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Deloitte has an in-depth article about Smart Cities with Peña Station NEXT featured. Below is an excerpt with a link to the full article.

CITIES’ small geographical footprint belies their significance. They cover 2 percent of the world’s landmass, but account for most of the world’s population, economic activity, and energy use. Here, we focus on the third aspect—energy use—as cities and renewable electricity have, respectively, become the habitat and energy of choice globally. The two are increasingly inseparable. As cities vie to attract growing businesses, talent, and innovation in an increasingly global competition, solar and wind power have become key for many in achieving their smart city goals.

This report discusses how renewables can empower smart cities. We will start by exploring the urbanization and electrification trends that have turned cities and the grid into leading platforms for human activity. Technology can help make these platforms smarter by providing actionable data, but technology’s greatest value lies in its people-centered deployment—that is, to the benefit of all citizens/customers. The goals of a people-centered smart city are economic growth, sustainability, and quality of life, while the goals of a utility are to provide reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible energy. Solar and wind power are the linchpins to aligning and achieving both sets of goals. To better describe cities that recognize this and harness wind and solar energy, we developed the concept of smart renewable cities (SRCs). SRCs are already powered by solar and wind and envision the further deployment of these sources as integral to their smart city plans.

SRC Peña Station Next is an incubator for SRCs in general, as “a regional, national, and global showcase for innovation districts, setting the standard for smart, sustainable, connected living.”

Read the entire report