Carbon neutral scenarios for Växjö municipality

Abstract: Sweden’s municipalities are leading the green energy transition, in this study, a techno-economic evaluation was done for a number of carbon neutral scenarios for Växjö municipality’s future energy system, situated within Sweden’s projected energy demand development in 2030 and 2050. The municipality’s partially decentralized energy system relies heavily on interconnected electricity supply from the national grid, and fuels imports from other parts of Sweden. It was a matter of question: in which ways will future demand changes induce supply changes, and whether a future carbon neutral energy system will be less costly in a sustained-electricity supply condition? To answer this, a balanced energy reference system for the municipality was created from an actual energy balance, using an hour-by-hour dynamic energy analysis tool EnergyPlan. Afterward, a future energy demand projection for Växjö was stemmed from the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) sustainable future scenarios for Sweden, based on an average inhabitant energy demand. Modelling results for Växjö carbon neutral scenarios showed that Växjö energy system will be sufficient to supply future heat demand but not electricity demand, nor transport and industrial fuels. While in the short-term being carbon neutral is more economically attainable without changes in electricity supply technologies, a projected electricity price and consumption increase, change the outcomes for a carbon neutral scenario based on Intermittent Renewable Energy (IRE) to be less costly in the long term.