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Energy modelling plays a crucial role in assisting governmental and policymaking bodies to strategise long-term investments within the context of energy transition. Among the well-established open-source optimisation models, OSeMOSYS—the Open-Source Energy Modelling System—stands out. This paper introduces clicSAND, a novel user interface designed for OSeMOSYS, aimed at reducing the learning curve and supporting novice energy modelers in efficiently conducting long-term investment analyses. clicSAND, freely available and open-source, features a user-friendly Excel interface for data input, integrated solvers, and a visualisation dashboard for result interpretation. The outcomes, projected up to 2070, hold the potential to inform policy decisions and mobilise financial resources for sustainable development endeavors, such as ensuring affordable and secure energy supply and mitigating climate change impacts. This advancement not only democratises access to energy modelling tools but also empowers policymakers and stakeholders to conduct thorough long-term investment analyses with ease. This paper elaborates on clicSAND's key advantages, architecture, and functionalities. Additionally, it discusses the evolutionary journey from clicSAND 1.0 to 3.0, emphasising a commitment to continuous improvement and user-centric adaptation, thereby enhancing its utility and relevance. The inclusion of a South African case study, conducted during the EMP-A (Energy Modelling Platform for Africa) 2021 international capacity-building event, showcases clicSAND's efficacy in facilitating knowledge transfer and skill development among inexperienced users, while providing a tangible example of its application in addressing specific regional energy challenges and policy contexts. Finally, current applications and future extensions of the software are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the coming decades, Kenya is likely to see a large increase in electricity demand driven by economic growth and wider electrification of different sectors. At the same time, Kenya remains committed to maintain its high share of renewable generation. This study proposes a novel framework to soft link OSeMOSYS, a capacity expansion model (CEM), and FlexTool, a production cost model (PCM), to address the limitations of CEMs in the representation of variable renewable energy sources. Results show the effectiveness of the methodology in identifying critical grid issues that would have been missed by the capacity expansion model alone, especially in the case of a higher penetration of non-dispatchable sources. They also confirm that based on robust planning approaches, Kenya is well placed to maintain its very low carbon generation system under different demand growth projections, leveraging on firm generation from geothermal and high wind potential. • A novel framework to soft link OSeMOSYS and FlexTool is presented. • The Kenyan power sector is analysed under different scenarios to 2050. • The methodology is effective at identifying operational issues in a high RE system. • Potential issues to manage include loss of load and reserve and inertia levels. • Kenya can maintain its very low carbon generation system under future demand growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global energy system is undergoing a major transition, and in energy planning and decision-making across governments, industry and academia, models play a crucial role. Because of their policy relevance and contested nature, the transparency and open availability of energy models and data are of particular importance. Here we provide a practical how-to guide based on the collective experience of members of the Open Energy Modelling Initiative (Openmod). We discuss key steps to consider when opening code and data, including determining intellectual property ownership, choosing a licence and appropriate modelling languages, distributing code and data, and providing support and building communities. After illustrating these decisions with examples and lessons learned from the community, we conclude that even though individual researchers' choices are important, institutional changes are still also necessary for more openness and transparency in energy research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]