Chilean energy grid visualisation

In the recent preprint "An analysis of renewable energy resources and options for the energy transition in Chile", we explored the use of 2D/3D visualisations as a planning tool for the energy transition. Together with the visualisation, we provide the procedures for its development are available as supplementary material. We hope that this material will contribute to the development of tools for the energy transition and facilitate the adoption of digital technologies in industrial applications. Our approach has addressed the relationship between the data and the end-user, a topic that is currently of concern to the digital twining communities as it limits the technology adoption. Our method systematizes the digital tool development and applies well-known website development procedures such as the use of personas. Our aim is to direct users to reliable data in a tool that allows an intuitive and comprehensive understanding of the information, as opposed to a list of isolated sources as typical search engines do.

We exemplify our approach using Chile as a use case, given the extraordinary renewable energy potential of this country. We used the visualisation platform in an query loop to answer increasingly complex questions, starting from whether Chile can export energy or not, to what would be best actions paths for Chile. Finally, we propose some options that could receive some attention to accelerate the energy transition, while reducing the impact of these energy activities on the environment. In southern Chile, abundant wind energy coexists with rich natural biosphere reserves. We think our proposal can reduce the impact of new energy industries on marine ecosystems and encourage better use of the limited resources available.