Power Playback

Power Playback#

PowerPlayback plays back pre-recorded power data from a file, treating the recorded values as the output of a generic power-generating unit. There is no control interface — the power values are replayed exactly as stored.

This component is useful for incorporating measured or externally modeled power output into a hybrid plant simulation without needing to model the underlying physics of the generator.

The PowerPlayback model is intended for use for using the power output from a generator component in a Hercules simulation. This component can be used for all generators, but will only take in the total plant power from a wind farm (and not individual turbine powers). For individual turbine power granularity, please use theWindFarmSCADAPower class.

Configuration#

Required Parameters#

  • component_type: Must be "PowerPlayback"

  • scada_filename: Path to the power data file (CSV, pickle, or feather format)

  • log_channels: List of output channels to log (see Logging Configuration below)

See timing for the time-related parameters (dt, starttime_utc, endtime_utc) that are set at the top level of the input YAML.

Example YAML Configuration#

power_unit_1:
  component_type: PowerPlayback
  scada_filename: ../inputs/power_playback_input.ftr
  log_channels:
    - power

Input File Format#

The input file must contain the following columns:

  • time_utc: Timestamps in UTC (ISO 8601 format or parseable datetime strings)

  • power: Power output in kW

Supported file formats: .csv, .p, .pkl (pickle), .f, .ftr (feather).

The time_utc range in the input file must span at least the simulation’s starttime_utc to endtime_utc. The data is interpolated onto the simulation’s time grid at initialization.

Example CSV#

time_utc,power
2020-01-01T00:00:00Z,0.0
2020-01-01T00:07:30Z,15000.0
2020-01-01T00:15:50Z,15000.0

Outputs#

At each simulation step, PowerPlayback writes the following to h_dict:

Channel

Units

Description

power

kW

Power output at the current time step (interpolated from input file)

Logging Configuration#

The log_channels parameter controls which outputs are written to the HDF5 output file. The power channel is always logged, even if not explicitly listed.

log_channels:
  - power

Notes#

  • PowerPlayback has component_category = "generator", so its power contributes to h_dict["plant"]["locally_generated_power"].

  • There is no setpoint or control interface; the output power is read-only.

  • The component is intended as a drop-in replacement when measured power data is available and no physics model is needed.

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