Input Data

All the input files must be located in a folder with the name of the case study.

Acronyms

Acronym	Description
AC	Alternating Current
aFRR	Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve
AWE	Alkaline Water Electrolyzer
BESS	Battery Energy Storage System
CCGT	Combined Cycle Gas Turbine
DC	Direct Current
DCPF	DC Power Flow
DR	Demand Response
DSM	Demand-Side Management
EFOR	Equivalent Forced Outage Rate
ENTSO-E	European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity
ESS	Energy Storage System
EV	Electric Vehicle
mFRR	Manual Frequency Restoration Reserve
NTC	Net Transfer Capacity
OCGT	Open Cycle Gas Turbine
PHS	Pumped-Hydro Storage
PV	Photovoltaics
RR	Replacement Reserve
TTC	Total Transfer Capacity
VRE	Variable Renewable Energy

Dictionaries. Sets

The dictionaries include all the possible elements of the corresponding sets included in the optimization problem. You can’t use non-English characters (e.g., ó, º)

File	Description
oT_Dict_Period.csv	Period (e.g., 2030, 2035). It must be a positive integer
oT_Dict_Scenario.csv	Scenario. Short-term uncertainties (scenarios) (e.g., s001 to s100)
oT_Dict_Stage.csv	Stage
oT_Dict_LoadLevel.csv	Load level (e.g., 01-01 00:00:00+01:00 to 12-30 23:00:00+01:00). Load levels with duration 0 are ignored
oT_Dict_Generation.csv	Generation units (thermal -nuclear, CCGT, OCGT, coal-, ESS -hydro, pumped-hydro storage PHS, battery BESS, electric vehicle EV, demand response DR, alkaline water electrolyzer AWE, solar thermal- and VRE -wind onshore and offshore, solar PV-)
oT_Dict_Technology.csv	Generation technologies. The technology order is used in the temporal result plot.
oT_Dict_Storage.csv	ESS storage type (daily < 12 h, weekly < 40 h, monthly > 60 h)
oT_Dict_Node.csv	Nodes. A node belongs to a zone.
oT_Dict_Zone.csv	Zones. A zone belongs to an area.
oT_Dict_Area.csv	Areas. An area belongs to a region. Long-term adequacy, inertia and operating reserves are associated to areas.
oT_Dict_Region.csv	Regions
oT_Dict_Circuit.csv	Circuits
oT_Dict_Line.csv	Line type (AC, DC)

Geographical location of nodes, zones, areas, regions.

File	Dictionary	Description
oT_Dict_NodeToZone.csv	NodeToZone	Location of nodes at zones
oT_Dict_ZoneToArea.csv	ZoneToArea	Location of zones at areas
oT_Dict_AreaToRegion.csv	AreaToRegion	Location of areas at regions

Input files

This is the list of the input data files and their brief description.

File	Description
oT_Data_Option.csv	Options of use of the openTEPES model
oT_Data_Parameter.csv	General system parameters
oT_Data_Period.csv	Weight of each period
oT_Data_Scenario.csv	Short-term uncertainties
oT_Data_Stage.csv	Weight of each stage
oT_Data_ReserveMargin.csv	Adequacy reserve margin
oT_Data_Duration.csv	Duration of the load levels
oT_Data_Demand.csv	Demand
oT_Data_Inertia.csv	System inertia by area
oT_Data_OperatingReserveUp.csv	Upward operating reserves (include aFRR, mFRR and RR for electricity balancing from ENTSO-E)
oT_Data_OperatingReserveDown.csv	Downward operating reserves (include aFRR, mFRR and RR for electricity balancing from ENTSO-E)
oT_Data_Generation.csv	Generation data
oT_Data_VariableMaxGeneration.csv	Variable maximum power generation by load level
oT_Data_VariableMinGeneration.csv	Variable minimum power generation by load level
oT_Data_VariableMaxConsumption.csv	Variable maximum power consumption by load level
oT_Data_VariableMinConsumption.csv	Variable minimum power consumption by load level
oT_Data_EnergyInflows.csv	Energy inflows to an ESS
oT_Data_EnergyOutflows.csv	Energy outflows from an ESS for Power-to-X (H2 production or EV mobility or water irrigation)
oT_Data_VariableMaxStorage.csv	Maximum storage of the ESS by load level
oT_Data_VariableMinStorage.csv	Minimum storage of the ESS by load level
oT_Data_VariableMaxEnergy.csv	Maximum energy of the unit by load level (the energy will be accumulated and enforced for the interval defined by EnergyType)
oT_Data_VariableMinEnergy.csv	Minimum energy of the unit by load level (the energy will be accumulated and enforced for the interval defined by EnergyType)
oT_Data_Network.csv	Network data
oT_Data_NodeLocation.csv	Node location in latitude and longitude

In any input file only the columns indicated in this document will be read. For example, you can add a column for comments or additional information as needed, but it will not read by the model.

