Specification of System-of-systems for Policymaking in the Energy Sector

Abstract

Very detailed models often hinder the ability to develop a broad, high-level understanding of system behavior. A system-of-systems perspective combined with a policy analysis approach offers an alternative approach for policy decision-making. This paper specifies the elements of the energy system-of-systems using this new approach and illustrates its use via an example from the Dutch residential sub-sector. The resulting comprehensive problem representation provides meaningful insights into the interdependencies of relevant factors and values among different levels of the system- of-systems covering both the supply and demand side. The paper also shows that despite the high complexity of the energy sector, an energy system-of-systems can be specified in a manageable way and can be used to formulate tractable decision-making problems on a specific policy issue.