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Integrated Planning Model (IPM)
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This Web portal provides information and documentation on EPA's application of the Integrated Planning Model (IPM) to analyze the impact of air emissions policies on the U.S. electric power sector. EPA has used multiple iterations of the IPM model in various analyses of regulations and legislative proposals. Please use the links below to find more modeling details specific to each analysis:
- IPM Analysis of the proposed EGU GHG NSPS
- IPM Analysis of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
- IPM Analysis of the proposed Transport Rule
- IPM Analysis of the Final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)
- IPM Analysis of the proposed Toxics Rule
- IPM Analyses of Climate Change Legislative Proposals
- IPM Analyses of Multi-Pollutant Legislative Proposals
- Comprehensive Modeling Documentation of EPA's IPM Base Case 2006 (v3.0)
- Information on NODA and EPA's IPM Base Case v.4.10
General Purpose of IPM Modeling
EPA uses the Integrated Planning Model (IPM) to analyze the projected impact of environmental policies on the electric power sector in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Developed by ICF Consulting, Inc. and used to support public and private sector clients, IPM is a multi-regional, dynamic, deterministic linear programming model of the U.S. electric power sector. It provides forecasts of least-cost capacity expansion, electricity dispatch, and emission control strategies for meeting energy demand and environmental, transmission, dispatch, and reliability constraints. IPM can be used to evaluate the cost and emissions impacts of proposed policies to limit emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), and mercury (Hg) from the electric power sector. The IPM was a key analytical tool in developing the proposed Transport Rule.
Among the factors that make IPM particularly well suited to model multi-emissions control programs are (1) its ability to capture complex interactions among the electric power, fuel, and environmental markets; (2) its detail-rich representation of emission control options encompassing a broad array of retrofit technologies along with emission reductions through fuel switching, changes in capacity mix and electricity dispatch strategies; and (3) its capability to model a variety of environmental market mechanisms, such as emissions caps, allowances, trading, and banking. IPM's ability to capture the dynamics of the allowance market and its provision of a wide range of emissions reduction options are particularly important for assessing the impact of multi-emissions environmental policies like the proposed Transport Rule.