🚀 New Tutorial Alert: Open-Source Energy System Modelling with MUIO

OSeMOSYS
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Dear all,

If you’re interested in open-source tools for energy system modelling, we have just launched a step-by-step tutorial video on how to get started with the Modelling User Interface for OSeMOSYS (MUIO).
In this exercise, you’ll learn how to:
:white_check_mark: Build a basic energy system model
:white_check_mark: Define sets and input data
:white_check_mark: Run cases and visualize results
:white_check_mark: Perform simple scenario analyses

:television: Watch the tutorial here: Tutorial to Create a Basic OSeMOSYS Model Using MUIO

:books: Want to go further? Explore the free online training modules here:
:backhand_index_pointing_right: OLCreate: PUB_9213_1.0 Energy System Modelling using the Modelling User Interface for OSeMOSYS (MUIO)

:globe_showing_europe_africa: Stay connected with new tools, tutorials, and community activities:
:backhand_index_pointing_right: (1) OSeMOSYS: Overview | LinkedIn

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Thank you for sharing Fernando, this is going to be super useful for those who need it! :clap:

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Hello Fernando, I am super interested on exploring MUIO for OSeMOSYS but I can’t run the program after installed :tired_face: is there a tutorial on how to install it properly? thank you so much!

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Hi Jessica,

Unfortunately, there isn’t a video available. However, you can check a few common issues:

  1. Your computer should be running Windows (the software is not functional on macOS unless you use a virtual machine).

  2. You need to temporarily deactivate your antivirus software during the installation process.

  3. Sometimes the application does not open on the first attempt, and you may need to try launching it several times until it works.

Please let me know if the issue persists after following these steps.

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I am doing the Hands-on 5 exercise of Energy System Modelling using the Modelling User Interface for OSeMOSYS (MUIO). However, the natural gas power plant technology ( PWRNGS) I defined in the model can not be visualized in the ’ Production by technology by model’ graph after running the model. What could be wrong? I would appreciate your support. See screenshots attached.

PNG 2
PNG 21920Ă—1446 686 KB

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Hi Mark,

Since PWRDSL is appearing but PWRNGS is not, we can narrow down the issue to the specific links in your Natural Gas chain. You likely have a “disconnection” between the extraction and the power plant.

Please verify these specific settings in your model:

1. Commodity Linkage Checklist

The flow depends on the commodities matching exactly across technologies. Ensure your path looks like this:

{MINNGS} → Output Commodity: NGS

{PWRNGS} → Input Commodity: NGS | Output Commodity: ELC001

2. Activity Ratio Verification

Verify that the input/output ratios:

MINNGS: Input-Activity Ratio must be 0; Output-Activity Ratio must be 1.

PWRNGS: Input-Activity Ratio must be non-zero (1/efficiency).

PWRNGS: Output-Activity Ratio must be 1.

If any conversion technology has an input ratio of 0, it won’t “pull” fuel through the system.

3. Supply & Capacity Checks

Reserve Check: Ensure the Reserves or TotalTechnologyModelPeriodUpperLimit for MINNGS is not zero. If the system has no gas available at the source, the plant cannot run.

Conversion Unit: Double-check that CapacityToActivityUnit is set to 31.536 (GW to PJ/year conversion). If left at “1”, the plant’s capacity is mathematically too small to satisfy the demand.

By ensuring NGS is the bridge between MINNGS and PWRNGS, and that the supply limits are non-zero, the gas flow should appear in your results.

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Thank you sooo much for al this, it is amazing! I have nearly finished the training on CCG, and it is super well built! I got some issues with the results (that do not always match the results presented in the hands-on exercices…), and after revising everything many times I do not see where the differences arise, but aside from that it is great!!! It will be usefull for my model!

One question though: Is it possible to model “subregions” in MUIO? I wish to model the energy system of a region, but in that region, it would be usefull to have many smaller subregions so in the results, we could produce comparisons between regions? (a bit like we would do with technologies, for instance, but with subregions)?

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Yes, it is possible to model subregions. You need to create region-specific fuels and technologies, and then define technologies that link commodities between regions. For example, you can create PWRCOA_R1 and PWRCOA_R2 producing ELC001_R1 and ELC001_R2, respectively. You can then define electricity demand separately for each region.

If you want to allow electricity exchange between regions, you can create a transmission technology between regions, such as PWRTRN_R1R2. In this case, you can either use two modes of operation if the exchange is bidirectional, or create two separate technologies (PWRTRN_R1R2 and PWRTRN_R2R1) to represent the two directions of electricity flow.

Following this logic, the same approach can be applied to any commodity.

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