PyPSA-Spain: An extension of PyPSA-Eur to model the Spanish energy system

This work presents PyPSA-Spain, an open-source, high-resolution model of the Spanish energy system, developed as a national-scale fork of PyPSA-Eur. The model integrates detailed national datasets to improve the representation of renewable generation profiles (via quantile-to-quantile transformation...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cristobal Gallego-Castillo, Marta Victoria
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Energy Strategy Reviews
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X25001270
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Summary:This work presents PyPSA-Spain, an open-source, high-resolution model of the Spanish energy system, developed as a national-scale fork of PyPSA-Eur. The model integrates detailed national datasets to improve the representation of renewable generation profiles (via quantile-to-quantile transformations) and regional electricity demand, and identifies a spatial resolution of 35–50 nodes as a practical balance between geographical detail and network complexity. Cross-border electricity flows with France and Portugal are represented through a nested modelling approach, using time-dependent electricity prices precomputed with PyPSA-Eur. As a case study, PyPSA-Spain is applied to optimise the 2030 electricity generation mix under decarbonisation targets from Spain’s updated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). Results show that improved renewable profiles lead to a more balanced deployment of solar and wind. The model also reveals potential transmission bottlenecks that may constrain the optimal use of renewable resources. PyPSA-Spain fills a methodological gap between European-scale optimisation and national planning, offering a transparent and flexible platform for future energy system analysis in Spain.
ISSN:2211-467X