PyPSA

PyPSA, short for Python for Power System Analysis, is an open-source software toolbox for simulating and optimizing modern electrical power systems. It focuses on flexible modeling of generation, storage, transmission, and demand, making it suitable for operations planning and long-term expansion studies in systems with high shares of variable renewables.

The core of PyPSA is a network model that represents buses, lines, transformers, generators, storage units, and loads. Time series data for demand, renewable generation, and market signals can be linked across multiple time steps to capture dynamics and to support investment planning. Optimization is performed in Python using modeling tools that allow linear, mixed-integer, and non-linear formulations. Users can formulate investment decisions (new lines, plants, or storage) together with operational decisions (unit commitment and dispatch) in a single framework. PyPSA supports DC power flow calculations and, in various configurations, AC power flow analyses, as well as time-coupled constraints for storage and ramping. It interfaces with common solvers and can export results for visualization and further analysis.

Typical workflows involve creating a Network, adding components, loading time-series data, selecting an objective and optimization settings, solving the problem, and analyzing results. PyPSA supports multi-area and meshed networks and enables scenario analysis for capacity expansion, reliability, and cost assessments.

Development and usage of PyPSA are driven by an international community of researchers and practitioners. It is distributed as open-source software and is widely used in academia and energy system planning to study renewable integration, storage deployment, and transmission planning.