ENGINE model

The Electricity Network and Generation INvEstment (ENGINE) model was developed in the ESRI beginning in 2018. The ENGINE model was originally funded as part of the Science Foundation Ireland ESIPP project and co-funded by the ESRI. The ENGINE model determines the optimal investment in the electricity system of the island of Ireland, under various economic and policy scenarios. This investment takes the form of both generation assets, such as conventional generation, renewable generation and storage, as well as network assets, such as upgrading existing transmission system assets and investing in new ones.

The ENGINE model is a linearised Alternating Current Optimal Power Flow (ACOPF) model which solves for the optimal investment and operation of assets while respecting physical and technical constraints, including a linearised version of Kirchoff’s Laws. A full description of the model’s variables is available here. The current version of the code and input data for the model are available on request. The model is solved in GAMS using the CPLEX solver.