Add Custom Technologies

This guide shows how to add new generation technologies, modify existing ones, and configure renewable resource clusters.

Technology Sources

PowerGenome gets technology data from several sources:

1. NREL ATB (Annual Technology Baseline): Standard new-build technologies
2. Existing generators: From data tables (existing fleet)
3. Additional technologies: User-defined technologies not in ATB
4. Modified resources: Variants of ATB technologies with adjusted parameters

Add ATB Technologies

List Available Technologies

ATB technologies follow naming convention: {Technology}_{TechDetail}_{FinancialCase}

Common technologies:

• NaturalGas_2-on-1 Combined Cycle (F-Frame)_Moderate: Combined cycle gas turbine
• NaturalGas_Combustion Turbine (F-Frame)_Moderate: Combustion turbine (peaking)
• UtilityPV_Class1_Moderate: Utility-scale solar PV
• LandbasedWind_Class3_Moderate: Onshore wind
• OffShoreWind_Class12_Moderate: Floating offshore wind
• Utility-Scale Battery Storage_Lithium Ion_Moderate: Battery storage
• Nuclear_Nuclear - Large_Moderate: Large nuclear power
• Geothermal_HydroBinary_Moderate: Geothermal hydrothermal

Cost cases:

• Conservative: High cost
• Moderate: Mid cost
• Advanced: Low cost (R&D success)

Include in Model

Add technologies to new_resources:

new_resources:
  - [NaturalGas, 2-on-1 Combined Cycle (F-Frame), Moderate, 500]
  - [NaturalGas, Combustion Turbine (F-Frame), Moderate, 100]
  - [UtilityPV, Class1, Moderate, 100]
  - [LandbasedWind, Class3, Moderate, 1]
  - [Utility-Scale Battery Storage, Lithium Ion, Moderate, 1]

Specify unit sizes in new_resources (fourth element of each list):

new_resources:
  - [NaturalGas, 2-on-1 Combined Cycle (F-Frame), Moderate, 500]  # 500 MW per unit
  - [NaturalGas, Combustion Turbine (F-Frame), Moderate, 100]  # 100 MW per unit
  - [UtilityPV, Class1, Moderate, 1]
  - [LandbasedWind, Class3, Moderate, 1]
  - [Utility-Scale Battery Storage, Lithium Ion, Moderate, 1]
  - [Nuclear, Nuclear - Large, Moderate, 1000]

Set Cost Case

Choose financial assumptions and cost trajectories:

resource_data_year: 2023  # ATB vintage year
resource_financial_case: Market  # Market or R&D
resource_cap_recovery_years: 20  # Economic lifetime

Cost cases are specified per-technology in new_resources:

• Conservative: High cost trajectory
• Moderate: Mid cost trajectory
• Advanced: Low cost trajectory (R&D success)

Example:

new_resources:
  - [UtilityPV, Class1, Conservative, 100]  # High cost
  - [UtilityPV, Class1, Moderate, 100]      # Mid cost
  - [UtilityPV, Class1, Advanced, 100]      # Low cost

Assign Resource Tags

Define dispatch behavior:

model_tag_names:
  - THERM
  - VRE
  - STOR
  - MUST_RUN

model_tag_values:
  THERM:
    NaturalGas_: 1
  VRE:
    UtilityPV: 1
    LandbasedWind: 1
  STOR:
    Utility-Scale Battery Storage: 1
  MUST_RUN:
    Geothermal: 1

Modify ATB Technology Costs

Resource Modifiers

Adjust parameters of existing ATB technologies:

resource_modifiers:
  utility_pv:
    technology: UtilityPV
    tech_detail: Class1
    capex_mw: [mul, 1.2]  # Multiply by 1.2 (20% higher)
    fixed_o_m_mw: 18000  # Direct override to $18,000/MW-year

  landbased_wind:
    technology: LandbasedWind
    tech_detail: Class3
    capex_mw: [mul, 0.9]  # 10% cost reduction
    variable_o_m_mwh: 0  # Zero variable O&M

  batteries:
    technology: Utility-Scale Battery Storage
    tech_detail: Lithium Ion
    capex_mw: [add, 55000]  # Add $100/kW (in 2004 USD) for interconnection
    Var_OM_Cost_per_MWh: [add, 0.15]
    Var_OM_Cost_per_MWh_In: 0.15  # Set directly (not in ATB)
    wacc_real: 0.04675  # NREL ATB Market WACC for UtilityPV

Modifier behavior:

