Solutions and services for smart sustainable districts: Innovative key performance indicators to support transition

The European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) supports the Energy Union’s policies by setting the strategies for the European Union energy sector. In 2018, the Implementation Plan traced the pathway in planning, deployment and replication of 100 Positive Energy Districts (PED) by 2025. This article presents innovative research on models, methodologies planning tools and technology solutions for the short-medium term implementation of PEDs. The approach and methodology behind the research is based on an operational framework set up to identify gaps and sharing for urban services’ implementation and to support life improvements for citizens, consumers, and prosumers. The main output of this research report is a framework to facilitate a synthetic evaluation of the positioning and improvement of each smart city solution considered in the study. These are referring to engagement phase (planning, design, construction, management) and engagement scale (functional unit, building, blocks of building, infrastructures, environment). Furthermore, the framework improves the identification of strategies and stakeholders’ commitment to promote Smart Urban District or PEDs transition. This research contribution stems from the project SCC solutions for Positive Energy Districts – Research of Electric System/Annual Implementation Plan 2018/41 between Sapienza University of Rome and ENEA Energy Technology Dept. – Sustainable Energy Network. The broader aim of that project has been to design a set of strategies to facilitate the transition of the built environment towards e.g. Smart Energy Districts. © 2019, Aalborg University press. All rights reserved.