Sustainable Energy System Planning for New Neighbourhoods: A Case Study Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Drolshagen

Energy system planning for future neighbourhoods remains important as it is directly related to the energy transition. A wide range of clean technologies, such as heat pumps and photovoltaics, can support this transition sustainably. However, the selection of an appropriate energy system for a specific neighbourhood can be very conflicting. Many variables can come into play, as every neighbourhood has its own needs and criteria. The factors that sway the selection of the energy system are not only technical but economic, social, and ecological as well. In this study, for a planned future neighbourhood in the German town of Drolshagen, we are applying a multi-criteria analysis to various energy system combinations. Our analysis reveals that case 7 (district heating + geothermal + future grid mix + photovoltaic) and case 8 (district heating + heat pump + future grid mix + photovoltaic; score=0.81) perform best for minimum cost optimisation. For the minimum emission optimisation, case 9 (heat pump + future grid mix + photovoltaic; score=0.585) performs best. When analysing the energy system and basing it purely on ecological factors while minimising emissions, case 11 (heat pump + photovoltaic + thermal storage + future grid mix + battery; score=0.923) performs the best. From a social perspective, case 11 as well performs best with an ideal score. Considering the economic perspective, case 2 (gas heating+Existing grid mix; score =0.996) has the highest score; however, other cases are close. From a technical perspective, it is difficult to opt for a single best-score case. Additional sensitivity analysis indicates that economic and ecological criteria have a stronger influence over the score than the technical and social criteria.