An open-source benchmark of the state-of-the-art in electrical cable routing

Abstract The rapid growth in both energy demand and local supply is surpassing the capabilities of existing energy grid infrastructures. Adaptation of the current grid requires automated methods that can reliably and efficiently plan new cable routes. However, evaluation of alternative methods is challenging as reproducibility is often hindered owing to non-availability of data, the use of proprietary software or lack of implementation details. This research addresses this gap by providing a synthesis of the state-of-the-art (SOTA) methodology in electricity network construction. The result is an open-source benchmarking framework that includes a SOTA implementation, five real-world case studies including a human-designed and implemented reference route, route design criteria, and comparison metrics for electrical cable routes. Results show that the SOTA method is computationally efficient, cost-effective, yields routes of similar lengths as the human-designed routes, and is robust to moderate input variations. However, it is unable to incorporate specific complex design constraints, making it suitable primarily as an initial step in a more comprehensive planning process. An outlook is presented on how to solve these shortcomings.