A protocol to determine the least cost supply of coal to China with an installation-level optimization model

This protocol provides instructions on how to run a linear optimization model that determines the cost-optimal supply of coal, from Chinese and foreign mines, to satisfy a given demand for coal in Chinese power and steel plants. We describe how to download the code and required software and detail steps to insert third-party data. We further provide instructions to adjust and define the scenario settings, build and solve the optimization problem file, and visualize the model outcomes. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Gosens et al. (2022).¹.