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This report focuses on the concept of openness of the suite of models populating the openENTRANCE platform. In this respect, the document provides an explanation of the necessary steps needed to define an open-source model, followed by a report of the experiences of the openENTRANCE modelling teams in opening the models they have developed and are maintaining. The core of the report is represented by a set of tables, one for each modelling, team containing information about the steps taken to revise, restructure and simplify the source code of their models as well as providing them with a user guide and a suitable opensource license. The deliverable can serve as a basis both for project stakeholders and for third parties, such as modelling teams interested in engaging in collaboration with the openENTRANCE platform also beyond the lifespan of the project, to understand the steps that have been taken to make the models suitable for a transparent interaction around a common platform. This will give researchers and modelers the possibility to use the models that have been included in the initial suite of tools operating around the openENTRANCE platform and facilitate future interactions between the created platform and third parties interested in exploiting its potentialities using their own models.

This report takes us a step closer to recognising our project’s ambition to develop, use and disseminate an open, transparent, and integrated modelling platform for assessing low-carbon transition pathways of the European energy system. Here, our team describes the interaction needed between models being used on the openENTRANCE project, to create an integrated modelling platform. These interactions, are achieved through formalised descriptions of openENTRANCE partners actions will perform with their modelling tools on the database to implement our case studies. This is a very significant step in making our models and tools open and transparent. By enabling data sharing between models in a consistent and standardised manner, we will see mutual benefits to each research area. Our project categorises the suite of energy modelling tools by which element of energy systems they are analysing and then links this suit of energy modelling tools together. Energy System Models Electricity Sector Pan-European and National Models vs Local Models Macro-economic models. openENTRANCE is creating links between these suits of models, so that the modelling tools can exchange information among them. This report also sets out the analyses to take place within the Case Studies as well as information exchange between the models that have been used in these Case Studies.

Providing results from energy-economic modelling to policymakers and the public at large in a transparent and accessible format requires intuitive, web-based tools for visualization and analysis. In addition, making methods, structural information and detailed parametric model assumptions transparently available to the wider scientific community is important to live up to scientific standards and establish trust in the results of model-based studies. In order to facilitate the linking of different energy models in an efficient way, on the one hand efficient processes and workflows are needed and on the other hand standardized ways of exchanging information among the models. This requires the development of both an improved modelling platform infrastructure as well as the standards and “handshake” definitions to exchange data between models within the consortium and disseminate results underpinning policy insights to the broader scientific community and all stakeholders of this project. The openENTRANCE consortium has thus embarked on the creation of common data exchange formats to share model input data and quantitative results. Ideally such standards build on existing standards to enable faster uptake across the energy modelling community. IIASA has been involved in the process of developing of such standards in the context of the Integrated Assessment Modelling Consortium (IAMC), and drawing on the experiences and lessons learned there to ensure the development of standards that are compatible with norms used in other disciplines.

Adoption of solar PV and other distributed generation sources are becoming widespread and affordable across Europe. Local on-site energy production raises the chance to manage surplus energy (especially for variable renewable sources, solar or wind) and exploiting possible local flexibility sources (e.g. storage, load shifting, and others). These local energy system features has translated into the rise of positive energy buildings which form a cluster labeled as the Positive Energy Block (PEB). In this concept paper and as part of the H2020 project +CityXChange, we discuss the creation of local flexibility markets for PEBs. We propose the electricity trading within the block and the exchange of flexibility locally and externally to other PEBs. This creates added value and incentives for the consumer to exploit energy products and services. As local flexibility markets carry different definitions and connotations in the literature, we propose ideas for a local market based on PEBs. We discuss the value they provide, such as: 1) smoothing and balancing locally solar PV surplus, 2) defer distribution grid investmens and 3) utilizing local energy products. This article first appeared in the proceedings of the 16th IAEE Conference.

In this paper, we assess the deployment of batteries at the end-user level across six EU countries: Spain, United Kingdom, Germany, Bulgaria, Norway and Netherlands. Country features affects the batteries viability due to indigenous factors such as electricity prices, solar potentials and the regulatory framework. Through an optimization model that captures the hourly details in supply-demand operations for households, we estimate the value of batteries based on: cost savings from smoothing solar fluctuations and from peak shaving management applications (time of use electricity prices and kWmax control1 ). To find out whether batteries can become profitable for prosumers, the model is implemented on real battery houses being used as pilot demonstration sites in a Horizon 2020 project2 . We calculate the revenue coming from batteries and check their profitability along with current and proposed subsidies schemes. What are the cost-benefit differentials across current subsides schemes? How the economic potential of batteries varies upon the PV size? As solar plays a decisive role, we look at the sizing effect of PV-battery combinations and discuss the effect on revenue and the role of subsidies. Overall results show that battery produces cost savings in the magnitude of 6-15 %, but these savings have a different monetary value across the EU countries analyzed in the paper, making prosumer house batteries more profitable for United Kingdom and Germany than other countries.

OASIcs, Volume 37, SCOR'14, Complete Volume, OASIcs, Vol. 37, 4th Student Conference on Operational Research, pages 0-0

Frontmatter, Table of Contents, Preface, Conference Organization