Abstract: The talk will introduce the TIMES modeling framework and some of its advanced capabilities for decarbonization pathway analysis. Using examples from the US model FACETS and the global TIAM model, we will examine how TIMES facilitates integrated decarbonization analysis across technologies and across the economy. Examples will include the role of low and zero carbon electricity generation sources including solar, wind, nuclear, and carbon capture and sequestration, as well as storage in US decarbonization pathways; analysis of how end-use electrification and load flexibility affect electricity loads and load curves and the economics of generation mix; and use of otherwise curtailed renewables for hydrogen production.

Bio: Evelyn Wright is an energy  and climate economist. She was formerly a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development and was more recently engaged by the U.S. Department of Energy to support integration of the TIMES and VEDA tools within the Energy Information Agency’s World Energy Projection System. She works on energy policy for national, state, and local governments and environmental organizations, and is an Energy System Decarbonization Consultant with Argonne National Laboratory’s Energy Systems and Infrastructure Analysis (ESIA) division.

Bio: Amit Kanudia is the founder and director of KanORS-EMR.  He has developed several large multi-region TIMES and MARKAL models, including the TIAM-World global model, the US model FACETS, and the PET 30 region European model. He is the developer of the Veda data handling system, in use in more than 40 countries worldwide, which has greatly expanded the power and flexibility of MARKAL/TIMES models. He has a Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and did his graduate studies at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.