Tracking the Open Source Energy Modelling Ecosystem: Insights for Smarter Tool Selection
Event Recap: FOSDEM 2026
TL;DR
At FOSDEM 2026, Bryn Pickering presented two platforms designed to help practitioners navigate the growing ecosystem of open source energy system modelling tools. The session introduced the Open Energy Modelling Tool Tracker, which aggregates repository and community data from approximately 200 tools, and a complementary feature comparison platform designed to support tool evaluation and selection.
Approximately 200 Tools and No Easy Way to Compare Them
Pickering opened by noting that there are approximately 200 open source energy system modelling tools used for infrastructure planning and operation. While many tools are documented through conference presentations and academic review papers, he argued that keeping track of the ecosystem remains difficult.
According to Pickering, review papers often capture only a portion of the available tools and can become outdated by the time they are published. He also noted that tool capabilities are sometimes mischaracterized because assessments are made from an external perspective rather than by project maintainers.
Introducing the Open Energy Modelling Tool Tracker
To address this challenge, Pickering presented the Open Energy Modelling Tool Tracker (openmod-tracker), a platform developed by Open Energy Transition with support from Breakthrough Energy.
The tracker aggregates information from multiple inventories of energy system modelling tools and updates its data monthly. At the time of the presentation, the inventory contained approximately 200 tools.
For each project, the tracker provides links to source code repositories and documentation, along with metrics including repository age, recent activity, stars, contributors, development distribution score, and download statistics where available.
Looking Beyond Repository Stars
Pickering demonstrated how users can filter projects based on criteria such as documentation availability, project age, contributor activity, stars, and downloads.
He highlighted contributor counts and development distribution score as indicators that can help users understand whether development activity is concentrated among a small number of maintainers or distributed across a broader contributor base.
The platform also provides information on project activity, including issue resolution, pull request activity, review participation, organizations involved in development, and countries associated with users that can be identified through repository data.
Using the Tracker to Build Shortlists
Pickering explained that Open Energy Transition uses the tracker to help energy system operators and planners identify potential open source tools for specific use cases.
Rather than evaluating hundreds of projects individually, users can apply filters related to documentation, packaging, licensing, and project activity to create a smaller shortlist for deeper evaluation.
He described how the tracker has been used to help create shortlists of candidate tools for organizations evaluating open source options for energy planning.
Comparing Features Across Energy Modelling Tools
Pickering noted that repository metrics alone cannot determine whether a tool is suitable for a particular modelling task.
To address this, he introduced a second platform that compares modelling capabilities across tools using a structured feature taxonomy. Features are linked to supporting evidence in documentation, source code, or tests, allowing users to verify whether a capability exists and understand how it is implemented.
The platform also supports comparisons based on specific use cases, helping users identify which tools meet a given set of requirements.
Supporting Open Source Tool Selection
According to Pickering, Open Energy Transition’s objective is to make open source the norm in energy system planning by 2028. The tracker and feature comparison platform are intended to help users understand what tools are available and evaluate them using information that is updated on a monthly basis.
He also described how feature gap analysis can be used by project communities to identify missing capabilities and create development roadmaps based on comparisons with other tools.
Future Development Plans
Future work includes improving the user experience of both platforms, expanding project coverage, refining the feature taxonomy, adding new ecosystem insights, incorporating longer-term download statistics, and exploring security-related analyses of project dependencies.
Pickering concluded by encouraging community participation to improve the platforms and contribute additional information about open source energy system modelling tools.
AI Disclosure
This post used artificial intelligence tools for research, structural assistance, or grammatical refinement. The final content was reviewed, edited, and validated by human contributors to LF Energy to ensure accuracy and alignment with our community standards. We remain committed to transparency in the use of generative technologies within the open source ecosystem.
