UCL-Energy goes hands on with the ETI-ESME model

Over the last ten years, energy systems modelling has played a key underpinning role into UK policy making process. The Energy Technologies Institute’s (ETI) internationally peer-reviewed Energy Systems Modelling Environment (ESME) is an impressive addition to the UK’s modelling capacity that has already contributed to several CCC and DECC policy publications. UCL-Energy’s collaboration with the ETI centres around an iterative and rigorous testing process  leading into a research project on demand modelling.

Such model testing and development is one of UCL-Energy’s core interests and expertise. UCL-Energy is at the forefront in modelling energy systems, and we are able to fully assess the impact that changes to energy demand can have on a wide range of parameters (health, comfort, cost, energy, carbon, upstream infrastructure) at a range of different spatial and temporal scales from individual components through to an international scale. Major modelling tools at UCL include energy-economic systems models including the UK MARKAL family (including elastic demand, stochastic, macro and other variants) and the TIAM-UCL global model.

UCL’s academic research project, which is due to be completed in September 2014, will include testing the functionality and robustness of the ESME model. The findings are a key input into the ongoing ETI-ESME User Group. Insights are expected to feed into on-going strategic discussions within ETI’s Strategy Advisory Group (SAG) and the wider ETI member community. Some of UCL’s research focused insights will be disseminated to the wider UK and international energy systems modelling community through the publication of articles in academic journals.