Webinar: Commercial-Grade Open-Source Software for Energy Planning

Workshop Webinar
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:brain: Webinar: Commercial-Grade Open-Source Software for Energy Planning

:bullseye: Goal: Showcase real-world applications of open-source tools in energy system planning & build confidence in their industrial viability

When: 18 Sept 2025, 16-18:00 Berlin time (Time converter)
Where: Online on Google Meet with YouTube live stream
Recording: Yes, see here
Organizer: Open Energy Transition, with support of LF Energy
Registration: Eventbrite Link
Costs: Free
Spread the word: LinkedIn, Mastodon, BlueSky, X

Introduction

Open-source tools are playing a growing role in energy system planning among industry actors, but how ready are they, really?

We invite you to an online session that dives deep into commercial-grade open-source software used for grid simulation, power flow modelling, and energy system planning. You’ll hear from TSOs, regulators, consultants, and industry collaborations showing how open tools like PyPSA and PowSyBl are applied in practice, from fully public toolchains to hybrid and internal deployments.

Whether you’re a TSO planning future capacity, a regulator seeking transparency, or a consultant building custom tools, this session is for you. Let’s show that the open-source energy ecosystem is not only alive but industry-ready.

Agenda

Welcome & Framing (10 min)

  • Short intro by Open Energy Transition
  • Launch of open-source tool adoption tracker for grid planning tools, helping planners shortlist industry-ready solutions that are widely supported.

Panel Discussion (40 min)

Format: 30 min moderated panel + 10 min open Q&A
Moderator: @MaxParzen (CEO, Open Energy Transition)
Panellists::

  • Boris Dolley (Head of Open-Source Program Office, RTE, TSO perspective)
  • Nicolas Omont (VP of Operations, Artelys, consultancy perspective)
  • Alexandre Parisot (Director of Ecosystem - AI and Energy Systems, Linux Foundation Energy, ecosystem/foundation view)

Topics in mind:

  • Why OSS now? What’s driving industry adoption? What makes OSS competitive?
  • Is it mature enough? Is it secure enough? Can OSS meet mission-critical reliability needs?
  • What’s missing? What do companies do when features or support are lacking?
  • Ecosystem health? What roles do TSOs, vendors, consultants, and regulators play in sustaining OSS tools?
  • How to get started?
    • How much does it cost?
    • What in-house team is needed?
    • What infrastructure requirements?
    • Organisational readiness? Open Source Program Offices?
  • How to collaborate?
    • Is there value in contributing back?
    • How can open-source reduce duplication and risk?

PyPSA lightning talks (30 min)

Each speaker: 6 min presentation + 4 min Q&A

Organization Type Speaker Topic / Use Case
ACER (European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators) Regulator Christos Kolokathis, Team Leader Flexibility and Resilience Flexibility Needs Assessment Platform
TransnetBW Transmission System Operator Massimo Moser, Team Leader Energy Systems Advanced Modeling Frameworks for Long-Term Energy System Planning: Grid Expansion, Open-Source Tools, and Multi-Energy Integration
Canada Energy Regulator Regulator Ganesh Doluweera, Technical Leader Electricity supply projections for the flagship publication: Canada’s Energy Future series

PowSyBl lightning talks (30 min)

Each speaker: 6 min presentation + 4 min Q&A

Organization Type Speaker Topic / Use Case
RTE (France) Transmission System Operator Boris Dolley Head of Open-Source Program Office Core development + operations
Artelys Consultant Federico Naranjo Hernandez, Energy Consultant Performance-optimized modules for PowSyBl
Baltic RCC Regional Coordination Center Veiko Aunapuu, Member of Management Board Using PowSyBl and building on top

Closing Remarks (5 min)

Shout out + Join the LF Energy Summits in North America and Europe: https://lfenergy.org/lf-energy-summit-europe-and-north-america-dates-and-locations-announced/

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License compliance

I looked at the title of this event a couple of times and thought to myself, what exactly is “commercial-grade” open source software in this context?

And then realized that one important aspect for adoption by companies is adequate due diligence on license compliance. License compliance tends to be much less of an issue for academic and personal usage.

License compliance has recently received greater prominence as legislators have begun to focus on strengthening software supply chain management — for instance, though the European Union Cyber Resilience Act and through president Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order 14028 on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity.

Meeker (2025) and Wintersgill et al (2025) both cover the topic of license compliance.

I would wager that a couple of software projects within the openmod community would not meet the bar of “commercial‑grade” in terms of license compliance. My suspicions can, of course, only be confirmed though proper analysis. That said, the broader message is:

  • ensure that your project copyright notice is correct and up‑to‑date and that all necessary personal copyright assignments are in place
  • ensure that your project license is correctly applied
  • ensure that your upstream dependencies have similarly correct and compatible licensing
  • adopt the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) REUSE good practice guidelines

References

Meeker, Heather (13 January 2025). Open (source) for business: a practical guide to open source software licensing (4th ed). South Carolina, USA: Kindle Direct Publishing Platform. ISBN 979-830579405-2. Paperback edition.

Wintersgill, Nathan, Trevor Stalnaker, Laura A Heymann, Oscar Chaparro, and Denys Poshyvanyk (12 July 2024). ““The law doesn’t work like a computer”: exploring software licensing issues faced by legal practitioners”. Proceedings of the ACM on Software Engineering. 1 (FSE): 882–905. Article 40. ISSN 1049-331X. doi:10.1145/3643766. Reference: ACM 2994-970X/2024/7-ART40. Creative Commons CC‑BY‑4.0 license.

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Here is another resource on OS license compliance for those who prefer YouTube. Open Source Program Offices (OSPO) are covered as one suggestion. Perhaps the merits of establishing OSPOs could be traversed in the webinar?

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Good point about OSPOs. I’ll make sure to address that on the panel.

I’ve met Heather Meeker before and have read some of her books. When I refer to commercial-grade open-source software, I mean solutions that can be confidently applied in industry. These are typically tools that meet licensing rigor, have larger ecosystems, or are actively driven by industry adoption.

I agree that only a subset of openmod community tools fit this definition - and that’s perfectly fine. We also need experimental spaces that serve as playgrounds for research and learning.

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People can download a legit PDF copy of Heather Meeker’s 2025 book (cited earlier) if they sign up for her mailing list. Once registered, you will receive a download password. Heather is a programmer turned United States IP lawyer.

While here, Amanda Brock’s 2022 edited book can also be downloaded as a PDF:

  • Brock, Amanda (editor) (October 2022). Open source law, policy and practice (2nd edition). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-886234-5. Hardback edition. Creative Commons CC‑BY‑NC‑ND‑4.0. Download PDF. :open_access:
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