27 June 2012: The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) of the World Bank has developed and is testing its “Model for Electricity Technology Assessment” (META) as a tool to assist policy makers and planners design power generation projects in light of the challenges of reducing carbon emissions and adjusting to rapid changes in technology, equipment and fuel prices.

The model, formally known as the Electricity Technology Options Assessment Guide (ETOAG), was developed together with ESMAP reports on electrification technologies and power sector prices and launched at a World Bank workshop in June 2012.

It compares the costs of a range of power generation options, taking into account changes in capital and operating costs over time, environmental externalities, and transmission and distribution options. ESMAP and other World Bank teams are piloting META with clients and stakeholders, and will revise the model based on these experiences before publishing the META report in late 2012. [ESMAP Press Release]