PowerSimulations.jl

Overview

PowerSimulations.jl is a power system operations simulation tool developed as a flexible and open source software for quasi-static power systems simulations including Production Cost Models. PowerSimulations.jl tackles the issues of developing a simulation model in a modular way providing tools for the formulation of decision models and emulation models that can be solved independently or in an interconnected fashion.

PowerSimulations.jl supports the workflows to develop simulations by separating the development of operations models and simulation models.

  • Operation Models: Optimization model used to find the solution of an operation problem.
  • Simulations Models: Defined the requirements to find solutions to a sequence of operation problems in a way that resembles the procedures followed by operators.

The most common Simulation Model is the solution of a Unit Commitment and Economic Dispatch sequence of problems. This model is used in commercial Production Cost Modeling tools, but it has a limited scope of analysis.

How the documentation is structured

PowerSimulations.jl documentation and code are organized according to the needs of different users depending on their skillset and requirements. In broad terms there are three categories:

  • Modeler: Users that want to solve an operations problem or run a simulation using the existing models in PowerSimulations.jl. For instance, answer questions about the change in operation costs in future fuel mixes. Check the formulations library page to choose a modeling strategy that fits your needs.

  • Model Developer: Users that want to develop custom models and workflows for the simulation of a power system operation. For instance, study the impacts of an stochastic optimization problem over a deterministic.

  • Code Base Developers: Users that want to add new core functionalities or fix bugs in the core capabilities of PowerSimulations.jl.

PowerSimulations.jl is an active project under development, and we welcome your feedback, suggestions, and bug reports.

Note: PowerSimulations.jl uses the data model implemented in PowerSystems.jl to construct optimization models. In most cases, you need to add PowerSystems.jl to your scripts.

Installation

The latest stable release of PowerSimulations can be installed using the Julia package manager with

] add PowerSimulations

For the current development version, "checkout" this package with

] add PowerSimulations#main

An appropriate optimization solver is required for running PowerSimulations models. Refer to JuMP.jl solver's page to select the most appropriate for the application of interest.


PowerSystems has been developed as part of the Scalable Integrated Infrastructure Planning (SIIP) initiative at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).