Open energy system models
Chang et al (2021) survey modeling trends and find the open to closed division about even after reviewing 54 frameworks — although that interpretation is based on project count and not on uptake and use.
[10]: 17 [11] To further honor the process of peer review, researchers argue, in a 2012 paper, that it is essential to place both the source code and datasets under publicly accessible version control so that third-parties can run, verify, and scrutinize specific models.
[14] And an academic commentary from 2020 argues that distributed development would facilitate a more diverse contributor base and thus improve model quality — a process supported by online platforms and enabled by open data and code.
[20] A survey completed in 2021 investigated the degree to which open energy-system modeling frameworks support flexibility options, broken down by supply, demand, storage, sector coupled, and network response.
[37] Under development at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), Petten, the Netherlands, Dispa-SET is a unit commitment and dispatch model intended primarily for Europe.
[41] The model power system is managed by a single operator with full knowledge of the economic and technical characteristics of the generation units, the loads at each node, and the heavily simplified transmission network.
[39] Planned extensions to the software include support for simplified AC power flow [c] (transmission is currently treated as a transportation problem), new constraints (like cooling water supply), stochastic scenarios, and the inclusion of markets for ancillary services.
The GENESYS simulation tool is designed to optimize a future EUMENA (Europe, Middle East, and North Africa) power system and assumes a high share of renewable generation.
The optimization is based on a covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES), while the operation is simulated as a hierarchical set-up of system elements which balance the load between the various regions at minimum cost using the network simplex algorithm.
A 2012 study investigates the feasibility of a fully renewable system using concentrated solar power (CSP) with thermal storage, windfarms, photovoltaics, existing hydroelectricity, and biofuelled gas turbines.
The study finds that "only under a few, and seemingly unlikely, combinations of costs can any of the fossil fuel scenarios compete economically with 100% renewable electricity in a carbon constrained world".
The PowerMatcher software thereby allows high shares of renewable energy to be integrated into existing electricity systems and should also avoid any local overloading in possibly aging distribution networks.
renpass supports the electricity systems found in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland.
A 2012 study uses renpass to examine the feasibility of a 100% renewable electricity system for the Baltic Sea region (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden) in the year 2050.
The base scenario presumes conservative renewable potentials and grid enhancements, a 20% drop in demand, a moderate uptake of storage options, and the deployment of biomass for flexible generation.
SWITCH utilizes multi-stage stochastic linear optimization with the objective of minimizing the present value of the cost of power plants, transmission capacity, fuel usage, and an arbitrary per-tonne CO2 charge (to represent either a carbon tax or a certificate price), over the course of a multi-year investment period.
[102] URBS, Latin for city, is a linear programming model for exploring capacity expansion and unit commitment problems and is particularly suited to distributed energy systems (DES).
A 2012 study, using high spatial and technological resolutions, found variable renewable energy (VRE) additions cause lower revenues for conventional power plants and that grid extensions redistribute and alleviate this effect.
Compared to similar tools, AnyMOD.jl puts an emphasis on innovative methods to achieve high detail and capture intermittent renewables, while maintaining a comprehensive scope in terms of regions and sectors.
[109] As of 2022,[update] most studies deploying the tool have focused on the German energy system in a European context, for instance investigating the trade‑offs between centralized and decentralized designs, the role of grid planning, and the potential of sufficiency measures.
The framework is agnostic about what is modeled, but still has capabilities to represent a large range of energy system characteristics — such as generation and transfer, reserves, unit commitment, heat diffusion in buildings, storages, multiple emissions and P2X, etc.
[124] Calliope is an energy system modeling framework, with a focus on flexibility, high spatial and temporal resolution, and the ability to execute different runs using the same base-case dataset.
Calliope takes these files, constructs a pure linear optimization (no integer variables) problem, solves it, and reports the results in the form of pandas data structures for analysis.
However, the framework is highly flexible, allowing for calculations at various levels of detail, from individual households to global aggregations, depending on the desired research question and availability of input data.
[146] A 2021 study investigates the European Green Deal goal of achieving 100% greenhouse gas reductions by 2050, examining the interplay of technological developments, policy imperatives, and societal attitudes.
The model, funded as part of Horizon 2020 and falling under work package WP7 of the REEEM project, will be used to help stakeholders engage with a range of sustainable energy futures for Europe.
The PyPSA-Eur-Sec-30 model captures the demand-side management potential of battery electric vehicles (BEV) as well as the role that power-to-gas, long-term thermal energy storage, and related technologies can play.
In late‑2021, PyPSA‑Eur developers reported their investigation into integrated high-voltage electricity and hydrogen grid expansion options for Europe and the United Kingdom and the impact of the kind of trade‑offs that might stem from limited public acceptance of new infrastructure.
[222][223][224][225] Edinburgh University researchers published an independent power system model for Britain named PyPSA‑GB in 2024, together with assessments of official net‑zero Future Energy Scenarios (FES) from the UK National Grid.
[251] Statistics for the 30 open energy modeling projects listed (given sufficient information is available) are as follows: The GAMS language requires a proprietary environment and its significant cost effectively limits participation to those who can access an institutional copy.
