Dr Matías Paredes-Vergara is an Honorary Research Associate at the Environmental Change Institute, as well as an Analyst at the Planning and Climate Change Unit of the Ministry of Energy of Chile. His work at the Ministry focuses on improving and developing the country’s Long-term Energy Planning process, with a focus on power systems planning.
During his technical visit to OPSIS at the ECI, Matías developed a project titled “Development of a tool for multi-objective spatial planning of power systems considering climate resilience”. This project aims to extend the current capabilities of planning tools to account for the optimal location of power systems expansion. It enables the identification of new infrastructure that is both optimal from a techno-economic perspective and optimal in its interaction with the territory, while considering exposure to climate risks.
Matías holds a PhD in Systems Engineering and a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, both from the University of Chile. Matías’ research focuses on applied decision-making aspects of long-term energy planning, such as integrating decision-making under deep uncertainty (DMDU) into institutional frameworks and modelling tailored optimisation problems for power systems planning.
Prior to his current role in the Chilean Long-term Energy Planning process, Matías worked in green hydrogen development, solar photovoltaic projects, and water resources projects in Chile, both in the private and public sectors.