Open Access

ARTICLE

A Comparative Assessment of the EMERGE Modelling Toolbox for Mini-Grid Planning in Developing Countries

Tommaso Ferrucci^1,*, Francesco Roncallo², Marta Lupattelli², Nikola Matak³, Smail Zouggar⁴, Hassan Zahboune⁴, Carolina Pastor De Paz⁵, Adrian Alarcon Becerra⁶, Alexis Godefroy⁷

1 Department of Energy, Systems, Land, and Construction Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
2 Engreen, Rome, Italy
3 Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
4 Mohamed First University, Oujda, Morocco
5 Fundación CARTIF, Valladolid, Spain
6 Fundación CIRCE, Zaragoza, Spain
7 Artelys, Paris, France

* Corresponding Author: Tommaso Ferrucci. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Selected Papers from the SDEWES 2025 Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems)

Energy Engineering 2026, 123(9), 21 https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2026.081159

Received 25 February 2026; Accepted 22 May 2026; Issue published 06 August 2026

Abstract

Mini-grids are increasingly regarded as a key pathway for expanding reliable and low-carbon electricity access in developing countries, but the models used to plan them often differ substantially in scope, temporal resolution, spatial detail, and techno-economic representation. This paper reviews and compares five modelling tools developed within the EMERGE project: Hosting Capacity, Optimal Storage Placement, GREENADVISE, CEPIA, and PowSyBl-METRIX. A generalized techno-economic framework is introduced to provide a common basis for comparison, covering objective functions, decision variables, operational constraints, temporal and spatial resolution, solver structure, economic indicators, and the treatment of renewable variability and local network constraints. The comparison shows that the EMERGE toolbox covers complementary planning layers rather than directly interchangeable optimisation models. GREENADVISE and Optimal Storage Placement capture hourly dispatch and storage dynamics, PowSyBl-METRIX and Hosting Capacity focus on grid-constrained renewable integration, while CEPIA supports long-term national scenario and policy assessment. The results therefore highlight a trade-off between model breadth and operational detail. GREENADVISE supports household and community-level renewable-system optimisation with hourly dispatch and a 20-year financial layer. Optimal Storage Placement and PowSyBl-METRIX explicitly represent network constraints, congestion, curtailment, storage siting, and dispatch decisions. Hosting Capacity evaluates the maximum renewable generation or flexible demand that can be integrated without violating technical limits. CEPIA provides long-term national scenario and policy assessment rather than detailed operational optimisation. The results highlight a persistent trade-off between model breadth and operational detail. Tools with fine temporal and network resolution capture variability, curtailment, flexibility needs, and grid bottlenecks more effectively, whereas national-scale tools better support strategic pathway exploration and policy interpretation. The main contribution of the EMERGE toolbox is therefore not a single universal optimisation model, but an interoperable modelling ecosystem that links household, community, grid-constrained, and national planning perspectives. This multi-scale approach is particularly relevant for African and other developing-country contexts, where grid extension, mini-grids, storage, distributed renewables, and affordability constraints must be assessed jointly.

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