27. Shortfall: An Energy Planning Strategy Game
Dr Leigh Martindale, Prof. Mark Howells, Prof. Jairo Quiros-Tortos
How can we meet growing electricity demand while keeping energy affordable and reducing carbon emissions? These questions underpin energy systems modelling, which helps researchers and policymakers explore investment choices and pathways towards low-carbon futures.
Our research at Climate Compatible Growth (CCG), part of Loughborough University’s STEER centre, supports the use of open-source models to inform these decisions. Alongside developing and applying models in newly developing countries, we help people understand how they work and critically interpret their results.
Shortfall brings some of these planning challenges into an interactive game. Over three in-game years, players build a mix of power plants to meet rising electricity demand at the lowest total cost. Their decisions must account for construction and operating costs, carbon emissions, variable renewable generation and unexpected disruptions.
The game illustrates why a powerplant that appears cheap in isolation may not produce the lowest-cost electricity system. It also introduces the importance of diversity and resilience when planning under uncertainty.