Overview:

The International Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (I-JEDI) model is a free, online tool for analyzing the economic impacts of renewable energy development around the world. I-JEDI estimates the employment, earnings, gross domestic product, and output from the construction and operation of renewable energy projects and across the domestic supply chain. The model results include total economic impacts, as well as impacts by industry (such as, construction, manufacturing, and banking services, among others). This information helps align renewable energy action with key economic development goals.

Inputs and Outputs:

I-JEDI users begin by selecting the country, technology (solar, wind, biopower, geothermal), dollar year and project size. For each technology, the tool provides a set of relevant inputs that help formulate project characteristics. Default data on country-specific costs and percentages of local goods and services (from sources including periodicals, journal articles, industry experts and engineering cost models) and project expenditures estimates (including equipment construction and labor costs) are pre-populated. Users can use or modify default data if they have the specific project information available. For countries that are not included, users can use the “custom region” option to develop models, but the user will need to have the necessary input data available.

After completing the inputs, the results present estimated gross economic impacts of a project in areas including employment, earnings, gross domestic product, and gross output impacts. I-JEDI results also provide country specific impacts by industry.

Limitations:

I-JEDI results are gross, not net. Impact estimates for each technology do not factor in far-reaching effects such as displaced economic activity or alternative uses for project funds. For solar photovoltaics, the default values reflect what is primarily installed in the country of analysis, are average values, and do not distinguish between residential rooftops, commercial rooftops, or utility-scale solar photovoltaics.

I-JEDI does not estimate impacts from changes in prices, utility rates, taxes, or wages, nor does it estimate constraints in resources.

Accessing the tools and additional information:

Access the I-JEDI tool at i-jedi.org. The I-JEDI tool was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with funding from USAID.

Contact:

Sadie Cox
U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory
sadie.cox [at] nrel [dot] gov

Jeremy Foster
Senior Energy Advisor
jfoster [at] usaid [dot] gov