The Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning model (LEAP) and Wood Energy Planning Overview and Exercises

The document introduces the LEAP simulation model, which is used for energy demand and supply analysis, forecasting, and impact assessment, particularly in developing countries. It details the model's five modules: demand, transformation, biomass, environment, and evaluation. To provide practical experience, the guide uses a case study of the 'Wood Hills district'—a rural tropical area—to walk users through exercises in organizing energy demand data, calculating charcoal conversion efficiencies, assessing biomass resource accessibility, and developing comparative scenarios to evaluate interventions like improved cookstoves.

• LEAP is a simulation model used to represent current energy situations and develop future forecasts based on specific assumptions, making it particularly suitable for wood energy planning due to its land use module.
• The LEAP model employs an end-use, demand-driven approach that organizes society into a hierarchical tree structure consisting of sectors, sub-sectors, end-uses, and devices.
• The biomass module evaluates wood energy sustainability by assuming that requirements are first met by sustainable yields and then by standing stocks.
• The model incorporates an 'access fraction' in its biomass evaluation to account for limiting factors such as land tenure, harvesting constraints, and distance.
• LEAP allows for scenario development using three primary methods: specifying explicit values for certain years, using annual growth rates, or applying drivers (such as GDP) and elasticities.
• Environmental impact assessment in LEAP is conducted by linking demand and transformation devices to an Environmental Data Base (EDB) containing data on emissions to air, water, and soil.

APA

Siteur, J. (n.d.). The Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning model (LEAP) and Wood Energy Planning Overview and Exercises. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://leap.sei.org/documents/RWEDP_Exercises_2001.pdf

Chicago

Siteur, Joost. The Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning model (LEAP) and Wood Energy Planning Overview and Exercises. Stockholm Environment Institute, n.d. https://leap.sei.org/documents/RWEDP_Exercises_2001.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Siteur |first1=Joost |title=The Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning model (LEAP) and Wood Energy Planning Overview and Exercises |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |url=https://leap.sei.org/documents/RWEDP_Exercises_2001.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{siteurndlongrange, author = {Siteur, Joost}, title = {{The Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning model (LEAP) and Wood Energy Planning Overview and Exercises}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://leap.sei.org/documents/RWEDP_Exercises_2001.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }