Linking environmental impact assessment and Positive Energy Districts: A literature review

Rosaria Volpe; Adriano Bisello; Andreas Tuerk; Francesco Guarino; Emanuela Giancola; Maria Nuria Sanchez; Giovanni Tumminia; Elisa Marrasso; Giovanna Pallotta; Emanuele Cutore; Maurizio Cellura; Alberto Fichera; Sonia Longo; Carlo Roselli; Maurizio Sasso; Xiaojin Zhang; Ilaria Marotta; Alberto Brunetti; Roberta Rincione; Francesco Reda

doi:10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264

Linking environmental impact assessment and Positive Energy Districts: A literature review

Rosaria Volpe^*
, Adriano Bisello
, Andreas Tuerk
, Francesco Guarino
, Emanuela Giancola
, Maria Nuria Sanchez
, Giovanni Tumminia
, Elisa Marrasso
, Giovanna Pallotta
, Emanuele Cutore
, Maurizio Cellura
, Alberto Fichera
, Sonia Longo
, Carlo Roselli
, Maurizio Sasso
, Xiaojin Zhang
, Ilaria Marotta
, Alberto Brunetti
, Roberta Rincione
, Francesco Reda

^*Corresponding author for this work

BA47 Energy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › peer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This research delves into the environmental impact assessment of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs), focusing on comparative analyses of methodologies, key performance indicators, and an array of both theoretical and practical case studies. The literature review uncovers the strengths and weaknesses inherent current evaluation practices. The study reveals critical gaps in current assessment frameworks, particularly regarding the application to PEDs. It highlights the necessity for a holistic approach to PED evaluation, incorporating diverse energy sources and consumption patterns to fully understand their impact. The research advocates for the integration of multiple environmental factors in terms of innovative design and technology in PEDs, tailored to enhance both functionality and sustainability. It calls for the development of standardized guidelines and the learning from successful implementations to ensure the resilience and effectiveness of PEDs over time. Thus, this review paper aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on PEDs, offering insights and recommendations for future developments in this critical area of sustainable urban and energy planning.

Original language	English
Article number	100264
Journal	Cleaner Environmental Systems
Volume	16
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264
Publication status	Published - Mar 2025
MoE publication type	A2 Review article in a scientific journal

Funding

This work was developed within the context of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy Buildings and Communities (EBC) Annex 83 Workgroup “Positive Energy Districts”. The work presented in this paper was partially funded within the Neighborhood Energy Transition: towards Positive energy baLance and carbon neUtral diStricts (NET-PLUS) project [grant agreement No. P20022LLYAF], the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program for project ATELIER [grant agreement No. 864374]. The authors wish to express their gratitude to URBAN-TherCOM Project [Grant PID2020-114873RA-C33 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033].

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Keywords

Energy efficiency
Energy transition
Environmental impact assessment
Renewable energy
Stakeholders
Sustainability

Access to Document

10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264Licence: CC BY

Cite this

Volpe, R., Bisello, A., Tuerk, A., Guarino, F., Giancola, E., Sanchez, M. N., Tumminia, G., Marrasso, E., Pallotta, G., Cutore, E., Cellura, M., Fichera, A., Longo, S., Roselli, C., Sasso, M., Zhang, X., Marotta, I., Brunetti, A., Rincione, R., & Reda, F. (2025). Linking environmental impact assessment and Positive Energy Districts: A literature review. Cleaner Environmental Systems, 16, Article 100264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264

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title = "Linking environmental impact assessment and Positive Energy Districts: A literature review",

abstract = "This research delves into the environmental impact assessment of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs), focusing on comparative analyses of methodologies, key performance indicators, and an array of both theoretical and practical case studies. The literature review uncovers the strengths and weaknesses inherent current evaluation practices. The study reveals critical gaps in current assessment frameworks, particularly regarding the application to PEDs. It highlights the necessity for a holistic approach to PED evaluation, incorporating diverse energy sources and consumption patterns to fully understand their impact. The research advocates for the integration of multiple environmental factors in terms of innovative design and technology in PEDs, tailored to enhance both functionality and sustainability. It calls for the development of standardized guidelines and the learning from successful implementations to ensure the resilience and effectiveness of PEDs over time. Thus, this review paper aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on PEDs, offering insights and recommendations for future developments in this critical area of sustainable urban and energy planning.",

