Other Power Sector Resources and Tools
Methods for projecting avoided emissions from power plants range from basic to sophisticated. Basic methods assume consistent energy savings throughout the year and assign marginal emission rates or specific emission rates for proxy unit types. At the other end of the spectrum are sophisticated methods that can provide detailed forecasts of regional supply and demand impacts over time. This category includes true dispatch models that can incorporate detailed assumptions about future market conditions (e.g., fuel prices, emissions budget trading program effects, dispatch changes).
For more information about the strengths, limitations, and trade-offs between the various modeling methods and tools available, see Chapters 3 and 4 of Quantifying the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: A Guide for State and Local Governments.
AVERT offers an intermediate level of complexity. While it may be ideal for certain types of analyses, there are also many other tools available that provide other advantages, depending on the level and type of analysis one wishes to conduct. Examples of other tools and resources you might find useful include:
- eGRID: A comprehensive EPA source of data on the environmental characteristics of almost all electric power generated in the United States; it includes two types of emission rates based on annual average conditions.
- Power Profiler: An EPA tool that makes it easy to look up summary data (including regional emission rates) from eGRID.
- Clean Air Markets Program Data: EPA’s searchable database of air emissions and related data that EGUs and other facilities report to EPA; it is a key underlying source for AVERT and other power sector inventories.
- GridPIQ: A more intricate modeling tool from the U.S. Department of Energy that allows you to model the electric grid impacts of photovoltaics, electric vehicle “smart charging,” and other “smart grid” technologies; it borrows the AVERT algorithm to estimate the impact of these technologies.
- Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Energy and Emissions Savings Calculator: An Excel-based tool that calculates the estimated air pollutant emissions from a CHP system, compared with a separate heat and power system.
- Power Sector Modeling: An index of EPA's power sector modeling resources and power sector models used for long-term, economics-driven power sector projections and regulatory applications.
- GLIMPSE: A decision support modeling tool being developed by EPA that will allow users to explore future impacts of energy technologies and policies on the environment.