Background & Description:

Annex 83 is a collaborative project with public and private institutions throughout the world that share expertise in the phases related to Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). The International Energy Agency’s Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme (IEA-EBC) enables the project, which coordinates international energy research and development activities through technology collaboration programs.

The basic principle of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) is to create an area within the city boundaries, capable of generating more energy than consumed and is agile/flexible enough to respond to the variation of the energy market. PEDs can include all types of buildings present in the city environment and they are not isolated from the energy grid. In the research community, PED is a rising concept to shape cities into carbon-neutral communities in the near future. Reaching the goal of a PED requires firstly improving energy efficiency. Secondly, cascading local energy flows by making use of any surpluses, and thirdly using low-carbon energy production to cover the remaining energy consumption.

 A PED should not only aim to achieve an annual surplus of net energy. Rather, it should also support minimizing the impact on the connected centralized energy networks by offering options for increasing onsite load-matching and self-consumption, technologies for short- and long-term storages, and providing energy flexibility with smart control.

Annex 83 comprises four subtasks, as follows: A) Definition and context; B) Methods, tools, and technologies for realizing Positive Energy Districts; C) Organizing principles and impact assessment; and D) Demos, implementation, and dissemination..

Main Objectives:

Annex 83 aims to enhance the cooperation on PED development to an international level through the collaboration initiatives of the IEA. The main objectives and scope are:

1. Map the relevant city, industry, research, and governmental (local, regional, national) stakeholders and their needs and roles to inform the work for Objectives 2, 3, 4, and 5. The main purpose is to ensure the involvement of the
   main stakeholders in the development of relevant definitions and recommendations
   
   
2. Create a shared in-depth definition of PED through a multistakeholder governance model. So far international activities have developed generalized definitions that leave many questions open.
   
   
3. Develop the needed information and guidance for implementing the necessary technical
   solutions (on building, district, and infrastructure levels) that can be
   replicated and gradually scaled up to the city level, giving emphasis to the interaction of flexible assets at the district level and also economic and
   social issues such as acceptability.
   
   
4. Explore novel technical and service opportunities related to monitoring solutions, big data, data management, smart control, and digitalization technologies as enablers of PEDs.
   
   
5. Develop the needed information and guidance for the planning and implementation of PEDs including both technical planning and urban planning. This includes economic,
   social and environmental impact assessment for various alternative development paths.

Administrative details:

Project duration: operating phase from November 2020 to November 2024 (reporting phase: from November 2024 to November 2025)
Call: International Energy Agency, Energy Buildings, and Communities programme
Total budget: N/A
EU contribution: N/A

Contact:

Rose Mankaa Nangah
Tel: +492418022763
Email: rose.nangah@inab.rwth-aachen.de

Arij Chabrawi
Tel: +49 241 7014733
Email: arij.chabrawi@inab.rwth-aachen.de