The ENGINE model: Determining optimal development of the Irish electricity sector under different policy scenarios

Seminar Topic

Desta Fitiwi will present the Electricity Network and Generation INvEstment (ENGINE) model that has been under development in the ESRI. The model can be used to answer different policy-related questions pertaining to the least-cost development of power systems in the island of Ireland and beyond. The presentation will also include insights from case studies on the whole island such as the best locations and quantities of electricity generation and transmission infrastructure under different policy scenarios (e.g. high datacentre rollout, north-south interconnector, high RES diversification, centralized vs decentralized RES development, storage, etc.).

This is a joint seminar with the Energy Systems Integration Partnership Programme (ESIPP).

Speaker Bio

Desta Fitiwi is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Ireland. He holds an Erasmus Mundus joint doctoral degree in Sustainable Energy Technologies and Strategies, a program jointly offered by UPComillas (Madrid, Spain), KTH (Stockholm, Sweden) and TUDelft (Delft, The Netherlands). His doctoral thesis focuses on the development of strategies, methods and tools for solving long term expansion planning problems of electrical transmission networks of a continental scale under high penetration of renewables. So far, he authored and co-authored more than 40 scientific papers (13 in peer-reviewed international journals of the first quartile – Q1 and 24 in conference proceedings, 4 book chapters, all indexed in the ISI Web of Science and SCOPUS). His research interests include mathematical modelling and optimizations, power systems expansion planning and operation, distributed energy resources integration, smart grids and flexibility in energy systems, and demand side management.