OptiEE - Optimization of Potential Analyses for Renewable Energies, through the Integration of Socio-psychological Parameters

OptiEE - Optimization of Potential Analyses for Renewable Energies, through the Integration of Socio-psychological Parameters

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, further expansion of renewable energies is necessary. The expansion of renewable energies "EE" is closely related to society. An accurate knowledge of the available potentials is an important prerequisite for realistic planning and targeted control of the expansion. However, previous EE potential analyses usually only consider technical or economic potential. Since the expansion of EE takes place at the local level in close interaction with society, the potential is also subject to social factors such as local acceptance of energy infrastructure. The actual achievable potential can therefore be significantly lower than potential analyses based on technical and economic parameters predict.

The goal of the OptiEE project is therefore to develop an integrated methodology that strategically and systematically includes societal acceptance parameters in the technical modeling of renewable energies "EE". For this purpose, social parameters are already taken into account in the potential analysis for renewable energies. This technology-independent approach enables an optimized, more realistic potential estimation of renewable energies compared to a purely techno-economic evaluation. By developing a methodology for an EE expansion in coordination and agreement with societal acceptance conditions, the project can make an important contribution to a successful implementation of the energy transition.

The OptiEE project is being carried out by a project consortium consisting of three institutes at RWTH Aachen University: the Chair for Wind Power Drives "CWD", the Institute for Urban Design and European Urbanism "STB", and the Chair for Communication Science, Human-Computer Interaction Center "COMM/HCIC".

The main tasks of the Chair for Communication Science/HCIC in the project are:

• identification of acceptance-relevant criteria for EE expansion
• their weighting, scalability, and analysis of their dependence on personal characteristics and regional contexts
• preparation of the results of acceptance studies for transfer to techno-economic potential analyses
• derivation of recommendations for accompanying public information and communication.