Guides
Fueltechs and Fueltech Groups
Guides
Fueltechs and Fueltech Groups
Documentation of fuel technologies and their groupings in the OpenNEM system
Overview
The OpenNEM system uses a hierarchical classification system for different types of electricity generation technologies:
- Fueltechs - Individual generation technologies (e.g., Coal Black, Solar Utility, Wind)
- Fueltech Groups - Broader categories that group similar technologies (e.g., Coal, Solar, Wind)
This classification system is used throughout the OpenNEM API and visualisations to provide consistent grouping and coloring of generation types.
Fueltech Groups
Fueltech groups are the high-level categories used to group similar generation technologies. Each group has a distinct color used in visualisations.
| Group Code | Label | Renewable |
|---|---|---|
| coal | Coal | FALSE |
| gas | Gas | FALSE |
| wind | Wind | TRUE |
| solar | Solar | TRUE |
| battery_charging | Battery (Charging) | FALSE |
| battery_discharging | Battery (Discharging) | FALSE |
| hydro | Hydro | TRUE |
| distillate | Distillate | FALSE |
| bioenergy | Bioenergy | TRUE |
| pumps | Pumps | FALSE |
Fueltechs
Fueltechs represent specific generation technologies. Each fueltech belongs to a fueltech group and inherits properties like color from its group.
| Fueltech Code | Label | Fueltech Group | Renewable |
|---|---|---|---|
| battery_charging | Battery (Charging) | battery_charging | FALSE |
| battery_discharging | Battery (Discharging) | battery_discharging | FALSE |
| bioenergy_biogas | Biogas | bioenergy | TRUE |
| bioenergy_biomass | Biomass | bioenergy | TRUE |
| coal_black | Coal (Black) | coal | FALSE |
| coal_brown | Coal (Brown) | coal | FALSE |
| distillate | Distillate | distillate | FALSE |
| gas_ccgt | Gas (CCGT) | gas | FALSE |
| gas_ocgt | Gas (OCGT) | gas | FALSE |
| gas_recip | Gas (Reciprocating) | gas | FALSE |
| gas_steam | Gas (Steam) | gas | FALSE |
| gas_wcmg | Gas (Coal Mine Waste) | gas | FALSE |
| hydro | Hydro | hydro | TRUE |
| pumps | Pumps | pumps | FALSE |
| solar_rooftop | Solar (Rooftop) | solar | TRUE |
| solar_thermal | Solar (Thermal) | solar | TRUE |
| solar_utility | Solar (Utility) | solar | TRUE |
| wind | Wind | wind | TRUE |
| wind_offshore | Offshore Wind | wind | TRUE |
| aggregator_vpp | Aggregator (VPP) | - | TRUE |
| aggregator_dr | Aggregator (DR) | - | TRUE |
| nuclear | Nuclear | - | FALSE |
| imports | Network Import | - | FALSE |
| exports | Network Export | - | FALSE |
| interconnector | Interconnector | - | FALSE |
| battery | Battery | - | FALSE |
Special Categories
Some fueltechs don’t belong to a specific fueltech group as they represent special cases:
- Aggregators - Virtual Power Plants (VPP) and Demand Response (DR) units that combine multiple smaller generators
- Network - Imports, exports and interconnector flows between regions
- Battery - Generic battery category (distinct from charging/discharging)
- Nuclear - Currently not used in Australia but maintained for international compatibility