The activities of the Energy Systems Analysis Unit are focused on :
Environmental Analysis and Externalities
WHAT FOR?
- Analysis of the environmental consequences of energy technologies using Life Cycle Assessment
- Analysis of the indirect land use change (iLUC) effects of first-generation biofuels
- Quantification of greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels
- Analysis of the social consequences of energy technologies using Social Life Cycle Assessment
- Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment applied to energy technologies
- Assessment of the externalities of energy technologies using the ExternE methodology
WHICH MODELS DO WE WORK WITH?
- Life Cycle Assessment commercial software: SIMAPRO, GABI
- Life Cycle Assessment databases: Ecoinvent, GABI, GEMIS, Social HotSpot Database
- Input-Output/Life Cycle Assessment tool (IO-LCA Spain) and its application to energy technologies
- Environmentally extended Multi-regional input-output models (E-MRIO) to assess the effects of energy projects on the environment at the National and International level
- Biofuel GHG emissions calculation tools such as CALCUGEI
- Externalities assessment tools such as Ecosense
Socioeconomic Analysis
WHAT FOR?
- Evaluation of the economic and social externalities associated to the energy technologies
- Evaluation of both private and social costs and benefits of energy projects, programs and policies
- Analysis of policy instruments aimed at fostering renewable energies as well as renewable energy cooperation at the international level
- Development of new tools aimed at assessing the impacts on the three sustainability pillars
- Analysis of the effects that renewable energy investments may have in the development process of less developed countries (LDC)
WHICH MODELS DO WE WORK WITH?
- Input-Output models (I-O) and Multi-regional input-output models (MRIO) to assess the effects of energy projects on the economy and employment at the National and International level
- Social Accountability Matrix (SAM) and Social Accountability Matrix with energy sector disaggregation (SAME)
- Input-Output/Life Cycle Assessment tool (IO-LCA) and its application to energy technologies
- New methodological tools based on an MRIO framework aimed at simultaneously evaluate the three sustainability pillars (environmental, social and economic) of energy systems
- Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to evaluate all the possible impacts of energy investment decisions
- In collaboration with Real Instituto Elcano, development of a comprehensive framework (EFDI-D) to assess the effects that RE investments may have on the development process of host countries
Energy Modelling
WHAT FOR?
- Prospective analysis of the national/regional/global energy system at medium and long term
- Medium and long term analysis of new technologies penetration into the energy system
- Analysis of the influence of some economic or/and policy measures
- Backcasting consisting of defining a future sustainable energy scenario ('desirable' one) and identifying the composition of the energy system in each period
WHICH MODELS DO WE WORK WITH?
- Long-term energy models of economic equilibrium, covering the entire energy system from mining to final consumption
- Optimization models which aim at providing the optimum energy system composition in terms of social wealth and sustainability at the minimum cost
- Bottom-up, technology rich model with thousand of technologies well defined by technical, economic and environmental data
TIMES-Spain, national energy model representing the Spanish energy system, developed by CIEMAT
EUROfusion Times Model (ETM), global energy model developed within EUROfusion framework
ETSAP-TIAM global model, global energy model developed within ETSAP framework
Contracting party at ETSAP- ENERGY TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS ANALYSIS PROGRAMME, Technology Collaboration Programme of the INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY
Energy Policies
WHAT FOR?
- Evaluation of energy policies using Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Analysis of tools aimed at the promotion of renewable energies as well as the cooperation in renewable energies at international level
- Development of new analysis frameworks to evaluate the impact of energy policies and projects
WHICH MODELS DO WE WORK WITH?
- Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to evaluate all the possible impacts of energy investment decisions