Open energy system databases

Open energy system database projects employ <a href="/facts/Open_data/h9695bNE">open data</a> methods to collect, <a href="/facts/Data_cleansing/FPVIcxV6">clean</a>, and republish energy-related <a href="/facts/Dataset/eDvegUTK">datasets</a> for open use. The resulting information is then available, given a suitable <a href="/facts/Open_license/KdQKHjLl">open license</a>, for statistical analysis and for building numerical <a href="/facts/Energy_system/jSVmfjru">energy system</a> <a href="/facts/Energy_modeling/tPR3X1Tq">models</a>, including <a href="/facts/Open_energy_system_models/XqKW77mI">open energy system models</a>. Permissive licenses like <a href="/facts/Creative_Commons/b1fKDQHE">Creative Commons</a> <a href="/facts/CC0/6AV3V7UJ">CC0</a> and <a href="/facts/CC_BY/6AV3V7UJ">CC BY</a> are preferred, but some projects will house data made public under market transparency regulations and carrying unqualified <a href="/facts/Copyright/7GHEWEx9">copyright</a>.
The databases themselves may furnish information on national power plant fleets, renewable generation assets, transmission networks, <a href="/facts/Time_series/fSXPR817">time series</a> for electricity loads, dispatch, <a href="/facts/Spot_contract/c7wNuKQM">spot prices</a>, and cross-border trades, weather information, and similar. They may also offer other energy statistics including fossil fuel imports and exports, gas, oil, and coal prices, emissions certificate prices, and information on <a href="/facts/Efficient_energy_use/8K8vBAVk">energy efficiency</a> costs and benefits.
Much of the data is sourced from official or semi-official agencies, including <a href="/facts/Official_statistics/02vIc76C">national statistics offices</a>, <a href="/facts/Transmission_system_operator/f2lk2epv">transmission system operators</a>, and <a href="/facts/Electricity_market/Ufskeaak">electricity market operators</a>. Data is also <a href="/facts/Crowdsourcing/pIjlvb3E">crowdsourced</a> using public <a href="/facts/Wiki/uCKCEzqb">wikis</a> and public upload facilities. Projects usually also maintain a strict record of the provenance and version histories of the datasets they hold. Some projects, as part of their mandate, also try to persuade primary data providers to release their data under more liberal licensing conditions.
Two drivers favor the establishment of such databases. The first is a wish to reduce the duplication of effort that accompanies each new analytical project as it assembles and processes the data that it needs from primary sources. And the second is an increasing desire to make <a href="/facts/Public_policy/fYl7gXaC">public policy</a> energy models more transparent to improve their acceptance by policymakers and the public. Better transparency dictates the use of open information, able to be accessed and scrutinized by third-parties, in addition to releasing the <a href="/facts/Source_code/o9J6Jv23">source code</a> for the models in question.

Open energy system databases open-in-new

Open energy system databases