Using Scenarios for Interdisciplinary Energy Research - A Process Model

The transition towards renewable energies is not only a technical, but also an economic and social challenge. Without an economic perspective that takes into account risk and uncertainty, a technically feasible scenario can easily lead to financial losses. Likewise, a technically and economically feasible scenario which is not in line with public acceptance is difficult to implement and the diffusion of new technologies is hindered. It is therefore apparent that, for a holistic evaluation, new energy scenarios need to be considered from more than one perspective. The challenge in an interdisciplinary approach is to find a common analytical framework, which is a prerequisite to be able to integrate data and combine approaches from different disciplines into one holistic model. This paper suggests a process model for interdisciplinary collaboration and argues how within these, scenarios can be used as common frames of reference by taking a current interdisciplinary energy project as example. Finally, challenges and opportunities of the process model are discussed.