LIVEN Lab team members: 

  • Cristina Madrid  
  • Miquel Sierra  
  • Yoana Kisyova  
  • Camilo Ruiz  

Living Lab on Environmental Modelling for Energy Planning

Our flagship project and the one that gives name to the lab.  

In the LIVEN project, we create a research and Innovation living lab where we co-develop and adapt the modular environmental assessment tool ENBIOS to overcome shortcomings of current energy models, which are too focused on decarbonization and leave aside other environmental impacts. ENBIOS is an open-access tool that combines the bottom-up high-resolution LCA approach with the multiscale hierarchical perspective of the MuSIASEM methodology and can be adapted to assess the environmental impacts of energy plans at the global, national, regional, and local levels. The project includes three case studies: Spain, Catalonia, and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. 

The LIVEN project is structured into four stages:

  • 1. During ENVISIONING, we explore the environmental assessment needs of Spanish energy policymakers and translate them into quantitative information requests that should be provided by ENBIOS.
  • 2. In the INNOVATION stage, we review the structure and methods of ENBIOS to transform it into a standalone tool capable of performing environmental assessments with a geographical reference.
  • 3. During the EVALUATION stage, we test if the resulting ENBIOS configuration provides information that is relevant for decision-making.
  • 4. Finally, in the PILOT phase, we will choose between two energy planning policies currently under development in Spain (the Spanish Integrated Energy and Climate National Plan – PNIEC) and Catalonia (the Energy Prospective Plan in Catalunya – PROENCAT2050) to run a complete assessment with high resolution to enhance transfer. 

Some of the most relevant conclusions from the participatory processes organized by LIVEN were:  

June 23 2022, Online

Workshop 1

Identifying the information needs of key stakeholders in the energy transition: Reflecting on social and environmental aspects in modelling

This online workshop counted on the participation of 14 energy transition experts including policymakers, industry representatives, NGOs and civil society organizations operating at the local, regional and state scales. We followed a Delphi methodology to evaluate the importance of different social and environmental impacts that the transition to low-carbon energy systems could cause and how to include them into energy and environmental modelling.   

Oct 26 2023. ICTA-UAB

Workshop 2

Establishing a research agenda for environmental impact modelling: Identification of challenges and opportunities

This workshop is a co-production activity organized by LIVEN Lab with experts from governmental entities, industry, cooperatives, NGOs and civil society related to the energy transition in Spain. Following the World Café methodology, the 13 stakeholders discussed the national and regional challenges and opportunities associated with the implementation of the updated PNIEC (2023-2030) and considered how our work could contribute. Some of the conclusions were that the energy model used by the Spanish government by its nature is cost-centric and lacks a holistic understanding of environmental impacts, market failures and externalities. Hence, academia could be a great support to the government by providing this analysis. Additionally, they emphasized the need for regionalization of the models for better assessment, systematic representation of the geopolitical reality and exploring the narratives of the energy transition.