Analysis of Cost-Emissions-Efficiency Tradeoffs in District Energy Systems with Distributed Energy Resources
Open Access Depositedviable DER adoption depends strongly on geographic location and the sizing convention of the existing CHP plant. Moreover, configurations that are optimal from a financial perspective are not necessarily optimal with respect to emissions reductions or fuel-efficiency improvements. Motivated by this mismatch, the second research question examines the tradeoffs among cost, emissions, and fuel efficiency in DER-enhanced DESs. A multi-objective analysis framework is developed to reveal Pareto-optimal operating schedules and to quantify both the potential for simultaneous objective achievement and the severity of tradeoffs. Application of this framework demonstrates that tradeoffs among objectives are structurally inherent but can, in some cases, be alleviated through targeted DER deployment. Together, the findings provide a modeling-based decision-making framework for evaluating DER adoption in DESs and offer insights for energy managers and policymakers seeking to advance the energy transition through the development of climate-mitigative and climate-adaptive urban energy systems.
Decision-making that is climate-adaptive and climate-mitigative has emerged as a central framework for guiding energy-system transitions in response to climate change. Climate-mitigative decisions seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit future climate impacts, while climate-adaptive decisions focus on strengthening systems to withstand increasingly frequent and severe climate-related stresses. Evaluating urban energy transitions within this framework is especially critical because cities provide energy services to a large and growing share of the world’s population, account for a substantial amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and are particularly vulnerable to climate-related impacts. In many cities, district energy systems (DESs), especially those that include a combined heat and power (CHP) plant, provide a strong foundation for an urban energy transition because they locally and efficiently generate electricity, heating, and cooling services. Recent advancements in distributed energy resources (DERs), including energy storage and renewable generation, create opportunities to increase the climate-mitigation and climate-adaptation benefits of DESs. However, the impacts of integrating DERs into existing DESs remain insufficiently understood. This dissertation addresses this gap through two sequential research questions. The first investigates how DER adoption affects the operational costs, emissions, and fuel efficiency of DESs with CHP plants. To address this question, an operational model of DESs is developed, along with a methodology for constructing representative DES configurations across multiple cities and building types in the northeastern United States. Techno-economic analyses reveal that while DER installations can improve CHP fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, not all DER configurations are cost-effective
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Vergara_gwu_0075A_17914.pdf | 2026-06-24 | Open Access |
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Benedict_Vergara_Doctoral_Dissertation_Abstract.pdf | 2026-06-24 | Open Access |
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