I have been asked several times recently to provide some introductory material on open energy system modeling. So I decided to make a post on this forum — that way I only need to copy and forward a single URL. And perhaps others might make use of this information too.
Themes
Current themes in open energy system modeling include:
- policy‑oriented numerical system modeling is growing in visibility and importance
- open science principles are slowly improving the standards for that analysis
- access to good reusable data remains a challenge
- energy systems models themselves are increasingly spilling over into abutting sectors and new influences, including: mobility, built environment, industrial production, land usage, hydrology, and projected climate change
US EIA plans for a fully‑open modeling suite
In October 2024, the United States Energy Information Administration announced plans for a new suite of fully‑open energy system models and supporting datasets:
- DeCarolis, Joseph F, Sauleh Siddiqui, A LaRose, J Woollacott, Cara Marcy, Chris Namovicz, J Turnure, K Dyl, A Kahan, J Diefenderfer, N Vincent, B Cultice, and A Heisey (October 2024). A new generation of energy-economy modeling at the US Energy Information Administration — Working Paper 204. Washington DC, USA: US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Public domain.
YouTube introduction to modeling
This 13 minute YouTube video provides an introduction to energy system modeling more generally:
- Erlach, Berit (22 December 2020). Energy system models explained: Dr Berit Erlach explains energy system modeling in everyday terms. Berlin, Germany: Löschwasser Productions. Video 00:13:17. Filmed 9 June 2019 in Berlin, Germany by Robbie Morrison. Reference LP‑001‑01. CC‑BY‑4.0 license.
Wikipedia list of open models
The following Wikipedia EN page on open energy system models, with an emphasis on the underpinning software or “frameworks”, is about half complete — but nonetheless provides a reasonable overview of what is available:
The openmod community
The openmod community is now ten years old, has held 18 workshops, and its discussion forum (which you are now reading) has 1500 vetted participants. Here is some coverage on Wikipedia EN:
In 2024, the openmod received an award from the Berlin‑based Renewables Grid Initiative for its efforts — here is their citation:
Related academic work
If you really do need to cite something, try these two publications:
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Pfenninger, Stefan, Lion Hirth, Ingmar Schlecht, Eva Schmid, Frauke Wiese, Tom Brown, Chris Davis, Matthew Gidden, Heidi Heinrichs, Clara Heuberger, Simon Hilpert, Uwe Krien, Carsten Matke, Arjuna Nebel, Robbie Morrison, Berit Müller, Guido Pleßmann, Matthias Reeg, Jörn C Richstein, Abhishek Shivakumar, Iain Staffell, Tim Tröndle, and Clemens Wingenbach (January 2018). “Opening the black box of energy modelling: strategies and lessons learned”. Energy Strategy Reviews. 19: 63–71. ISSN 2211-467X. doi:10.1016/j.esr.2017.12.002. Open access.
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Morrison, Robbie (April 2018). “Energy system modeling: public transparency, scientific reproducibility, and open development”. Energy Strategy Reviews. 20: 49–63. ISSN 2211-467X. doi:10.1016/j.esr.2017.12.010. Open access.
Closure
Having spent over 20 years working only with open‑source energy system frameworks, what strikes me most is the power of collaborative development. Transparency and accountability are also enhanced — important considerations in the context of improved public policy analysis.
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