Energy Models

Energy models characterize the energy system, its evolution, and its interactions with the broader economy. The energy system consists of primary resources, including both fossil fuels and renewable sources; electric power plants, refineries, and other technologies to process and convert these resources into secondary energy carriers such as electricity and gasoline; technologies such as furnaces and light-duty vehicles that use these energy carriers to meet demands for energy services; and end-use demands for services such as indoor space heating and personal transportation.

Attention to energy has increased with growing concern over global imbalances between the demand and supply of petroleum resources, as well as the need to mitigate global climate change and other environmental impacts related to energy use. Understanding the role energy plays in these concerns requires an awareness of how energy is produced and consumed, the price dynamics that mediate this relationship, and the physical systems that transform primary energy into secondary energy carriers and ultimately the services energy provides. Modeling frameworks from both economics and operations research provide analytical tools for characterizing the energy system and its evolution and find wide use in design, [Page 898]forecasting, scenario analysis, and similar applications. As the energy system is driven by region-specific patterns of resource availability, land use, technology deployment, and demand, energy modeling necessarily requires a geographic perspective. Likewise, spatially referenced energy models are useful for studying emissions related to climate change, infrastructure needs, land use, transportation, and other areas of interest in contemporary geography. This entry provides an introduction to energy models, first reviewing common analytical frameworks before discussing the importance of a spatial perspective.