The GEAR research group from the Renewable Energy Research Institute has participated in two energy planning events that brought together researchers and national institutions.

Firstly, on 12th November, the event “Modelling in Energy Planning in Spain” was held at the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO, Madrid), with GEAR taking part as a member of the MENTES Network (Energy Modelling for a Sustainable Energy Transition). The event featured contributions from representatives of these entities as well as from MITECO, MINECO (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise), IDAE (Instituto para la Diversificación y Ahorro de la Energía), EVE (Ente Vasco de la Energía), FAEN (Fundación Asturiana de la Energía), ICAEN (Institut Català d’Energia) y REDEIA. During the session, various challenges were raised regarding modelling for foresight and energy planning, including regional and agent-level disaggregation, opportunities to boost economic competitiveness, and the need for greater institutional coordination and social participation. Representing GEAR, Researcher Nuria Gómez participated in a roundtable on integrating territorial aspects into energy transition modelling, highlighting the topics and models the group is currently working on. Issues such as consumption habits, resource management, circular economy, environmental aspects, and MRIO (multi-regional input-output) models were identified as key elements within the group’s research.

Secondly, on 13 November, the National Congress on Energy Modelling was held at the Institute for Technological Research (ITT) at Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid. The congress, attended by members of the MENTES Network, featured invited talks by Andrés Ramos (ITT), as well as presentations on new national-scale energy models from institutions such as the Polytechnic University of Madrid (by Cristóbal Gallego), Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals – Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) (Cristina Madrid), the University of Cantabria (by Antonio Domínguez), and the Iberian Centre for Research in Energy Storage (CIIAE) (by David Parra). The session concluded with two separate workshops: one for energy modellers from an engineering perspective and another for those working in the field of energy economics, aimed at addressing the challenges raised during the two-day event within the framework of the MENTES Network. The GEAR group participated in the first workshop, facilitated by researcher Jorge Zafrilla (GEAR) and researcher Ignacio Cazcarro (CREDENAT, Growth, Demand and Natural Resources).

The MENTES Network project involves the creation of a national network for ENERGY MODELLING FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TRANSITION (Red MENTES). Under the leadership and coordination of the Tecnalia Foundation for the 2024-2026 period, the network comprises 5 universities (University of Castilla-La Mancha, University of Valladolid, University of Zaragoza, Public University of Navarre, and Comillas Pontifical University) and 4 research centres (CIEMAT,

IMDEA-Energy, Basque Research Centre for Climate Change, and Tecnalia’s own Energy Planning Platform). It aims to develop and provide tools to support decision-making in Spain’s transition towards a low-carbon economy. In this transition, the energy sector plays a key role, and the multidisciplinary nature of the network will enable the assessment of the economic, social, and environmental implications of the energy transition, anticipating potential problems and evaluating different alternatives for their effective resolution.