Exploring outdoor solar potentials and positive energy district feasibility in high-latitude urban neighborhoods

Transitioning to sustainable urban environments calls for a range of various design and policy interventions, including the local integration of renewable energy sources to support decarbonization goals like Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). While urban open spaces, including sidewalks, public plazas, and pedestrian pathways, hold tremendous potential as a supplementary part of solar exploitation even in high-latitude regions, most of the existing literature emphasizes building-level analysis, neglecting the importance of Urban-integrated Photovoltaic systems (UiPV). This study addresses that gap by investigating the solar potential of outdoor areas and evaluating the partial contribution to PED status in two neighborhoods in Norway: Løkkeveien in Stavanger and Midtbyen in Trondheim. A multi-faceted methodology was followed, combining geographical data processing in ArcGIS Pro with solar and environmental analyses using Rhinoceros/Grasshopper tools and the Ladybug plugin. The analysis began with solar availability assessments, followed by energy yield simulations, optimization of PV panel placement and orientation, and PED feasibility evaluation through annual demand–generation comparisons based on optimal outdoor installations. Findings reveal that seasonal solar access differed sharply between the two neighborhoods, with production peaking in summer and dropping to very low levels in winter. Under a very conservative deployment covering only 8–9% of publicly accessible outdoor surfaces, UiPV could still deliver about 1.08 GWh/year (electricity usage of ∼ 74 households) in Løkkeveien and 1.95 GWh/year (electricity usage of ∼ 133 households) in Midtbyen. This also corresponds to 1.23% and 2.88% of the total annual electricity demand in Løkkeveien and Midtbyen, respectively. While UiPV alone does not achieve a district energy balance, these results show that even in high-latitude regions, a targeted small-scale outdoor PV can provide a measurable supplementary electricity wedge and should be considered as an urban-design complement to building-integrated PV within broader PED strategies. Future research may explore storage systems and local flexibility, compare UiPV with other integrated strategies, address economic impact assessment, and public acceptance to enhance PED implementation.