ETSAP-TIAM: the TIMES integrated assessment model. Part I: Model structure

In this first part of a two-part article, the principal characteristics of the TIMES model and of its global incarnation as ETSAP-TIAM are presented and discussed. TIMES was conceived as a descendant of the MARKAL and EFOM paradigms, to which several new features were added to extend its functionalities and its applicability to the exploration of energy systems and the analysis of energy and environmental policies. The article stresses the technological nature of the model and its economic foundation and properties. The article stays at the conceptual and practical level, while a companion article is devoted to the more detailed formulation of TIMES equations. (The ETSAP TIMES model (an acronym for The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System), was developed and is maintained by the Energy Technology Systems Analysis Programme (ETSAP), an implementing agreement under the aegis of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The TIMES integrated assessment model (ETSAP-TIAM) is the global multiregional incarnation of the TIMES model generator.)