Guide to Power Sector Modeling Parsed Files
Year: The model run year from which the parsed results were derived (usually 2010, 2015, or 2020).
Unique ID: The unique identifier assigned to a boiler or generator within a plant. It consists of the Plant ID (or ORIS Code), an indication of whether the unit is a boiler ("B"), generator ("G"), or committed unit ("C"), and the Unit ID. For example, for the Unique ID "113_B_1", "113" is the Plant ID, "B" indicates that this unit is a boiler, and "1" indicates that the ID of the boiler is 1.
Plant Name: The plant's name.
Plant Type: An indication of the type of unit (e.g., coal steam, combined cycle, IGCC [integrated gasification combined cycle], oil and gas steam, combustion turbine).
State Name, State Code, County, County Code: These four fields identify the geographic location of the unit. The State Code is the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) State Code, and the County Code is the FIPS County Code. New units have blanks in these columns, while committed units have zeros.
Plant ID: The unique identifier assigned to each plant in the model. Committed units have zeros in this column, while new units have blanks. Otherwise, all Plant IDs are unique to the plant. All units within a plant will typically have the same Plant ID. The Plant ID is most often called the ORIS Code.
Unit ID: The identifier assigned to each unit/boiler in a given plant.
Capacity: The capacity of the unit available for generation for sale to the grid. This capacity reflects the adjustments made to the unit's initial capacity in projections from Integrated Planning Model (IPM) runs.
Fuel Type: The type of fuel used in the unit for electricity generation (e.g., coal, gas, oil, other).
Firing: For boilers, this field indicates the burner type and configuration (e.g., cyclone, fluidized bed combustion [FBC], stoker/SPR, tangential, or vertical). "Unknown" appears in instances where the burner configuration of a boiler was not known. "Other" appears for units that were not boilers.
Bottom: For boilers, this field indicates distinguishing characteristics of the bottom of the combustion chamber (e.g., dry, wet). Blanks and "Unknown" appear in instances where the bottom characteristics of a boiler are not known. "Other" appears for units that are not boilers.
EMF_Controls: Shows combination of scrubber, NOx post-combustion controls and particulate matter controls that already exists at the unit.
Existing NOx Controls: NOx controls that already exist at the unit.
Retrofit Code 1, Retrofit Code 2, Retrofit Control 1, Retrofit Control 2: These columns indicate the emission control technology retrofits that the model projects will be installed on the unit. Note, the model can retrofit units with control technologies at two different stages. Retrofit Code 1 and Retrofit Control 1 show the control technologies installed in stage 1. Retrofit Code 2 and Retrofit Control 2 show the control technologies installed in stage 2. The Retrofit Control columns indicate the category of controls installed. The retrofit control may include gas reburn, mercury controls, early retirement, SCR (selective catalytic reduction), SNCR (selective non-catalytic reduction), and scrubber. The Retrofit Code columns provide the code for the specific control technology installed. Early retirement, though not a control, is treated as a retrofit in the modeling and is therefore included in the column. Early retirement indicates that the model projected the unit to retire early. Complete list of Retrofit Codes and Descriptions.
Retrofit NOx/SO2 Controls: Summarizes all of the control technologies that a unit has put on in stage 1 and stage 2. This column combines the information that appears in the Retrofit Control 1 and Retrofit Control 2 columns. The retrofits are cumulative to the year for which the run is parsed. For instance, if the parsed file is for 2020, it will include all retrofits projected by the model for the unit through 2020.
Fossil Unit: Indicates whether the unit is fossil-fuel fired.
Summer Fuel Use: Projected fuel consumed at the unit in May-September during the year for which the run was parsed.
Total Fuel Use: Projected fuel consumed at the unit during the year for which the run was parsed.
Summer Subbituminous Fuel Use, Total Subbituminous Fuel Use, Summer Bituminous Fuel Use, Total Bituminous Fuel Use, Summer Lignite Fuel Use, and Total Lignite Fuel Use: These six columns give the projected coal consumption, by coal rank, during the summer months (May-September) and the year for which the run was parsed.
Summer NOx Emission and Total NOx Emission: Projected NOx emitted from the unit during the summer months (May-September) and year round during the year for which the run was parsed.
Total SO2 Emission: Projected annual SO2 emissions during the year for which the run was parsed.
Total CO2 Emission: Projected annual CO2 emissions during the year for which the run was parsed.
Total Mercury Emission: Projected annual mercury emissions during the year for which the run was parsed.
The parsed files can be reviewed using Excel or Adobe Acrobat (see EPA's About PDF page to learn more about PDF, and a link to the free Adobe Acrobat Reader).