Addressing Challenges in Long-Term Strategic Energy Planning in LMICs: Learning Pathways in an Energy Planning Ecosystem

Carla Cannone (), Pooya Hoseinpoori, Leigh Martindale, Elizabeth M. Tennyson, Francesco Gardumi, Lucas Somavilla Croxatto, Steve Pye, Yacob Mulugetta, Ioannis Vrochidis, Satheesh Krishnamurthy, Taco Niet, John Harrison, Rudolf Yeganyan, Martin Mutembei, Adam Hawkes, Luca Petrarulo, Lara Allen, Will Blyth and Mark Howells
Additional contact information
Carla Cannone: Department of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
Pooya Hoseinpoori: Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Leigh Martindale: Department of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
Elizabeth M. Tennyson: Centre for Global Equality, Cambridge CB2 1SJ, UK
Francesco Gardumi: Department of Energy Technology, School of Industrial Engineering and Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden
Lucas Somavilla Croxatto: Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, University College London, London WC1E 6JA, UK
Steve Pye: UCL Energy Institute, University College London, London WC1H 0NN, UK
Yacob Mulugetta: Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, University College London, London WC1E 6JA, UK
Ioannis Vrochidis: TUM School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich, 85748 Garching b. München, Germany
Satheesh Krishnamurthy: School of Engineering and Innovation, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
Taco Niet: School of Sustainable Energy Engineering, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, BC V3T 0N1, Canada
John Harrison: Department of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
Rudolf Yeganyan: Department of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
Martin Mutembei: Strathmore Energy Research Centre (SERC), Strathmore University, Madaraka Campus, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
Adam Hawkes: Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Luca Petrarulo: Independent Researcher, 20124 Milan, Italy
Lara Allen: Centre for Global Equality, Cambridge CB2 1SJ, UK
Will Blyth: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, London SW1A 2AH, UK
Mark Howells: Department of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-35

Abstract: This paper presents an innovative approach to addressing critical global challenges in long-term energy planning for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The paper proposes and tests an international enabling environment, a delivery ecosystem, and a community of practice. These components are integrated into workflows that yield four self-sustaining capacity-development outcomes. Planning long-term energy strategies in LMICs is particularly challenging due to limited national agency and poor international coordination. While outsourcing energy planning to foreign experts may appear to be a viable solution, it can lead to a reduction in government agency (the ability of a government to make its own informed analysis and decisions). Additionally, studies commissioned by external experts may have conflicting terms of reference, and a lack of familiarity with local conditions can result in misrepresentations of on-the-ground realities. It is argued here that enhancing national agency and analytical capacity can improve coordination and lead to more robust planning across line ministries and technical assistance (TA) providers. Moreover, the prevailing consulting model hampers the release and accessibility of underlying analytics, making it difficult to retrieve, reuse, and reconstruct consultant outputs. The absence of interoperability among outputs from various consultants hinders the ability to combine and audit the insights they provide. To overcome these challenges, five strategic principles for energy planning in LMICs have been introduced and developed in collaboration with 21 international and research organizations, including the AfDB, IEA, IRENA, IAEA, UNDP, UNECA, the World Bank, and WRI. These principles prioritize national ownership, coherence and inclusivity, capacity, robustness, transparency and accessibility. In this enabling environment, a unique delivery ecosystem consisting of knowledge products and activities is established. The paper focuses on two key knowledge products as examples of this ecosystem: the open-source energy modeling system (OSeMOSYS) and the power system flexibility tool (IRENA FlexTool). These ecosystem elements are designed to meet user-friendliness, retrievability, reusability, reconstructability, repeatability, interoperability, and audibility (U4RIA) goals. To ensure the sustainability of this ecosystem, OpTIMUS is introduced—a community of practice dedicated to maintaining, supporting, expanding, and nurturing the elements within the ecosystem. Among other ecosystem elements, training and research initiatives are introduced, namely the Energy Modelling Platform for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific as well as the ICTP Joint Summer School on Modelling Tools for Sustainable Development. Once deployed via workflows, the preliminary outcomes of these capacity-development learning pathways show promise. Further investigation is necessary to evaluate their long-term impacts, scalability, replication, and deployment costs.

Keywords: U4RIA; OpTIMUS; OSeMOSYS; IRENA FlexTool; energy planning; energy system modeling; teaching; capacity development; self sustained; climate change; energy policy; accessibility; open-source; e-learning; sustainable development goals; low-carbon technologies; climate policies; ecosystem (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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