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Secures

SECURES analyzes challenges and opportunities for Austria's future electricity system to ensure a reliable, sustainable and cost-efficient power supply in times of climate change. The basis for this is provided by detailed climate and energy system modeling and intensive stakeholder dialog. The project's methodological starting point is a model-based analysis of the structural changes in weather, electricity demand and electricity generation caused by climate change and decarbonization.

This is based on the latest climate models. From these, key parameters can be derived with high temporal and geographical resolution, which determine the potential and operating conditions of future electricity generation and storage. Based on this assessment, different scenarios are developed to perform a comprehensive, model-based analysis of the future Austrian electricity sector. Research at the interface of energy and climate modeling will also provide the latest insights into the opportunities and challenges of this interdisciplinary approach.

The overall assessment will focus on security of supply, including an analysis of flexibility needs and the corresponding options to meet those needs, as well as address economic efficiency, taking into account investments and system and policy costs. This model-based research process will be transparent, including discourse with stakeholders in the scenario design and further process, open-source modeling and publications. Austrian policy makers will be supported to resolve conflicting goals regarding security of supply, decarbonization needs and economic development, which are equally affected by climate impacts. 

Planned key results of the project

  • Results of an in-depth analysis of changing climatic conditions and electricity demand and supply structures due to climate change and decarbonization.
  • Model-based decision support for a safe, sustainable and cost-efficient transformation of the Austrian power sector in times of climate change
  • Intensive exchange on interfaces between climate and energy system modeling (e.g., different definitions of extreme events in climate modeling and energy economics) illustrates the opportunities but also challenges of this interdisciplinary approach and the need for common standards

Conflicting policy goals in SECURES with climate change impacts.

Work structure - the three pillars and the corresponding work packages of SECURES

The project SECURES is funded by the Climate and Energy Fund (Klima- und Energiefonds) under project number KR19AC0K17532.