Source
https://github.com/EECA-NZ/TIMES-NZ-Model-Files — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)
Summary
GitHub README for the TIMES-NZ 3.0 model repository (EECA-NZ/TIMES-NZ-Model-Files), co-developed by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC), and Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI, Switzerland). TIMES-NZ is a whole-of-system, least-cost optimisation model of New Zealand’s energy system — from raw materials through generation to consumption — built on the IEA-ETSAP TIMES framework used by 60+ countries. Version 3.0 is the third iteration on NZ data, incorporates feedback from previous-version users, and is positioned by EECA/BEC for ongoing regular updates. The README itself is meta-documentation: a one-paragraph framing of what TIMES-NZ does, a pointer to substantive documentation at https://times-nz-dev.readthedocs.io/, and a developer quickstart (WSL/Ubuntu + Python 3.12 + Poetry; full workflow also requires Windows VEDA and GAMS). EECA and BEC are described as the only NZ organisations to have invested in developing TIMES for New Zealand. MIT-licensed.
Key thesis insights
- TIMES-NZ is the dominant national-scale, least-cost energy-system optimisation paradigm in New Zealand — third-iteration (3.0) model of the entire NZ energy system, co-developed by EECA (government), BEC (industry body), and PSI (research). Built on the IEA-ETSAP TIMES framework used by 60+ countries. EECA and BEC are described as the only NZ organisations to have invested the resources and expertise to develop TIMES for New Zealand — a near-monopoly national-modelling position that the Neobiome Intelligence community-scale calculation layer sits explicitly outside of. Thesis framing: top-down national least-cost optimisation vs bottom-up community deployment design — different objectives, different decision-makers, different time horizons. URL_005
- TIMES-NZ is explicitly framed as a “conversation-structuring” tool, not a prescriptive answer engine — per the README: “The model doesn’t answer how to run the energy system; instead it can help structure conversations about trade-offs and uncertainties — and the implications of different energy policies.” Useful epistemic anchor for the thesis: even the country’s flagship national energy model positions itself as a decision-support / trade-off explorer, not a deterministic forecast. The same humility frame applies to NI at community scale. URL_005
- TIMES-NZ 3.0 is open-source (MIT-licensed) and developer-accessible — Python 3.12 + Poetry data-preparation pipeline (
PREPARE-TIMES-NZ), internal Shiny QA app (TIMES-NZ-INTERNAL-QA), and Excel model files; full workflow runs through VEDA + GAMS on Windows. Substantive content lives at the ReadTheDocs documentation site (https://times-nz-dev.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html), not in the README itself. Implication for NI: the national model’s structure, assumptions, and outputs are inspectable — a methodological anchor for cross-validating NI community-scale numbers against national least-cost trajectories where boundaries overlap. URL_005 - TIMES-NZ scope is the whole NZ energy system end-to-end — raw materials, generation, consumption — and explicitly designed to model interactions across transport, manufacturing, residential heating, commercial activity, and emerging fuels (hydrogen, biomass). Scenario levers named in the README: falling gas supply, oil prices, carbon prices, cost of EVs and solar. No spatial disaggregation, no community-scale resolution — this is national-aggregate optimisation, which is precisely the gap NI is designed to fill at the community deployment layer. URL_005
- TIMES-NZ 3.0 will be updated regularly per EECA/BEC plans, but the README does not specify a cadence, public release schedule, or scenario-set governance. The substantive model documentation, scenario assumptions, and any published outputs require retrieval from the ReadTheDocs site and/or downstream EECA/BEC publications — URL_005 is a pointer, not an answer. URL_005
Research targets
Documents to retrieve
- RT_134 (medium) — TIMES-NZ 3.0 ReadTheDocs documentation site (https://times-nz-dev.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html) — the substantive narrative for the model (assumptions, scenario design, sector coverage, output structure). This is the substantive target for the TIMES-NZ paradigm; URL_005 is only the entry-point pointer. Targets version 3.0 directly rather than the superseded TIMES-NZ 2.0 narrative PDF.
- RT_135 (medium) — TIMES-NZ 3.0 published scenario outputs and accompanying EECA/BEC reports (if any released alongside 3.0) — the dominant NZ national-scale energy-pathway forecasts (gas/carbon/EV/solar levers) to position the thesis argument against. Where: EECA publications page + BEC website + searches for “TIMES-NZ 3.0 scenarios” / “TIMES-NZ 3.0 report”.
Connections
Referenced by
Sources (1): URL_024