Zonal Inputs

This page documents all CSV inputs used when running SDOM with:

Component,Formulation
Network,AreaTransportationModelNetwork

Use this together with Inputs.

Zonal Conventions

  • @ is a reserved delimiter in wide CSV headers.

  • Wide files use <entity>@<area_id>@ columns.

  • Within one file, non-key columns must be all tagged or all untagged.

  • area_id values must be consistent across files.

  • In row-oriented files (CapSolar.csv, CapWind.csv, Data_BalancingUnits.csv), IDs must be globally unique across areas.

  • StorageData.csv allows repeated technology names across areas because headers are tagged (for example Li-Ion@A1@, Li-Ion@A2@).

  • An area with demand and transmission connections may omit all optional technology inputs. Omit its rows from CapSolar.csv, CapWind.csv, and Data_BalancingUnits.csv, and omit its tagged columns from StorageData.csv, lahy_hourly.csv, Nucl_hourly.csv, and otre_hourly.csv. SDOM treats the missing technologies as empty sets and missing fixed-generation profiles as zero, so the area can be supplied through inter-area transfers.

Network Selector

formulations.csv

Add a Network row:

Component,Formulation
Network,AreaTransportationModelNetwork

Valid values:

  • CopperPlateNetwork

  • AreaTransportationModelNetwork

If Network is missing, SDOM defaults to CopperPlateNetwork.

New Zonal Files

areas.csv

Optional in zonal mode. When present, it declares the allowed area_id values. When omitted, SDOM infers areas from tagged wide-file headers and area_id columns in row-oriented files. Use areas.csv when you need explicit area descriptions or validation that referenced areas are declared.

Column

Meaning

area_id

Area identifier (primary key).

description

Free text description.

Example:

area_id,description
A1,North area
A2,South area

interconnections.csv

Required in zonal mode.

Column

Meaning

line_id

Line identifier (unique).

from_area

Origin area ID.

to_area

Destination area ID.

Example:

line_id,from_area,to_area
L_A1_A2,A1,A2

LineCap_FT.csv

Required in zonal mode. Hourly directional capacity for from_area -> to_area.

LineCap_TF.csv

Required in zonal mode. Hourly directional capacity for to_area -> from_area.

Both line-cap files:

  • Must have the same line columns as interconnections.csv.

  • Must have the same hour count as the run horizon (n_hours).

  • Must be non-negative.

Example:

*Hour,L_A1_A2
1,500
2,500

Modified Existing Files in Zonal Mode

Row-oriented files with area column

  • CapSolar.csv

  • CapWind.csv

  • Data_BalancingUnits.csv

Add area_id column.

For CapSolar.csv and CapWind.csv, capacity (lowercase) remains the installed-capacity upper bound in MW. The optional canonical MinCapacity column is the installed-capacity lower bound in MW. If the column is omitted or its value is blank or NaN, SDOM uses 0 MW. Provided values must be finite and satisfy 0 <= MinCapacity <= capacity; capacity = 0 is valid only when MinCapacity is omitted, blank, NaN, or 0. In the Infrasys System interface, this lower bound maps to min_active_power.

Example:

sc_gid,area_id,capacity,MinCapacity,CAPEX_M,trans_cap_cost,FOM_M
132876,A1,430.68,100,708.55,5323.33,8.29
Nordeste,A2,1.0,,6209.28,0,94.08

Wide files with tagged headers

Typical files:

  • Load_hourly.csv

  • Nucl_hourly.csv

  • otre_hourly.csv

  • lahy_hourly.csv

  • lahy_max_hourly.csv, lahy_min_hourly.csv (if budget hydro)

  • Import_Cap.csv, Import_Prices.csv

  • Export_Cap.csv, Export_Prices.csv

  • StorageData.csv

Example:

*Hour,Load@A1@,Load@A2@
1,800,600
2,820,590

Capacity-factor files

  • CFSolar.csv

  • CFWind.csv

These remain plant-keyed and do not require @area_id@ tags. Each capacity factor column is assigned to an area through the matching sc_gid record in CapSolar.csv or CapWind.csv; those capacity tables therefore require an area_id column in zonal mode.

Zonal Support Boundaries

The tagged import/export files describe the common input schema, but enabled import/export formulations are not currently supported by AreaTransportationModelNetwork. Zonal initialization also rejects resiliency formulations. Select NotModel for these components in zonal runs.

CopperPlate Aggregation Fallback

If zonal data is loaded while Network=CopperPlateNetwork, SDOM aggregates all areas into a single synthetic default area.

High-level behavior:

  • Hourly demand and capacities are summed.

  • Import/export prices are capacity-weighted averaged.

  • Interconnection and line-cap files are ignored.

  • A warning is logged.

Validation Summary

Common validation errors in zonal mode:

  • Missing required files (interconnections.csv, LineCap_FT.csv, LineCap_TF.csv).

  • Unknown area IDs in tagged columns or topology.

  • Mixed tagged and untagged columns in a single wide file.

  • Duplicate line_id or duplicate (from_area, to_area) pairs.

  • Negative line capacities.

  • Duplicate plant IDs across areas for row-oriented VRE and balancing-unit files.