Modelling the High-Voltage Grid Using Open Data for Europe and Beyond

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to construct a detailed, open, and updatable model of the European high-voltage grid using public OpenStreetMap data, enabling large-scale energy system analysis and global applicability.

Contribution

It provides a validated, open-source high-voltage grid dataset and workflow that can be easily reconstructed and integrated into energy system models like PyPSA-Eur.

Findings

The dataset accurately represents the European high-voltage grid.

The model can be reconstructed within minutes using open data and APIs.

Validation shows good agreement with official statistics.

Abstract

This paper provides the background, methodology and validation for constructing a representation of the European high-voltage grid, including and above 200 kV, based on public data provided by OpenStreetMap. The model-independent grid dataset is published under the Open Data Commons Open Database (ODbL 1.0) licence and can be used for large-scale electricity as well as energy system modelling. The dataset and workflow are provided as part of PyPSA-Eur -- an open-source, sector-coupled optimisation model of the European energy system. By integrating with the codebase for initiatives such as PyPSA-Earth, the value of open and maintainable high-voltage grid data extends to the global context. By accessing the latest data through the the Overpass turbo API, the dataset can be easily reconstructed and updated within minutes. To assess the data quality, this paper further compares the dataset with official statistics and representative model runs using PyPSA-Eur based on different electricity grid representations.