Identification of user requirements for an energy scenario database

Abstract

Energy scenarios assist decision making regarding the transformation of the energy supply system. A multitude of scenarios exists in various formats. Thus, for scientists and policy stakeholders alike, it remains difficult to distinguish and compare scenario data. Hence, the aim of the project SzenarienDB is to establish an energy scenario database containing data in comparable and machine-readable format. SzenarienDB will do so by extending the OpenEnergyPlatform (OEP). To ensure that the extension fulfils the requirements of the modelling community, we conducted an online survey. We asked the participants about what they expected of an energy scenario database. Along with input from expert meetings and GitHub issues on that topic, we derived user requirement from the answers. In total, we identified 69 requirements. Out of these, around 44% were considered as very urgent. Hence, we conclude that there is a great need for the development of a consistent energy scenario database. To tackle the requirements we grouped these into twelve categories: input and output, data review process, bug-fixes, documentation, factsheets, features, functions to modify data, layout, metadata, ontology, references, and other. Each category is resolved according to its intrinsic properties.