sustainable and low carbon cities development.