JOINING FORCES FOR ENERGY PLANNING
Nine international organizations joined together in 1992 to launch the inter-agency project on Databases and Methodologies for Comparative Assessment of Different Energy Sources for electricity generation, in short DECADES. They are the IAEA, the European Commission (EC), United Nations Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), World Bank (IBRD), Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD/NEA), Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The project's aim is to facilitate the development of sustainable energy strategies as an integral part of planning and decision making in the electricity sector. The project has established technology databases, developed analytical tools, and provided training and support to developing countries in conducting comparative assessment studies. The DECADES computer cools consist of databases and analytical software. They can be used for evaluating the always existing trade-offs between technical, economic and environmental features of different electricity generation technologies, chains and systems at the national, regional and international levels.
Two types of technology databases were developed: the Reference Technology Database (RTDB) and Country Specific Databases (CSDBs). The RTDB provides a comprehensive, harmonized set of technical, economic and environmental data for energy chains that use fossil fuels, nuclear power, and renewable energy sources for electricity generation. It contains data for about 300 technologies, characterized according to their level of maturity. The CSDBs store data on electricity generation technologies for various countries or regions for the purpose of carrying out case studies with the DECADES analytical software or other national planning tools. More than 25 countries have developed a CSDB, containing a total of more than 2500 technologies.
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