Interactive energy demand anaylsis: The MAED-BI model application in the Shanxi Province, PRC

The decision support system described in this report combines several data bases, simulation and optimization models, and AI components, in an easy-to-use Expert System framework. A graphical and largely symbolic user interface, relying exclusively on menu techniques and providing help and explain functions, makes access to the system’s functions easy for the planner and decision maker, who might have little or no computer experience. The system is designed to assist the five-year planning process in Shanxi Province, which in the Chinese philosophy of integrated development, includes investment distribution, i.e., primarily economic, but also technological, resource, environmental and socio-political considerations. The scope of the system ranges from the macroeconomic level down to sectoral and engineering-oriented models. Modelling in the Shanxi software system is done with the help of the MAED-BI (Model for Analysis of Energy Demand in Basic Industries). This model, which centers on heavy industry, has been extended to cover the full range of economic sectors for compatibility with the overall system. Connection to a relational data base management system for the definition of input scenarios, and an interactive, graphical user interface for the selective display are important features of this model.