ICF's Integrated Planning Model (IPM®) provides true integration of wholesale power, system reliability, environmental constraints, fuel choice, transmission, capacity expansion, and all key operational elements of generators on the power grid in a linear optimization framework. The model utilizes a Windows™-based database platform and interface that captures a detailed representation of every electric boiler and generator in the power market being modeled.
ICF has models of both the North American and Europe power markets. Uses for IPM include:
- Valuation studies for generation and transmission assets
- Forecasting of regional forward energy and capacity prices
- Air emissions compliance strategies and pollution allowances
- Portfolio optimization strategies
- Impact assessments of alternate environmental regulatory standards
- Impact assessments of changes in fuel pricing
- Economic or electricity demand growth analysis
- Evaluation of the potential construction options to determine the optimal mix of new builds or transmission additions
- Assessment of power plant retirement decisions
- Determination of optimal timing decisions for environmental compliance decisions
- Combined heat and power (CHP) analysis
- Pricing impact of demand responsiveness
- Determination of probability and cost of lost or unserved load
The fundamental logic behind the model determines the least-cost means of meeting electric generation energy and capacity requirements while complying with specified constraints, including air pollution regulations, transmission constraints, and plant-specific operational constraints. T
he versatility of IPM® allows users to specify which constraints to exercise and populate IPM® with their own datasets. Versions of IPM® have been used to support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) analyses of utility air emissions, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) benefit-cost analysis of regional transmission organizations (RTO).
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