How electrification plays a key role in urban ecosystems
Enel X insights on how electrification is redesigning the shape of services in our cities, driven by the vision of public administrations
Cities across the globe are grappling with a host of challenges, from polluted air and gridlocked traffic to unequal access to services. These issues have far-reaching consequences on our quality of life (and the happiness of citizens).
One of the biggest hurdles is air pollution, which affects 90% of city dwellers worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Polluted air can lead to a range of health problems and WHO assesses that around 4 mln people died in 2019 from exposure to fine particulate outdoor air pollution.
In Europe alone, 379,000 premature deaths are caused by urban air pollution each year according to EEA
Traffic congestion is another major headache for urbanites. In cities like Rome, Milan, and London, drivers spend an average of 72 to 76 hours per year stuck in traffic, according to a recent study by INRIX. This leads to lost productivity, increased fuel consumption, and higher emissions.
Drivers spend an average of 72 to 76 hours per year stuck in traffic
But perhaps the key issue is the disparity in access to services, that may happen in large cities. There, some urban areas may face harder and fewer access to services, creating inequalities.
In the following section, we'll explore some practical and real-world projects that are taking steps to tackle these challenges head-on.
Electrification: a win-win choice, for city services and quality of life
Reversing this scenario is the great challenge public administrations are called to respond to, in order to make urban settlements increasingly electrified, smart, and sustainable.
A commitment that requires both a massive paradigm shift in the way we use energy and the involvement of partners that can accompany public customers on the pathway to enable electrification. A win-win choice for mitigating environmental impacts and improving quality of services, while achieving energy and economic savings.
The idea of being able to shoot for two distinct but complementary outcomes on paper powers what has always been the vision of Enel X : responding to the needs of those that, for us, are not merely customers, but partners on the path to sustainability.
A response we intend to provide, as reiterated at the latest GSEP held in Marrakech, by promoting an electrified future for cities – and for the planet – through an integrated ecosystem of innovative solutions, to offer public administrations the opportunity to become game changers in the transition underway.
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Smart lighting, electrification of public transports, and efficient buildings: the pillars of change already chosen by many cities
The opportunity above has been embraced in full in several countries where Enel X Global Retail is active. Siracusa, a well-known city in Sicily, chose to become our partner on the path to achieving the energy transition, updating its public lighting infrastructure with Enel X GR solutions.
The 14.796 energy-efficient LEDs installed on the streets of Siracusa will literally give new light to the local urban ecosystem, guarantee savings for the town’s public coffers, improved energy efficiency by more than 60% and – confirming how becoming a game changer in electrification is a winning choice for all – a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of more than 3 thousand ton of CO2.
LED installation results in impressive 60% reduction in power consumption
Furthermore, by having remote control and automatic dimmering of the public lighting, administrations can be sure the intensity of public lighting is adjusted according to real time city and traffic needs.
What was achieved in Bogotá, on the other hand, is tangible proof of how electrification is a driver that affects diverse areas of application and, at the same time, how one can become a game changer in the urban ecosystem by acting on several fronts. The Colombian capital, in August 2022, saw the inauguration of the sixth and final patio of the Transmilenio project.
The electrification of public transportation has always been a strategic and enabling cluster for the spread of smart cities in line with sustainability goals. That’s why we launched a business model called e-Bus as-a-service, which guarantees our customers:
An end-to-end model that is totally scalable, and for this reason has been embraced for some time in Bogotá, which, with the inauguration of the sixth patio, reached 878 e-Buses and 412 charging stations. What are the benefits? Annual reduction of over 30,000 tons of CO₂ plus savings of almost 37 billion pesos for local coffers, which can be reinvested in other projects for the urban environment.
The 878 e-Buses project generates over 7 million euros in savings per year
Smart lighting, public transportation and, obviously, public buildings. The city is a well-structured and complex ecosystem, so Enel X Global Retail’s integrated offer for the B2G target must include making the structures that form the backdrop of our daily lives more efficient.
One of these structures is certainly the university. For the Jaén university campus, in Spain, we designed, built, and installed 2.6-MWp photovoltaic plants able to cover 20% of the buildings’ energy need, avoiding the emission of roughly 700 tons of CO₂ a year.
The shared commitment with public administrations and the outcomes achieved in the various countries confirm that there are many ways to concretely embrace electrification by redesigning the face of urban settlements. The final outcome, however, is the same. And with time, we believe, it will take us as far as possible from the climate hell mentioned by Guterres.
Find out in this video our solutions for electrified cities.