Opening the black box of energy modelling: Strategies and lessons learned

Stefan Pfenninger, Lion Hirth (), Ingmar Schlecht, Eva Schmid, Frauke Wiese, Tom Brown, Chris Davis, Matthew Gidden, Heidi Heinrichs, Clara Heuberger, Simon Hilpert, Uwe Krien, Carsten Matke, Arjuna Nebel, Robbie Morrison, Berit Müller, Guido Pleßmann, Matthias Reeg, Jörn C. Richstein, Abhishek Shivakumar, Iain Staffell, Tim Tröndle and Clemens Wingenbach

EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, 2018, vol. 19, 63-71

Abstract: The global energy system is undergoing a major transition, and in energy planning and decision-making across governments, industry and academia, models play a crucial role. Because of their policy relevance and contested nature, the transparency and open availability of energy models and data are of particular importance. Here we provide a practical how-to guide based on the collective experience of members of the Open Energy Modelling Initiative (Openmod). We discuss key steps to consider when opening code and data, including determining intellectual property ownership, choosing a licence and appropriate modelling languages, distributing code and data, and providing support and building communities. After illustrating these decisions with examples and lessons learned from the community, we conclude that even though individual researchers' choices are important, institutional changes are still also necessary for more openness and transparency in energy research.

Keywords: Open source; Energy modelling; Open data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (66)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:espost:200101

DOI: 10.1016/j.esr.2017.12.002

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