An S4 class to represent technology — class-technology • energyRt

Technology of a technological process in the model is used to convert input commodities into output commodities with consumption or production of auxiliary commodities linked to other parameters or variables of the technology. A broad set of parameters provides flexibility to model various technological processes, including efficiency, availability, costs, and exogenous shocks (weather factors).

Slots

name

character. Name of the technology, used in sets.

desc

character. Optional description of the technology for reference.

input

data.frame. Main commodities input. Main commodities are linked to the process capacity and activity. Their parameters are defined in the ceff slot.

comm: character. Name of the input commodity.
unit: character. Unit of the input commodity.
group: character. Name of input-commodities-group.
combustion: numeric. combustion factor from 0 to 1 (default 1) to calculate emissions from fuels combustion (commodities intermediate consumption, more broadly)

output

data.frame. Main commodities output. Main commodities are linked to the process capacity and activity. Their parameters are defined in the ceff slot.

comm: character. Name of the output commodity.
unit: character. Unit of the output commodity.
group: character. Name of output-commodities-group.

aux

data.frame. Auxilary commodities, both input and output, their parameters are defined in the aeff slot.

acomm: character. Name of the auxilary commodity.
unit: character. Unit of the auxilary commodity.

units

data.frame. Key units of the process activity and capacity (for reference).

capacity: character. Unit of capacity
use: character. Unit of 'use' (grouped input) if applicable.
activity: character. Unit of activity variable of the technology.
costs: character. Currency of costs variable of the technology.

group

data.frame. Details for commodity groups if defined in input and output slots (for reference).

group: character. Name of the group. Must match the group names in the input and output slots.
desc: character. Description of the group.
unit: character. Unit of the group.

cap2act

numeric. Capacity to activity ratio. Default is 1. Specifies how much product (activity, or output commodity if identical) will be produced per unit of capacity.

geff

data.frame. Input-commodity-group efficiency parameters.

vintage: character. Vintage label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every vintage. See the vintage slot.
cluster: character. Cluster label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every cluster. See the vintage slot.
region: character. Name of region to apply the parameter, NA for every region.
year: integer. Year to apply the parameter, NA for every year.
timeslice: character. Name of timeslice to apply the parameter, NA for every timeslice.
group: character. Name of group to apply the parameter. Required, must match the group names in the input and output slots.
ginp2use: numeric. Group-input-to-use coefficient, default is 1.

ceff

data.frame. Main commodity and activity efficiency parameters.

vintage: character. Vintage label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every vintage. See the vintage slot.
cluster: character. Cluster label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every cluster. See the vintage slot.
region: character. Region name to apply the parameter, NA for every region.
year: integer. Year to apply the parameter, NA for every year.
timeslice: character. Name of timeslice to apply the parameter, NA for every timeslice.
comm: character. Name of commodity to apply the parameter, different parameters require specification either input or output commodity.
cinp2use: numeric. Commodity-input-to-use coefficient, default is 1.
use2cact: numeric. Use-to-commodity-activity coefficient, default is 1.
cact2cout: numeric. Commodity-activity-to-commodity-output coefficient, default is 1.
cinp2ginp: numeric. Commodity-input-to-group-input coefficient, default is 1.
share.lo: numeric. Lower bound on a share of commodity within a group, default is 0.
share.up: numeric. Upper bound on a share of commodity within a group, default is 1.
share.fx: numeric. Fixed share of commodity within a group, ignored if NA. This parameter overrides share.lo and share.up.
afc.lo: numeric. Lower bound on the per-commodity availability factor: bounds this commodity's input or output flow relative to installed capacity (times cap2act), the commodity-level analogue of af.lo. Ignored if NA.
afc.up: numeric. Upper bound on the per-commodity availability factor: bounds this commodity's input or output flow relative to installed capacity (times cap2act), the commodity-level analogue of af.up. Ignored if NA.
afc.fx: numeric. Fixed per-commodity availability factor, ignored if NA. This parameter overrides afc.lo and afc.up.

aeff

data.frame. Parameters linking main commodities, activities, and capacities to auxiliary commodities.

