Fuels Model
The fuels model component of US-REGEN describes the supply and conversion of primary energy into delivered fuels to meet end-use service demands. It takes as exogenous inputs the fuel demands from the electric generation sector and the end-use sectors (i.e. buildings, transportation, and non-energy-related industry) and optimizes the supply of those fuels subject to constraints on upstream fossil and bioenergy resources and policy targets for economy-wide emissions. It includes several technologies for conversion, blending, and synthesis of fuels, including petroleum refining, biomass to liquids or gas, blending of renewable natural gas and hydrogen into existing pipeline infrastructure, ammonia production, and fuel synthesis. It also models the transport and storage of captured carbon and includes direct air capture technologies as well as natural climate solutions as potential carbon sinks.
Additional details and assumptions about the representation of fuel supply and conversion can be found in the respective sections under Resource and Technology Assumptions.