Shaping urban form for solar energy self-sufficiency city

Abstract The integration of renewable energy into cityscapes is becoming increasingly crucial to climate change since city is main sector of energy consumption. This research estimated daily changes in rooftop photovoltaic (PV) output and building energy demand across different seasons using 3D building data from 32 global cities, investigated the inherent link between urban form and photovoltaic self-sufficiency. We uncovered a universal power-law relationship between building height and PV self-sufficiency, where higher buildings result in nonlinearly decreasing PV sufficiency. Based on this, a highly accurate multiple regression model was constructed to simulate the PV self-sufficiency, incorporating key variables such as climate, geography, and urban form. This model stands out for its unique capability to be applied across varied urban contexts, accommodating the diverse conditions worldwide. Furthermore, our comparative analysis across four urban planning scenarios reveals that cities designed with the "Garden City" concept significantly outperform others in PV self-sufficiency, offering a quintuple increase in potential for solar energy harnessing, a finding especially pronounced in the context of African cities. These findings provide profound insights by suggesting that strategic urban planning could be a transformative tool in combating energy poverty and fostering sustainable urban development.