Integration of complex networks for urban energy mapping

With the growing concern for environmental protection, many countries commit to mitigate the climate change and to reduce the global warming associated with carbon dioxide emissions. Global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have led to the adoption of a series of climate protection programs. In Europe an integrated policy on climate protection has been structured in conformity with the guidelines of the Plan 20 20 20, contained in Directive 2009/29/EC. Specifically, as emerged from the fifth Assessment Report of the International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), a strong contribution on greenhouse gas emissions results from cities. In this regard, the European Parliament Resolution OJ 2010/C349E/16 promotes initiatives based on energy efficiency and renewable sources, as well as smart distribution networks in urban areas. A detailed knowledge of the urban energy demand plays an important role in order to develop strategies for the implementation of efficient energy management plans. For this purpose, the proposed paper aims at developing a mathematical model derived from the complex network theory and able to represent the energy demand of an urban area. Moreover, the structural properties of the obtained network are highlighted through the degree centrality measure.