To reduce emissions produced, transportation sector is pushing towards the electrification of vehicle fleets. Topography or lack of proper charging infrastructure can limit this process. Ropeways systems can contribute to realize electric mobility solutions also in harsh geographic contexts, being considered in the Local Public Transportation (LPT) network. This paper provides an example of modelling applied to a ropeway system aimed to estimate the energy requested to the grid. Based on the actual service operations, two loading conditions were considered, no load and full capacity. Results pointed out the extreme convenience in operating ropeways systems at full capacity, requiring only 5 − 9 % of the energy compared to the empty-load case. This helped to estimate the amount of energy required per year based on the actual service deployed, with a further discussion on how to improve energy efficiency and its robustness against fluctuations of energy market price. • Local transportation is enhancing inter-modality of service. • Model for analysis of energy demand of a real ropeway system. • Energy demand is estimated considering two load conditions and service timetable. • Recoverable energy through an ESS is evaluated to reduce grid dependence.
Martino et al. (Sun,) studied this question.