Resource Tags Settings¶

Resource tags control how generators are classified in GenX and other capacity expansion models. Tags determine dispatch behavior, policy eligibility, and operational constraints.

Tag System Overview¶

GenX uses binary or integer tags to categorize resources. Common tags include:

THERM: Thermal zone for reserves/capacity requirements
VRE: Variable renewable energy (wind/solar)
STOR: Storage resources (batteries, pumped hydro)
FLEX: Flexible demand/demand response
HYDRO: Hydroelectric resources
MUST_RUN: Must-run generators (cogen, nuclear)
LDS: Long-duration storage (>12 hours)

Each resource must have a value for every tag defined in the model.

Defining Tags¶

`model_tag_names`¶

Type: List of strings Required: Yes Example: See below

List of all resource tags used in the model.

model_tag_names:
  - THERM
  - VRE
  - STOR
  - FLEX
  - HYDRO
  - MUST_RUN
  - LDS

All resources must be assigned a value for each tag in this list.

Custom Tags

You can define custom tags for specialized models. For example, OFFSHORE for offshore wind, BIOMASS for biomass resources, or NEW_BUILD to distinguish new vs. existing capacity.

Technology-Level Tags¶

`model_tag_values`¶

Type: Dictionary (tag → technology → value) Required: Yes Example: See below

Default tag values for each technology. These apply across all regions unless overridden.

Technology Matching

Technology names are matched using case-insensitive substring matching. Shortest (most general) patterns are applied first, then longer (more specific) patterns override previous assignments. This allows you to set broad defaults and create specific exceptions.

model_tag_values:
  THERM:
    NaturalGas: 1
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 0
    Hydroelectric: 0

  VRE:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 1
    Battery: 0
    Hydroelectric: 0

  STOR:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 1
    Hydroelectric_Pumped: 1  # More specific, overrides 'Hydroelectric'

  FLEX:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 0
    Hydroelectric: 0

  HYDRO:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 0
    Hydroelectric: 1

  MUST_RUN:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 0
    Hydroelectric: 0

  LDS:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 0
    Hydroelectric_Pumped: 1

Tag values:

Binary (0/1): Most tags are binary flags
Integer (1, 2, 3...): THERM tag often uses integers for thermal zones
Wildcard matching: Use * in technology names to match patterns

Wildcard Patterns¶

Use wildcards to assign tags to multiple technologies at once. The * matches any characters.

model_tag_values:
  THERM:
    Battery: 0  # Matches all battery technologies
    NaturalGas: 1  # Matches all natural gas technologies
    LandbasedWind: 0  # Matches all wind technologies
    OffShoreWind: 0  # More specific, can override 'Wind' if both present

  VRE:
    Battery: 0
    NaturalGas: 0
    LandbasedWind: 1
    OffShoreWind: 1

  STOR:
    Battery: 1
    NaturalGas: 0
    LandbasedWind: 0

  FLEX:
    Battery: 0
    NaturalGas: 0
    LandbasedWind: 0

Substring precedence: Shorter substrings are processed first, longer substrings override:

model_tag_values:
  THERM:
    Wind: 0          # Applied first - matches 'LandbasedWind_Class3', 'OffShoreWind_Class12'
    OffShoreWind: 1  # Applied second - overwrites only offshore wind technologies

This makes configuration maintainable when you have many similar technologies.

Regional Tag Overrides¶

`regional_tag_values`¶

Type: Dictionary (region → tag → technology → value) Required: No Example: See below

Override tag values for specific technologies in specific regions. Regional values take precedence over model_tag_values.

regional_tag_values:
  CA_N:
    THERM:
      NaturalGas: 2  # Different thermal zone in CA
    MUST_RUN:
      Hydroelectric: 1  # California hydro is must-run

  AZ:
    THERM:
      NaturalGas: 1  # Arizona thermal zone
    MUST_RUN:
      Hydroelectric: 0  # Arizona hydro is flexible

Use cases:

Different thermal reserve zones by region
Region-specific must-run requirements (e.g., cogeneration contracts)
Policy differences (e.g., renewable portfolio standard eligibility)

Tags can define renewable/clean energy eligibility:

model_tag_names:
  - THERM
  - VRE
  - STOR
  - ESR_1    # Renewable Portfolio Standard
  - ESR_2    # Clean Energy Standard

model_tag_values:
  ESR_1:
    UtilityPV: 1  # Eligible for RPS
    NaturalGas_CCS: 0  # Not eligible for RPS
    Nuclear: 0  # Not eligible for RPS

  ESR_2:
    UtilityPV: 1  # Eligible for CES
    NaturalGas_CCS: 1  # May be eligible for CES (with CCS)
    Nuclear: 1  # Eligible for CES (carbon-free)

Practical notes

All tag values default to 0; only set entries that should be eligible
Region-specific ESR tags can be applied via regional_tag_values when a policy limits deliverability to certain regions (e.g., only PJM resources satisfy a New Jersey RPS)
Technology matching is substring-based, so short patterns (e.g., Wind) will match many technologies. Use longer strings to avoid accidental eligibility

See Energy Share Requirements How-To for policy configuration.

