GIS TOOLS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY MODELING

In contrast to conventional energy modeling made on a national basis, we consider energy use and supply per unit of land area. This is parti cularly suited for dealing with dispersed energy resources such as ren ewable energy, and by making the match of demand with supply on this b asis in a geographical information system (GIS), we are able to direct ly identify any mismatch entailing needs for energy trade and establis hment of energy exchange facilities (power grids, gas distribution lin es, etc.). The model is being applied to several global energy scenari os and constitutes a quite general tool for system modeling, assessmen t and planning (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.