Options

A description of the options included in the file oT_Data_Option.csv follows:

File	Description
IndBinGenInvest	Indicator of binary generation expansion decisions	{0 continuous, 1 binary, 2 ignore investments}
IndBinGenRetirement	Indicator of binary generation retirement decisions	{0 continuous, 1 binary, 2 ignore retirements}
IndBinNetInvest	Indicator of binary network expansion decisions	{0 continuous, 1 binary, 2 ignore investments}
IndBinGenCommit	Indicator of binary generation operation decisions	{0 continuous, 1 binary}
IndBinGenRamps	Indicator of activating or not the up/down ramp constraints	{0 no ramps, 1 ramp constraints}
IndBinGenMinTime	Indicator of activating or not the min up/down time constraints	{0 no min time constraints, 1 min time constraints}
IndBinSingleNode	Indicator of single node case study	{0 network, 1 single node}
IndBinLineCommit	Indicator of binary transmission switching decisions	{0 continuous, 1 binary}
IndBinNetLosses	Indicator of network losses	{0 lossless, 1 ohmic losses}

Parameters

A description of the system parameters included in the file oT_Data_Parameter.csv follows:

File	Description
ENSCost	Cost of energy not served. Cost of load curtailment. Value of Lost Load (VoLL)	€/MWh
PNSCost	Cost of power not served associated with the deficit in operating reserve by load level	€/MW
CO2Cost	Cost of CO2 emissions	€/t CO2
UpReserveActivation	Upward reserve activation (proportion of upward operating reserve deployed to produce energy)	p.u.
DwReserveActivation	Downward reserve activation (proportion of downward operating reserve deployed to produce energy)	p.u.
MinRatioDwUp	Minimum ratio downward to upward operating reserves	p.u.
MaxRatioDwUp	Maximum ratio downward to upward operating reserves	p.u.
Sbase	Base power used in the DCPF	MW
ReferenceNode	Reference node used in the DCPF
TimeStep	Duration of the time step for the load levels (hourly, bi-hourly, trihourly, etc.)	h
EconomicBaseYear	Base year for economic parameters affected by the discount rate	year
AnnualDiscountRate	Annual discount rate	p.u.

A time step greater than one hour it is a convenient way to reduce the load levels of the time scope. The moving average of the demand, upward/downward operating reserves, variable generation/consumption/storage and ESS energy inflows/outflows over the time step load levels is assigned to active load levels (e.g., the mean value of the three hours is associated to the third hour in a trihourly time step).

Period

A description of the data included in the file oT_Data_Period.csv follows:

Identifier	Header	Description
Scenario	Weight	Weight of each period

This weight allows the definition of equivalent (representative) years (e.g., year 2030 with a weight of 5 would represent years 2030-2034). Periods are not mathematically connected between them, i.e., no constraints link the operation at different periods.

Scenario

A description of the data included in the file oT_Data_Scenario.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Probability	Probability of each scenario in each period	p.u.

For example, the scenarios can be used for obtaining the GEP+SEP+TEP considering hydro inflows uncertainty represented by means of three scenarios (wet, dry and average), or two VRE scenarios (windy/cloudy and calm/sunny). The sum of the probabilities of all the scenarios of a period must be 1.

Stage

A description of the data included in the file oT_Data_Stage.csv follows:

Identifier	Header	Description
Scenario	Weight	Weight of each stage

This weight allows the definition of equivalent (representative) periods (e.g., one representative week with a weight of 52). Stages are not mathematically connected between them, i.e., no constraints link the operation at different stages.

Adequacy reserve margin

A description of the data included in the file oT_Data_ReserveMargin.csv follows:

Identifier	Header	Description
Scenario	ReserveMargin	Adequacy reserve margin for each area

This parameter is only used for system generation expansion, not for the system operation.

Duration

A description of the data included in the file oT_Data_Duration.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Load level	Duration	Duration of the load level. Load levels with duration 0 are ignored	h
Period	Scenario	Load level	Stage	Assignment of the load level to a stage

It is a simple way to use isolated snapshots or representative days or just the first three months instead of all the hours of a year to simplify the optimization problem.

