Introduction
The 2050 Calculator is designed to be easy to change and adapt to other countries, as shown by the success of the China, Belgium and South Korean Calculators so far.
Model developers are free to use our spreadsheet as a "shell" and to populate it with their own data. However, there are some issues that modellers should consider when adapting our spreadsheet to their own country. These are set out below - queries for how to address these can be forwarded to the 2050 Team (2050pathways@decc.gsi.gov.uk)
See also:
What is your *default fossil fuel*?
In the UK we assume our default fossil fuel is gas. This may not be the case in other countries
What *stress test* should you use to examine balancing needs?
In the UK we use an example of 5 days of bad UK weather (no sun so no solar energy, no wind so no wind energy, cold weather so high heat demand). What would a "period of bad weather" look like in your country?
What *sectors* do you need?
In the UK Calculator we include sectors which correspond to energy options that may not exist in your country. For example, do you have any tidal stream potential? If not, remove the sector.
What *technologies* do you use?
In the UK we use technologies that may not be used in your country. If they are not (and will never) be used in your country, then you can remove these.
What *years* will you look at?
In the UK Calculator we start from 2007 (the most recent data at the time of producing the model) and go up to 2050, using five year intervals. What is the latest year that you have data?
What *outputs* are you interested in?
We look at emissions, costs, energy security (imports and exports, energy mix), air quality and are considering water and biodiversity impacts. Which of these are important for you? (If they are not needed, it's worth removing them to make the model more simple) What have we missed?