• Operators in lists: [operator, value] format
• [mul, 1.2]: Multiply by 1.2 (20% higher)
• [add, 50000]: Add $50,000
• [sub, 10000]: Subtract $10,000
• [truediv, 2]: Divide by 2
• Direct values: Set parameter directly (no operator)
• Use for parameters not in ATB database
• Use for absolute overrides

Regional Cost Multipliers

Apply regional construction cost differences:

regional_cost_multipliers.csv:

technology,region,value
NaturalGas_2-on-1 Combined Cycle (F-Frame),p1,1.140882
NaturalGas_Combustion Turbine (F-Frame),p1,1.132064
LandbasedWind_Class3,p2,1.097588
Utility-Scale Battery Storage_Lithium Ion,p1,1.072245

Multipliers apply on top of resource_modifiers.

Create Technology Variants

Modified New Resources

Create renamed copies of ATB technologies with modified parameters:

modified_new_resources:
  # Hydrogen turbine based on natural gas combined cycle
  hydrogen_turbine:
    technology: NaturalGas
    tech_detail: 1-on-1 Combined Cycle (H-Frame)
    cost_case: Moderate
    size_mw: 100
    new_technology: hydrogen
    new_tech_detail: turbine
    new_cost_case: Moderate
    heat_rate: [mul, 1.1]  # 10% worse heat rate
    capex_mw: [add, 50000]  # Add $50k/MW for hydrogen infrastructure

  # High-cost solar variant
  utility_pv_high:
    technology: UtilityPV
    tech_detail: Class1
    cost_case: Moderate
    size_mw: 100
    new_technology: UtilityPV
    new_tech_detail: Class1_High
    new_cost_case: High
    capex_mw: [mul, 1.5]  # 50% more expensive

Required fields:

• technology, tech_detail, cost_case: Source technology
• new_technology, new_tech_detail, new_cost_case: New technology name
• size_mw: Unit size

Optional modifiers: Use [operator, value] format same as resource_modifiers

Assign tags:

model_tag_values:
  THERM:
    hydrogen: 1  # Matches new_technology name
  VRE:
    UtilityPV: 1
  Commit:
    hydrogen: 1
  New_Build:
    hydrogen: 1

Configure Renewable Clusters

Renewable Resource Groups

Define renewable resource clustering using the renewables_clusters parameter:

renewables_clusters:
  - region: all  # Apply to all regions, or specify individual regions
    technology: landbasedwind
    filter:
      - feature: lcoe
        max: 75  # Maximum LCOE threshold
    bin:
      - feature: lcoe
        weights: capacity_mw  # Weight binning by capacity
        q: 2  # Create 2 bins based on quartiles

  - region: p1
    technology: utilitypv
    filter:
      - feature: lcoe_interconnect_adj
        max: 30
    bin:
      - feature: lcoe_interconnect_adj
        weights: capacity_mw
        mw_per_bin: 50000  # Create bins of 50 GW each
    cluster:
      - feature: cf  # Cluster within bins by capacity factor
        n_clusters: 2
        method: agg  # Agglomerative clustering

  - region: all
    technology: offshorewind
    turbine_type: floating
    pref_site: 0  # Include all sites (1 for preferred sites only)
    bin:
      - feature: lcoe_interconnect_adj
        weights: capacity_mw
        q: 2

Common parameters:

• region: Model region name or all
• technology: Technology type (lowercase: landbasedwind, utilitypv, offshorewind)
• filter: List of feature filters to exclude resources
• feature: Attribute to filter on (lcoe, cf, lcoe_interconnect_adj)
• max: Maximum value threshold
• bin: List of binning operations
• feature: Attribute to bin by
• weights: Weight bins by capacity (mw, capacity_mw)
• q: Number of quantile bins
• mw_per_bin: Fixed MW per bin
• cluster: List of clustering operations within bins
• feature: Attribute to cluster by (cf, profile, lcoe)
• n_clusters: Number of clusters
• method: Clustering method (agg for agglomerative)

Technology-specific parameters:

• Offshore wind: turbine_type (fixed, floating), pref_site (0 or 1)
• Geothermal: type (egs, geohydrobinary)

Advanced: Group Modifiers

Modify costs for specific resource groups:

renewables_clusters:
  - region: all
    technology: geothermal
    type: egs
    filter:
      - feature: class
        max: 6
    group:
      - class
    group_modifiers:
      - group: class
        group_value: 6
        Inv_Cost_per_MWyr: [add, 64820]  # Additional cost for class 6

Note: Renewable resource profiles and capacity data come from external datasets (NREL reV, ReEDS). PowerGenome does not generate these profiles—it clusters pre-existing resource sites based on cost and performance characteristics.

