Using Energy Supply Scenarios in an Interdisciplinary Research Process

Abstract

The sustainable energy transition (Energiewende) is a multidisciplinary challenge. While for technical disciplines, the focus is on the development of technologies which can supply, transmit and store energy in a sustainable way, economic research focuses for example on the analyses of costs and risks of different asset portfolios. Yet another perspective is taken by the social sciences who focus on social challenges associated with the implementation of measures for realizing the Energiewende (decarbonization, high energy efficiency, high shares of renewables, nuclear phaseout), for example their acceptability. A solution for energy supply and storage which is optimized only according to one of these perspectives will, however, fail to meet other essential criteria. To develop sustainable solutions for energy supply and storage, which are technically feasible, cost-effective, and supported by local residents, interdisciplinary cooperation of researchers is thus needed. Interdisciplinary research, however, is subject to many barriers, for example the need to agree on a common analytical framework. In this paper, a process model for interdisciplinary energy research is proposed, in which specific scenarios are used to aid interdisciplinary cooperation and reciprocal integration of results. Based on a current research project, the phases of the model and the use of the scenarios in disciplinary and interdisciplinary work packages are described, as well as challenges and shortcomings of the model.