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The paper deals with the energy transition, focusing on the decisions to be taken about the change in the energy conversion capacity of specified portion of the universe, such as industrial or domestic districts, regions, countries, etc. Conversion capacity is intended here as the set of all energy conversion and storage units characterized by type, size and number, and interacting with the natural gas and electricity grids. The goal is to find guidelines for new installations, obtained by simulations of a model able to describe properly the behavior of each energy conversion technology and the interaction with grids. The model is based on a traditional MILNP approach, but contains unique features in the literature, which allow to obtain results of general validity for applications to very different geographical areas, or to countries including very different regions that transmit energy with each other or export/import it from abroad. The main novelty of this work is to identify the best planning for the decarbonisation of energy demand sectors, according to the criterion of minimum cost, both at global and at regional level. The results applied to the case of Italy allow identifying clearly the energy demand sectors to which new installations should be applied first to minimize the cost for the total energy system, and the units that must be foreseen to satisfy these energy demands, i.e. a precise strategy for the energy transition towards a 100% renewable system. • A multi-regional model is built to find the most convenient energy transition path. • General guidelines for Western countries are derived from the Italian case study. • Replacement of boilers with heat pumps allows increasing RES share from 20 to 30%. • For RES share >60%, PtG is the low-carbon strategy for high temperature heat demand. • Transportation is the last energy sector that should be decarbonized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Modelling and simulation of the proposed novel V2B2 energy schemes. • Use of electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies in clusters of buildings. • Analysis of the electricity transfer among buildings through electric vehicles. • Comprehensive parametric analysis for the energy and economic optimization. • Energy and economic performance guidelines for design and operating settings. This paper focuses on the energy and economic analysis of the Building To Vehicle To Building (V2B2) concept, conducted through a comprehensive parametric and sensitivity analysis. The idea behind this novel vehicle to building energy management is to exploit the use of electric vehicles as energy vectors to exchange electricity among buildings with the aim to accelerate the development of a novel zero energy paradigm, while promoting the deployment of renewable energy sources, accelerating the widespread usage of electric vehicles, and streamlining the regulation of charging stations in our future communities. In order to evaluate the potentials of the proposed schemes, a comprehensive parametric analysis is conducted to size the design and operating parameters which maximize the self-production and self-consumption of building integrated renewable energy technologies at a cluster level. The paper investigates the energy and economic performance of different V2B2 energy management schemes including a residential building, an office building, and an electric vehicle, which feature a basic cluster of human-linked energy consumers. The study is conducted by means of a novel in-house developed dynamic simulation tool, suitably enhanced to model the system operation. Numerical results, obtained for a representative weather zone (Mediterranean climate of Naples, South-Italy), show that through the V2B2 scheme, a remarkable exploitation of off-site renewable energy production is achieved, producing a significant reduction of fossil fuel consumption from the grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Electricity and electrification is a viable solution for the energy transition. • Electricity triangle assures a consistent framework for the energy transition. • Multifaceted benefits: energetic, environmental and socio-economic. • Conceptualization of a set of metrics for impact assessment. • A real case study (Italy) considering its evolution up to 2050. Greenhouse gases along with pollution generated by the present energy paradigm widely based on fossil fuels are providing large impacts in terms of climate change and the health of human and biological systems at large. A shift in the energy paradigm, from fossil fuels to renewable energy, is urgently needed for nature and society. This is what we refer to as the energy transition. An old commodity – electricity – can play a new key role in the energy transition. That can happen through what we call the electricity triangle involving electricity generation from Renewable Energy Sources, exploitation of electricity as the main energy vector, and electrification of the final energy uses in all sectors. The possible deployment of the electricity triangle must be carefully assessed in all its possible implications, from technological, economic, societal and environmental perspectives. In this paper, we conceptualize the electricity triangle as a viable approach to the energy transition, and we propose a set of holistic metrics to assess its possible impacts. We apply the electricity triangle framework to the case of Italy based on sectorial studies on RES generation and electrification in building, industry and transport sectors. Our results indicate that Italy in 2050 has the potential to achieve 85.6% penetration of RES in its electricity supply, while 41%, 53% and 42% of the energy consumptions in transport, residential, and industry sectors will be electrified. Ultimately, this would lead to a 68% reduction in CO 2 emissions compared to current levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]