The NEED project will create a platform through the interaction of existing conventional and new synthetic data sources, the linking of the different planning levels with ontologies, which will be validated through the connection of planning tools and provide a new rational basis in energy planning. Innovations are expected in the following areas:
NEED database
This consists of conventional data described and integrated in machine-readable form from various sources. In addition, missing data sets or gaps are supplemented with the help of synthetic data. For this purpose, methods such as extracting solar installations or building geometries from aerial images or reconstructing planning procedures are used or developed. In addition, data and procedures generated in this way must be suitably validated and verified.
NEED Knowledge Graph
The abstraction of data into ontologies, the extension of databases into a knowledge graph are in their infancy with promising examples in other areas. Innovations can be expected here in the area of interoperability and reuse, which are not imaginable today, but presuppose that there is a completely new quality in the description of data across the different planning levels.
Decentralised NEED platform
The platform is not a conventional database, but a data hub: a bundle of data, data sources and services or corresponding applications – so-called (micro- )services. The “classic” work steps in the creation of energy planning are to be mirrored by these (micro-)services and provide certain basic functions. The innovation lies in the fact that step-by-step complex work steps are automated and orchestrated without having to do it all in one step. Furthermore, obstacles to cross-organisational cooperation are overcome by means of a suitable set of rules for checking compliance with role specifications and purpose limitation.
NEED planning tools
The parallelism of planning and data plays a special role here. The NEED platform should provide input data for as many planning tools, energy models or other energy services as possible. The validation is carried out based on different target groups, with different tools, taking into account the different planning levels.