vintage: character. Vintage label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every vintage. See the vintage slot.
cluster: character. Cluster label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every cluster. See the vintage slot.
region: character. Region name to apply the parameter, NA for every region.
year: integer. Year to apply the parameter, NA for every year.
timeslice: character. Name of timeslice to apply the parameter, NA for every timeslice.
acomm: character. Name of auxilary commodity to apply the parameter.
cinp2ainp: numeric. Main-commodity-input-to-auxilary-commodity-input coefficient, ignored if NA.
cinp2aout: numeric. Main-commodity-input-to-auxilary-commodity-output coefficient, ignored if NA.
cout2ainp: numeric. Main-commodity-output-to-auxilary-commodity-input coefficient, ignored if NA.
cout2aout: numeric. Main-commodity-output-to-auxilary-commodity-output coefficient, ignored if NA.
act2ainp: numeric. Technology-activity-to-auxilary-commodity-input coefficient, ignored if NA.
act2aout: numeric. Technology-activity-to-auxilary-commodity-output coefficient, ignored if NA.
cap2ainp: numeric. Technology-capacity-to-auxilary-commodity-input coefficient, ignored if NA.
cap2aout: numeric. Technology-capacity-to-auxilary-commodity-output coefficient, ignored if NA.
ncap2ainp: numeric. Aux commodity consumed per unit of NEW capacity – a one-time charge at construction (materials, embodied energy), ignored if NA. NO pTimesliceShare is applied and the aux balance is PER TIMESLICE, so a value given with timeslice = NA applies in EVERY slice and the annual total comes out multiplied by the slice count – 8760x on an hourly calendar. Give a per-slice value, or name a single slice.
ncap2aout: numeric. Technology-new-capacity-to-auxilary-commodity-output coefficient, ignored if NA.
pho2ainp: numeric. Aux commodity CONSUMED when capacity reaches the END OF ITS LIFE (demolition energy, labour). Multiplies the per-year phase-out FLOW, so the charge lands ONCE – in the milestone where the capacity disappears – not every year it stood. NO pTimesliceShare is applied and the aux balance is PER TIMESLICE, so a value given with timeslice = NA applies in EVERY slice and the annual total comes out multiplied by the slice count – 8760x on an hourly calendar. Give a per-slice value, or name a single slice.
pho2aout: numeric. Aux commodity RELEASED when capacity reaches the END OF ITS LIFE (demolition waste, recovered material). Fires even when optimizeRetirement is FALSE, which is the usual case. NO pTimesliceShare is applied and the aux balance is PER TIMESLICE, so a value given with timeslice = NA applies in EVERY slice and the annual total comes out multiplied by the slice count – 8760x on an hourly calendar. Give a per-slice value, or name a single slice.
ret2ainp: numeric. Aux commodity CONSUMED when capacity is retired EARLY. Separate from pho2ainp because the two differ physically: scrapping an intact plant is not the same job as demolishing a worn-out one. NO pTimesliceShare is applied and the aux balance is PER TIMESLICE, so a value given with timeslice = NA applies in EVERY slice and the annual total comes out multiplied by the slice count – 8760x on an hourly calendar. Give a per-slice value, or name a single slice.
ret2aout: numeric. Aux commodity RELEASED when capacity is retired EARLY (scrap). Usually LARGER than pho2aout: a plant retired before its time is still largely intact, so more material is recoverable. NO pTimesliceShare is applied and the aux balance is PER TIMESLICE, so a value given with timeslice = NA applies in EVERY slice and the annual total comes out multiplied by the slice count – 8760x on an hourly calendar. Give a per-slice value, or name a single slice.

af

data.frame. Timeslice-level availability factor parameters, bounding activity in each timeslice relative to installed capacity. af.up is the maximum capacity factor per timeslice (what PyPSA calls p_max_pu and OSeMOSYS calls CapacityFactor); af.lo is a must-run floor. See afs for timeframe-level (e.g. annual) bounds and ceff$afc.* for per-commodity bounds.

vintage: character. Vintage label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every vintage. See the vintage slot.
cluster: character. Cluster label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every cluster. See the vintage slot.
region: character. Region name to apply the parameter, NA for every region.
year: integer. Year to apply the parameter, NA for every year.
timeslice: character. Name of timeslice to apply the parameter, NA for every timeslice.
af.lo: numeric. Lower bound on the availability factor, default is 0.
af.up: numeric. Upper bound on the availability factor, default is 1.
af.fx: numeric. Fixed availability factor, ignored if NA. This parameter overrides af.lo and af.up.
rampup: numeric. Ramping-up time constraint RHS value, ignored if NA. Depends on the technology timeframe.
rampdown: numeric. Ramping-down time constraint RHS value, ignored if NA. Depends on the technology timeframe.

afs

data.frame. Timeframe-level availability factor constraints, bounding activity summed over all child timeslices of the named timeslice relative to installed capacity. With timeslice = "ANNUAL" this is the annual capacity-factor bound (TIMES NCAP_AFS, OSeMOSYS AvailabilityFactor), e.g. afs.lo = 0.4 requires at least 40% annual utilization. Unlike af, afs rows are not disaggregated to finer timeslices; they always constrain the sum over the given timeframe.

