Integrated Resource Planning
System Optimizer provides thorough portfolio-level optimization over the mid- to long-term time horizon for capacity and emissions considering the following resource planning issues:
How can I develop a long-term resource plan that meets regulatory and stakeholder requirements?
How do I assess and develop resource strategies to minimize costs and/or maximize profits in the face of current and potential Renewable Portfolio Standards and emissions regulations?
How can I achieve these objectives without making a large investment in both staff and technology?
System Optimizer is a detailed and fast economic optimization model that simultaneously considers resource investment decisions, market transactions, Renewable Portfolio Standards, and emission regulations.
- Develops long-term resource investment plans including:
- What to build?
- What to retire?
- How much to build?
- Where to build?
- When to build?
- Includes complete range of technologies, such as renewables, energy efficiency, demand response, retirements and transmission upgrades
- Companywide portfolio analysis spanning multiple market areas, multiple years, and multiple jurisdictions
- Strategic responses to regulations including retrofits and fuel blending
- Full modeling of capital-related revenue requirements
- Long-term hourly forecasts of load
- Multi-jurisdiction representation of Renewable Portfolio Standards
- Integrated with Planning & Risk through a common database that allows users to share and manage data across multiple applications.
Example of a 20-year Resource Expansion Plan created using System Optimizer
- Robust modeling of emissions compliance and complex emissions markets representation
- Optimizes generation portfolio assets in the face of hard or soft emissions limits:
- Invest in retrofitting, refurbishing, or repowering existing assets or consume (purchase) more emissions allowances or purchase more energy?
- Bank unneeded emissions allowances or sell them?
- Change or optimize fuel blends?
- Allows specification of emissions regulations through choice of four allowance rules:
- Cap
- Cap-and-trade
- Rate
- Price
