CEMPL: A new domain-specific language for rapid modeling of cross-energy systems

The extensive involvement of energy conversion and storage technologies is becoming increasingly important in the context of energy transition. A sufficient modeling and simulation of large-scale and coherent cross-energy systems is essential to enable decision makers to put the right course. This process implies growing complexity in terms of physical and market economy modeling on the device-level, and more important, the ensemble playing and actual integration into energy networks. Currently, the underlying process of software development with general-purpose programming languages is very time consuming and inherents subtasks that recur in multiple industry and research projects. Based on the concepts of Language-Oriented Programming (LOP), we provide a high-level Domain-Specific Language (DSL) for energy experts. The Cross Energy Management Programming Language (CEMPL) acts as a well-defined communication interface between experts in the fields of renewable energy and computer science and provides a simple and clear syntax. An intrinsic language support for modularization and hierarchically component design promotes reusability and favors automatic device instantiation. The requirement to define manifold objectives is achieved by the paradigm of declarative programming. This paper describes CEMPL, its embedding in a simulation environment and exemplary fields of application.