Closing project report: review of existing models

Review of existing modelling of proposals for heat decarbonisation from an energy systems architecture perspective

This aspect of the work focused on defining the concept of energy system architecture (ESA), as way of thinking about the different options for heat decarbonisation. We defined it as the spatial, topological, and functional organisation of energy generation, conversion, transmission, distribution, and storage systems within the whole energy system.  The advantage of employing ESA thinking in modelling is that it structures the range of decisions that need to be taken regarding a system, enabling emerging architectures to be systematically evaluated against different features. A key question was how well do models used for assessing heat decarbonisation options consider ESA features that are important. In Scamman et al. (2020), a wide range of models were assessed against how they represent ESA features of system evolvability, flexibility, robustness, and feasibility. The paper concluded that different models have different strengths in relation to assessing these features but that opportunities exist to improve existing models, a research agenda for which was proposed.

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