Reference card - REMod
The reference card is a clearly defined description of model features. The numerous options have been organized into a limited amount of default and model specific (non default) options. In addition some features are described by a short clarifying text.
Legend:
- not implemented
- implemented
- implemented (not default option)
About
Name and version
REMod v2.0
Institution
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE), Germany, https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en.html.
Documentation
REMod documentation is limited and consists of a reference card
Process state
published
Model scope and methods
Model type
- Integrated assessment model
- Energy system model
- CGE
- CBA-integrated assessment model
Geographical scope
- Global
- Regional
Objective
REMod is a national energy system model with a focus on cross-sectoral system development. It's used to analyze long-term transformation pathways of the whole energy system, including technological transformation in the end-use sectors. The model has been used mainly for Germany and is currently being adapted for other European countries. It's rather unique approach of simulation-based optimization allows REMod to optimize capacity expansion and technological transformation in the end-use sectors on an annual basis while simulating the system in high detail on an hourly basis.
Solution concept
- Partial equilibrium (price elastic demand)
- Partial equilibrium (fixed demand)
- General equilibrium (closed economy)
Solution horizon
- Recursive dynamic (myopic)
- Intertemporal optimization (foresight)
Solution method
- Simulation
- Optimization
- Simulation-based optimization
Anticipation
The optimization of the transformation path assumes perfect foresight, while the underlying simulation of energy system operation is based on a 24-hour forecast with uncertainties.
Temporal dimension
Base year:2015, time steps:yearly, horizon: 2050
Spatial dimension
Number of regions:flexible, currently up to 10
- Germany
- German federal states
- European states
Note: Spatial scope is flexible: regions can be chosen based on research focus and regions can be aggregated based on German federal states and/or European national states.
Time discounting type
- Discount rate exogenous
- Discount rate endogenous
Policies
- Emission tax
- Emission pricing
- Cap and trade
- Fuel taxes
- Fuel subsidies
- Feed-in-tariff
- Portfolio standard
- Capacity targets
- Emission standards
- Energy efficiency standards
- Agricultural producer subsidies
- Agricultural consumer subsidies
- Land protection
- Pricing carbon stocks
- Phase out regulations
Socio-economic drivers
Population
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Population age structure
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Education level
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Urbanization rate
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
GDP
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Income distribution
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Employment rate
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Labor productivity
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Total factor productivity
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Autonomous energy efficiency improvements
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Macro-economy
Economic sector
Industry
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Energy
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Transportation
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Residential and commercial
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Agriculture
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Forestry
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Macro-economy
Trade
- Coal
- Oil
- Gas
- Uranium
- Electricity
- Bioenergy crops
- Food crops
- Capital
- Emissions permits
- Non-energy goods
Cost measures
- GDP loss
- Welfare loss
- Consumption loss
- Area under MAC
- Energy system cost mark-up
Categorization by group
- Income
- Urban - rural
- Technology adoption
- Age
- Gender
- Education level
- Household size
Institutional and political factors
- Early retirement of capital allowed
- Interest rates differentiated by country/region
- Regional risk factors included
- Technology costs differentiated by country/region
- Technological change differentiated by country/region
- Behavioural change differentiated by country/region
- Constraints on cross country financial transfers
Resource use
Coal
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Conventional Oil
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Unconventional Oil
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Conventional Gas
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Unconventional Gas
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Uranium
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Bioenergy
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Water
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Raw Materials
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Land
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Technological change
Energy conversion technologies
- No technological change
- Exogenous technological change
- Endogenous technological change
Energy End-use
- No technological change
- Exogenous technological change
- Endogenous technological change
Material Use
- No technological change
- Exogenous technological change
- Endogenous technological change
Agriculture (tc)
- No technological change
- Exogenous technological change
- Endogenous technological change
Energy
Behaviour
Operation of the energy system including demand-side management via flexible operation of heating systems and flexible charging of vehicles is simulated. Impact of behaviour on technological change can be exogenously modeled via different scenario assumptions.
