Renewable Energy Global Innovations features: GIS application and econometric analysis for the verification of the financial feasibility of roof-top wind turbines in the city of Bari (Italy)

Significance Statement

There has been an increase in the enactment of legislative acts aiming at reinforcing the idea of sustainable energy in industrialized countries, as an ingredient for private as well as public investments. In Italy, for instance, wind solutions for the production of electricity from renewable energy sources have been widely implemented, particularly in regions characterized by excellent geo-climatic conditions. With an increasing pressure to limit soil sealing, more attention has been given to the adoption of renewable energy policies integrated with the current urban establishments.

Pierluigi Morano and Francesco Tajani at Polytechnic University of Bari (Italy) in collaboration with Marco Locurcio at Sapienza University of Rome (Italy) analyzed the financial feasibility originating from the realization of roof-top wind turbines in Bari. The analysis was done via the implementation of a GIS-based decision model. Their second aim was to deal with the explanation of the mathematical relationship between economic and aerodynamic variables of the setup. Their work is published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.

The research team implemented a methodology that encompassed the study of the wind climatology of the urban areas of Bari. Adopting the method developed by the MET office, the authors divided the desired territory into homogeneous areas in terms of potential wind energy resources. The map of use of soil and the regional technical map allowed for the implementation of the model developed in the GIS environment, generating two types of thematic maps of Bari, which related to the estimation of the annual mean wind speed and the average annual energy production.

The authors also evaluated the revenues and the costs that concurred to determine the financial feasibility of the wind investment, differentiated on the basis of the thematic maps obtained from the previous stage. The financial parameters identified allowed for the generation of two evaluative maps: the first was a financial feasibility of the investment in the geographic areas of the city of Bari; the second was for the unit land lease values per square meter of the total area covered by buildings. The outputs allowed for the enucleation of the real impact of the aerodynamic parameters on the economic variables to confirm the empirical coherence and report the inconsistencies of the qualitative analysis developed in the first objective.

Above all, the authors constitute a quick reference for a rapid analysis of the convenience of an investment in roof-top wind turbine plants in other regions. After getting the values of parameters that appeared in the econometric model and upon verifying the assumptions adopted for its definition, the authors obtained mathematical expressions that allowed for the evaluation of performance indicators for the entailed parties.

The outcomes of the study represent an evaluative support for operators interested in taking advantage of the incentives offered by energy regulations for the set-up of micro-turbines in windy territory as well as identifying the regions characterized by high power yields.

The approach used in their study, borrowing with a complementary approach GIS tools as well as econometric algorithms, displays an important basis for the formation of homogeneous territorial areas with regards to wind power capacity. The approach entails a straightforward repeatable operative and logical path, which can be implemented in other territorial areas.

About The Author

Pierluigi Morano holds a PhD in Economic Evaluation of Investments and a Master in Urban Planning and Real Estate Market. He is author and co-author of books, journal papers and conference papers on various topics, including the themes of the plans and investments valuation, the appraisal of the cost of the public works, the analysis of the real estate market, the public-private negotiation in urban planning.

About The Author

Francesco Tajani holds a PhD in Economic Evaluation of Investments and a Master in Urban Planning and Real Estate Market. He is author and co-author of published works on various topics, including the study of innovative algorithms as support to real estate appraisal, the evaluation of investments on cultural and environmental assets and the econometric analysis of the dynamics of real estate prices generated by macroeconomic variables. He is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

About The Author

Marco Locurcio holds a PhD in Architecture and Construction and a Master in Assessment and Retrofitting in Seismic Areas. He is co-author of published works about the analysis of the real estate market, multi-criteria decision analysis and its application.

Journal Reference

Pierluigi Morano, Francesco Tajani, and Marco Locurcio.GIS application and econometric analysis for the verification of the financial feasibility of roof-top wind turbines in the city of Bari (Italy). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, volume 70 (2017), pages 999–1010.

¹ Department of Science of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAR), Polytechnic University of Bari, via Orabona 4, Bari 70125, Italy.

² Department of Architecture and Design (DIAP), University Sapienza of Rome, via Gramsci 53, Roma 00197, Italy.

 

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