NREL Open-Source Modeling Approach Simulates Low-Inertia Power Systems

With so much large-scale solar power already in place, current trends in energy systems clearly point to renewable energy sources and battery energy storage systems being major players in the power grids of the future. Given the obstacles, how can we understand the behavior of modernized grids and the ways in which power system operators and policymakers can ensure their continued reliability on a large scale? NREL analysts, along with colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, have published a novel open-source computation analysis approach in an IEEE Electrification article that is helping unlock the answer. "Existing commercial software tools used for modeling have worked well for power system analysis for decades. However, we are in a phase of rapid energy system changes that is placing new demands on modeling needs," said Clayton Barrows, NREL senior researcher and contributing author of the article. The introduction of renewable energy sources and battery energy storage systems, as well as the move away from traditional rotating generators, has resulted in unfamiliar power systems with low levels of physical inertia. Scientific computing allows researchers to map and understand power systems containing widespread renewable energy sources and battery energy storage systems. With a programming language decided, the NREL team set out to develop fully accessible programming tools that meet the research needs of ever-evolving modern power systems. Jl enables steady-state power system modeling activities, including production cost modeling, unit commitment, economic dispatch, automatic generation control simulations, optimal power flow, and others.