The WWF ERC Sustainable National Accessible Power Planning (SNAPP) Modelling Tool

The Sustainable National Accessible Power Planning Tool (SNAPP) developed by WWF-South Africa and the Energy Research Center at the University of Cape Town provides a transparent, spreadsheet-based electricity system model. It is relatively simple to use, and requires little more than a keen interest in our electricity future. On the one hand, it is a useful tool to explore the implications of specific technology choices, and on the other, it provides a high degree of technical rigour for users who wish to develop plausible and detailed future electricity scenarios for South Africa.

SNAPP allows users to specify future investments in the South African electricity system, and calculates the costs, the investment requirements, probably impact on the average cost of generation (and thus the electricity price), and the emissions implications, and includes a sophisticated reliability check to ensure that the chosen investments will result in a reliable electricity system. Unlike traditional modelling frameworks, because SNAPP is a spreadsheet, results are instantaneous. Users can immediately see the consequences of their choices without having to ‘run’ a complex modelling framework. In addition, users can impose taxes on GHG emissions, alter electricity demand to accommodate a Solar Water Heating or PV programme, or a broader energy efficiency strategy, change the discount rate, change fuel prices, and any other more advanced technical parameter. Other data such as levelised costs of potential generating options is automatically calculated. SNAPP allows comparison between two different scenarios, and also conveys detailed information on the performance of each technology in each scenario.

Download the basic SNAPP exel sheets here:

You will need the following plug in to run SNAPP:

Download the SNAPP user manual here: