From Congressional legislation to proposed regulations and executive actions, the REPEAT Project provides a detailed look at the United States’ evolving policy environment and the country’s progress on the road to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Led by the Princeton ZERO Lab (Prof. Jesse D. Jenkins, PI), in partnership with Evolved Energy Research with Prof. Erin Mayfield of Dartmouth College and Prof. Neha Patankar of Binghamton University, the REPEAT Project employs a suite of geospatial planning and analysis tools coupled with detailed macro-energy system optimization models capable of rapidly evaluating policy and regulatory proposals at politically-relevant spatial resolutions (e.g., state, county, and sometimes finer resolutions). This includes evaluation of candidate sites for wind and solar development, thermal power plant siting and repowering, and transmission expansion as well as the impacts of the nation’s energy infrastructure on air quality and public health, and changes in energy sector employment. Results and publications are intended to provide independent, timely, and credible information and analysis for broad educational purposes, including as a resource for stakeholders, decision-makers, and the media. Funding for the REPEAT Project was provided by a grant from the Hewlett Foundation.

The REPEAT toolkit reflects further development and refinement of the models and methods used in the landmark Princeton Net-Zero America Study, which “set an entirely new standard” in energy transition modeling by offering an “unprecedented degree of clarity and granularity” in its results, according to John Holdren, former Science Advisor to President Obama and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The influential report was widely covered in major media and the spatially-explicit and granular results and associated maps have proven to be highly relevant to a wide range of stakeholders and decision makers. The impact of and reception to the Net-Zero America project indicates the desire for more politically-salient outputs from energy systems models and inspired and motivated the REPEAT Project, which aims to evolve and automate these detailed methods for timely and granular evaluation of federal policies.