Gaps

Renewable Generation Targets

Government programs and policies are a key input; comprehensive trackers exist, but do not clearly pull out information on how these policies need to be modeled, generally requiring an analyst with familiary with the local policies.

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Historical demand + basic scaling factor

Historical demand is broadly available in developed countries, and variously available elsewhere. Simple scaling factors can be used to scale it up to represent demand growth, although this becomes meaningfully inaccurate when looking many years in the future.

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Demand forecasts + weather data and/or renewables data from a matched weather year

NREL dsgrid and DemandCast require significant programming skill and technical knowledge from the user -- they are not very accessible to resource-strapped planning teams, for example. Finalized data products generated by these, and more accessible versions of these tools that expose sectoral detail, weather impact, and spatial resolution would provide significant value

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Weather data

Weather re-analysis datasets are available, but converting that data into demand impacts or renewable generation requires additional tooling and expertise. Access to weather-harmonized datasets for demand + generation remains a blocker in the industry. EPRI's Climate Readi initiative may address this somewhat, but it is not open-source

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Zonal demand

Zonally-resolved demand, especially below the balancing-authority level, can be more challenging to come by, and depends on data shared by individual grid operators and utilities

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Nodal demand

Nodal demand is very challenging to estimate, as end-use drivers may vary significatly by location. It requires significant data to estimate accurately, as well as significant technical skill

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Expected demand growth rates over future years for individual sectors

Projections of differential sectoral growth must be found in the literature, e.g. the NREL Electrification Futures Study or other forward-looking studies.

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Technology level Capacity Valuation (eg ELCC), possibly shifting by year

Capacity accreditation is widely used for capacity expansion and investment planning, and has a major impact on results. It is highly dependent on the generation mix and demand profile modeled, so they are generally created bespoke for IRPs. However, there is a wide range in quality and what is available in an open-source fashion.

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Outage probability as a function of temperature by plant type

Outage probability is highly dependent on temperature; having this information is a huge upgrade over temerature-neutral probabilities

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Fixed opex

More specific operational data is often difficult to find on a per-plant or per-unit basis. Average assumptions by class are often used, but assembling those defaults that are accurate for exisiting infrastructure (not based on new investments today) often relies on a scatter-shot mix of resources. There's room here for improvement.

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Heat rate (MMBTU/MWh)

More specific operational data is often difficult to find on a per-plant or per-unit basis. Average assumptions by class are often used, but assembling those defaults that are accurate for existing infrastructure — rather than based on new investments today — relies on a scatter-shot mix of resources. (The workbook records this row as "see note on operational data"; the note it points at is the one on fixed opex, reproduced here so the entry stands on its own.)

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Fuel availability constraints

Fuel availability constraints can drive investment choices, due both to limited pipeline capacity constraining total feasible new investments in gas-fired generators, and to extreme events like winter storms causing reliability events that are exacerbated by limited supply during those events. Data on these constraints are not widely available, hindering analysis on possible reliability concerns

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Max upward ramp

More specific operational data is often difficult to find on a per-plant or per-unit basis. Average assumptions by class are often used, but assembling those defaults that are accurate for existing infrastructure — rather than based on new investments today — relies on a scatter-shot mix of resources. (The workbook records this row as "see note on operational data"; the note it points at is the one on fixed opex, reproduced here so the entry stands on its own.)

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Charging and discharging efficiency

More specific operational data is often difficult to find on a per-plant or per-unit basis. Average assumptions by class are often used, but assembling those defaults that are accurate for existing infrastructure — rather than based on new investments today — relies on a scatter-shot mix of resources. (The workbook records this row as "see note on operational data"; the note it points at is the one on fixed opex, reproduced here so the entry stands on its own.)

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Capex $/MW

New technologies may be poorly represented in existing datasets; there is room for more active centralized monitoring and collection of cost data that pops up in IRPs and other venues.

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Required Tx upgrades ($/MW)

Tx upgrade costs can be a big driver of investment; good rough estimates could speed early stages of investment opporutnity analysis

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Total build limits (by investment year)

Resource potential and total build limits can require technical capability to determine from more easily accessible information on land use and resource quality. Build limits in particular are often a judgement call when they are based on expected speed of deployment rather than total capacity

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Maximum contribution (MW) for each asset

Ancillary service definitions and needs vary significantly across systems. They can drive investment in certain resource classes, like battery storage. Standardized datasets are much sparser here and modeling typically draws from academic and grey literature, or from complete model datasets provided as starter kits for existing models

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025

Line flow limits Reactance

Including reactance introduces additional realism in that that power will flow across lines in proportion to their reactance. This can reveal additional network constraints and is important for understanding how loop flows and parallel paths affect flows

Open Energy Data Inventory (Levi, Breakthrough Energy Grids), 2025