Energy Planning: a Sustainable Approach

Abstract

Energy system is currently based on a large fossil fuels dependence. It is a centralised model that have allowed a strong economic development in the last century, but that is showing a number of inconveniences which are turning it more and more unsustainable. Fossil fuels depletion, environmental damage and territorial unbalance caused by centralised energy model are significant factors to change energy structure, integrating new resources and modifying the way we use them. It is necessary to make compatible socio-economic development with a sustainable energy model, environmental respectful and that could generate local wealth. The key issue is to address current model towards a more balanced system based on the exploitation of renewable resources. Therefore, planning decisions concerning energy system cannot be consider under one specific criterion. Different implications, apart from energetic, such as environmental or socioeconomic matters, derived from changes on energy development and from the seek of sustainability, make it unavoidable to use tools and techniques that could take into account such multiplicity. In this way, this chapter summarizes current trends in energy planning when social and environmental issues have to be considered. This kind of approach have to be set in order to foster renewable energies development, mainly at regional level, by establishing strategies to reach, in the long term, an energy system more sustainable and mainly based upon autochthonous resources. Current energy planning models, related to sustainable development processes, are described and analyzed. The importance of multicriteria decision techniques, Delphi surveys and SWOT analysis, which are the most referred approaches on literature, is highlighted, and a deep review of such methodologies is presented. Successful combinations of these methods are also enlightened. Hybrid models as those using SWOT analysis and Delphi techniques, or Delphi techniques as a support of a Multicriteria Decision Making analysis, are specified and best examples are shown. Finally, a number of best practices are also presented, looking into their main drawbacks and advantages.