The National Energy Modeling System: An overview 1998

The National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) is a computer-based, energy-economy modeling system of US energy markets for the midterm period through 2020. NEMS projects the production, imports, conversion, consumption, and prices of energy, subject to assumptions on macroeconomic and financial factors world energy markets, resource availability and costs, behavior and technological choice criteria, cost and performance characteristics of energy technologies, and demographics. This report presents an overview of the structure and methodology of NEMS and each of its components. The first chapter provides a description of the design and objectives of the system, followed by a chapter on the overall modeling structure and solution algorithm. The remainder of the report summarizes the methodology and scope of the component modules of NEMS. The model descriptions are intended for readers familiar with terminology from economics, operations research, and energy modeling. 21 figs.