Long Range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP) Tool

The Long Range Energy Alternatives Planning system is a widely-used software tool for energy policy scenario analysis and climate change mitigation assessment used in 190 countries. LEAP is an integrated modeling tool that can be used to track energy consumption, production and resource extraction in all sectors of an economy. It can be used to account for both energy sector and non-energy sector greenhouse gas (GHG) emission sources and sinks. In addition to tracking GHGs, LEAP can also be used to analyze emissions of local and regional air pollutants, making it well-suited to studies of the climate co-benefits of local air pollution reduction. LEAP is not a model of a particular energy system, but rather a tool that can be used to create models of different energy systems, where each requires its own unique data structures. LEAP supports a wide range of different modeling methodologies: on the demand side these range from bottom-up, end-use accounting techniques to top-down macroeconomic modeling. LEAP also includes a range of optional specialized methodologies including stock-turnover modeling for areas such as transport planning. On the supply side, LEAP provides a range of accounting and simulation methodologies that are powerful enough for modeling electric sector generation and capacity expansion planning, but which are also sufficiently flexible and transparent to allow LEAP to easily incorporate data and results from other more specialized models. LEAP’s modeling capabilities operate at two basic conceptual levels. At one level, LEAP's built-in calculations handle all of the "non controversial" energy, emissions and cost-benefit accounting calculations. At the second level, users enter spreadsheet-like expressions that can be used to specify time-varying data or to create a wide variety of sophisticated multi-variable models, thus enabling econometric and simulation approaches to be embedded within LEAP’s overall accounting framework. The newest versions of LEAP also support optimization modeling: allowing for the construction of least cost models of electric system capacity expansion and dispatch, potentially under various constraints such as limits of CO2 or local air pollution. LEAP is intended as a medium to long-term modeling tool. Most of its calculations occur on an annual time-step, and the time horizon can extend for an unlimited number of years. Studies typically include both a historical period known as the Current Accounts, in which the model is run to test its ability to replicate known statistical data, as well as multiple forward looking scenarios.LEAP is designed around the concept of long-range scenario analysis. Scenarios are self-consistent storylines of how an energy system might evolve over time. Using LEAP, policy analysts can create and then evaluate alternative scenarios by comparing their energy requirements, their social costs and benefits and their environmental impacts.