The stage duration as sum of the duration of all the load levels must be larger or equal than the shortest duration of any storage type or any outflows type (both given in the generation data) and multiple of it. Consecutive stages are not tied between them. Consequently, the objective function must be a bit lower.

The initial storage of the ESSs is also fixed at the beginning and end of each stage. For example, the initial storage level is set for the hour 8736 in case of a single stage or for the hours 4368 and 4369 (end of the first stage and beginning of the second stage) in case of two stages, each with 4368 hours.

Demand

A description of the data included in the file oT_Data_Demand.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Load level	Node	Power demand of the node for each load level	MW

The demand can be negative for the (transmission) nodes where there is (renewable) generation in lower voltage levels. This negative demand is equivalent to generate that power amount in this node. Internally, all the values below if positive demand (or above if negative demand) 2.5e-5 times the maximum system demand of each area will be converted into 0 by the model.

System inertia

A description of the data included in the files oT_Data_Inertia.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Load level	Area	System inertia of the area for each load level	s

Given that the system inertia depends on the area, it can be sensible to assign an area as a country, for example. The system inertia can be used for imposing a minimum synchronous power and, consequently, force the commitment of at least some rotating units.

Internally, all the values below 2.5e-5 times the maximum system demand of each area will be converted into 0 by the model.

Upward and downward operating reserves

A description of the data included in the files oT_Data_OperatingReserveUp.csv and oT_Data_OperatingReserveDown.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Load level	Area	Upward/downward operating reserves of the area for each load level	MW

Given that the operating reserves depend on the area, it can be sensible to assign an area as a country, for example. These operating reserves must include Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserves (aFRR), Manual Frequency Restoration Reserves (mFRR) and Replacement Reserves (RR) for electricity balancing from ENTSO-E.

Internally, all the values below 2.5e-5 times the maximum system demand of each area will be converted into 0 by the model.

Generation

A description of the data included for each generating unit in the file oT_Data_Generation.csv follows:

Header	Description
Node	Name of the node where generator is located. If left empty, the generator is ignored
Technology	Technology of the generator (nuclear, coal, CCGT, OCGT, ESS, solar, wind, biomass, etc.)
MutuallyExclusive	Mutually exclusive generator. Only exclusion in one direction is needed
BinaryCommitment	Binary unit commitment decision	Yes/No
NoOperatingReserve	No contribution to operating reserve. Yes if the unit doesn’t contribute to the operating reserve	Yes/No
StorageType	Storage type based on storage capacity (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)	Hourly/Daily/Weekly/Monthly
OutflowsType	Outflows type based on the demand extracted from the storage (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, etc.)	Hourly/Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Yearly
EnergyType	Energy type based on the max/min energy to be produced by the unit (daily, weekly, 4-weeks, yearly, etc.)	Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Yearly
MustRun	Must-run unit	Yes/No
InitialPeriod	Initial period (year) when the unit is installed or can be installed, if candidate	Year
FinalPeriod	Final period (year) when the unit is installed or can be installed, if candidate	Year
MaximumPower	Maximum power output (generation/discharge for ESS units)	MW
MinimumPower	Minimum power output (i.e., minimum stable load in the case of a thermal power plant)	MW
MaximumReactivePower	Maximum reactive power output (discharge for ESS units) (not used in this version)	MW
MinimumReactivePower	Minimum reactive power output (not used in this version)	MW
MaximumCharge	Maximum consumption/charge when the ESS unit is storing energy	MW
MinimumCharge	Minimum consumption/charge when the ESS unit is storing energy	MW
InitialStorage	Initial energy stored at the first instant of the time scope	GWh
MaximumStorage	Maximum energy that can be stored by the ESS unit	GWh
MinimumStorage	Minimum energy that can be stored by the ESS unit	GWh
Efficiency	Round-trip efficiency of the pump/turbine cycle of a pumped-hydro storage power plant or charge/discharge of a battery	p.u.
Availability	Unit availability for system adequacy reserve margin	p.u.
Inertia	Unit inertia constant	s
EFOR	Equivalent Forced Outage Rate	p.u.
RampUp	Ramp up rate for generating units or maximum discharge rate for ESS discharge	MW/h
RampDown	Ramp down rate for generating units or maximum charge rate for ESS charge	MW/h
UpTime	Minimum uptime	h
DownTime	Minimum downtime	h
ShiftTime	Maximum shift time	h
FuelCost	Fuel cost	€/Mcal
LinearTerm	Linear term (slope) of the heat rate straight line	Mcal/MWh
ConstantTerm	Constant term (intercept) of the heat rate straight line	Mcal/h
OMVariableCost	Variable O&M cost	€/MWh
OperReserveCost	Operating reserve cost	€/MW
StartUpCost	Startup cost	M€
ShutDownCost	Shutdown cost	M€
CO2EmissionRate	CO2 emission rate	t CO2/MWh
FixedInvestmentCost	Overnight investment (capital and fixed O&M) cost	M€
FixedRetirementCost	Overnight retirement (capital and fixed O&M) cost	M€
FixedChargeRate	Fixed-charge rate to annualize the overnight investment cost	p.u.
StorageInvestment	Storage capacity and inflows linked to the investment decision	Yes/No
BinaryInvestment	Binary unit investment decision	Yes/No
InvestmentLo	Lower bound of investment decision	p.u.
InvestmentUp	Upper bound of investment decision	p.u.
BinaryRetirement	Binary unit retirement decision	Yes/No
RetirementLo	Lower bound of retirement decision	p.u.
RetirementUp	Upper bound of retirement decision	p.u.

