Integrated approaches to the optimisation of regional and local food–energy–water systems

Food-energy-water nexus optimization brings substantial reduction of urban resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions

Urban sustainability is a key to achieving the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). Secure and efficient provision of food, energy, and water (FEW) resources is a critical strategy for urban sustainability. While there has been extensive discussion on the positive effects of the FEW nexus on resource efficiency and climate impacts, measuring the extent to which such synergy can benefit urban sustainability remains challenging. Here, we have developed a systematic and integrated optimization framework to explore the potential of the FEW nexus in reducing urban resource demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Demonstrated using the Metropolis Beijing, we have identified that the optimized FEW nexus can reduce resource consumption and GHG emissions by 21.0 and 29.1%, respectively. These reductions come with increased costs compared to the siloed FEW management, but it still achieved a 16.8% reduction in economic cost compared to the business-as-usual scenario. These findings underscore the significant potential of FEW nexus management in enhancing urban resource efficiency and addressing climate impacts, while also identifying strategies to address trade-offs and increase synergies.

Variable renewable energy penetration impact on productivity: A case study of poultry farming

Like all current industrial systems, agriculture overwhelmingly relies on energy supply from controllable sources, mainly fossil fuels and grid electricity. Power supply from these sources can be adapted to perfectly match the timing of power requirements of demand systems. The energy transition largely consists in substituting renewable power-which is intermittent by nature-to controllable sources, leading to disconnection between instantaneous power production and demand. Energy storage is a potential solution for balancing production and demand and safeguarding the operating conditions of the demand system. In this paper we quantify the effects of renewable power supply (solar and wind) on the operation of a standard poultry farm. We model the balance of power generation and demand considering the growth conditions of poultry and local weather data including temperatures, wind speed and solar radiation. We assess scenarios of renewable power supply in function of the size of the power plant, the wind-to-solar power generation mix and energy storage, and assess the impact of power supply patterns on the operating intensity (productivity) of the demand system. We show that, with a limited storage capacity, it is possible to achieve non-negligible shares of renewable power penetration without major loss in farm productivity. However, a full transition to renewable power would require the combination of i)-large energy storage compared to the annual demand, ii)- significant oversizing of the power production plant, and iii)-the exclusion of power generation combinations (wind/solar) that deviate from the timing of demand. Storage and power plant oversizing is all the more critical as production and demand are uncorrelated over the year. The ratio of useful to unused energy storage by the end of the year varies with the energy mix and operating intensity (productivity) of the farm. We discuss the implications of different energy configurations on the performance of the demand system.

Optimization of Production–Living–Ecological Space in National Key Poverty-Stricken City of Southwest China

Trade-offs and conflicts among different sectors of production, living, and ecology have become important issues in regional sustainable development planning due to both the versatility and limitation of land resources, especially in poverty-stricken mountainous areas. This study builds an optimization model to assist policymakers in simulating land demand and allocation in the future. The model takes socioeconomic and demographic development into consideration and couples local planning policy with land use data from the perspective of system integration. The model was employed for a case study of Zhaotong city to optimize production–living–ecological (PLE) space. The results show that the model provides a feasible method to explore the sustainable development pattern of territorial space, especially in distressed regions.