Understanding Energy Systems & New Infrastructure

Workshop

Energy demand is set to grow in both Germany and Arab countries. This growing demand puts strain on the existing energy systems and requires an optimised design for new energy infrastructure. This optimisation concerns the use of renewable energies, options for demand-side moderation of energy use, reduction of carbon emissions as well as cost-efficiency regarding infrastructure and maintenance costs.

Energy system modelling is a common tool for optimising energy planning at a macro and micro level and, at the same time, allows evaluating the future performance of energy systems. Based on computer models, different assumptions about technical and economic conditions can be analysed applying a wide range of techniques, ranging from economics to engineering. Outputs may include system feasibility, greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative financial costs, natural resource use, and energy efficiency of the system under investigation. They support the decision making of energy infrastructures and are of great importance in a number of disciplines such as environmental engineering, architecture, physics, economics, and computer sciences.

In a hands-on workshop, members of the AGYA working group Energy, Water and Environment received a training on open source energy models to learn how to apply these techniques in their respective countries. Algeria and Lebanon served as first case studies. In a next step, they advanced their knowledge of using open source artificial intelligence (AI) software to detect patterns in energy demand, the influence of public information on energy prices and cost structures.