EnergyPLAN

EnergyPLAN is a computer model developed at Aalborg University in Denmark for energy systems analysis and planning. It is designed to study the operation and long-term planning of national or regional energy systems with an emphasis on integrating electricity, heating, cooling, and transport, using hourly time resolution to capture variability of supply and demand.

The model represents multiple energy sectors as an integrated system. It tracks hourly energy flows, capacity stocks, and power balances across electricity, heating and cooling, and transportation. It includes technologies such as wind, solar, conventional and CHP generation, district heating and cooling, storage, and energy efficiency measures. It can model imports and exports and cross-sector interactions.

EnergyPLAN supports scenario analysis and optimization. It can minimize annual total costs or other objective functions while meeting demand and policy constraints. Outputs typically include generation mixes, energy flows, fuel use, CO2 emissions, and annual operating and investment costs, enabling comparison of policy options and technology choices.

Applications include national or regional energy transition planning, assessment of high-renewables scenarios, and evaluation of decarbonization strategies. It is widely used in academic research and policy studies to explore feasible pathways and to test sensitivity to technology costs and resource availability.

As a planning tool, EnergyPLAN provides a transparent, scenario-based view of energy systems but relies on simplified representations of plant dynamics. Results depend on input data quality and scenario assumptions, and it is generally used for comparative studies rather than detailed engineering design.