Modern energy systems can consist of a variety of building blocks that convert, store and transfer different energy-related commodities. The design of energy systems requires the selection of technologies and the definition of their rated power or capacity in a way that all existing loads can be covered. Simultaneously, the plant’s future dispatch needs to be considered, e.g., to account for volatile solar and wind power generation or fluctuating energy demands and commodity prices. Hence, a holistic planning and evaluation process of energy systems represent a challenging task.
Due to the numerous degrees of freedom and boundary conditions, this planning process cannot be tackled with simple spreadsheet-based tools. Instead, mathematical optimization models are used to solve complex Energy System Design problems. We use state-of-the-art tools, mathematical solvers for linear and mixed-integer linear models, and methods for complexity reduction (e.g., time series aggregation and multi-stage solving methods).
