This section defines variables and indicators related to characteristics and specifications of (energy) technologies including power plants, transmission lines and pipelines.
Note that there is no clear distinction whether a variable defined in this section is an assumption (input) or a model result (output) - this depends on the context of the modelling framework. For example, the "installed capacity" of a power plant may be an exogenous assumption in a (short-term) power-system dispatch model or a result from a long-term investment model. The respective use case should be clearly specified in the model documentation.
Explanations of the different categories and the structures of the variables are given below. See technologies.yaml for the full codelist.
Variables for the installed capacity of (energy) production/generation or transmission should follow the structure below.
Capacity|{Output}Capacity|{Output}|{Specification}Capacity|{Output}|{Input}
Variables for capacity additions of (energy) production/generation or transmission should follow the structure below.
Capacity Additions|{Output}Capacity Additions|{Output}|{Specification}Capacity Additions|{Output}|{Input}
Variables for the overnight capital cost for new construction of power plants or tranmission lines should follow the structure below.
Capital Cost|{Fuel}|{Specification}Capital Cost|{Fuel}|{Specification}|{Identifier Of A Specific Power Plant}
Note that it usually does not make sense to report capital costs
at a more aggregate level (i.e., Capital Cost|{Fuel}).
Variables for the expenditure for new construction of power plants or tranmission lines should follow the structure below.
Investment|{Type}Investment|{Type}|{Fuel}Investment|{Type}|{Fuel}|{Specification}
Variables for the investment expenditure in an energy (sub-)sectors (currently {Residential/Commercial}, Transportation, Industry, Electricity, Extraction, Heat, Hydrogen, and Liquids). Examples are
Investment|Energy Demand|TransportationInvestment|Energy Demand|{Residential/Commercial}Investment|Energy Demand|{Residential/Commercial}|AppliancesInvestment|Energy Demand|{Residential/Commercial}|Heating and Cooling|Heat PumpsInvestment|Energy Supply|Electricity|{Electricity Input}Investment|Energy Supply|Extraction|OilInvestment|Energy Supply|Liquids|Biomass
Annualized investments of the standing stock. This includes the annualized investments for all the currently standing stock that is not yet financially depreciated (which can happen earlier than the technical lifetime). The sum over the annualized investment should - over long periods that are longer than the depreciation periods - come close to the sum over investments; but it will be different on short periods if large investments are undertaken to change the system, which will strongly increase the "Investment" variable but have less impact on the "Annualized Investment" variable, which also includes the contribution for the standing stock. Towards the end of the modeling period, the annualized investment approach can give a better impression of the costs for the remaining years until end of the modelling period; the "Investment" variable also contains the investments whose lifetime lies mostly after the end of the modelling period. Example
Annualized Investment|Energy Demand|{Residential/Commercial}Annualized Investment|Energy Demand|Transportation|{Transport mode}
Variables for the running costs of a sector, eg {Residential/Commercial}, Transportation, Industry, Electricity, Hydrogen. Currently implemented subtypes are "Operation and Maintenance", as well as "Fuel"
Running Costs|Energy Demand|{Residential/Commercial}Running Costs|Energy Demand|Transportation|{Transport mode}|FuelRunning Costs|Energy Demand|Transportation|{Transport mode}|Fuel|{Fuel}Running Costs|Energy Demand|Industry|Operation and Maintenance
Stock|Transportation|{Transport mode, tech and carrier}Sales|{Residential/Commercial}|Heat Pumps