RETScreen Expert is a clean energy decision intelligence software package used to evaluate the feasibility of potential renewable energy and energy efficiency projects by professionals and decision-makers. The program was designed by CanmetENERGY, Canada’s leading research and technology organization in renewable energy. The software currently has 435,290 users in 222 countries and territories worldwide. [1]
RETScreen Activities:
- Build a large and evolving global database of project input parameters (including data on benchmarks, facilities, archetypes, costs, products, and finances)
- Create an expert system decision-engine within the software that will mine this database relative to the user’s project location
- Gather publically available data for multiple regions, based on the existing climate data in RETScreen
- Link to open data sources and energy resource maps such as NASA’s satellite weather data, streaming dynamic near real-time data into the software
- Use the above to underpin the creation of a Virtual Energy Analyser, a Smart Project Identifier, Financial Risk Assessor and project lifecycle Performance Tracker
- Create training material
- Conduct beta testing/pilot project in a REEEP priority country [2]
RETScreen Impact:
- Dramatic reduction in financial and time costs to identify and assess potential clean energy investments
- Direct user savings of more than $20 billion achieved by the end of 2022
- RETScreen Expert used for at least $100 billion in project investments
- Emission reductions of at least 50 MT CO2/year in greenhouse gas emissions achieved
- Substantial contribution to global economic development, greenhouse gas and pollution reduction, and energy security [3]
References
[1] RETScreen Software: Cumulative Growth of User Base. (2015). Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160204073550/http://www.retscreen.net/popup.php?id=10248&tcopy=&alt=RETScreen+Software:+Cumulative+Growth+of+User+Base&titre=
[2] RETScreen Expert: decision intelligence software platform. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.reeep.org/projects/retscreen-expert-decision-intelligence-software-platform
[3] Ibid.