Energy technology substitution
Energy technology choice
- No discrete technology choices
- Logit choice model
- Production function
- Linear choice (lowest cost)
- Lowest cost with adjustment penalties
Energy technology substitutability
- Mostly high substitutability
- Mostly low substitutability
- Mixed high and low substitutability
Energy technology deployment
- Expansion and decline constraints
- System integration constraints
Energy
Electricity technologies
- Coal w/o CCS
- Coal w/ CCS
- Gas w/o CCS
- Gas w/ CCS
- Oil w/o CCS
- Oil w/ CCS
- Bioenergy w/o CCS
- Bioenergy w/ CCS
- Geothermal power
- Nuclear power
- Solar power
- Solar power-central PV
- Solar power-distributed PV
- Solar power-CSP
- Wind power
- Wind power-onshore
- Wind power-offshore
- Hydroelectric power
- Ocean power
Hydrogen production
- Coal to hydrogen w/o CCS
- Coal to hydrogen w/ CCS
- Natural gas to hydrogen w/o CCS
- Natural gas to hydrogen w/ CCS
- Oil to hydrogen w/o CCS
- Oil to hydrogen w/ CCS
- Biomass to hydrogen w/o CCS
- Biomass to hydrogen w/ CCS
- Nuclear thermochemical hydrogen
- Solar thermochemical hydrogen
- Electrolysis
Refined liquids
- Coal to liquids w/o CCS
- Coal to liquids w/ CCS
- Gas to liquids w/o CCS
- Gas to liquids w/ CCS
- Bioliquids w/o CCS
- Bioliquids w/ CCS
- Oil refining
- power to liquids
Refined gases
- Coal to gas w/o CCS
- Coal to gas w/ CCS
- Oil to gas w/o CCS
- Oil to gas w/ CCS
- Biomass to gas w/o CCS
- Biomass to gas w/ CCS
Heat generation
- Coal heat
- Natural gas heat
- Oil heat
- Biomass heat
- Geothermal heat
- Solarthermal heat
- CHP (coupled heat and power)
Note: different technologies for district heating, buildings heating and industrial process heat, also differentiated between different temperature levels
Grid Infra Structure
Electricity
- Yes (aggregate)
- Yes (spatially explicit)
Gas
- Yes (aggregate)
- Yes (spatially explicit)
Heat
- Yes (aggregate)
- Yes (spatially explicit)
CO2
- Yes (aggregate)
- Yes (spatially explicit)
Hydrogen
- Yes (aggregate)
- Yes (spatially explicit)
Energy end-use technologies
Passenger transportation
- Passenger trains
- Buses
- Light Duty Vehicles (LDVs)
- Electric LDVs
- Hydrogen LDVs
- Hybrid LDVs
- Gasoline LDVs
- Diesel LDVs
- Passenger aircrafts
Freight transportation
- Freight trains
- Heavy duty vehicles
- Freight aircrafts
- Freight ships
Industry
- Steel production
- Aluminium production
- Cement production
- Petrochemical production
- Paper production
- Plastics production
- Pulp production
Note: Steel production explicit, other industries aggregated
Residential and commercial
- Space heating
- Space cooling
- Cooking
- Refrigeration
- Washing
- Lighting
Land-use
Land cover
- Cropland
- Cropland irrigated
- Cropland food crops
- Cropland feed crops
- Cropland energy crops
- Forest
- Managed forest
- Natural forest
- Pasture
- Shrubland
- Built-up area
Agriculture and forestry demands
- Agriculture food
- Agriculture food crops
- Agriculture food livestock
- Agriculture feed
- Agriculture feed crops
- Agriculture feed livestock
- Agriculture non-food
- Agriculture non-food crops
- Agriculture non-food livestock
- Agriculture bioenergy
- Agriculture residues
- Forest industrial roundwood
- Forest fuelwood
- Forest residues
Agricultural commodities
- Wheat
- Rice
- Other coarse grains
- Oilseeds
- Sugar crops
- Ruminant meat
- Non-ruminant meat and eggs
- Dairy products
Emission, climate and impacts
Greenhouse gases
- CO2 fossil fuels
- CO2 cement
- CO2 land use
- CH4 energy
- CH4 land use
- CH4 other
- N2O energy
- N2O land use
- N2O other
- CFCs
- HFCs
- SF6
- PFCs
Pollutants
- CO energy
- CO land use
- CO other
- NOx energy
- NOx land use
- NOx other
- VOC energy
- VOC land use
- VOC other
- SO2 energy
- SO2 land use
- SO2 other
- BC energy
- BC land use
- BC other
- OC energy
- OC land use
- OC other
- NH3 energy
- NH3 land use
- NH3 other
Climate indicators
- Concentration: CO2
- Concentration: CH4
- Concentration: N2O
- Concentration: Kyoto gases
- Radiative forcing: CO2
- Radiative forcing: CH4
- Radiative forcing: N2O
- Radiative forcing: F-gases
- Radiative forcing: Kyoto gases
- Radiative forcing: aerosols
- Radiative forcing: land albedo
- Radiative forcing: AN3A
- Radiative forcing: total
- Temperature change
- Sea level rise
- Ocean acidification
Carbon dioxide removal
- Bioenergy with CCS
- Reforestation
- Afforestation
- Soil carbon enhancement
- Direct air capture
- Enhanced weathering
Climate change impacts
- Agriculture
- Energy supply
- Energy demand
- Economic output
- Built capital
- Inequality
Co-Linkages
- Energy security: Fossil fuel imports & exports (region)
- Energy access: Household energy consumption
- Air pollution & health: Source-based aerosol emissions
- Air pollution & health: Health impacts of air Pollution
- Food access
- Water availability
- Biodiversity
Note: Exogenous restrictions on the optimization path can be given (e.g. spline interpolation with fixed number of knots) to reduce yearly fluctuations and reduce number of free parameters.