Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Plan4Res (SYNERGISTIC APPROACH OF MULTI-ENERGY MODELS FOR AN EUROPEAN OPTIMAL ENERGY SYSTEM MANAGEMENT TOOL)
Reporting period: 2019-05-01 to 2021-04-30
EU’s targets are calling for changes in our energy system: more flexibility, more active involvement of stakeholders and more collaboration to enable least-cost integration of variable renewable energy sources, making necessary to strengthen coordination across energy vectors and develop innovative approaches for flexibility and increased uncertainties.
Operating the system with high shares of RES will only be possible and affordable if grid and generation evolve towards a system designed to maximize its capacity to host RES. This requires optimizing existing and new assets and new, making best use of flexibilities. An integrated representation of the system is necessary and needed by all stakeholders participating in system operation and development.
This requires overcoming significant technical hurdles to allow interconnected models (strategic investment – operational simulation – system integration) to work synergistically while retaining the modularity (representing sub-parts of the system, functionally, geographically or on specific time horizon/resolution, or replacing models/algorithms ) which is necessary for tailoring tools to different needs.
The objective was to develop this modular tool.
Operating the system with high shares of RES will only be possible and affordable if grid and generation evolve towards a system designed to maximize its capacity to host RES. This requires optimizing existing and new assets and new, making best use of flexibilities. An integrated representation of the system is necessary and needed by all stakeholders participating in system operation and development.
This requires overcoming significant technical hurdles to allow interconnected models (strategic investment – operational simulation – system integration) to work synergistically while retaining the modularity (representing sub-parts of the system, functionally, geographically or on specific time horizon/resolution, or replacing models/algorithms ) which is necessary for tailoring tools to different needs.
The objective was to develop this modular tool.
The open-source SMS++ library allows to describe the components of the energy optimization models (eg., network or generation assets) and solve them by the sophisticated open-source algorithms developed within the project.
Improvements in solving algorithms:
- New versions of the SCIP Optimization Suite and new parallel presolving library (PaPILO) provide significant speedup on hard MIPs and MINLPs.
- The stochastic optimization library StOpt tightly integrated to plan4res environment and SMS++;
- The NDOSolver/FiOracle project used for solving problems induced by decomposition algorithms improved to suit project needs.
A containerized, OS-independent execution environment was implemented. It includes all necessary components implemented for the project: automatic data platform interfacing, workflow coordination, the SMS++ library and all solvers, with an add-on system to install optional/commercial packages. The environment fully supports parallelization for use in different HPC systems.
Highlighting the frameworks capabilities, 3 case studies were defined and implemented, including a demonstrator and a dataset per CS, plus a public data set.
CS 1 “Multimodal European energy concept for achieving COP 21 goal with perfect foresight, considering sector coupling of electricity, gas, heat and transport demand” aimed at determining an optimal future energy mix, a cost-effective investment trajectory, and optimized operation of all assets, with focus on:
- sector coupling and cross-border energy transport
- emerging technologies, eMobility, Power2Heat, Power2Gas, batteries
- potentials / constraints from coupling electricity and gas transport via Power2Gas
Main outputs:
• cost-optimal decarbonization pathways for 6 scenarios considering sector coupling of electricity, heating, mobility and fuel & gas were modeled resulting in future generation mix and optimal dispatch. Results were evaluated further focusing on impacts of emerging technologies.
• detailed electricity market and transmission grid operation, including cross-border electricity exchange, for a base scenario in a focus year with high spatial resolution
• successful proof-of-concept: integrated electricity and gas transport evaluation for enabling analysis of the pan-European cross-border energy exchanges in terms of gas imports, gas demand and Power2Gas w/ high spatial resolution.
Case study 2 “Strategic development of pan-European network without perfect foresight and considering long-term uncertainties” focused on the Pan-European electric power transmission system from 2020 until 2050.
Its main objective was to identify the role of Energy Storage in facilitating the transition to a high-renewables system, at minimum cost. The key challenge is that deployment of renewables occurs under uncertainty and energy storage costs also incorporate uncertainty.
Main results:
• Stochastic Optimization was used to identify the optimal investment decisions under uncertainty.
• Nested benders advanced decomposition helped address the computational burden associated with the problem.
• Sensitivities on probabilities display their effect on the Option Value of Storage
• Energy Storage holds significant Option Value.
Case study 3 “Scenario assessment, Cost of RES integration and system flexibility needs” focused on the Pan-European electricity sector in 2050. Its objectives were to assess:
• The feasibility of a given external scenario;
• Impact of different levels of RES integration;
• The Value of flexibility of assets.
Main outputs:
• Evaluate the feasibility of a long-term energy mix scenario, and assess its costs from the point of view of the electricity system is possible. (Demonstrated on a scenario published by the H2020 openENTRANCE project).
• It is possible to run flexibility assessment studies. (Demonstrated on flex evaluations for storage, interconnection, nuclear generation)
• We can capture the cost and value of hosting more Variable renewable Generation. (Demonstrated via 4 sensitivities with 50 to 80 % VRE)
Results were disseminated via open access scientific papers and policy magazine articles, conference presentations conferences, public webinars, newsletters and social network posts. Datasets and deliverables are openly available on Zenodo (plan4res community), and softwares were released open-source (SMS++, platform and environment, solvers).
Results will be exploited by project partners for future research, and by using the software and data for internal or commercial studies or for direct commercialization of specific solutions.
Improvements in solving algorithms:
- New versions of the SCIP Optimization Suite and new parallel presolving library (PaPILO) provide significant speedup on hard MIPs and MINLPs.
