Generator X

Generation and Transmission Expansion Model - A long term optimization model using MIP

Generator X (Gen X) gives utilities, policy makers, investors, system operators, consultants and market participants strategic insight into the future of the power grid. A giant leap forward from traditional Integrated Resource Planning (IRP), Gen X provides accuracy and functionality that has never been available before. At last, industry professionals will be able to reliably predict and value critical infrastructure investments.

Elegant algorithm design means better answers.

Gen X combines exhaustive, fundamental power system data with an innovative optimization algorithm to determine the most effective resource plan. Leveraging the latest compiler technology, powerful computational engines and new theory from the world of operation science, Gen X has been constructed to consider a virtually endless number of constraints while eliminating the need for problem simplification and sub-optimal heuristics.

Key Features

Drivers

Users can easily and comprehensively determine the drivers of the solution. Fundamentally, this means that a selection of either economics, policy or both will be made. Revenue from all sources will drive the economic assessment of the generator expansion; system-wide savings will determine transmission upgrades; and policy concerns are addressed by considering renewable targets, emission limits, reserve margins, ancillary service requirements and market protocols. Users will be able to mix and match various considerations and easily assess and quantify the impact of rule changes on the system.

Incorporating Transmission

System planning includes the assessment of the generation as well as transmission. Gen X enables users to analyze these simultaneously by weighing the benefits of transmission upgrades with changes in the generator stack. A single optimization will determine the best mix of new generation and transmission without cumbersome and inaccurate iterations.

Operations are Important

Looking to the future, the industry is seeing more and more operational challenges such as the incorporation of significant amounts of renewable generation. Rather than meet load expectations by means of load duration curves and effective load carrying capacity, Gen X looks at the chronological properties of the load and co-optimizes energy and ancillary services to ensure that all services are effectively met including contingency reserves, regulation, load following and ramping.

Gen X considers the details of the hydro-thermal coordination, maximizing water value, while minimizing system costs.

Storage is assessed to optimize energy and ancillary service participation over the course of the simulation. This means that the storage cycles will be determined by the system whether they are hourly, daily or annual in nature.

Forced outages are handled through realistic random draws, delivering a realistic system dispatch and eliminating the uncertainties surrounding derate simplifications.

User Experience – Not an Afterthought

LCG focuses on having a deep understanding of our product users, what they need, what they value and their abilities. Gen X is designed to account for the business goals and objectives of the user and promote improving the quality of the user’s interaction with the software.

Product Integration

The results of a Gen X simulation need not be the final step in a planning exercise. Multiple sensitivities can be created either by specific user inputs or by allowing the model to perform sampling from distributions.

In addition, it is often the case that users will want to use the system expansion plan for further analysis. Gen X allows users to instantly utilize the results in conjunction with the existing system data to perform production costing exercises, transmission analysis, reliability studies and much more by simply changing the modeling options.

Filling the Void

Making sound decisions regarding the future of the power system involves a high degree of complexity. These decisions have far reaching economic and environmental implications that involve the economy as a whole and can often be the some of the most important decisions people make for their companies, their constituents and, indeed, the planet. Yet, the principle tools that many people use for this type of analysis are old and unsophisticated. Gen X was created to address this industry problem.