ENERGY 2100 is a powerful analysis tool for simulating a wide variety of policies which impact the energy system across energy demand, energy supply, and emissions. Policies are designed to test impacts of changes made to the energy system in relation to a business-as-usual, or reference case, scenario. Examples of policies include building codes, efficiency standards and regulations, energy efficiency programs, incentives promoting fuel switching, addition or retirement of specific types of electric generating capacity (such as coal, nuclear, wind, solar), taxes on greenhouse gas emissions, and cap-and-trade programs.

Policies are able to be simulated within any of the modules within ENERGY 2100:  residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation demand sectors, electricity, oil, gas, biofuel, hydrogen, and refinery supply sectors as well as emissions-related policies crossing both demand and supply sectors.


Types of Energy Demand Policies

  • Modify building/process efficiency
  • Modify appliance or vehicle efficiency
  • Encourage fuel switching (modify market share of marginal technologies choices) 
  • Modify the fuel mix of technologies for enduse energy
  • Modify the fuel mix of technologies for fuels used a feedstock
  • Introduce DSM programs
  • Adjust energy demand directly due to programs
  • Increase or decrease consumer price responsiveness 
  • Incorporate electricity peak shaving programs 
  • Increase prevalence of a given enduse within a given industry, such as for computers due to Data Centers
  • Retire technologies/introduce retrofits or conversions


Emissions-Related Policy Variables

  • Modify pollution coefficients of a given fuel or industry (energy, non-energy, venting, flaring, fugitives)
  • Modify parameters of emission reduction curves
  • Apply a carbon price
  • Establish a cap-and-trade system
  • Assign energy intensity goals (such as with Clean Fuel Regulations)
  • Incorporate sequestering and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
  • Initiate Direct Air Capture
  • Modify hydrogen and ammonia production assumptions


Electric Utility Generation

  • Modify renewable generation goals
  • Specify fixed amounts of energy transfers between areas through contracts
  • Limit or increase flows and/or costs across transmission lines
  • Activate offset requirements for generating units
  • Modify characteristics of generating units (retirement year, outage rate, generating costs, etc.)
  • Modify capacity expansion/build rules
  • Modify characteristics of plant types as a whole (differentiated from individual units)
  • Establish GHG performance goals 


Oil, Gas, and Refinery Industries

  • Modify oil and gas characteristics and/or production levels
  • Establish an emissions cap
  • Specify method for how refinery production is estimated 


Hydrogen and Ammonia Supply

  • Modify hydrogen and ammonia production levels


Waste

  • Reduce landfill gas methane emissions
  • Assign waste diversion targets