Discussion points modelblocks x grid-builder

[bobbyxng]

The idea is to use this thread to track the discussion of the upcoming grid-builder x modelblocks workshop

[bobbyxng]

Exchange @jnnr @bobbyxng 24.09.2026

• modelblocks currently uses any arbitrary shapefiles as interface for every model. PyPSA-Eur and grid-builder (in its current form) config is usually specified using a list of countries.
• workflow ported from pypsa-eur and extended/generalised (e.g. geofabrik + overpass as source, region-specific settings, improved interactive map, etc.)
• main OSM overpass instances have recently been highly congested, need for custom API or self-hosted overpass instance.
• geofabrik/pbf files usually large (GBs), especially for only retrieving power-related layers

Feature ideas

• provide the option to pass shapefiles or bounding boxes to grid-builder
• add clustering to the grid-builder workflow
• frequently provided/uploaded input files (e.g. OSM power layer as jsons) to tackle the congesting and large file size issue
• frequently provide tested/validated/best-effort snapshots of regional grids that can be digested into other modelblocks/pypsa-eur workflows

[bobbyxng]

General comments

• the wildcard and scenario manager have not yet been ported over from pypsa-eur
• DC components have deliberately not yet been ported into the workflow
  • key challenge: very different quality levels across the globe and different ways of referencing DC components (e.g. the line, converter stations, grounding, etc.). pypsa-eur currently relies on high data quality available for Europe, making use of OSM's relation type that references ways and nodes. However, this is not necessarily given for every other region in the world.
  • On the AC side, a hierarchical method is applied: First use available ways, then import relations, which are seen as data type with higher information content. For all relations where electric parameters are provided in OSM, keep the relations and remove the child ways to avoid duplication.
  • This method could also be applied and transferred to DC components, i.e. take relations where available and fall back to ways