Transforming the Built Environment Through the Smart Combination of Green Infrastructure and Solar Installations in Europe
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The energy crisis, exacerbated by the tragic invasion of Ukraine, has shown how serious Europe’s energy dependence on Russia’s natural gas and oil is. European Governments and the international community are now working on short- and medium-term solutions to increase energy security. These include, among others, plans to diversify energy supplies, the very bad idea to reopen nuclear plants and return to coal, and the excellent idea to boost renewable energy sources. Investing in energy efficiency and renewables should have been our governments first political priority for energy security for decades.
With the recent release of REPowerEU, a Joint European Action for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy, the European Commission recommends deploying 420 GW of solar capacity by 2030. As part of this effort, the communication, dated March 8, 2022 states that the Commission “will present in June a communication on solar energy with the aim of helping unlock solar energy’s potential as a major renewable energy source in the EU. Based on an analysis of the state of play of solar energy across the EU, the solar strategy will propose a European Solar Rooftops Initiative, which will identify barriers, propose measures to accelerate the roll-out and ensure that the public can fully reap the benefits of rooftop solar energy”.
The European Solar Rooftops Initiative presents a unique opportunity to maximize the impact for cities and citizens promoting the combination of green infrastructure and solar installations on every rooftop and impervious surface where it is economically and technically feasible. Biosolar installations, which combine green roof and solar energy technologies together, would change our urban environment. Individual homes, building blocks and local energy communities would satisfy their energy needs with solar energy produced on site or nearby. Green roofs and other forms of vegetation would increase urban biodiversity. From an energy perspective, by reducing stormwater runoff and urban heat island effect, green roofs could also significantly decrease the energy required to treat rainwater and cool our cities while also increasing the production efficiency of rooftop solar installations by anywhere from 5 to 15 per cent. Green roofs also provide the ability to ballast racking systems for solar panels without any roofing penetrations. And because green roofs protect the underlying waterproofing, extending its life expectancy beyond 40 years, there is no need to remove solar panels and reroof in the future.
Solar panels integrated with green roofs for superior performance. Photo: Rene Notenbomer
Citizens would support biosolar installations. Property value would increase, home and cities would be more beautiful, more energy performant and healthier place to live in. And health and wellbeing in the difficult times of COVID pandemic are a top priority for individuals and communities.
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The correlation between green infrastructure in urban areas and health, in particular mental health, is evidenced by countless researches and scientific papers. The latest issue of Frontiers, the United Nation Environmental Programme (UNEP) report that highlights critical environmental issues requiring greater attention, this year covers noise pollution in cities as a growing hazard to public health. It says that unwanted and prolonged noise pollution in cities impairs human health and well being creating chronic annoyance and sleep disturbance resulting in severe heart diseases and metabolic disorders as well as poorer mental health. Noise is a widespread problem and in Europe at least one in five people, especially marginalized communities near high traffic roads and far from green spaces, is exposed to levels of noise considered harmful to health. The report suggests to prioritize the reduction of noise at the source which means investing in alternative mobility and urban infrastructure that creates positive soundscapes such as tree belts, green walls, green roofs, and more green spaces in cities.
Solar Panels On Green Rooftop Blooming Stock Photo.
Moving forward, while we are lurching from one crisis to another, we should be smart and push forward holistic solutions to address the multiple challenges of an increasingly complex urban environment. With this spirit, the European Commission should introduce clear requirements to deploy biosolar installations in its upcoming solar strategy and solar rooftop initiative. Solar industry stakeholders should develop synergies with green roof manufacturers, system providers, architects and urban planners. And we could all help by providing written contributions on the European Commission’s solar strategy and solar rooftop initiative by April 12. The EU Chapter of the World Green Infrastructure Network will submit an answer to share ideas on how to integrate vegetation and accelerate the roll-out of solar energy.
I am persuaded that stronger, durable partnerships in this area will resonate with citizens because we are attracted by and love nature. This final consideration gives me an opportunity to close with a thought for Professor Edward O Wilson who died, aged 92, last December 2021. His book Biophilia (1986) argued that humans have an innate tendency to seek connections with nature. It is so true. We should all get inspiration from his work and accelerate the transformation towards green and fully decarbonized urban areas.
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Luigi Petito, 45, father of two, is an expert in European public affairs. He is based in Brussels, the cross-roads for international affairs and the European Institutions. In 2019 he was invited to establish and lead the European (EU) Chapter of the World Green Infrastructure Network. Since then, he follows EU policy and regulatory developments related to green infrastructure and advocates for a systematic integration of green infrastructure in urban areas.
