How the Energy Policy Simulators Work and are Developed

This guide describes the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), a free, open-source System Dynamics computer model developed by Energy Innovation Policy & Technology LLC to help policymakers evaluate the effectiveness of climate and energy policies on greenhouse gas emissions, economics, and public health.

• The Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) is an open-source System Dynamics model created using Vensim that allows users to model policies across major economic sectors, including transportation, electricity supply, buildings, industry, agriculture, and land use. It can simulate specific policies such as renewable portfolio standards, fuel economy standards, industry methane standards, and incentives similar to those in the Inflation Reduction Act.
• The EPS provides annual output data across several categories: emissions of 12 pollutants (including CO2e), cash flow impacts on government and industry, economic impacts on GDP and jobs across 36 categories, health outcomes including premature mortality, electricity sector composition, vehicle fleet shares, energy use by fuel type, policy cost-effectiveness, and fuel trade data.
• The methodologies of the EPS have undergone extensive peer review during development, with input from experts at institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and several national laboratories including Argonne, Lawrence Berkeley, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

APA

Orvis, R. (2023). How the Energy Policy Simulators Work and are Developed. Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/expert-voice/how-the-energy-policy-simulators-work-and-are-developed/

Chicago

Orvis, Robbie. How the Energy Policy Simulators Work and are Developed. Energy Innovation, 2023. https://energyinnovation.org/expert-voice/how-the-energy-policy-simulators-work-and-are-developed/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Orvis |first1=Robbie |title=How the Energy Policy Simulators Work and are Developed |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=3 February 2023 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/expert-voice/how-the-energy-policy-simulators-work-and-are-developed/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{orvis2023how, author = {Orvis, Robbie}, title = {{How the Energy Policy Simulators Work and are Developed}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/expert-voice/how-the-energy-policy-simulators-work-and-are-developed/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }