field assessment of energy consumption patterns and renewable energy deployment potential in naein: a transition model for advancing green urban development in hot and arid regions of iran

This study aims to conduct a field-based assessment of energy consumption patterns and the potential for renewable energy development in naein, as a representative small city located in iran’s hot and arid climatic region. to achieve this objective, electricity and natural gas consumption data were obtained from provincial distribution companies, climatic information was collected from the naein meteorological station, and the perspectives of municipal managers and technical experts were gathered through a structured questionnaire. climatic data were analyzed using the retscreen software in order to evaluate the city’s solar and wind energy potential. the results indicate that naein receives an average solar radiation of approximately 5.5 kwh/m² per day and experiences over 300 sunny days annually, which provides favorable conditions for the effective deployment of photovoltaic systems. simulation outcomes further show that installing a 20 kw solar photovoltaic system on administrative buildings could generate roughly 32,000 kwh of electricity per year and reduce co₂ emissions by around 22 tons. however, the questionnaire findings revealed that, despite a relatively high level of awareness among managers regarding the benefits of renewable energy, willingness to invest remains low due to high initial costs and a lack of financial support mechanisms. overall, the findings demonstrate that naein possesses suitable technical and climatic conditions for the expansion of renewable energy systems, and that the implementation of supportive policies and financing frameworks could facilitate the city’s transition toward a sustainable green urban model.