vintage: character. Vintage label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every vintage. See the vintage slot.
cluster: character. Cluster label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every cluster. See the vintage slot.
region: character. Region name to apply the parameter, NA for every region.
year: integer. Year to apply the parameter, NA for every year.
timeslice: character. Name of timeslice to apply the parameter, required.
afs.lo: numeric. Lower bound on the availability factor for the timeframe, default is 0.
afs.up: numeric. Upper bound on the availability factor for the timeframe, default is Inf (unbounded), in contrast to af.up which defaults to 1.
afs.fx: numeric. Fixed availability factor for the timeframe, ignored if NA. This parameter overrides afs.lo and afs.up.

weather

data.frame. Parameters linking weather factors (external shocks specified by weather class) to the availability parameters af, afs, and afc.

vintage: character. Vintage label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every vintage. See the vintage slot.
cluster: character. Cluster label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every cluster. See the vintage slot.
weather: character. Name of the applied weather factor, required, must match the weather factor names in a weather class in the model.
comm: character. Name of the commodity with specified afc.* to be affected by the weather factor, required if afc.* parameters are specified.
wafc.lo: numeric. Multiplying coefficient to the lower bound on the commodity availability parameter afc.lo, ignored if NA.
wafc.up: numeric. Multiplying coefficient to the upper bound on the commodity availability parameter afc.up, ignored if NA.
wafc.fx: numeric. Multiplying coefficient to the fixed value of the commodity availability parameter afc.fx, ignored if NA. This parameter overrides wafc.lo and wafc.up.
waf.lo: numeric. Multiplying coefficient to the lower bound on the availability factor parameter af.lo, ignored if NA.
waf.up: numeric. Multiplying coefficient to the upper bound on the availability factor parameter af.up, ignored if NA.
waf.fx: numeric. Multiplying coefficient to the fixed value on the availability factor parameter af.fx, ignored if NA. This parameter overrides waf.lo and waf.up.
wafs.up: numeric. Multiplying coefficient to the upper bound on the availability factor parameter afs.up, ignored if NA.
wafs.lo: numeric. Multiplying coefficient to the lower bound on the availability factor parameter afs.lo, ignored if NA.
wafs.fx: numeric. Multiplying coefficient to the fixed value on the availability factor parameter afs.fx, ignored if NA. This parameter overrides wafs.lo and wafs.up.

fixom

data.frame. Fixed operational and maintenance cost (per unit of capacity a year).

vintage: character. Vintage label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every vintage. See the vintage slot.
cluster: character. Cluster label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every cluster. See the vintage slot.
region: character. Region name to apply the parameter, NA for every region.
year: integer. Year to apply the parameter, NA for every year.
fixom: numeric. Fixed operational and maintenance cost, default is 0.

varom

data.frame. Variable operational and maintenance cost (per unit of activity or commodity).

vintage: character. Vintage label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every vintage. See the vintage slot.
cluster: character. Cluster label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every cluster. See the vintage slot.
region: character. Region name to apply the parameter, NA for every region.
year: integer. Year to apply the parameter, NA for every year.
timeslice: character. Name of the time-timeslice or (grand-)parent timeframe to apply the parameter, NA for every time-timeslice of the technology timeframe.
varom: numeric. Variable operational and maintenance cost per unit of activity, default is 0.
comm: character. Name of the commodity for which the parameter will be applied, required for cvarom parameter.
cvarom: numeric. Variable operational and maintenance cost per unit of commodity, default is 0.
acomm: character. Name of the auxilary commodity for which the avarom will be applied, required for avarom parameter.
avarom: numeric. Variable operational and maintenance cost per unit of auxilary commodity, default is 0.

invcost

data.frame. Total overnight investment costs of the project (per unit of capacity).

vintage: character. Vintage label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every vintage. See the vintage slot.
cluster: character. Cluster label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every cluster. See the vintage slot.
region: character. Region name to apply the parameter, NA for every region.
year: integer. Year to apply the parameter, NA for every year.
invcost: numeric. Total overnight investment costs of the project (per unit of capacity), default is 0.
wacc: numeric. Weighted average cost of capital used to annuitise invcost for this technology. Overrides the model-wide wacc (see the model discount argument). The social discount rate is never used here.
payback: numeric. Cost-recovery period in years. Where given it replaces olife in the annuity AND in the years over which the annuity is charged, so the investment is repaid over payback years while the capacity keeps operating for its full operational life. Must be positive and not exceed olife. Unset (or 0) means recover over olife. Implemented for the GLPK solver only.
eac: numeric. Equivalent annual cost, supplied directly instead of being computed from invcost, wacc and the lifetime. Where given it wins; where absent the annuity is computed. Mutually exclusive with invcost per row.
retcost: numeric. Costs of early retirement of the technology, default is 0.

