Optimal Planning of Renewable Energy Integration for Off-grid Residential Buildings in Northern Regions

Buildings consume 40% of the energy and contribute significantly to the world's GHG emissions (Cao et al. in Energy Build 128:198-213 [1]; Urge-Vorsatz et al. in Renew Sustain Energy Rev 41:85-98 [2]). Although the majority of the building energy in theworld is consumed for electricity, 17% of the global population in 2017 lived without electricity grid connectivity (Das et al. in Appl Energy 196:1833 [3]). Most of this off-grid population relies on fossil fuel combustion to generate electricity, heating, and cooling energy, while many countries such as Canada try to reduce GHG emissions. In Canada, Northern territories comprise one-third of off-grid communities (Canada Energy Regulator in Market snapshot: overcoming the challenges of powering Canada's off-grid communities [4]). Approximately two-thirds of the Arctic and Northern communities in Canada rely on diesel (Canada's Arctic and Northern Policy framework [5]), which reduces the energy affordability and security in the residents in Northern regions. Exploiting the local renewable energy sources may reduce the energy operating costs and improve the local economy and energy security. However, it is necessary to consider the sustainability of implementing renewable energy sources. This study aimed to evaluate the environmental and economic sustainability of implementing renewable energy systems in off-grid residential buildings in the Northern region in Canada using a scenario-based assessment. The study conducted a life cycle GHG emission assessment, cost assessment, and discounted payback period analysis. The economic and environmental performances of energy system scenarios were aggregated using eco-efficiency parameters. The life cycle GHG emission assessment indicated that biomass heating systems can reduce GHG emissions by over 75%. Furthermore, implementing wind turbines can improve the GHG emissions savings by up to 96%. The life cycle cost analysis indicated that implementing renewable energy systems can significantly reduce the life cycle cost with acceptable payback periods due to substantial operational cost savings. Furthermore, the energy system that included biomass heating system and micro-wind turbine that supply 80% of the electricity requirement has the lowest life cycle cost for energy. However, the eco-efficiency assessment showed that implementing biomass-based heating systems has the highest viability compared to all the other energy system scenarios due to the higher investment costs of microwind turbine installation. The findings of this study will assist community developers, policymakers, and researchers in planning renewable integration in off-grid communities.