Effective methodology for the assessment of integrated energy strategies

The worldwide increasing energy consumption, mainly based on fossil fuel, and its harmful impacts on the environment and on public health, calls for relevant measures and policies from every government. In order to address the energy transition, different modelling and decision support approaches have been developed, principally in industrialized countries. However, these approaches usually lack coherent integration and rely on expensive or unavailable detailed data, especially in developing countries. Our goal is therefore to develop a method for assessing energy transition strategies adapted to the context of the countries where they have to be taken and considering with a holistic approach the economic, thermodynamic and environmental impacts.

Cuba is an excellent test case to design and apply energy transition strategies for developing countries. On one hand, the climate of Cuba presents good opportunities for renewable energy sources integration. On the other hand, the embargo imposed by United States has a dramatic consequence on the energy supply of the island. Cuban authorities are urged to improve their energy independency. Therefore, the development of innovative methods joined with the use of adapted modelling support in order to planning sustainable energy strategies have particular importance.

This project designs a novel integrated assessment methodology for energy strategies planning. It brings integrated decision support tools which can be used in developing countries contexts. In addition, it provides a set of proposal to assist policy makers for taking decisions to improve air quality and energy supply systems in Cuba.

The methodology must be able to identify the most promising energy supply strategies. It considers economic and environmental costs and impact especially on air quality, in-situ available resources, and energy demands by combining process system design methods with air quality modelling.

• Cuba
• Colombia

• Link to project on SNSF research database P3