How the Energy Policy Simulators Work and are Developed

The Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) is a free, open-source System Dynamics model created in Vensim to help policymakers assess the effectiveness of climate and energy policies. It allows users to model policies such as renewable portfolio standards and fuel economy standards across sectors including transportation, electricity, and agriculture. The model tracks 12 pollutants, economic impacts on GDP and jobs, health outcomes, and energy sector composition. Its methodologies have been peer-reviewed by experts from institutions such as MIT, Stanford, and various national laboratories.

• The Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) is an open-source System Dynamics model built using Vensim that allows users to simulate policies across major economic sectors, including transportation, electricity supply, buildings, industry, agriculture, and land use.
• The model can simulate a variety of specific policy interventions, such as fuel economy standards for vehicles, industry methane standards, renewable portfolio standards, and incentives for clean energy technologies similar to those in the Inflation Reduction Act.
• The EPS generates comprehensive annual outputs covering emissions of 12 pollutants, direct cash flow impacts on government and industry, GDP and job impacts across 36 economic categories, and health outcomes such as avoided premature mortality.
• The methodologies of the EPS have undergone extensive peer review by experts from several academic and research institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, 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} }