Regional Analysis Models And Interactive Computer Graphics At Doe Laboratories : Their Use In Power System Planning

A survey has been made of regional analysis models and interactive computer graphic systems at three Department Of Energy (DOE) laboratories. Specific practices were studied and a report was prepared describing applications, data bases, and interactive computer graphic systems. Many of these products have been applied to the study of electric utility systems and could he used for planning by the electric power industry. This paper describes the view of power system planning held by researchers at DOE laboratories, the nature of the models which have been developed, the types of studies which have been performed, and the utilization of computer resources. Particular attention has been given to the role of computer graphics in these studies. A comparison has been made with Perspectives and practices of the electric power industry. The paper emphasizes DOE applicationse data bases and computer graphic systems. Applications include: Power plant siting; routing of transmission lines; air quality, water quaIity and land use modelling; and analysis of the esthetice biomedical, fuel use and regional resource impact of different electric industry decisions. Many of these applications falI outside the historic conception of electric power system planning, but they deal with matters which utiIity companies are increasingly required to consider in their generation and transmission planning.