FACETS has been designed to represent each energy sector at the level of detail required to analyze and visualize real policy- and technology-driven change. From electric vehicles to pipeline infrastructure for carbon dioxide capture and storage, from solar panels to pollution control devices on coal-fired power plants, FACETS describes the technology costs, performance, and potential necessary to evaluate these options realistically and simultaneously.

The FACETS power sector starts with the US EPA National Electric Energy Data System database of all existing units in the 48 states, including their capacity, efficiency, costs, availability, available fuel types, and emissions factors and control equipment. Each plant is tagged with its latitude and longitude, so that unit-level results can visualized. 

Cost and performance scenarios for new plant options are drawn from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Annual Technology Baseline scenarios. Wind and solar potential, generation profiles, and grid connection costs come from NREL's ReEDS model data. 

Plants are located in 134 regions that represent key transmission system bottlenecks. Both existing inter-regional transmission capacity and investment options for capacity expansion are specified, enabling analysis of the costs and benefits of connecting renewable resources with distant loads. Costs for carbon capture, transport from plant site to storage location, and storage come from US EPA’s Integrated Planning Model.

When FACETS is run in multi-sector mode, explicit devices utilizing different fuels at different efficiency levels, compete to meet demands for energy services including transport, heating, cooling, industrial services, and lighting. End use energy consumption, including electricity loads, are endogenously generated based on this competition, allowing the cross-sectoral impacts of energy system transition to be assessed.

More information about FACETS data sources is available here.