Renewable Energy Technologies in Smart Cities: Advancements, Challenges, and Future Prospects

The need to include renewable energy technology in the structure of smart cities has been exposed by rapid speed of urbanization and increasing demand for energy. More than half of the world's population is now living in cities, becoming the world's largest users of energy, which puts heavy burden on the environment through air pollution, carbon emissions, and lack of natural resources. To achieve sustainable urban development, this landscape emphasizes how important it is to switch to cleaners from fossil fuels, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, bio-energy and smart grid. Technologies for renewable energy provide a solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency and guarantee a reliable and durable energy supply in the future. However, switching to renewable energy is not without the challenges. Wider adoption is hampered by a number of factors, such as high pre -costs, problems with intermittency, complex grid interconnection and regulatory barriers. This study explores the various roles as renewable energy technology in the context of smart cities by looking at significant advances, implementation challenges and political issues. It looks at case studies from cities such as Stockholm, Copenhagen, Reykjavik and Dubai to demonstrate how innovative technology and well -coordinated tactics can change urban energy environments. The benefits of using renewable energy, including reduced carbon footprints, improved energy security, improved operational efficiency and economic growth through green jobs, are also highlighted in the study. The future prospects are also discussed, such as how advanced energy storage systems, blockchain, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) integration can encourage innovation in urban energy systems. By offering a comprehensive analysis, this study aims to contribute to the discussion of how smart cities can strategically distribute renewable technology to achieve sustainable futures with low carbon.