Background
EnergyPLAN is an energy simulation software which provides the means to dynamically assess national energy systems every hour. It allows for a holistic review of all energy sectors including electricity, heating, cooling, industry, and transport. This helps to highlight patterns and trends regarding the interaction between these sectors which can aid decision making for future national energy system strategies by assessing the energy, environmental and economic impacts.
In our case, only energy associated with the electricity grid itself was of interest. However, the capabilities are there should the project be picked up by others in the future to take it further.
The software has been used by many researchers, consultancies, and policymakers worldwide creating an impressive portfolio of studies and has proved to be a very useful tool.
It was developed by the Sustainable Energy Planning Research Group at Aalborg University in Denmark who we would like to thank for developing this tool and making it so freely accessible.
In our case, only energy associated with the electricity grid itself was of interest. However, the capabilities are there should the project be picked up by others in the future to take it further.
The software has been used by many researchers, consultancies, and policymakers worldwide creating an impressive portfolio of studies and has proved to be a very useful tool.
It was developed by the Sustainable Energy Planning Research Group at Aalborg University in Denmark who we would like to thank for developing this tool and making it so freely accessible.
Highlights of the Software
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First of all, the software is free! This, of course, was our first concern as students. And it is free indefinitely; no 1 month trials before signing up to monthly fees. It is completely free. The files are instantaneous to download. It saves as a bundle in a zip file with default distribution and cost files in the relevant folders. These are the locations where you add your own data files relevant to the country or year of study. The software can be downloaded here: http://www.energyplan.eu/download/ |
Figure 1. EnergyPLAN Schematic; EnergyPlan.
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EnergyPLAN allows for hourly dynamic simulations. For this project, we were particularly interested in dynamic analyses as we wanted to assess different points over time such as the role of storage at very windy periods with low demand, or times with no wind but high peaks in demand etc. See the image below for an example of a section of one of our dynamic graphs. Click on the image to jump to the results page.
We started creating a model in Excel to perform this function however the file soon became very large and time consuming to manipulate. EnergyPLAN handles these large quantities of data in a much more time efficient manner. The results can then be exported very easily to Excel where graphs of your choice can be made depending on the assessment you wish to carry out.
We started creating a model in Excel to perform this function however the file soon became very large and time consuming to manipulate. EnergyPLAN handles these large quantities of data in a much more time efficient manner. The results can then be exported very easily to Excel where graphs of your choice can be made depending on the assessment you wish to carry out.
Figure 2. Dynamic decomposition of power generation in the grid. (Simulation of Scenario 1, 17th Aug to 11th Sep.)
The software is relatively user friendly. Training courses are available if the timing suits and help is at hand with contact details for specific issues listed throughout the user manuals. Due to our time scale, it was not possible to take advantage of any of the official training, however as we were only focussing on the electricity grid we found the online training material to be extremely helpful.
Click the link below for a list of useful training exercises:
http://www.energyplan.eu/training/exercises/
Click the link below for a list of useful training exercises:
http://www.energyplan.eu/training/exercises/
Figure 3. EnergyPLAN visualisation.
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It is useful to have all energy sectors included in the single model. This aspect makes it a very powerful piece of software and allows for detailed analysis of energy systems. This is definitely a plus point to the software, although not necessarily relevant to our needs at this stage. However, knowing that the capabilities are there is a plus point for anyone wishing to take this project further in the future. |
Issues Experienced
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We didn’t experience too many issues whilst working with the software, however we did have a problem modelling imports/exports when creating the 2014 UK model to verify the software. When we input the known values then tried to run the simulation, an error message appeared every time which we were unable to resolve. We believe a calculation was being attempted which included a division by zero, however we were unable to find the source of this complication. With more time and/or training, there is a fair chance that it could be understood and fixed.
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Some outputs were not entirely clear at first when using the ‘Run(print)’ option as the headings are incorrect. For example, we kept seeing results for geothermal energy when we hadn’t included any in the model, but we later realised that this was a mistake with the results sheet formatting as these were actually the nuclear power results. This is a minor issue where the worst part was the time taken to clear up and understand all of these quirks.
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References
EnergyPLAN Official Website http://www.energyplan.eu/
EnergyPLAN Official Website http://www.energyplan.eu/