The report ‘Roadmap towards energy sustainability’ sets the guidelines to achieve energy self-sufficiency in the municipal real estate stock by 2030, that is, to achieve a 100% renewable and self-sufficient energy supply, and zero emissions in its buildings, in line with Plan A for Air Quality and Climate Change.
The municipal technical services of the Madrid City Council have drawn up this document, with the collaboration of the Fundación Renovables. The Madrid 2030 roadmap for self-consumption and energy sustainability lies on two fundamental pillars. On the one hand, two actions in the field of energy efficiency: the reduction of consumption through energy rehabilitation and the improvement of the efficiency of processes, which would reduce energy demand by 50% and the progressive replacement of the use of fossil fuels for more efficient ones, the city council reports in a statement.
The roadmap´s second pillar is limited to the area of energy self-sufficiency: meeting part of the energy consumption through the municipal generation of renewable photovoltaic energy, at the same consumption point itself, and the electricity supply, from renewable energy sources, generated in locations as close as possible to the point of consumption.
Taking into account that the annual costs of the energy bill are currently 33 million euros, the economic opportunity of energy self-sufficiency is demonstrated
The investments to be made by the City in the energy efficiency and self-sufficiency scenarios 2030 would range between 23 million euros per year, at least, and 38 million euros, at most. Taking into account that the annual energy bill of the municipal facilities and buildings currently amount to 33 million euros, the economic opportunity represented by the advance in energy self-sufficiency in the long term is demonstrated, while making a sustainable and responsible commitment with the environment and citizenship.
The energy consumption of the real estate stock
To develop this project, the entire municipal real estate stock and its associated energy consumption in 2016 have been analyzed specifically in the chapters of electricity, natural gas and diesel C. Of the 1,600 buildings and facilities belonging to the Madrid City Council, a selection has been made of the 900 with higher consumption, which account for 95% of the demand for energy. The total cost in that year adding the three types of supplies amounted to 33,691,138 euros, the consumption amounted to 346,324,970 kWh and the emissions (kg CO2) to 96,326,586.
Air conditioning exceeds 70% in all types of buildings except in administrative ones (48%)
The analysis of consumption data according to the municipal buildings function (administrative, cultural, sports, educational, security, social services and others) shows that 51% of the total consumption was for educational facilities (26%) and sports (25%). The document also highlights the weight of air conditioning in the consumption of each building: it exceeds 70% in all types of buildings except in the administrative ones (48%).
Improvements in energy efficiency
In lighting, there is a clear commitment towards automation and upgrading to LED; in air conditioning, improvement of the enclosures, the introduction of reversible heat pumps technology and the efficiency improvements in heating equipment such as electric heaters. On the other hand, in domestic hot water (ACS for its acronym in Spanish) the document proposes to harness solar energy and improve efficiency in obsolete equipment such as electric heaters.
The buildings would shift from an energy consumption comprising electricity, natural gas and diesel C of 346 GWh in 2016 to 173 GWh in 2030
If the prior premises are met, with the target of reducing energy demand by 50%, the buildings of the City of Madrid shift from an energy consumption comprising electricity, natural gas and diesel C of 346 GWh in 2016 to 173 GWh in 2030. Specifically, the reduction in lighting would be -45%, in HVAC -55%, in domestic hot water -60% and in “others” -10%, which would mean 50% less compared to the consumption of 2016.
Investments for energy self-sufficiency
The energy self-sufficiency variable presented in the roadmap clearly involves harnessing the potential of solar photovoltaic electric power production on the rooftops of municipal buildings. Specifically, the 900 municipal buildings studied have more than 1.2 million square meters of roofs with 735,000 suitable for the installation of photovoltaic self-consumption systems. They could provide an installed capacity of 75 MWp / year and a coverage of 61 % of electricity demand by 2030 with a cost of 96.5 million euros up to 2030.
Meeting 100% of the demand would require installing photovoltaic systems in public spaces, dissuasive parking lots and municipal land, and the total investment involved until 2030 would be 140 million euros.
Municipal buildings are supplied with 100% renewable energy
Until this energy self-sufficiency goal is achieved, the City Council has taken the interim step of contracting zero CO2 emissions and zero radioactive waste energy. This is the new electricity supply contract for all municipal buildings and equipment of the City of Madrid and its autonomous agencies (1,300 points of electricity supply) for the period between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2020.
