Strengthening Long Term Planning for Samoa's Energy Sector with openCEM

Pacific island countries are working towards reducing their reliance on diesel fuel for electricity generation, to tackle the three-pronged challenge of climate change, energy security and the affordability of energy for their residents. From 4th - 8th December 2023, members from the Office of the Regulator (OOTR) and the Electrical Power Corporation (EPC) participated in a series of workshops aimed at deploying openCEM for Samoa.

openCEM is an open-source software tool that produces long-term planning forecasts of electricity systems such as the whole of Samoa or other Pacific island countries. openCEM forecasts plan for the integration of renewable energy generation and storage into the system and existing generation options like hydro and Diesel, while maintaining energy reserves at the least cost.

The workshops allowed participants to dive into the detailed assumptions required to produce long term planning forecasts for the electricity sector. Participants provided technical guidance, detailed data and feedback into the development of a version of openCEM specific for Samoa.

The workshops were organized by Australia Pacific Climate Partnership (the Climate Partnership) and facilitated by ITP Renewables who are developing and deploying openCEM for Samoa.