PLEXOS 8.100 R01 Release Notes
- Important Changes
- Upgrade Compatibility
- Changes
- Performance
- Major Features
- New Dataset Template
- Geographical Decomposition
- Gas Demand Resolution
- Gas Node Contracts
- Gas Storage Ratchet Volume as a Percentage
- Gas Storage Injection/Withdraw Fuel Rate
- Fuel Losses for Gas Pipelines
- Reservation Cost for Gas Pipeline/Gas Storage/Gas Contract
- Levelized Capital Carrying Rate
- Custom Columns in Solution Viewer
- List Filter Changes
- Implicit List Filters
- Carve Out
- New Attributes
- New Input Properties
- New Reporting Properties
1. Important Changes
It is strongly advised that the following changes be reviewed:
2. Upgrade Compatibility
This version will automatically upgrade any previous Version 5-8 database. You may need to check the upgrade notes of earlier releases for any compatibility issues.
If you experience any problems during upgrade contact Energy Exemplar Support.
If your simulations run differently or slower in this version, also seek support and we will assist with the upgrade process.
3. Changes
The following are the changes to existing functionality between this version and 8.0:
- Solver upgrade may cause different allocation of outage patterns and solution paths, especially with regards to constraint decomposition.
- Xpress-MP has been upgraded, which requires a new license. This is only applicable to those customers who license Xpress-MP directly from FICO.
3.1. Solver updates
The following solvers were updated as part of this updated release.
| Solver | Version | Release Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ILOG CPLEX | 12.9.0.0 | |
| FICO Xpress | 34.1.3.0 | |
| Gurobi | 8.1.1 | http://www.gurobi.com/resources/documentation/fixes |
| GLPK | 4.65 |
Updated solvers to the latest version (at the time of development). Please see above.
4. Performance
Several optimizations have been made to both the simulation engine and the user interface code, which will improve performance.
The following changes and/or new features specifically address performance of the simulation:
- Large scale transmission formulation setup/modification performance improvements
User interface speed improvements include:
- General navigation around the application brings up results faster
- Copy and paste performance has been improved up to 10x in some cases
- Data validation feature executes faster
- Faster loading and saving of input databases
5. Major Features
5.1. New Dataset Template
By default, older versions created a new dataset with "default" enabled objects, attributes and properties. These were targeted towards an electric power model. However, there are times where more gas centric settings are required, therefore we have now exposed new templates. Additional templates will be made available in the coming versions.
5.2. Geographical Decomposition
The key motivation behind this feature is the need to model very large multi-area energy models, that are generally slow to run at the higher resolutions in ST Schedule. See the Decomposition Group feature for more details.
5.3. Gas Demand Resolution
Added new Gas Demand Resolution switch in Production for toggling resolution of Gas Demand, Bid Quantity, and Gas Storage Ratchets. Previously, input demand was assumed to be for each interval in Horizon Interval Length. While this is still the default setting, the option to switch to Hourly or Daily now exists.
5.4. Gas Node Contracts
Implemented the option to supply Gas Nodes via Gas Contract memberships. A gas node contract can deliver to multiple gas nodes in the system and the contract constraints put a limit on the total take regardless of the receipt point.
5.4.1. Contract Types
New property Contract Type controls the method used to constrain the Take Quantity of the contract.
- Swing Contract Type
Swing contract type is the least constrained of the available contract types and is the default for Gas Node contracts when not specified. Take Quantity can vary but not exceed the max quantity specified.
- Base Contract Type
Base contract type was developed to limit the Take Quantity to a constant daily value in a month. The solver optimizes the daily take to be less than or equal to input max quantity. Take Quantity can vary between months, but the daily take within a month will not change.
- Take-or-Pay Contract Type
Take-or-Pay contract type was implemented so that the Quantity and Price values are interpreted as take or pay. Any unused quantity must be paid for at the contract price. Unused amounts are shown in Take or Pay Violation in output. Take or Pay Violation Cost is the total cost for this violation.
5.4.2. Expansion for Gas Node Contracts
Gas Node Contracts can be expansion candidates using the Expansion Contract property. To control the optimality of the expansion, new property Expansion Optimality has been added and accepts Linear or Integer. This property will override settings in Integerization Horizon. Integer will require the contract to expand to the full LT Max Daily Take Value. With Linear, the contract can expand to any value up to the LT Max Daily Take and Reservation Volume will also scale with contract expansion.
5.5. Gas Storage Ratchet Volume as a Percentage
Previously Gas Storage Ratchets required that the injection and withdraw volumes be set as a total volume. New inputs Injection Volume Factor and Withdrawal Volume Factor provide the capability to set ratchet volume as a percentage of the max capacity. Injection Rate Scalar and Withdrawal Rate Scalar should correspond with respective volume factor inputs. When both Volume and Volume Factor are specified, the Volume input will be used. Ratchet input resolution will correspond with selected setting in Production Gas Demand Resolution.
5.6. Gas Storage Injection/Withdraw Fuel Rate
Fuel loss during injection and withdrawal can now be included as a portion of the cost of Gas Storage objects using the new Injection Fuel Rate and Withdrawal Fuel Rate properties. These are input as percentages of the injection amount or withdrawal amount which are lost during the process. Withdraw Fuel and Injection Fuel in output display the total amounts lost in injection or withdrawal from the storage object.
