A computer-aided analysis on regional power and heat energy systems considering socio-economic aspects: A case study on an isolated island in Japan

Abstract Socio-economic aspects of technology implementation should be carefully examined in the design of regional energy systems. In this paper, we conducted a computer-aided socio-economic analysis on regional energy systems in isolated islands. Existing developed models were simultaneously utilized for characterizing the applicable technology options. At the same time, we analysed economic circulations induced by the utilization of locally available resources such as the residues of agriculture and forestry, which may twist the faucet of the cash effluent from the regions. A case study was conducted in an isolated island in Japan, Tanegashima, to demonstrate proposed computer-aided socio-economic analysis. The results clarified that the region-specific conditions on industrial structures can be revealed and visualized by preparing customized input-output table for the region. For the analysis of socio-economic aspects of newly installed technologies, computer-aided tools should be able to estimate the elements of input-output table based on the technological modelling with the locally customized input-output table.