Positive Energy Districts and Neighbourhoods: A Global Perspective on District-Scale Urban Transitions
Achieving climate neutrality requires cities to look beyond individual zero-energy buildings towards connected neighbourhood systems. Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) bring together energy efficiency, local renewable energy production and energy flexibility, while contributing to wider urban goals such as resilience, affordability and social inclusion.
Drawing on an analysis of 115 European case studies and examples from Latin America, Asia Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa, Positive Energy Districts and Neighbourhoods: A global perspective on district-scale urban transitions explores how district-scale approaches can be adapted to different climates, infrastructure systems and socio-economic conditions.
Moving beyond technology
The report highlights that mature technologies alone are not enough to scale PEDs. Progress also depends on integrated energy systems, viable business and financing models, inclusive urban regeneration, and the integration of energy priorities into urban planning and local policy.
From cooling demand in tropical cities to retrofitting in cold climates, local conditions shape the solutions needed. Across these contexts, coordinated action between governments, utilities, developers and communities is essential to move district-scale energy transitions from pilot projects into everyday urban practice.
Learning from practice: HeatCOOP
One example featured in the publication is from the DUT project HeatCOOP, which explores cooperative ownership models for shared neighbourhood heating and cooling in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovenia.
In this model, a cooperative owns shared infrastructure, such as geothermal borehole fields and seasonal thermal storage, while homeowners own their individual heat pumps. Sharing infrastructure can lower individual upfront investment costs, enable heating in winter and passive cooling in summer, and reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets.
The example illustrates how ownership and organisational models can help make district energy solutions more accessible—not just technically feasible.
Practical guidance for cities
Alongside severalits case studies, the publicationreport presents policy recommendations for national, regional and local governments, and ten questions to help local decision-makers assess their readiness to develop a PED.
Covering district boundaries, governance, financing, community participation and energy affordability, these questions offer a starting point for cities seeking to turn district-scale ambitions into action.