5.7. Fuel Losses for Gas Pipelines
Loss Rate was added as a new input for Gas Pipelines. Using Loss Rate will compute loss as a percentage of the inflow to the pipeline and affects flow leaving the pipeline. This feature was implemented for forward and backward flows. Previous versions reported only flow; this version reports Flow In, Flow Out and Loss amounts.
5.8. Reservation Cost for Gas Pipeline/Gas Storage/Gas Contract
New input properties Reservation Charge and Reservation Volume were added to three classes: Gas Pipeline, Gas Storage, and Gas Contract. The Reservation Charge is multiplied by the Reservation Volume to calculate the total Reservation Cost for each day. This acts as a fixed cost that won't affect operation but will impact build decisions.
5.9. Levelized Capital Carrying Rate
Levelized Capital Carrying Rate (LCCR) input was added for generators in the Expansion folder. This value is multiplied by the overnight Build Cost to get the annual annuitized cost to build the generator. Calculation for annual charge will be equal to LCCR*Build Cost for each year until the end of the study or the duration of the economic life of the plant, whichever is shorter.
5.10. Custom Columns in Solution Viewer
The Solution Viewer now allows you to add additional columns to the grid view, allowing calculations to be done on property values.
Custom Solution Columns
5.11. List Filter Changes
List Filters formerly greyed out objects in the main trees, indicating that they were present but hidden from the grid views. However, a re-evaluation of the desired intention of List Filters is to be able to focus on a sub-set of the database. To this end, List Filters now hide filtered objects from both the grid and tree views.
5.12. Implicit List Filters
Objects that represent a region (eg Region, Zone) will be implicitly added to a Filters List. These Lists cannot be modified but serve to filter out objects and data that fall outside the region, allowing you to focus on a particular region easily, without having to compile the associated objects into a List Filter manually.
Implicit List Filters
5.13. Carve Out
A new button has been added to the Ribbon called Carve Out. This allows you to select a set of Region objects and export a copy of the database which filters out all objects and data which are not related to those Regions. This includes making a copy of only the .csv files which are required for executing the carved out database.
6. New Attributes
New attributes are:
| Class | Attribute | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ST Schedule | Step Link Mode | Step Link Mode |
| ST Schedule | Step Skipping | Step Skipping |
| Performance | Feasibility Repair Failure | Feasibility Repair Failure |
7. New Input Properties
New input properties are:
| Collection | Property | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Decomposition Group | The decomposition group that the region belongs to. |
| Generator | Levelized Capital Carrying Rate | Levelized capital carrying rate |
| Gas Pipeline | Reservation Charge | Reservation charge for gas pipeline |
| Gas Pipeline | Reservation Volume | Reservation volume for gas pipeline |
| Gas Pipeline | Loss Rate | Loss rate for gas pipeline flow |
| Gas Storage | Reservation Charge | Reservation charge for gas storage |
| Gas Storage | Reservation Volume | Reservation volume for gas storage |
| Gas Storage | Injection Fuel Rate | Fuel injection rate for gas storage |
| Gas Storage | Withdrawal Fuel Rate | Fuel withdrawal rate for gas storage |
| Gas Storage | Withdrawal Volume Factor | Fuel withdrawal factor for gas storage |
| Gas Storage | Injection Volume Factor | Fuel injection factor for gas storage |
| Gas Contract | Reservation Charge | Reservation charge for gas contract |
| Gas Contract | Reservation Volume | Reservation volume for gas contract |
| Gas Contract | Max Daily Take | Max daily gas offtake associated with the contract |
| Gas Contract | Contract Type | Type of gas contract |
| Gas Contract | Expansion Optimality | Expansion planning integerization scheme |
| Gas Contract | Expansion Contract | Indicates if Gas Contract is eligible for expansion planning |
| Gas Contract | Contract Eligibility Date | Start date of Gas Contract expansion planning. |
| Gas Contract | Contract Length | Technical Life of Gas Contract |
| Gas Contract | Economic Life | Economic life of the Gas Contract (period over which fixed costs are recovered). |
| Gas Contract | WACC | Weighted average cost of capital |
| Gas Contract | Build Cost | Cost of Gas Contract expansion |
| Gas Contract | LT Max Daily Take | LT Max daily gas offtake associated with the contract |
8. New Reporting Properties
New reporting properties are:
| Collection | Property | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Gas Pipeline | Flow In | Quantity of gas pumped into the pipeline |
| Gas Pipeline | Flow Out | Quantity of gas extracted from the pipeline |
| Gas Pipeline | Reservation Cost | Gas pipeline reservation cost |
| Gas Pipeline | Loss | Gas pipeline flow loss amount |
| Gas Storage | Reservation Cost | Reservation cost for Gas Storage |
| Gas Storage | Injection Fuel | Fuel amount lost in the gas storage injection |
| Gas Storage | Withdraw Fuel | Fuel amount lost in the gas storage withdrawal |
| Gas Contract | Take Quantity | Gas offtake associated with the contract |
| Gas Contract | Reservation Cost | Reservation Cost |
| Gas Contract | Max Daily Take | Max daily gas offtake associated with the contract |