Daily storage type means that the ESS inventory is assessed every time step, weekly storage type is assessed at the end of every day, and monthly storage type is assessed at the end of every week. Outflows type represents the interval when the energy extracted from the storage needs to be satisfied. The storage cycle is the minimum between the inventory assessment period and the outflows period. It can be one time step, one day, and one week. The ESS inventory level at the end of a larger storage cycle is fixed to its initial value, i.e., the inventory of a daily storage type (evaluated on a time step basis) is fixed at the end of the week, the inventory of weekly/monthly storage is fixed at the end of the year, only if the initial inventory lies between the storage limits.

The initial storage of the ESSs is also fixed at the beginning and end of each stage, only if the initial inventory lies between the storage limits. For example, the initial storage level is set for the hour 8736 in case of a single stage or for the hours 4368 and 4369 (end of the first stage and beginning of the second stage) in case of two stages, each with 4368 hours.

A generator with operation cost (sum of the fuel and emission cost, excluding O&M cost) > 0 is considered a non-renewable unit. If the unit has no operation cost and its maximum storage = 0, it is considered a renewable unit. If its maximum storage is > 0, with or without operation cost, is considered an ESS.

Must-run non-renewable units are always committed, i.e., their commitment decision is equal to 1. All must-run units are forced to produce at least their minimum output.

If unit availability is left 0 or empty is changed to 1. For declaring a unit non contributing to system adequacy reserve margin, put the availability equal to a very small number.

EFOR is used to reduce the maximum and minimum power of the unit. For hydro units it can be used to reduce their maximum power by the water head effect. It does not reduce the maximum charge.

Those generators or ESS with fixed cost > 0 are considered candidate and can be installed or not.

Maximum and minimum storage is considered proportional to the invested capacity for the candidate ESS units if StorageInvestment is activated.

If lower and upper bounds of investment/retirement decisions are very close (with a difference < 1e-3) to 0 or 1 are converted into 0 and 1.

Variable maximum and minimum generation

A description of the data included in the files oT_Data_VariableMaxGeneration.csv and oT_Data_VariableMinGeneration.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Load level	Generator	Maximum (minimum) power generation of the unit by load level	MW

To force a generator to produce 0 a lower value (e.g., 0.1 MW) strictly > 0, but not 0 (in which case the value will be ignored), must be introduced. This is needed to limit the solar production at night, for example. It can be used also for upper-bounding and/or lower-bounding the output of any generator (e.g., run-of-the-river hydro, wind).

Internally, all the values below 2.5e-5 times the maximum system demand of each area will be converted into 0 by the model.

Variable maximum and minimum consumption

A description of the data included in the files oT_Data_VariableMaxConsumption.csv and oT_Data_VariableMinConsumption.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Load level	Generator	Maximum (minimum) power consumption of the unit by load level	MW

To force a ESS to consume 0 a lower value (e.g., 0.1 MW) strictly > 0, but not 0 (in which case the value will be ignored), must be introduced. It can be used also for upper-bounding and/or lower-bounding the consumption of any ESS (e.g., pumped-hydro storage, battery).

Internally, all the values below 2.5e-5 times the maximum system demand of each area will be converted into 0 by the model.

Energy inflows

A description of the data included in the file oT_Data_EnergyInflows.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Load level	Generator	Energy inflows by load level	MWh/h

All the generators must be defined as columns of these files.

If you have daily inflows data just input the daily amount at the first hour of every day if the ESS have daily or weekly storage capacity.

