Net Zero Energy in Hotels and Touristic Areas in the Balearic Islands
Abstract
Tourism is the most developed economic sector in the Balearic Islands. The great rise in construction activities within the last 50 years, the increase in energy consumption, in CO2 emissions and in waste production due to tourism, as well as an electrical energy production system mainly based on coal and fossil fuels is not an environmentally sustainable scenario . The aim of this study is to identify the processes that reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, designing a target scenario featuring "zero CO2 emissions" and "100% renewable energies" in tourist buildings and tourist areas. The energy costs, CO2 emissions and waste materials generated by a sample of hotels and tourist areas from the Balearic Islands studied will be used in this study. The results show possible processes and infrastructure changes than can reduce the CO2 emissions between a 50 and 100% and find out future net zero energy building scenario.