keywords = "Energy efficiency, Energy transition, Environmental impact assessment, Renewable energy, Stakeholders, Sustainability",

author = "Rosaria Volpe and Adriano Bisello and Andreas Tuerk and Francesco Guarino and Emanuela Giancola and Sanchez, \{Maria Nuria\} and Giovanni Tumminia and Elisa Marrasso and Giovanna Pallotta and Emanuele Cutore and Maurizio Cellura and Alberto Fichera and Sonia Longo and Carlo Roselli and Maurizio Sasso and Xiaojin Zhang and Ilaria Marotta and Alberto Brunetti and Roberta Rincione and Francesco Reda",

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Volpe, R, Bisello, A, Tuerk, A, Guarino, F, Giancola, E, Sanchez, MN, Tumminia, G, Marrasso, E, Pallotta, G, Cutore, E, Cellura, M, Fichera, A, Longo, S, Roselli, C, Sasso, M, Zhang, X, Marotta, I, Brunetti, A, Rincione, R & Reda, F 2025, 'Linking environmental impact assessment and Positive Energy Districts: A literature review', Cleaner Environmental Systems, vol. 16, 100264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264

TY - JOUR

T1 - Linking environmental impact assessment and Positive Energy Districts

T2 - A literature review

AU - Volpe, Rosaria

AU - Bisello, Adriano

AU - Tuerk, Andreas

AU - Guarino, Francesco

AU - Giancola, Emanuela

AU - Sanchez, Maria Nuria

AU - Tumminia, Giovanni

AU - Marrasso, Elisa

AU - Pallotta, Giovanna

AU - Cutore, Emanuele

AU - Cellura, Maurizio

AU - Fichera, Alberto

AU - Longo, Sonia

AU - Roselli, Carlo

AU - Sasso, Maurizio

AU - Zhang, Xiaojin

AU - Marotta, Ilaria

AU - Brunetti, Alberto

AU - Rincione, Roberta

AU - Reda, Francesco

PY - 2025/3

Y1 - 2025/3

N2 - This research delves into the environmental impact assessment of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs), focusing on comparative analyses of methodologies, key performance indicators, and an array of both theoretical and practical case studies. The literature review uncovers the strengths and weaknesses inherent current evaluation practices. The study reveals critical gaps in current assessment frameworks, particularly regarding the application to PEDs. It highlights the necessity for a holistic approach to PED evaluation, incorporating diverse energy sources and consumption patterns to fully understand their impact. The research advocates for the integration of multiple environmental factors in terms of innovative design and technology in PEDs, tailored to enhance both functionality and sustainability. It calls for the development of standardized guidelines and the learning from successful implementations to ensure the resilience and effectiveness of PEDs over time. Thus, this review paper aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on PEDs, offering insights and recommendations for future developments in this critical area of sustainable urban and energy planning.

AB - This research delves into the environmental impact assessment of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs), focusing on comparative analyses of methodologies, key performance indicators, and an array of both theoretical and practical case studies. The literature review uncovers the strengths and weaknesses inherent current evaluation practices. The study reveals critical gaps in current assessment frameworks, particularly regarding the application to PEDs. It highlights the necessity for a holistic approach to PED evaluation, incorporating diverse energy sources and consumption patterns to fully understand their impact. The research advocates for the integration of multiple environmental factors in terms of innovative design and technology in PEDs, tailored to enhance both functionality and sustainability. It calls for the development of standardized guidelines and the learning from successful implementations to ensure the resilience and effectiveness of PEDs over time. Thus, this review paper aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on PEDs, offering insights and recommendations for future developments in this critical area of sustainable urban and energy planning.

KW - Energy efficiency

KW - Energy transition

KW - Environmental impact assessment

KW - Renewable energy

KW - Stakeholders

KW - Sustainability

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85217764115

U2 - 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264

DO - 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264

M3 - Review Article

AN - SCOPUS:85217764115

SN - 2666-7894

VL - 16

JO - Cleaner Environmental Systems

JF - Cleaner Environmental Systems

M1 - 100264

ER -

Linking environmental impact assessment and Positive Energy Districts: A literature review

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

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