Minimum/Maximum Capacity Tags¶

Tags can enforce capacity constraints:

model_tag_names:
  - THERM
  - VRE
  - MinCapTag_1  # Minimum solar requirement
  - MaxCapTag_1  # Maximum gas limit

model_tag_values:
  MinCapTag_1:
    UtilityPV: 1  # Counts toward solar minimum
    NaturalGas: 0

  MaxCapTag_1:
    UtilityPV: 0
    NaturalGas: 1  # Counts toward gas maximum

Configure requirements in emission_policies_fn or via GenX settings.

Capacity Reserve Tags¶

`CapRes_<num>` Tags¶

Define which reserve zones each resource contributes to:

model_tag_names:
  - CapRes_1  # Primary reserve zone
  - CapRes_2  # Secondary reserve zone

model_tag_values:
  # Here, all matched resources contribute to the two different reserve requirements
  CapRes_1:
    NaturalGas: 0.9
    Battery: 0.95

  CapRes_2:
    NaturalGas: 0.9
    Battery: 0.9

############################
# *OR*
# Resources in specific regions contribute to different capacity reserve requirements
regional_tag_values:
  CA_N:
    CapRes_1:
      NaturalGas: 0.9
      Battery: 0.95
  AZ:
    CapRes_2:
      NaturalGas: 0.8
      Battery: 0.9

Capacity reserve requirements are set in regional_capacity_reserves.

Simplified Configuration

PowerGenome provides a simplified shorthand for specifying capacity reserve credits via capacity_reserve_values. Instead of manually building the nested regional_tag_values structure shown above, you can use:

capacity_reserve_values:
  NaturalGas: 0.9
  Battery: 0.95

regional_capacity_reserves:
  CapRes_1:
    CA_N: 0.164
    AZ: 0.180
  CapRes_2:
    CA_N: 0.090

The system automatically expands this into the regional_tag_values structure. See Configure Capacity Reserve Requirements for complete examples and best practices.

Tag Validation¶

PowerGenome validates tag assignments:

Missing tags: Error if a resource lacks a required tag

ResourceTagError: Technology 'UtilityPV' missing tag 'THERM'

Solution: Add missing tag to model_tag_values or regional_tag_values.

Too many tags: Warning if resource has tags not in model_tag_names

Warning: Resource has tag 'OFFSHORE' not in model_tag_names

Solution: Add tag to model_tag_names or remove from resource definitions.

Generator Columns Output¶

Tags appear as columns in Generators_data.csv:

Resource,technology,THERM,VRE,STOR,FLEX,HYDRO,MUST_RUN,LDS
CA_N_NaturalGas_CC_1,NaturalGas_CC,1,0,0,0,0,0,0
CA_N_Solar_PV_1,UtilityPV,0,1,0,0,0,0,0
CA_N_Battery_1,Battery_4Hr,0,0,1,0,0,0,0

GenX reads these columns to determine resource behavior in optimization.

Example Configuration¶

Complete tag configuration for a multi-region model:

# Define all tags
model_tag_names:
  - THERM
  - VRE
  - STOR
  - FLEX
  - HYDRO
  - MUST_RUN
  - LDS
  - ESR_1
  - CapRes_1

# Technology defaults
model_tag_values:
  THERM:
    NaturalGas: 1
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 0

  VRE:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 1
    Battery: 0

  STOR:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 1

  FLEX:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 0

  HYDRO:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 0

  MUST_RUN:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 0

  LDS:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 0
    Battery: 0

  ESR_1:
    NaturalGas: 0
    UtilityPV: 1  # RPS-eligible
    Battery: 0

  CapRes_1:
    NaturalGas: 1
    UtilityPV: 1
    Battery: 1

# Regional overrides
regional_tag_values:
  CA_N:
    THERM:
      NaturalGas: 2  # Different thermal zone
  CA_S:
    THERM:
      NaturalGas: 2

Model Definition: model_tag_names defined here
Existing Generators: Tags assigned to clustered generators
New-Build Resources: Tags for candidate technologies
Regions: Regional tag overrides by model region

Resource Tags Settings¶

Tag System Overview¶

Defining Tags¶

model_tag_names¶

Technology-Level Tags¶

model_tag_values¶