A web platform will be created designed to carry out electrical studies and provide information to the industry.

Luis Gutiérrez, professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences UAI and director of the Civil Engineering in Energy program, launched the Fondef IdeA I+D 2024 ID24I10476 project entitled “VisiónDERRED: Web platform for distribution network analysis for the efficient integration of distributed energy resources”, funded by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) through its Applied Research Subdirectorate, and in which the Chilean Solar Energy Association (ACESOL) participates and co-finances as an associated entity.

This project, led by Luis Gutiérrez, researcher at the Center for Energy Transition UAI (CENTRA), SERC-Chile and SEDA, aims to create a public-use tool that allows for a quick technical evaluation for the incorporation of energy resources, such as solar panels, energy storage systems or electric vehicles. The platform seeks to become a source of objective information for public and private decision-making.

The dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences UAI, Claudio Seebach, and representatives from various sectors of the industry attended the event, including the executive director of ACESOL, Darío Morales; representatives of the Superintendency of Electricity and Fuels; the executive director of Empresas Eléctricas AG, Juan Meriches; and various representatives of electric distribution companies; entities that collaborate with the development of the project.

In his welcoming remarks, dean Claudio Seebach highlighted: “We are very behind in the reform of distribution, in focusing the energy transition on the user. The city, the people, the homes, the SMEs, are invisible in the major reforms (…) We must focus, precisely, on what this project aims at, distributed energy resources.”

For his part, Juan Meriches stressed the importance of this type of project for ACESOL, stating: “For us, it is extremely important to contribute to the development of these projects (…) The resources are allocated where the priorities are and, for us, this is undoubtedly the number one priority, to promote and develop public goods that enhance distributed generation.”

Darío Morales commented: “When we talk about the decarbonization process, we tend to focus on the upstream process. As a country, we have been quite successful in removing fossil generation and progressively incorporating more renewable energy (…) But the decarbonization process does not end there, it is essential to take it to the end user.”

Luis Gutiérrez, project director, explained: “The idea of ​​this tool is that it becomes a flexible and adaptable technological solution that promotes transfer and sustainability, so that both electric companies, project developers, the SEC or the ministry have access to the same data, eliminating information asymmetry.”

This Fondef project is the result of a collaborative effort between academics from the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences UAI, CENTRA UAI, ACESOL, Empresas Eléctricas A.G. and the SEC.

We invite you to review the complete presentation here.