Internally, all the values below 2.5e-5 times the maximum system demand of each area will be converted into 0 by the model.

Inflows are considered proportional to the invested capacity for the candidate ESS units if StorageInvestment is activated.

Energy outflows

A description of the data included in the file oT_Data_EnergyOutflows.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Load level	Generator	Energy outflows by load level	MWh/h

All the generators must be defined as columns of these files.

These energy outflows can be used to represent the energy extracted from an ESS to produce H2 from electrolyzers, to move EV or as hydro outflows for irrigation.

If you have daily/weekly/monthly/yearly outflows data just input the daily/weekly/monthly/yearly amount at the first hour of every day/week/month/year.

Internally, all the values below 2.5e-5 times the maximum system demand of each area will be converted into 0 by the model.

Variable maximum and minimum storage

A description of the data included in the files oT_Data_VariableMaxStorage.csv and oT_Data_VariableMinStorage.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Load level	Generator	Maximum (minimum) storage of the ESS by load level	GWh

All the generators must be defined as columns of these files.

For example, these data can be used for defining the operating guide (rule) curves for the reservoirs.

Variable maximum and minimum energy

A description of the data included in the files oT_Data_VariableMaxEnergy.csv and oT_Data_VariableMinEnergy.csv follows:

Identifier	Identifier	Identifier	Header	Description
Period	Scenario	Load level	Generator	Maximum (minimum) energy of the unit by load level	MW

All the generators must be defined as columns of these files.

For example, these data can be used for defining the minimum and/or maximum energy to be produced on a daily/weekly/yearly basis (depending on the EnergyType).

Transmission network

A description of the circuit (initial node, final node, circuit) data included in the file oT_Data_Network.csv follows:

Header	Description
LineType	Line type {AC, DC, Transformer, Converter}
Switching	The transmission line is able to switch on/off	Yes/No
InitialPeriod	Initial period (year) when the unit is installed or can be installed, if candidate	Year
FinalPeriod	Final period (year) when the unit is installed or can be installed, if candidate	Year
Voltage	Line voltage (e.g., 400, 220 kV, 220/400 kV if transformer). Used only for plotting purposes	kV
Length	Line length (only used for reporting purposes). If not defined, computed as 1.1 times the geographical distance	km
LossFactor	Transmission losses equal to the line flow times this factor	p.u.
Resistance	Resistance (not used in this version)	p.u.
Reactance	Reactance. Lines must have a reactance different from 0 to be considered	p.u.
Susceptance	Susceptance (not used in this version)	p.u.
AngMax	Maximum angle difference (not used in this version)	º
AngMin	Minimum angle difference (not used in this version)	º
Tap	Tap changer (not used in this version)	p.u.
Converter	Converter station (not used in this version)	Yes/No
TTC	Total transfer capacity (maximum permissible thermal load) in forward direction. Static line rating	MW
TTCBck	Total transfer capacity (maximum permissible thermal load) in backward direction. Static line rating	MW
SecurityFactor	Security factor to consider approximately N-1 contingencies. NTC = TTC x SecurityFactor	p.u.
FixedInvestmentCost	Overnight investment (capital and fixed O&M) cost	M€
FixedChargeRate	Fixed-charge rate to annualize the overnight investment cost	p.u.
BinaryInvestment	Binary line/circuit investment decision	Yes/No
InvestmentLo	Lower bound of investment decision	p.u.
InvestmentUp	Upper bound of investment decision	p.u.
SwOnTime	Minimum switch-on time	h
SwOffTime	Minimum switch-off time	h

Depending on the voltage lines are plotted with different colors (orange < 200 kV, 200 < green < 350 kV, 350 < red < 500 kV, 500 < orange < 700 kV, blue > 700 kV).

If there is no data for TTCBck, i.e., TTCBck is left empty or is equal to 0, it is substituted by the TTC in the code. Internally, all the TTC and TTCBck values below 2.5e-5 times the maximum system demand of each area will be converted into 0 by the model.

Reactance can take a negative value as a result of the approximation of three-winding transformers. No Kirchhoff’s second law disjunctive constraint is formulated for a circuit with negative reactance.

Those lines with fixed cost > 0 are considered candidate and can be installed or not.

If lower and upper bounds of investment decisions are very close (with a difference < 1e-3) to 0 or 1 are converted into 0 and 1.

Node location

A description of the data included in the file oT_Data_NodeLocation.csv follows:

Identifier	Header	Description
Node	Latitude	Node latitude	º
Node	Longitude	Node longitude	º