Using AVERT requires that you understand the energy impacts of the energy efficiency program or capacity of the renewable energy resource that you are evaluating. To estimate displaced emissions with AVERT, you will need the following:

1. For energy efficiency (EE) programs, one of the following:

• Expected annual load reduction from one or a group of EE programs.
• Understanding of the program’s temporal profile (e.g., whether it targets all hours equally throughout the year or affects specific hours of the year), so you can select the appropriate EE load profile option.
• An hourly energy savings profile from another source.

2. For renewable energy (RE) programs, one of the following:

• An hourly renewable energy generation profile.
• Capacity of RE installations (wind or solar) to be analyzed.

To create a future year scenario, you will also need the following:

1. Expected fossil EGU retirements.
2. Generic new EGU capacity (in MW, by fuel and prime mover type, such as natural gas combined cycle) and a general idea of where that capacity will be built.
3. Additions or changes in emission rates from pollution control installations (e.g., new emissions rates in lbs or tons/MWh).

Some states fall into more than one AVERT region. To get the best results, you will need to identify the correct AVERT region or regions, and you might need to run AVERT more than once.