cluster

data.frame. Declaration of the technology's clusters. A cluster is a parallel sub-process of the same technology – a resource class, geography or fleet type – with its own capacity, availability and costs. This slot declares WHAT the clusters are and WHERE they exist; the per-cluster values live in the cluster column of the variant-varying slots (capacity, invcost, afs, weather, ...), exactly as group declares input groups whose data lives in input$group. Optional: when empty, cluster labels are harvested from those columns. When populated it is authoritative – a label used in a slot but not declared here raises an error instead of silently creating an extra technology with default (often unbounded) parameters.

cluster: character. Cluster label. Must match the cluster column values used in the other slots.
desc: character. Human-readable description of the cluster, used in reports.
region: character. Region the cluster exists in, NA for every region. Several rows restrict a cluster to several regions.
order: integer. Optional display/ranking order (e.g. best to worst resource class); controls the order variants are created and reported in.

vintage

data.frame. Investment window and operational life of the technology, one row per (vintage, region, cluster). Replaces the former start, end and olife slots. A vintage is a separately investable variant of the technology that keeps the characteristics of its build year for its whole life; a cluster is a parallel sub-process (resource class, geography, fleet type) with its own capacity, availability and costs.

vintage: character. Vintage label, normally the build year as a string. NA for an un-vintaged technology (a single variant).
region: character. Region name to apply the parameter, NA for every region.
cluster: character. Cluster label, NA for every cluster.
start: integer. The first year the technology can be installed. NA means unbounded (all horizon years up to end); windows are user-defined and may overlap across vintages.
end: integer. The last year the technology can be installed. NA means unbounded (all horizon years from start on).
olife: integer. Operational life of the technology if installed during optimization, in years, default is 1.

capacity

data.frame. Capacity of the installed technology (in units of capacity).

vintage: character. Vintage label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every vintage. See the vintage slot.
cluster: character. Cluster label selecting the technology variant this row applies to, NA for every cluster. See the vintage slot.
region: character. Region name to apply the parameter, NA for every region.
year: integer. Year to apply the parameter, required, values between specified years will be interpolated.
stock: numeric. Predefined capacity of the technology in units of capacity, default is 0. This parameter also defines the exogenous capacity retirement (age-based), or exogenous capacity additions, not optimized by the model, and not included in investment costs.
cap.lo: numeric. Lower bound on the total capacity (preexisting stock and new installations), ignored if NA.
cap.up: numeric. Upper bound on the total capacity (preexisting stock and new installations), ignored if NA.
cap.fx: numeric. Fixed total capacity (preexisting stock and new installations), ignored if NA. This parameter overrides cap.lo and cap.up.
ncap.lo: numeric. Lower bound on the new capacity (new installations), ignored if NA.
ncap.up: numeric. Upper bound on the new capacity (new installations), ignored if NA.
ncap.fx: numeric. Fixed new capacity (new installations), ignored if NA. This parameter overrides ncap.lo and ncap.up.
ret.lo: numeric. Lower bound on the capacity retirement (age-based), ignored if NA.
ret.up: numeric. Upper bound on the capacity retirement (age-based), ignored if NA.
ret.fx: numeric. Fixed capacity retirement (age-based), ignored if NA. This parameter overrides ret.lo and ret.up.

optimizeRetirement

logical. Incidates if the retirement of the technology should be optimized. Also requires the same parameter in the model or scenario class to be set to TRUE to be effective.

fullYear

logical. Indicates if the technology operates on a full-year basis, i.e. where its timeslice cycle closes. Currently it affects RAMPING only (ramp slot): with TRUE (default) the preceding timeslice of the first timeslice of a group is the last timeslice of the previous group; with FALSE each parent timeframe is an independent loop. A technology without ramping constraints is unaffected. See the storage class, where the same flag governs the state-of-charge balance.

timeframe

character. Name of timeframe level the technology is operating. By default, the lowest level of timeframe of commodities used in the technology is applied.

region

character. Vector of regions where the technology exists or can be installed. Optional. If not specified, the technology is applied to all regions. If specified, must include all regions used in other slots.

misc

list. List of additional parameters that are not used in the model but can be used for reference or user-defined functions. For example, links to the source of the technology data, or other metadata. Two names are conventional: misc$image, a path or URL to an illustration used in reports (the image scalar of a techspec YAML file lands here), and misc$icon, a path or URL to a small icon.