GTEP Inputs Explanation

The input files for the HOPE model could be one big .XLSX file or multiple .csv files. If you use the XLSX file, each spreadsheet in the file needs to be prepared based on the input instructions below and the spreadsheet names should be carefully checked. If you use the csv files, each csv file will represent one spreadsheet from the XLSX file. If both XLSX file and csv files are provided, the XLSX files will be used.

zonedata

This is the input dataset for zone-relevant information (e.g., demand, mapping with state, etc.).

Column Name	Description
Zone_id	Name of each zone (should be unique)
Demand (MW)	Peak demand of the zone in MW
State	The state that the zone is belonging to
Zonal PRM (optional)	Zonal planning reserve margin. If omitted, system `planning_reserve_margin` is used for all zones.

gendata

This is the input dataset for existing generators.

Column Name	Description
Pmax (MW)	Maximum generation (nameplate) capacity of the generator in MW
Pmin (MW)	Minimum generation (nameplate) capacity of the generator in MW
Zone	The zone that the generator is belonging to
Type	The technology type of the generator
Flag_RET	1 if the generator is eligible for retirement, and 0 otherwise
Flag_thermal	1 if the generator belongs to thermal units, and 0 otherwise
Flag_VRE	1 if the generator belongs to variable renewable energy units, and 0 otherwise
Flag_mustrun	1 if the generator must run at its nameplate capacity, and 0 otherwise
Cost ($/MWh)	Operating cost of the generator in $/MWh
EF	The CO2 emission factor for the generator in tons/MWh
CC	The capacity credit for the generator
AF (optional)	Fallback availability factor for non-VRE generators. If omitted, default = 1. This value is used to construct hourly availability (AF_{g,h}) for non-VRE units.

gendata_candidate

This is the input dataset for candidate generators (a set of all generators that can be selected for installation).

Column Name	Description
Pmax (MW)	Maximum generation (nameplate) capacity of the generator in MW
Pmin (MW)	Minimum generation (nameplate) capacity of the generator in MW
Zone	The zone that the generator is belonging to
Type	The technology type of the generator
Cost ($/MW/yr)	Annualized investment cost for the generator in $/MW/yr
Cost ($/MWh)	Operating cost of the generator in $/MWh
Flag_thermal	1 if the generator belongs to thermal units, and 0 otherwise
Flag_VRE	1 if the generator belongs to variable renewable energy units, and 0 otherwise
Flag_mustrun	1 if the generator must run at its nameplate capacity, and 0 otherwise
EF	The CO2 emission factor for the generator in tons/MWh
CC	The capacity credit for the generator
AF (optional)	Fallback availability factor for non-VRE generators. If omitted, default = 1. This value is used to construct hourly availability (AF_{g,h}) for non-VRE units.

linedata

This is the input dataset for existing transmission lines (e.g., transmission capacity limit for each inter-zonal transmission line).

Column Name	Description
From_zone	Starting zone of the inter-zonal transmission line
To_zone	Ending zone of the inter-zonal transmission line
Capacity (MW)	Transmission capacity limit for the transmission line
Loss (%) (optional)	Line loss rate used only when `transmission_loss = 1`. Values can be given as percent (`2`) or fraction (`0.02`). Missing values default to `0`.

linedata_candidate

This is the input dataset for candidate transmission lines (a set of all inter-zonal lines that can be selected for installation).

Column Name	Description
From_zone	Starting zone of the inter-zonal transmission line
To_zone	Ending zone of the inter-zonal transmission line
Capacity (MW)	Transmission capacity limit for the transmission line
Cost (M$)	Investment cost for the generator in million dollars (M$)
X	Reactance of the line in P.U. (optional)
Loss (%) (optional)	Candidate line loss rate used only when `transmission_loss = 1`. Values can be given as percent (`2`) or fraction (`0.02`). Missing values default to `0`.

transmission loss workflow

To run GTEP with line losses:

set transmission_loss: 1 in HOPE_model_settings.yml,
provide Loss (%) in linedata and/or linedata_candidate,
use 0 in those columns if you want to keep the example dataset structure visible while preserving the default lossless behavior.

storagedata

This is the input dataset for existing energy storage units (e.g., battery storage and pumped storage hydropower).

Column Name	Description
Zone	The zone that the storage is belonging to
Type	The technology type of the storage
Capacity (MWh)	Maximun energy capacity of the storage in MWh
Max Power (MW)	Maximum energy rate (power capacity) of the storage in MW
Charging efficiency	Ratio of how much energy is transferred from the charger to the storage unit
Discharging efficiency	Ratio of how much energy is transferred from the storage unit to the charger
Cost ($/MWh)	Operating cost of the storage in $/MWh
EF	The CO2 emission factor for the storage in tons/MWh
CC	The capacity credit for the storage
Charging Rate	The maximum rates of charging, unitless
Discharging Rate	The maximum rates of discharging, unitless

storagedata_candidate

This is the input dataset for candidate energy storage units (a set of all storage units that can be selected for installation).

