FOSDEM 2024 Recap – The PyPSA-Earth Experience
At the recent FOSDEM 2024 Energy Devroom, Ekaterina Fedotova, representing Open Energy Transition, shared insights into how open source development can propel the global energy transition (video follows below). Here’s a concise summary of the key points discussed in the session:
Global Energy Transition Challenges
Fedotova highlighted the immense challenge of transforming thousands of power systems worldwide to facilitate the energy transition. This transformation requires unprecedented planning efforts, considering long-term projections and deep uncertainties.
Role of Open Source Energy Modeling
The session emphasized the significance of open source energy modeling in addressing the complexities of the energy transition. Open source tools offer agility and transparency, fostering collaboration and innovation in tackling global energy challenges.
PyPSA-Earth Initiative
Fedotova introduced the PyPSA-Earth initiative, which aims to provide open, reproducible, and accessible energy systems models for regions worldwide. This initiative focuses on three main pillars: open coding, leveraging open data, and supporting the open energy modeling community.
Data Challenges and Solutions
The session shed light on the data challenges faced in energy modeling, particularly regarding electricity demand and power infrastructure data. Open Energy Transition utilizes open data sources such as OpenStreetMap and develops specialized packages to address data extraction and preparation needs.
Community Building and Future Directions
Fedotova stressed the importance of community collaboration in advancing the energy transition agenda. The session invited contributions to various aspects of energy modeling, including research, validation, usability, and documentation improvement.
