skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: MARKAL-MACRO: A linked model for energy-economy analysis

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10131857· OSTI ID:10131857
 [1];  [2]
  1. Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
  2. Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)

MARKAL-MACRO is an experiment in model linkage for energy and economy analysis. This new tool is intended as an improvement over existing methods for energy strategy assessment. It is designed specifically for estimating the costs and analyzing the technologies proposed for reducing environmental risks such as global climate change or regional air pollution. The greenhouse gas debate illustrates the usefulness of linked energy-economy models. A central issue is the coupling between economic growth, the level of energy demands, and the development of an energy system to supply these demands. The debate is often connected with alternative modeling approaches. The competing philosophies may be labeled ``top-down macroeconomic`` and ``bottom-up engineering`` perspectives. MARKAL is a systems engineering (physical process) analysis built on the concept of a Reference Energy System (RES). MARKAL is solved by means of dynamic linear programming. In most applications, the end use demands are fixed, and an economically efficient solution is obtained by minimizing the present value of energy system`s costs throughout the planning horizon. MACRO is a macroeconomic model with an aggregated view of long-term economic growth. The basis input factors of production are capital, labor and individual forms of energy. MACRO is solved by nonlinear optimization.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-76CH00016
OSTI ID:
10131857
Report Number(s):
BNL-47161; ON: DE92009378
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Feb 1992
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English