Iranian Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (IRSHRAE) Journal of Renewable and New Energy 2423-4931 11 2 2024 09 22 solar energy and sustainable economic development in Iran solar energy and sustainable economic development in Iran 128 137 198810 10.22034/jrenew.2024.198810 FA Ali Hossein Ostadzad Assistant professor, Department of Energy Engineering, Larestan University, Lar, Iran 0000-0002-2411-8340 Journal Article 2023 12 26 Solar energy as a renewable energy source has been considered by different countries in the framework of climate change. Since there are limited studies on how to have sustainable energy access, the main purpose of this research is to investigate the role of solar energy in sustainable energy access using the systems dynamics approach. In this study, four sub-systems of energy, economy, society and environment have been defined using the systems dynamics approach. Furthermore, energy security is defined as the availability of sufficient energy supply to encounter existing demand. After determining and defining the circular causal diagram, flow diagram, validation and simulation of the system, separate policies along with the combined policy are presented to improve the system. These policies include increasing investment in the renewable energy sector, increasing the subsity of non-renewable energy and reducing energy intensity. The simulation results have shown that for sustainable development, the government should focus on increasing the share of renewable energy in the total energy production. On the other hand, with growth of the solar industry, the amount of employment in this industry will increase. As a result, it is possible to increase the number of specialists and professional employees in this industry by providing a two-year training program to gain the necessary experience. Solar energy as a renewable energy source has been considered by different countries in the framework of climate change. Since there are limited studies on how to have sustainable energy access, the main purpose of this research is to investigate the role of solar energy in sustainable energy access using the systems dynamics approach. In this study, four sub-systems of energy, economy, society and environment have been defined using the systems dynamics approach. Furthermore, energy security is defined as the availability of sufficient energy supply to encounter existing demand. After determining and defining the circular causal diagram, flow diagram, validation and simulation of the system, separate policies along with the combined policy are presented to improve the system. These policies include increasing investment in the renewable energy sector, increasing the subsity of non-renewable energy and reducing energy intensity. The simulation results have shown that for sustainable development, the government should focus on increasing the share of renewable energy in the total energy production. On the other hand, with growth of the solar industry, the amount of employment in this industry will increase. As a result, it is possible to increase the number of specialists and professional employees in this industry by providing a two-year training program to gain the necessary experience. https://www.jrenew.ir/article_198810_3e83b1fc7b749cef96f56766536d7f07.pdf