This project will develop KAPSARC modeling capability in two areas: a physics-based building energy model and a long-term energy system optimization model using the OSeMOSYS platform. KAPSARC will employ these tools in a technical / economic / emissions assessment of residential demand-side energy options. KAPSARC will collaborate with MEIM, and the knowledge generated through these studies will provide MEIM and other relevant stakeholders in KSA with the insight to develop cost-effective demand-side residential energy policy.
Specifically, KAPSARC will identify a least-cost mix of energy efficiency retrofits for representative housing types and will evaluate how these retrofits can be deployed over time as governed by the value these retrofits create in avoided generation costs, delayed new capacity investment in the electricity supply system, and avoided emissions of CO2, NOx, SO2, and particulates. The research team will estimate the potential for demand response through both behavioral changes (e.g. conservation and load shifting as a result of time of use or real-time pricing) and technology deployment (e.g. smart meters, smart appliances, utility load control, etc.) and a combination of the two. Again, the value of demand response will be derived from the long-term interplay with delayed capacity investments in the electricity generation system. Finally, the team will combine energy efficiency and demand response and add distributed renewables to evaluate all major residential demand-side energy options.