Restrict Technology Availability

Regional Restrictions

Prohibit technologies in specific regions:

new_gen_not_available:
  AZ:
    - OffShoreWind  # No offshore wind in Arizona
    - Nuclear
  CA_N:
    - Coal  # No new coal anywhere in California
  CA_S:
    - Coal

Technology Minimum Load

Set minimum stable generation level:

min_cap_req:
  NaturalGas_2-on-1 Combined Cycle (F-Frame)_Moderate: 0.3  # 30% minimum load
  Nuclear_Nuclear - Large_Moderate: 0.9  # 90% minimum load
  Coal_New_Moderate: 0.4

Ramp Rates

Define maximum ramp rates (fraction per hour):

ramp_up_rates:
  NaturalGas_2-on-1 Combined Cycle (F-Frame)_Moderate: 0.5  # 50% per hour
  Coal_New_Moderate: 0.2  # 20% per hour
  Nuclear_Nuclear - Large_Moderate: 0.05  # 5% per hour

ramp_down_rates:
  NaturalGas_2-on-1 Combined Cycle (F-Frame)_Moderate: 0.5
  Coal_New_Moderate: 0.2
  Nuclear_Nuclear - Large_Moderate: 0.05

Example: Add Hydrogen Technology

Complete example adding hydrogen turbines:

1. Create Additional Technology

additional_technologies.csv:

technology,tech_detail,model_year,capex_mw,fixed_o_m_mw,variable_o_m_mwh,heat_rate_mmbtu_mwh,fuel,wacc_real,capital_recovery_period,unit_size_mw
Hydrogen,Turbine,2030,900000,18000,4,9.5,hydrogen,0.055,25,150
Hydrogen,Turbine,2040,750000,15000,4,9.0,hydrogen,0.055,25,150
Hydrogen,Turbine,2050,600000,12000,4,8.5,hydrogen,0.055,25,150

2. Configure in Settings

settings/custom_technologies.yml:

# Include additional tech file
additional_technologies_fn: additional_technologies.csv

# Add to new resources - use list format
new_resources:
  - [Hydrogen, Turbine, Moderate, 150]

# Assign tags
model_tag_values:
  THERM:
    Hydrogen: 1
  Commit:
    Hydrogen: 1
  New_Build:
    Hydrogen: 1

# Map to fuel
tech_fuel_map:
  Hydrogen: hydrogen

# Operational constraints
min_cap_req:
  Hydrogen_Turbine_Moderate: 0.2
ramp_up_rates:
  Hydrogen_Turbine_Moderate: 0.8
ramp_down_rates:
  Hydrogen_Turbine_Moderate: 0.8

3. Add Fuel Prices

settings/fuels.yml:

user_fuel_price:
  hydrogen:
    2030:
      CA_N: 25  # $/MMBtu
      CA_S: 25
      AZ: 28
    2040:
      CA_N: 18
      CA_S: 18
      AZ: 20
    2050:
      CA_N: 12
      CA_S: 12
      AZ: 14

4. Set Regional Availability

settings/tech_availability.yml:

new_gen_not_available:
  AZ:
    - Hydrogen  # Not available in Arizona (no infrastructure)

Troubleshooting

Technology Not Appearing

Problem: Technology defined but not in output

Check:

1. Technology in new_resources?
2. Technology size specified (fourth element in list)?
3. Tags defined in model_tag_values?
4. Technology restricted in new_gen_not_available?

Renewable Clustering Issues

Problem: No renewable resources in output

Solution:

• Verify renewables_clusters parameter is configured
• Check filter thresholds (e.g., max: 75 for LCOE)
• Ensure renewable resource data is available in data source
• Check that technology names match data (lowercase: landbasedwind, utilitypv, offshorewind)

Cost Data Missing

Problem: KeyError: 'capex_mw'

Solution:

• For ATB technologies: Verify resource_data_year has that technology
• For additional technologies: Check all required columns in CSV
• Check technology name spelling matches exactly

Best Practices

1. Use wildcards: Battery_* matches all battery durations
2. Start with ATB: Prefer ATB technologies when available
3. Document assumptions: Comment custom cost adjustments
4. Validate tags: All technologies need complete tag assignments
5. Test incrementally: Add one technology at a time
6. Regional variation: Use resource_modifiers for regional costs
7. Version data: Track ATB year, profile vintage in documentation

Next Steps

• Configure Renewable Clusters: Detailed renewable siting
• Settings Reference - New-Build Resources: Complete parameter documentation
• Settings Reference - Resource Tags: Tag configuration