Wien Automatic System Planning (WASP) Package. A computer code for power generating system expansion planning. Version WASP-III Plus. User's manual. Volume 1: Chapters 1-11

As a continuation of its effort to provide comprehensive and impartial guidance to Member States facing the need for introducing nuclear power, the IAEA has completed a new version of the Wien Automatic System Planning (WASP) Package for carrying out power generation expansion planning studies. WASP was originally developed in 1972 in the USA to meet the IAEA's needs to analyze the economic competitiveness of nuclear power in comparison to other generation expansion alternatives for supplying the future electricity requirements of a country or region. The model was first used by the IAEA to conduct global studies (Market Survey for Nuclear Power Plants in Developing Countries, 1972-1973) and to carry out Nuclear Power Planning Studies for several Member States. The WASP system developed into a very comprehensive planning tool for electric power system expansion analysis. Following these developments, the so-called WASP-Ill version was produced in 1979. This version introduced important improvements to the system, namely in the treatment of hydroelectric power plants. The WASP-III version has been continually updated and maintained in order to incorporate needed enhancements. In 1981, the Model for Analysis of Energy Demand (MAED) was developed in order to allow the determination of electricity demand, consistent with the overall requirements for final energy, and thus, to provide a more adequate forecast of electricity needs to be considered in the WASP study. MAED and WASP have been used by the Agency for the conduct of Energy and Nuclear Power Planning Studies for interested Member States. More recently, the VALORAGUA model was completed in 1992 as a means for helping in the preparation of the hydro plant characteristics to be input in the WASP study and to verify that the WASP overall optimized expansion plan takes also into account an optimization of the use of water for electricity generation. The combined application of VALORAGUA and WASP permits the determination of the optimal expansion of combined thermal and hydro power systems, taking into account the optimal operation of the hydro reservoirs throughout the year. Microcomputer (PC) versions of WASP-Ill and MAED have also been developed as stand alone programs and as part of an integrated package for energy and electricity planning called ENPEP (Energy and Power Evaluation Program). A PC version of the VALORAGUA model has also been completed in 1992. With all these developments, the catalogue of planning methodologies offered by the IAEA to its Member States has been upgraded to facilitate the work by electricity planners, WASP in particular is currently accepted as a powerful tool for electric system expansion planning. Nevertheless, experienced users of the program have indicated the need to introduce more enhancements within the WASP model in order to cope with the problems constantly faced by planners owing to the increasing complexity of this type of analysis. With several Member States, the IAEA has completed a new version of the WASP program, which has been called WASP-Ill Plus since it follows quite closely the methodology of the WASP-Ill model. The major enhancements in WASP-Ill Plus with respect to the WASP-Ill version are: increase in the number of thermal fuel types (from 5 to 10); verification of which configurations generated by CONGEN have already been simulated in previous iterations with MERSIM; direct calculation of combined Loading Order of FIXSYS and VARSYS plants; simulation of system operation includes consideration of physical constraints imposed on some fuel types (i.e., fuel availability for electricity generation); extended output of the resimulation of the optimal solution; generation of a file that can be used for graphical representation of the results of the resimulation of the optimal solution and cash flows of the investment costs; calculation of cash flows allows to include the capital costs of plants firmly committed or in construction (FIXSYS plants); user control of the distribution of capital cost expenditures during the construction period (if required to be different from the general 'S' curve distribution used as default). The present document has been produced to support use of the WASP-Ill Plus computer code and to illustrate the capabilities of the program. This Manual is organized in two separate volumes. This first one includes 11 main chapters describing how to use the WASP-Ill Plus computer program. Chapter 1 gives a summary description and some background information about the program. Chapter 2 introduces some concepts, mainly related to the computer requirements imposed by the program, that are used throughout the Manual. Chapters 3 to 9 describe how to execute each of the various programs (or modules) of the WASP-Ill Plus package. The description for each module shows the user how to prepare the Job Control statements and input data needed to execute the module and how to interpret the printed output produced. The iterative process that should be followed in order to obtain the 'optimal solution' for a WASP case study is covered in Chapters 6 to 8. Chapter 10 explains the use of an auxiliary program of the WASP package which is mainly intended for saving computer time. Lastly, Chapter 11 recapitulates the use of WASP-Ill Plus for executing a generation expansion planning study; describes the several phases normally involved in this type of study; and provides the user with practical hints about the most important aspects that need to be verified at each phase while executing the various WASP modules