New Dataset for High-Voltage Grid Modeling Released

A new paper titled "Modelling the High-Voltage Grid Using Open Data for Europe and Beyond" by Bobby Xiong, Davide Fioriti, Fabian Neumann, Iegor Riepin, and Tom Brown presents a comprehensive approach to constructing a model-independent dataset for the European high-voltage grid. This dataset, which includes grid representations of voltages 200 kV and above, is based on publicly available data from OpenStreetMap.

The authors emphasize the importance of this dataset for large-scale electricity and energy system modeling. The dataset is published under the Open Data Commons Open Database (ODbL 1.0) license, allowing for broad accessibility and use in various applications.

The paper details the integration of this dataset with PyPSA-Eur, an open-source optimization model for the European energy system. This integration aims to enhance the usability of high-voltage grid data not only in Europe but also globally, as it connects with other initiatives like PyPSA-Earth.

One of the key features of this dataset is its ability to be easily reconstructed and updated using the Overpass Turbo API, which allows users to access the latest data within minutes. The authors also conducted a quality assessment of the dataset by comparing it with official statistics and representative model runs, ensuring its reliability for future research and applications.

This work is significant as it provides a foundation for improved energy system modeling, which is crucial for addressing the challenges of energy transition and grid management in the context of increasing renewable energy sources. The findings from this research could have far-reaching implications for energy policy and infrastructure planning across Europe and beyond.

For further details, the full paper can be accessed at arXiv:2408.17178.