Electric Mobility in Sicily: An Application to a Historical Archaeological Site

Abstract

Transports should be a key focus in the close future for decarbonization efforts, if the optimistic climate change mitigation objectives to be reached by 2050 on a global scale are to be met. Choosing an emblematic and historical location in the center of Sicily as object of the study, the potential for decarbonization and the reduction of the energy and environmental impacts in the site for electric mobility is assessed, by considering electric mobility scenarios based on different shares of electricity generated through renewable energy technologies. The analysis is performed by means of a life-cycle approach, through the use of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. A parametric analysis investigating the impact of different electricity penetration levels in the local transports system is performed. The results identify relevant energy savings in the electricity mobility scenarios (5-6%) as well as a mixed trend for the environmental impacts: some indicators would show some relevant reductions (e.g. -70% for GWP) but others would grow as relevantly (e.g. +50% resource consumption for PV generated electricity).