TIMES-Ireland Model (TIM) Documentation

The TIMES-Ireland Model (TIM) is Ireland’s national energy system optimization model, developed to support evidence-based energy and climate policy analysis. Built on the internationally recognized TIMES (The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System) framework, TIM provides a comprehensive, technology-rich representation of Ireland’s entire energy system from primary resource supply through to final energy service demands.

About TIM

TIM is the successor to the Irish TIMES model (O Gallachoir et al., 2020), which has a long history (more than 10 years) of providing analytical input to Irish energy policy development. Key contributions include serving as the basis for Ireland’s first low-carbon roadmap in 2015 (Deane et al., 2013) and developing energy pathways consistent with the Paris Agreement (Glynn et al., 2019), to which Ireland is a signatory.

TIM represents a significant advancement over its predecessor, developed to:

• Better inform Ireland’s increased national climate mitigation ambition, including the legally binding target of net-zero emissions by 2050

• Reflect the rapidly changing energy technology landscape, with updated cost and performance data for emerging technologies

• Incorporate new advances in energy systems optimization modeling techniques

• Provide enhanced sectoral detail to support carbon budget allocation and sectoral emissions ceilings

Key Features

• Comprehensive sectoral coverage: Electricity generation, transport, residential and commercial buildings, industry, and agriculture

• Technology-rich database: Hundreds of current and future energy technologies with detailed techno-economic parameters

• Flexible scenario analysis: Capability to evaluate diverse policy scenarios, technology pathways, and decarbonization strategies

• Carbon budget compatibility: Designed to support Ireland’s statutory carbon budget framework and Climate Action Plan

• Open and transparent: Model, its documentation and data publicly available to support reproducibility and stakeholder engagement

Development and Governance

TIM is developed and maintained by the Sustainability Institute at University College Cork (UCC). The model is regularly updated to reflect the latest policy developments, technology trends, and research advances.

Caution

This documentation is under development and may be subject to updates. Please check for the latest version before citing.

Contents:

• TIMES Model Generator
  • Overview
  • Model Inputs
  • Model Outputs
• TIMES-Ireland Model (TIM)
  • Introduction
  • Model Architecture
  • Economic Parameters
  • Key Model Features
  • Policy Applications
• Industry sector
  • Overview
  • Subsectors
  • Energy Demands
  • Decarbonization Technologies
  • Calibration
  • Data Sources
• References
  • Academic Publications
  • TIMES Model Documentation
  • Government and Agency Publications