PSI - Issue 55

Tahmineh Akbarinejad et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 55 (2024) 46–56 2 T Akbarinejad,* , E. Machlein, C. Bertolin, O.Ogutc, G. Lobaccaro, A. T.Salaj / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000 – 000 1. Introduction Nowadays, approximately half of the world's population lives in cities, two-thirds of the world's energy consumption is generated by cities, and 70% of the world's carbon emissions are released by cities each year (Net Zero by 2050 – Analysis, 2022). In this scenario, achieving net-zero emissions goals requires climate and energy actions in cities. The technical feasibility and economic viability of 100% renewable energy systems are underway in most regions of the globe (Bogdanov et al., 2021) and among the renewable energy sources (RES), solar energy is considered to be one of the most effective and applicable at building, neighborhood, and city scale (Gong et al., 2019). However, the integration of solar technology within urban contexts, especially in historical areas, is still a fundamental challenge that requires a multitude of criteria to be addressed like feasibility and acceptability (Lobaccaro et al., 2019). To achieve climate neutrality in 2050 (Commission, 2020) and, the Green Deal objectives (Kazak, 2020), using RES including solar energy has a pivotal importance. In that regard, one of the latest trends in photovoltaics applications reports that “ ( Approximately 100 Million Households Rely on Rooftop Solar PV by 2030 – Analysis , n.d.) ” . To fully decarbonize the electricity system, solar PV will have to be installed on suitable urban surfaces (i.e., roofs, facades, and ground). In the energy sector - with levels of competitiveness that mostly depend on the fluctuation of electricity prices and taxes - households become essential in the decarbonizing development. Policies toward sustainable transition are increasingly complex, as are the barriers to PV adoption: the more mainstream PV becomes, the more new barriers like conservation and technical limitations stifling its development are encountered (Pvps, 2021). Through a literature review, this study aims to explore barriers and challenges tied to incorporating solar technology systems and getting deep within the Norwegian historical district of Møllenberg, in Trondheim (lat. 63°25’ N) . The structure of the paper continues as follows: Section 2 presents the methodology of the scoping review and the case study; Section 3 includes the results of the scoping review, and the discussion of the results from a challenges, barriers, and opportunities perspective in the Norwegian historical context; and Section 5 concludes the paper with some suggestions for future developments. 2. Methodology Employing the "scoping methodology" outlined by (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005) , this article examines information from selected papers categorized according to factors challenges, barriers, opportunities of deployment of solar systems in historical urban areas in papers and reports. The clustering and organization of this information yield challenges which are conservation criteria as milestones and barriers as obstacles. A short definition of the adopted conservation criteria at the light of the implementation of solar technologies in historic urban areas is as the follow(Akbarinejad et al., 2023): 2.1. Challenges/Conservation criteria 1. Viability : economic viability refers to the difference between the total costs in a Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) installation (i.e., initial cost, operation, and maintenance) and the income (i.e., electricity price sells to the grid defined by local feed-in tariffs). If the difference is smaller or equal to the costs of electricity consumption from the grid, then the project is viable or even profitable (Polo López et al. 2021). 2. Feasibility : economic feasibility is the analysis of costs/benefits that can be evaluated through economic indicators such as the Net Present Value, the Levelized Cost of Energy, the return on investment, or the payback period (Sommerfeldt and Madani 2017). 3. Integration : integration of BIPV to the existing urban surfaces should address architectural and aesthetic aspects (Polo López, Troia, and Nocera 2021) . A “morphological integration” indicates that the layout and shape of the panels harmonise with the surrounding built environment (Durante, Lucchi, and Maturi 2021). 4. Reversibility : technical reversibility means that it is possible at any moment to take away the BIPV installation and go back to its original condition. Reversibility also means that it is possible to replace the BIPV panels without affecting the integrity and the historic value of the structure (Kandt et al. 2011). This means that – if applied to historic buildings - the PV installation should be attached as a mountable and demountable structure that would avoid affecting the features of the property while replacing them (Sudimac, Ugrinović, and Jurčević 2020) . 47