Renpass (Renewable Energy Pathways Simulation System) is a simulation model that is developed by a research group at the University of Flensburg. With renpass different pathways of energy transition can be simulated with a high temporal and regional resolution and with this comparisons can be made. The model calculates on a quarter hour basis the power supply in future sustainable energy systems.
The calculations are depending on the fluctuating electricity supply of weather influenced, renewable energies. To ensure a matching of supply and demand for every point in time flexible, controllable components, e.g. hydro pump storage, electricity production from biomass or compressed air storages are needed in the electricity system. The model provides, among others, quarterly hourly results on the use of the individual generating plants, resulting reservoir levels, power flow between the model regions and resulting prices.
The goal of the energy transition is to achieve a 100% renewable energy supply. One of the core questions that can be studied using the model renpass is how in such a system flexible production and demand can be provided and what contribution different shares of certain technologies can make. With this different energy transition phases are comparable in a transparent way. In order to achieve real transparency renpass is based exclusively on open source software and freely available data sources.