- The stochastic optimization library StOpt tightly integrated to plan4res environment and SMS++;
- The NDOSolver/FiOracle project used for solving problems induced by decomposition algorithms improved to suit project needs.
A containerized, OS-independent execution environment was implemented. It includes all necessary components implemented for the project: automatic data platform interfacing, workflow coordination, the SMS++ library and all solvers, with an add-on system to install optional/commercial packages. The environment fully supports parallelization for use in different HPC systems.
Highlighting the frameworks capabilities, 3 case studies were defined and implemented, including a demonstrator and a dataset per CS, plus a public data set.
CS 1 “Multimodal European energy concept for achieving COP 21 goal with perfect foresight, considering sector coupling of electricity, gas, heat and transport demand” aimed at determining an optimal future energy mix, a cost-effective investment trajectory, and optimized operation of all assets, with focus on:
- sector coupling and cross-border energy transport
- emerging technologies, eMobility, Power2Heat, Power2Gas, batteries
- potentials / constraints from coupling electricity and gas transport via Power2Gas
Main outputs:
• cost-optimal decarbonization pathways for 6 scenarios considering sector coupling of electricity, heating, mobility and fuel & gas were modeled resulting in future generation mix and optimal dispatch. Results were evaluated further focusing on impacts of emerging technologies.
• detailed electricity market and transmission grid operation, including cross-border electricity exchange, for a base scenario in a focus year with high spatial resolution
• successful proof-of-concept: integrated electricity and gas transport evaluation for enabling analysis of the pan-European cross-border energy exchanges in terms of gas imports, gas demand and Power2Gas w/ high spatial resolution.
Case study 2 “Strategic development of pan-European network without perfect foresight and considering long-term uncertainties” focused on the Pan-European electric power transmission system from 2020 until 2050.
Its main objective was to identify the role of Energy Storage in facilitating the transition to a high-renewables system, at minimum cost. The key challenge is that deployment of renewables occurs under uncertainty and energy storage costs also incorporate uncertainty.
Main results:
• Stochastic Optimization was used to identify the optimal investment decisions under uncertainty.
• Nested benders advanced decomposition helped address the computational burden associated with the problem.
• Sensitivities on probabilities display their effect on the Option Value of Storage
• Energy Storage holds significant Option Value.
Case study 3 “Scenario assessment, Cost of RES integration and system flexibility needs” focused on the Pan-European electricity sector in 2050. Its objectives were to assess:
• The feasibility of a given external scenario;
• Impact of different levels of RES integration;
• The Value of flexibility of assets.
Main outputs:
• Evaluate the feasibility of a long-term energy mix scenario, and assess its costs from the point of view of the electricity system is possible. (Demonstrated on a scenario published by the H2020 openENTRANCE project).
• It is possible to run flexibility assessment studies. (Demonstrated on flex evaluations for storage, interconnection, nuclear generation)
• We can capture the cost and value of hosting more Variable renewable Generation. (Demonstrated via 4 sensitivities with 50 to 80 % VRE)
Results were disseminated via open access scientific papers and policy magazine articles, conference presentations conferences, public webinars, newsletters and social network posts. Datasets and deliverables are openly available on Zenodo (plan4res community), and softwares were released open-source (SMS++, platform and environment, solvers).
Results will be exploited by project partners for future research, and by using the software and data for internal or commercial studies or for direct commercialization of specific solutions.
Energy modeling:
• Decomposition, allowing larger scale models
• Dynamics of power system development and transformation, in particular without perfect foresight
• Representation of connections between energy systems and impact on flexibility
• Proper representation of flexibility needs and capacity of the system
Mathematical algorithms :
• Lagrangian and Benders decomposition
• Improved SDDP algorithms
• Improved MILP solving tools
Advanced distributed parallel computing and efficient workflow algorithms.
Potential Impacts:
Plan4Res provides an advanced modelling platform of the European energy system accounting for a large set of resources. This may lead to impacts not only on usual processes like planning and operation, but also on the ability to assess foreseen evolution, including regulatory and organisational ones.
Plan4Res may contribute to the energy efficiency targets with a more efficient energy system integration, thus facilitating quantitative and in-depth analysis of future scenarios energy system by helping to understand the impact of eg. changes in legal framework, energy markets (new flexibility products), and technological developments (efficiency) on the system and business.
plan4res aims at increasing the pan-European transmission network capacity and electric system flexibility at affordable costs, by providing a tool that sheds light on the future reliability performances of the EU electricity transmission network, taking advantage of all flexibilities, and enhancing cohesion with other energy sources and interconnections.
• Decomposition, allowing larger scale models
• Dynamics of power system development and transformation, in particular without perfect foresight
• Representation of connections between energy systems and impact on flexibility
• Proper representation of flexibility needs and capacity of the system
Mathematical algorithms :
• Lagrangian and Benders decomposition
• Improved SDDP algorithms
• Improved MILP solving tools
Advanced distributed parallel computing and efficient workflow algorithms.
Potential Impacts:
Plan4Res provides an advanced modelling platform of the European energy system accounting for a large set of resources. This may lead to impacts not only on usual processes like planning and operation, but also on the ability to assess foreseen evolution, including regulatory and organisational ones.
Plan4Res may contribute to the energy efficiency targets with a more efficient energy system integration, thus facilitating quantitative and in-depth analysis of future scenarios energy system by helping to understand the impact of eg. changes in legal framework, energy markets (new flexibility products), and technological developments (efficiency) on the system and business.
plan4res aims at increasing the pan-European transmission network capacity and electric system flexibility at affordable costs, by providing a tool that sheds light on the future reliability performances of the EU electricity transmission network, taking advantage of all flexibilities, and enhancing cohesion with other energy sources and interconnections.