Energy Justice-Visualization and Impact Analysis
  • EJ-VIA
  • Explore Data & Results
  • More Information

Note: Only counties with nonzero values for selected state(s) and metric are shown.

Note: Some Balancing Authorities have overlapping geometries. It is discouraged to view all BAs at once.

Download Output Data (CSV)
Show 2020 Existing Power Plants
Show 2020 Transmission Lines

On this tab you can explore the current master EJ-VIA dataset. You can use the the State, Scenario, and Scale selection menus to filter the full dataset down to a specific subset and click the action button to download as a CSV.

Download CSV
EJ-VIA Application Documentation

EJ-VIA Application Documentation

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. User Interface Overview
  3. Metrics and Data Exploration
  4. Usage Instructions
  5. Troubleshooting
  6. Contact Information
  7. Updates and Version History

Introduction

Welcome to the EJ-VIA Application! This tool allows users to explore metrics related to new and retired electrical generation capacity in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) region across multiple time and space scales. Additionally, users can analyze these metrics within various Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM) future scenarios. For more information on the Grid Operations, Decarbonization, Environmental and Energy Equity Platform (GODEEEP) please visit the project website at godeeep.pnnl.gov.

User Interface Overview

  • Map View: Explore metrics spatially using the interactive map window.
  • Series of Data Selection Menus: A series of dropdown selection menu options will appear in succession as users choose different options. These selection menus filter the data to provide the tool outputs.
    • Analysis Type Selection: Select between the display of:
        • Single Scenario (Single Time Step) - single point-in-time snapshots of the data
        Single Scenario (Change Over Time Horizon) - data metrics change compared to base-year 2020
        Compare Scenarios (Single Time Step) - direct comparison of the Net Zero and Business as Usual scenarios for the same time step
    • Metric Selection: Choose between several metrics described further in the Metrics and Data Exploration section.
    • Disadvantaged Community Definition Selection: Choose between several definitions of disadvantaged communities (DAC). DACs are a method of indexing many environmental, social, and economic metrics to create spatial awareness of historical marginalization in some form or another. The current options included are:
        • Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST): Federal screening tool using eight categories of indicators to identify areas that are disadvantaged due to being overburdened and underserved. For more information on CEJST please visit their website.
        California EnviroScreen: California state-level tool that ranks census tracts throughout the state based on exposure to pollutants, prevelance of certain health conditions, adverse environmental conditions, and socioeconomic factors. For more information on CalEnvrioScreen please visit their website.
        Colorado EnviroScreen: Colorado state-level tool that ranks counties, census tracts, and census block groups by socioeconomic and environmental factors. For more information on COEnvrioScreen please visit their website.
        Washington Environmental Health Disparities: Washington state-level tool that ranks census tracts by toxic exposures, socioeconomic factors and prevelance of certain health conditions. For more information on WA Env. Health Disparities please visit their website.
    • Scenario Selection: Choose between two different GCAM scenarios of:
        • Net Zero by 2050 with Clean Grid by 2035: This scenario targets a clean electricity grid in the U.S. by 2035 and a NetZero economy by 2050 and includes the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives. It assumes that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies are available. The socioeconomic change assumptions are consistent with Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 2 (SSP2). This scenario includes future climate impacts on heating and cooling degree days based on Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5).
        Business As Usual: This scenario does not include any emissions constraints, but it does include the Inflation Reducation Act (IRA) incentives and assumes that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is available. The socioeconomic change assumptions are consistent with Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 2 (SSP2). This scenario includes future climate impacts on heating and cooling degree days based on Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5).
    • Year Selection: Choose an option from 2020 to 2035 in 5-year increments
    • Spatial Scale Selection: Choose between spatial scales from Balancing Authority, State, County, and Census Tracts. Please note that some metrics are only available at certain scales and because of previous metric selection will be filtered to visible scale options
    • State and County Selection: Two selection menus that appear as needed in response to previous selections. State and county selection will not appear in the case of balancing authority scale selection and county selection menu will not appear if state scale is selected. State and counties are presented only for the 11 WECC states
    • Balancing Authority Selection: Users can choose between a subset or all 29 utility balancing authorities in the WECC for visualizing metrics. Please note that many BAs have overlapping geographies and it is not recommended to visualize all at once
  • Run Button: Click this button after all other selection menu options have been chosen and you wish to see data outputs presented. Clicking this button more than once before clicking the reset button may cause server disruption and, in this event, simply refresh the page
  • Data Download Button: After the Run button is clicked the data output that has been selected can be download as a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file
  • Reset Button: After the data outputs have been viewed or you wish to change all previous selection menu options you can click this button to clear the outputs and reset selection menus. It is recommended to click reset after each data output is presented for best performance of the tool
  • Data Summary Table: View summary data points for the state of chosen metrics and state selections
  • Bar Plot: View summary distribution plots that change according to the slate of menu selections. Note that bar plot will not appear for all data output permutations

