Benefits and challenges of soft-linking for large-scale energy system modelling

Description

Computational tractability remains a significant challenge in modelling
large-scale, sector-coupled energy systems. This study investigates
the soft-linking of models to broaden the analysis scope while main-
taining practical computation times. A case study is defined because
soft-linking applications are unique to the specific research question.
Resource adequacy assessment is therefore defined as the scope in a
bidirectional coupling of Balmorel (which performs investment and
dispatch on time slices) and the stochastic dispatch model, Antares,
which optimises dispatch in multiple weather years with hourly reso-
lution. The models are fully harmonised in terms of data, geographi-
cal granularity and level of sector-coupling in a pan-European context.
The bidirectional soft link is analysed by comparing computation times
at different temporal aggregation levels with the objective of finding
the least-cost system with the lowest loss of electricity and hydrogen
load. A higher degree of aggregation leads to lower computation times
per iteration but more inadequate systems. Thus, more iterations are
required to adjust investments. The opposite is valid for a less aggre-
gated approach. A discussion is carried out of the different methods
used to signal the need for more investment in carrier transmission,
generation capacity, etc., and a conclusion on the benefits and chal-
lenges of soft-linking is derived from these findings.

Period	1 Jul 2024
Event title	EURO-2024 Copenhagen: 33rd European Conference on Operational Research
Event type	Conference
Conference number	33
Location	Copenhagen, DenmarkShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International