Column Name	Description
Zone	The zone that the storage is belonging to
Type	The technology type of the storage
Capacity (MWh)	Maximun energy capacity of the storage in MWh
Max Power (MW)	Maximum energy rate (power capacity) of the storage in MW
Charging efficiency	Ratio of how much energy is transferred from the charger to the storage unit
Discharging efficiency	Ratio of how much energy is transferred from the storage unit to the charger
Cost ($/MW/yr)	Annualized investment cost for the storage in $/MW/yr
Cost ($/MWh)	Operating cost of the storage in $/MWh
EF	The CO2 emission factor for the storage in tons/MWh
CC	The capacity credit for the storage
Charging Rate	The maximum rates of charging, unitless
Discharging Rate	The maximum rates of discharging, unitless

genavailabilitytimeseries

This is the input dataset for the annual hourly generator-level availability profile (AF{g,h}). It contains 8760 rows in `genavailability_timeseries.csv`.

Column Name	Description
Month	Months of the year, ranging from 1 to 12
Day	Days of the month, ranging from 1 to 31
Period	Hours of the day, ranging from 1 to 24
G1	Hourly availability factor of generator index 1 (optional if fallback is acceptable)
G2	Hourly availability factor of generator index 2 (optional if fallback is acceptable)
...	Optional columns through `G(N)`, where `N = (# existing generators + # candidate generators)` and ordering is `[gendata; gendata_candidate]`

Notes:

Only Month, Day, and Period are strictly required.
Missing generator columns will fallback to the generator static AF in gendata/gendata_candidate (default 1 if missing there).
Recommended: provide hourly profiles for all VRE/RPS-relevant generators to avoid unintended static fallback.

loadtimeseriesregional

This is the input dataset for the annual hourly load profile in each zone. Each zone has 8760 data points and the values are per unit.

Column Name	Description
Month	Months of the year, ranging from 1 to 12
Day	Days of the month, ranging from 1 to 31
Period	Hours of the day, ranging from 1 to 24
Zone 1	Load data in zone 1 on a specific period, day, and month
Zone 2	Load data in zone 2 on a specific period, day, and month
...	...
NI	Net load import on a specific period, day, and month

flexddata

This is the input dataset for demand response (DR) resources used in the backlog DR formulation.

Column Name	Description
Zone	Zone name
Type	DR technology type (e.g., `Loadshifting`)
Max Power (MW)	Maximum DR power for the zone
Cost ($/MW)	DR operating cost coefficient
CC	Capacity credit of DR resource (default = 1 if omitted)
Shift_Efficiency	Demand shifting efficiency, (\eta_{DR}) (default = `1.0`)
MaxDeferHours	Maximum defer window, (\tau_{DR}), in hours (default = `24.0`)

drtimeseriesregional

This is the input dataset for the annual hourly DR availability profile in each zone. Each zone has 8760 data points and the values are per unit.

Column Name	Description
Month	Months of the year, ranging from 1 to 12
Day	Days of the month, ranging from 1 to 31
Period	Hours of the day, ranging from 1 to 24
Zone 1	DR availability in zone 1 on a specific period, day, and month
Zone 2	DR availability in zone 2 on a specific period, day, and month
...	...

carbonpolicies

This is the input dataset for carbon policies.

Column Name	Description
State	Name of the state
Time Period	Time periods for carbon allowance (can be yearly or quarterly, set by users)
Allowance (tons)	Carbon emission allowance for each state in tons

rpspolicies

This is the input dataset for renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies. It defines renewable credits trading relationship between different states (i.e., the states must be neighboring states) and the renewable credit requirement for each state.

Column Name	Description
From_state	State that trading the renewable credits from
To_state	State that trading the renewable credits to
RPS	RPS requirement (renewable generation percentage) for the state in "From_state" column, range from 0-1, unitless

single parameters

This is the input dataset for some parameters that can be directly defined based on users' need. If not changed, they remain with default values.

Column Name	Description
VOLL	Value of lost load, default = 100000
planningreservemargin	System planning reserve margin (PRM), default = 0.02
Big M	For penalty purpose, unitless
PT_RPS	Penalty of the state not satisfying RPS requirement, default = 10000000000000
PT_emis	Penalty of the state not satisfying CO2 emission requirement, default = 10000000000000
spin_requirement	Hourly SPIN requirement as fraction of system load (used when `operation_reserve_mode = 1`), default = 0.03
delta_spin	SPIN reserve sustained-duration factor in storage/headroom constraints (hours), default = 1/6
Invbugtgen	Budget for newly installed generators, default = 10000000000000000
Invbugtline	Budget for newly installed transmission lines, default = 10000000000000000
Invbugtstorage	Budget for newly installed storages, default = 10000000000000000