Multicriteria Spatial Decision-Support System to support regional energy planning: an application to Gotland, Sweden

In the current context, as climate change driven by human activities increasingly shapes the future of humanity, adopting a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to spatial planning has become essential. In this context, regional energy planning plays a crucial role in achieving the European Union’s 2050 climate neutrality targets through the transition to renewable energy sources. This thesis presents a methodological approach and a decision-support tool for developing regional energy plans, a geographic scale that remains underexplored yet is key to balancing energy independence and sustainability. The methodology is structured into four main phases: (i) an analysis of the geographical, political, and socio-cultural context; (ii) energy potential mapping and scenario development to engage communities and stakeholders in the decision-making process; (iii) a spatial multi-criteria analysis to generate suitability maps for renewable energy deployment; and (iv) the preparation of a strategy for applying the findings and ensuring periodic monitoring. The approach is tested on the Swedish region of Gotland, an ideal case study due to its insular nature, which necessitates a high degree of energy self-sufficiency. Despite certain limitations, such as data availability and granularity, as well as challenges in directly involving local stakeholders, the methodology proves to be flexible and adaptable to the diverse characteristics of European regions and governance systems, offering valuable support throughout various stages of energy planning. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the energy transition, providing an innovative and replicable methodological framework for academic research and regional policy development in Europe.