## State and Local Climate and Energy Program http://www.epa.gov/avert/



# AVoided Emissions and geneRation Tool (AVERT) A tool that estimates the emissions benefits of ene rgy efficiency and renewable energy policies and programs

 Cost - effective waysto reduce air pollution and include emission benef its in Clean Air ActPlans  What is AVERT?  Why use AVERT?  When should AVERT not be used?  Who should use AVERT?  How does AVERT work?  How to run scenarios in AVERT  Download AVERT 

## Cost-effective ways to reduce air pollution and inc lude emission benefits in Clean Air Act Plans Many states are adopting, implementing and expandin g cost-effective energy efficiency (EE) and renewab le energy (RE) policies and programs. States are investing in EE/RE policies and programs to achieve benefits in cluding lowered customer costs, improved electric supply re liability, and diversified energy supply portfolios . Energy efficiency and renewable energy also have the poten tial to reduce pollution of criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gases, especially on high electricity demand days t hat typically coincide with poor air quality. The number of states with EE/RE policies continues to grow, but quantifying the emissions impacts of t hese policies and programs can be challenging. EPA is committed to helping state air quality planners calculate the em issions benefits of EE/RE policies and program so t hat these emission reductions can be incorporated i n Clean Air Act plans to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and other clean air goals. 

## What is AVERT? AVERT is a free tool with a simple user interface d esigned to meet the needs of state air quality plan ners and other interested stakeholders. Non-experts can easily use AVERT to evaluate county-level emissions displaced at ele ctric power plants by EE/RE policies and programs. AVERT is designed to use public data, which is acce ssible and auditable. 

## Why use AVERT? State air quality planners, energy offices, public utility commission staff, and other organizations i nterested in knowing the emission benefits of EE/RE policies and programs can use AVERT to:

 Quantify the nitrogen oxides (NO X ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions benefits of state and multi-state EE/RE policies and programs.  Examine the regional, state, and county level emiss ion impacts of different EE/RE programs based on te mporal energy savings and hourly generation profile s.  Include AVERT-calculated emission impacts of EE/RE policies and programs in air quality modeling and Cl ean Air Act plans used to meet the National AmbientAir Quality Standards with the concurrence of the appro priate EPA regional office.  Compare the emission impacts of different types of EE/RE programs, such as the emission impacts of win d installations versus solar installations.  Understand the emission impacts of different EE/RE policies and programs during high electricity deman d days.  Analyze the emission benefits of EE/RE programs imp lemented in multiple states within an AVERT region.  Present information about location-specific emissio ns benefits in easy–to–interpret tables and maps. Learn more:

 FactSheet for Decision Makers (PDF) (2 pp, 350KB) 

## When should AVERT not be used? AVERT is only intended for analyzing the emission i mpacts of EE/RE policies and programs. It should no t be used to examine the emission impacts of major fleet adjustments or changes extending further than five years from the baseline year. 

## Who should use AVERT?  Analysts who wish to improve their understanding of the emission benefits of statewide or multi-state EE/RE policies and programs.  Environmental agency staff and state air quality pl anners interested in assessing emission benefits be ing incorporated into Clean Air Act plans to meet t he National Ambient Air Quality Standards or other clean air go als.  Energy officials or Public Utility Commission staff who want to estimate and promote the air benefits of their energy efficiency or renewable energy poli cies. 

## How does AVERT work? AVERT represents the dynamics of electricity dispat ch based on the historical patterns of actual generation in one selected year. Currently, AVERT has da ta for 2007- 2013. 1. AVERT’s Statistical Module uses hourly “prepackag ed” data from EPA’s Air Markets Program Data (AMPD)to perform statistical analysis on actual behavior of past generation, heat input, SO 2 , NO x , and CO 2 emissions data given various regional demand level s. (AVERT’s Statistical Module can also analyze use r-modified data created in the AVERT’s Excel-based Future-Year Scen ario Template). AVERT’s Statistical Module produces regional data files that are input files used in t he AVERT’s Excel-based Main Module. 2. AVERT’s Main Module prompts users to select one o f 10 AVERT Regional Data Files and enter EE/RE impa cts (MWhs or MW) from a selection of options. 3. The AVERT Main Module performs the emissions disp lacement calculations based on the hourly electric generating unit information in the regional data fi les and the EE/RE impacts entered into the tool. Helpful Links  AVERTMain Module Quick Start Guide (PDF) (12 pp, 903KB)  AVERTUser Manual (PDF) (78 pp, 3.3MB)  The AVERT Overview and Step - by - Step instructions (PDF) (48 pp, 2.53MB)  FactSheet for Decision Makers (PDF) (2 pp, 350KB)  Contact AVERT 

# Page 1 of 2 | State and Local Climate and Energy Program | US EPA

6/4/2014 http://www.epa.gov/avert/Last updated on Wednesday, April 02, 2014



## How to Run Scenarios in AVERT The AVERT Overview and Step - by - Step instructions (PDF) (48 pp, 2.53MB)provides an overview of how AVERT works, and step-by-step demonstrations of how to use AVERT

. AVERT’s Main Module estimates the displaced emissio ns likely to result from EE/RE programs in referenc e to a baseyear or future-year scenario. Installation of AVERT ’s Statistical Module and AVERT’s Future-Year Scena rio Template is not necessary to use AVERT’s Main Module to esti mate displaced emissions for EE/RE programs modeled in a historic base year. However, modeling displaced emi ssions with reference to user-created future-years requires all three AVERT modules. Users select one of 10 AVERT regions for analysis, upload one regional data file, and input data on th e type of EE/RE program they want to analyze in AVERT. For EE polic ies and programs, users should have EE savings annu al impacts (MWhs or MW), an understanding of the policies’ or programs’ temporal profiles (e.g., would the EE prog ram save energy during peak periods or the same amount throu gh the year), or use EPA’s hourly load impact profi les for certain states with on-the-book EE policies. Please refer t o the peakenergy savings summariesfor state hourly impact load profiles that have on-the-books EE policies or prog rams not incorporated in AEO 2010. For RE programs, users will need to know the total capacity of the solar or wind resource they are interesting in analyzing. Users will then run the model to calculate the disp laced generation and emissions from the chosen scen ario. This calculation can take up to ten minutes d epending upon the region and computer capabilities. The AVERT Main Module provides output in the form o f county-level emissions and generation tables and charts for the user’s selected AVERT region. It als o produces SMOKEformatted data for advanced air modeling applicatio ns. Learn more:

 AVERTMain Module Quick Start Guide (PDF) (12 pp, 903KB)  AVERTUser Manual (PDF) (78 pp, 3.3MB)  The AVERT Overview and Step - by - Step instructions (PDF) (48 pp, 2.53MB) 

## Download AVERT: Please visit the AVERTDownload Page for further details. AVERT’s Main Module requires Excel 2007 or newer to run; macros must be enabled. Excel files generated in AVERT’s Main Module can exceed 100 MB in size, depending on the number of units in the region of analysis. AVERT’s Regions

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more. 

# Page 2 of 2 | State and Local Climate and Energy Program | US EPA

6/4/2014 http://www.epa.gov/avert/