Space-based Renewable Energy Decision Support System

The Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) renewable energy is “obtained from the continuing or repetitive currents of energy occurring in the natural environment and includes non-carbon technologies such as solar energy, hydropower, wind, tide and waves and geothermal heat, as well as carbon-neutral technologies such as biomass.” The transition to RE requires a thorough assessment of the potential supply and energy demand. The location and availability of the RE resource that can be harnessed for conversion into usable energy defines the possible capacity of the RE infrastructure and its contributions to the supply chain. RE development and planning are often undertaken at the local or regional scales because RE resources are influenced by various geographic and topographic factors (Rentizelas et al., 2009). Understanding the spatial and temporal nature of RE are crucial for the planning and development of RE, which can be aided by a space-based RE decision support system (DSS).

The development of a space-based RE DSS is one of the expected outputs from the Manila Observatory (MO) as one of the partner institutions working under the Access to Sustainable Energy Programme – Clean Energy Living Laboratories (ASEP-CELLs) project, which is funded by the European Union. The space-based RE DSS endeavor is spearheaded by the Geomatics for Environment and Development (GED) laboratory. The space-based RE DSS is expected to facilitate the transition to greater use of renewables in the country.  The application of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS) in developing the space-based RE DSS is expected to contribute to the project’s main goals of increasing the share of RE in the Philippine energy mix and supporting sustainable development and inclusive growth by promoting energy efficiency.