Developing an optimal energy system model for a sustainable urban transportation framework planning in the long term through different climatic zones

Abstract

The modern lifestyle highlights the demand for an improved urban transportation infrastructure and a shift to renewable, efficient technologies. This evolution is essential for both developed and developing countries. The transportation system in a developing country such as Iran faces significant challenges, including low energy efficiency and high emissions. This situation makes the development of a sustainable transportation plan increasingly critical. Furthermore, there is considerable potential for renewable energy across various climatic zones in the country that should be utilized. This study presents a sustainable development model for the transportation system that incorporates zero-emission vehicles and renewable energy supply technologies in competition with traditional ones. The model is designed for long-term application and includes five case studies from various climatic zones in Iran, each featuring different renewable potentials and system scales. Determining the optimal structure of the system in each case study requires solving a linear, dynamic, and multi-criteria optimization problem. The objective function focuses on minimizing total costs, which include technological, energy, and social. All case studies indicate that developing a sustainable transportation system is optimal. However, larger case studies tend to produce more favorable optimization outcomes. According to the results, the scale of the case study is the most important factor in this research.