Inheriting from templates: `templates`¶

For larger models, duplicate entries can start to crop up and become cumbersome. To streamline data entry, technologies, nodes, and data tables can inherit common data from a template.

Templates in technologies¶

If we want to set interest rate to 0.1 across all our technologies, we could define:

templates:
  interest_rate_setter:
    cost_interest_rate:
      data: 0.1
      index: monetary
      dims: costs
techs:
  ccgt:
    template: interest_rate_setter
    ...
  ac_transmission:
    template: interest_rate_setter
    ...

Templates in nodes¶

Similarly, if we want to allow the same technologies at all our nodes:

templates:
  standard_tech_list:
    techs: {ccgt, battery, demand_power}  # (1)!
nodes:
  region1:
    template: standard_tech_list
    ...
  region2:
    template: standard_tech_list
    ...
  ...
  region100:
    template: standard_tech_list

this YAML syntax is shortform for:

techs:
  ccgt:
  battery:
  demand_power:

Templates in data tables¶

Data tables can also store common options under the templates key, for example:

templates:
  common_data_options:
    rows: timesteps
    columns: nodes
    add_dims:
      parameters: source_use_max
data_tables:
  pv_data:
    data: /path/to/pv_timeseries.csv
    template: common_data_options
    add_dims:
      techs: pv
  wind_data:
    data: /path/to/wind_timeseries.csv
    template: common_data_options
    add_dims:
      techs: wind
  hydro_data:
    data: /path/to/hydro_timeseries.csv
    template: common_data_options
    add_dims:
      techs: hydro

Inheritance chains¶

Inheritance chains can also be created. That is, templates can inherit from other templates. E.g.:

templates:
  interest_rate_setter:
    cost_interest_rate:
      data: 0.1
      index: monetary
      dims: costs
  investment_cost_setter:
    template: interest_rate_setter
    cost_flow_cap:
      data: 100
      index: monetary
      dims: costs
    cost_area_use:
       data: 1
       index: monetary
       dims: costs
techs:
  ccgt:
    template: investment_cost_setter
    ...
  ac_transmission:
    template: interest_rate_setter
    ...

Overriding template values¶

Template properties can always be overridden by the inheriting component. This can be useful to streamline setting costs, e.g.:

templates:
  interest_rate_setter:
    cost_interest_rate:
      data: 0.1
      index: monetary
      dims: costs
  investment_cost_setter:
    template: interest_rate_setter
    cost_interest_rate.data: 0.2  # this will replace `0.1` in the `interest_rate_setter`.
    cost_flow_cap:
      data: null
      index: monetary
      dims: costs
    cost_area_use:
      data: null
      index: monetary
      dims: costs
techs:
  ccgt:
    template: investment_cost_setter
    cost_flow_cap.data: 100  # this will replace `null` in the `investment_cost_setter`.
    ...

Inheriting from templates: templates¶