Geographic Information System (GIS) applications for scaling up energy efficiency

Problem:Geographic Information Systems or Geographic Information Science (GIS) has the potential to be more and more used in energy planning processes. From studies on energy access to grid analytics, researchers and practitioners in the field of sustainable energy have started to recognise to potential of this system. Nevertheless, energy efficiency studies and applications are not as present and, consequently, GIS remains still an abstract concept. However, the deployment of GIS for energy efficiency encompasses multiple sectors, from buildings to street lights to transport and district energy. During this podcast, some examples on how to apply GIS to case studies related energy efficiency are introduced. Starting off with a brief explanation on what is GIS and how it works, the audience will listen to some examples on the potential of GIS in the energy efficiency world.First, to provide an example of a detailed study and of an online application of GIS, the podcast explains how satellite data and administrative data created datasets that explore electrification and energy access (both current and potential) in countries of the Global South.Moving on with energy efficiency deployments of GIS, the following case study comes from the US and looks at how comparable scoring systems on the energy consumption of houses build upon GIS applications and are used by government agencies. Subsequently, an example of using GIS to evaluate energy efficiency projects is detailed. Lastly, the conversation looks into GIS potential for efficient public lighting in cities.With this podcast, the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency hopes that the audience will get a glance of what is GIS and why it is a tool with relevance and potential for scaling up energy efficiency across sectors.Key message:Few investigated the application of spatial analysis with GIS for energy efficiency. This podcast explores relevant implementation cases and potential.Speakers: Susana Adriana Paardekooper, Valeria ZambianchiSupport: Aristeidis Tsakirishttps://c2e2.unepdtu.org/kms_object/geographic-information-system-gis-applications-for-scaling-up-energy-efficiency-podcast/