SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TRANSITION: PROPERTIES AND CONSTRAINTS OF REGENERATIVE ENERGY SYSTEMS WITH RESPECT TO SPATIAL PLANNING AND DESIGN

Spatial organization of the built environment affects energy consumption and provision significantly. Transition from fossil-fuels to sustainable energy thus presents many challenges for architects, engineers, spatial planners and landscape architects. Energy neutral buildings exist and self-sufficient neighborhoods are being constructed. At larger scales, however, possible synergies between different processes and functions remain unexplored. Can we envision entire regions that are self-sufficient and run on renewable sources? Before transforming the built environment, one must understand the characteristic of regenerative systems. The aim of this study was is to compare fossil-fuel energy systems with regenerative systems. It explores key properties and constraints of regenerative energy systems with respect to spatial organization and design of the built environment. The findings of this comparative analysis are illustrated with the help of a regional case-study in South Limburg, the Netherlands. Preliminary results suggest that some similarities exist between fossil-fuel and regenerative systems. Yet, some properties differ significantly and may affect the organization of the built environment at large. Energy sources, temporal availability, rate of utilization, energy density and system size all differ and represent constraints which can not be solved by conventional spatial design. Integrated solutions can only be rendered on the basis of understanding regenerative energy systems. This way, spatial planning and design disciplines can contribute to the mitigation of climate change and the adaptation of human environments to renewable energy sources. 1