Using open source modeling tools to enhance engineering analysis

There are several very capable open source engineering analysis tools that a utility can use to assist in solving engineering analysis problems. Applying these open source applications, alongside a commercial engineering analysis application, can be a very cost effective way for utility engineers to solve problems presented by newer technologies, such as Solar and Wind DG and PEV charging, using the data they already have in their commercial applications. In this paper we will use GridLAB-D, OpenDSS, and Milsoft's WindMil, to show examples of today's engineering analysis problems that can be solved using open source and commercial applications in concert with each other. The purpose of the paper is to show what is possible, and what is needed to use multiple analysis tools to solve more complex analysis. The purpose of the paper is not, for example, to complete a complex time series study on the affect of PV generation on a distribution network, which could be a paper on its own merit.