June 27th, 2019
Irish
scientists have developed a global computer model that stimulates
energy and emissions
outputs of the world’s power plants to aid researchers in devising
better energy conservation and emission reduction strategies.
PLEXOS
World,
developed by Researchers at University College Cork’s centre for
Energy, Climate and Marine (MaREI), is capable of demonstrating how
30,000 power plants in 164 countries annually operate.
The
computer model accumulates information from 100 publicly available
data points around the world to highlight energy and emission trends,
assisting environmental research academics in devising plans to allay
climate-change-triggering issues.
Dr
Paul Deane, a co-developer of the new environmental research computer
model, said that their innovation is a first of its kind and
a ground-breaking
tool for global environmental research.
“We
are so proud of this development; we have pushed the limits of what
once was thought unimaginable,” he said.
The
tool has been described as capable of generating crucial data about
electricity costs, demands and use across the world’s power plants.
The
accumulated data on PLEXOS is “crunched” to
produce
four billion data points of output that
can be visualised at a global or regional level across different
timescales.
In
addition to energy consumption data, the new model gives
data on power plant types, size and location using
data from the
World
Resource Institute.
For wind and solar data as well as regional fossil fuel prices,
PLEXOS draws on information from resources such as Renewable
Ninja
and BP
Statistical Review.
The
world’s fossil-fuel-generated energy consumption has reached a
record high fossil fuels accounting
for 80 per cent of energy consumption
in the US last year, according to the US Energy Information
Administration. In Ireland, fossil fuel reliance was even more
drastic with over
90 per cent of all energy used in the country coming from fossil
fuels
in 2017.
Maarten
Brinkerink, co-developer of the model
expressed hope that the new tool will help address the world’s
most intractable energy and climate change issues. “This is an
incredible tool for research, and we are delighted to make it
available to the global research community to tackle some of the
world’s toughest energy and climate problems,” he said.
Glenn
Drayton, Founder of Energy Exemplar, the company sponsoring PLEXOS
software, said that the global data point is a reminder that “we
share this tiny, fragile world with seven billion others” and that
we need to address issues on an international level to protect it.
“My hope is that PLEXOS World will put solid numbers behind the global conversation on balancing future energy needs with conservation of resources and the environment,” he added.
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