Metrics and Data Exploration

  • New Generation Capacity (MW): The addition of new electrical generation capacity in megawatts by generator technology type.
  • Retired Generation Capacity (MW): The retirement of electrical generation capacity in megawatts by generator technology type.
  • CO₂ Emissions (Metric Tons): Plant-scale emissions for electricity generation.
  • SO₂ Emissions (Metric Tons): Plant-scale emissions for electricity generation.
  • NOX Emissions (Metric Tons): Plant-scale emissions for electricity generation.
  • Generation Capacity by Generator Type (MW): The change in electrical generation capacity, either over time or between Net Zero and BAU scenarios based on scenario selected, in megawatts by generator technology type.
  • New Construction, Operations, and Decommissioning Jobs: The addition of new annual full time equivalent jobs summed over each five year period (2021-2025, 2026-2030, 2031-2035) for all three job categories. Job metrics are currently only available at the county scale for Washington state.
  • New Construction Jobs: The addition of new annual full time equivalent jobs summed over each five year period (2021-2025, 2026-2030, 2031-2035) for the construction job category.
  • New Operations Jobs: The addition of new annual full time equivalent jobs summed over each five year period (2021-2025, 2026-2030, 2031-2035) for all the operations job category.
  • Decommissioning Jobs: The addition of new annual full time equivalent jobs summed over each five year period (2021-2025, 2026-2030, 2031-2035) for all the decommissioning job category.
  • Construction, Operations, and Decommissioning Jobs: The change over time or between scenarios of new annual full time equivalent jobs summed over each five year period (2021-2025, 2026-2030, 2031-2035) for all three job categories. Job metrics are currently only available at the county scale for Washington state.
  • Construction Jobs: The change over time or between scenarios of new annual full time equivalent jobs summed over each five year period (2021-2025, 2026-2030, 2031-2035) for the construction job category.
  • Operations Jobs: The change over time or between scenarios of new annual full time equivalent jobs summed over each five year period (2021-2025, 2026-2030, 2031-2035) for all the operations job category.
  • Decommissioning Jobs: The change over time or between scenarios of new annual full time equivalent jobs summed over each five year period (2021-2025, 2026-2030, 2031-2035) for all the decommissioning job category.

Usage Instructions

  1. Navigating the Application:
    • There are three main tabs of the application: EJ-VIA, Explore Data and Outputs, and More Information. The EJ-VIA tab operates the geospatial model that displays filtered GODEEEP data outputs based on the user specified selections. Vist the Explore Data and Outputs tab to view raw data tables or filter and download by variables such as geospatial scale, scenario, and WECC state. Please note that you cannot use your browser forward or back page buttons to navigate between EJ-VIA tabs.
  2. EJ-VIA Selection Menu
    • To the left of the mapview window there is a series of selection menus that begin with the 'Choose Analysis Type' dropdown. Based on previous selections new dropdowns or groups of dropdowns will appear. For this reason it is especially important to choose menu selections for the dropdowns in the order they appear.
  3. EJ-VIA Action Buttons
    • Once you have chosen the series of selection menus you should click the 'Go!' action button that will initiate a data output to load. Loading outputs will take up to 15 seconds so please be patient as it loads. Refrain from clicking other buttons or interacting with the map window until outputs have fully loaded. Once the output has loaded you will see a 'Download CSV' button that allows you to download the data for the output you are visualizing. Next to the download button is a 'Reset' button that will clear the current ouputs and menu selections. It is recommended to click reset after each output run is generated for best application performance.
  4. Explore Details:
    • You can interact with the interactive mapview window by clicking and zooming and hoovering over geographies to view specific details. You can also observe summary data tables and for some outputs a bar plot distribution under the mapview window.

Troubleshooting

Please be patient as server disruptions and buffering does occur and it can delay outputs and the loading of correct selection menus. When encountering issues or there appears to be an obvious application freeze or crash the best solution is to refresh your browser window and retry loading your outputs.

  • Server Disconnection:
    • Disruptions between UI and backend server do occur, and the best solution is to refresh the page and reload your output.

Contact Information

For support, inquiries, or feedback, please contact us at stefan.rose@pnnl.gov .

Updates and Version History

  1. Version 1.0.0:
    • Initial release of EJ-VIA.
  2. Version 1.1.0 (Current):
    • Addition of energy-sector jobs metrics and data.

Thank you for using the EJ-VIA Shiny web application! We appreciate your feedback and hope you find the tool valuable for exploring metrics in the WECC region.