Alternative Clustering

Alternative clustering is not a standalone Snakemake rule but a configuration option within the cluster_options section that changes the behavior of several rules, including cluster_network, build_renewable_profiles, build_powerplants, and add_electricity.

What does it do?

When alternative_clustering is enabled, the model uses administrative boundaries (GADM shapes) instead of Voronoi regions for spatial clustering. This can be useful when:

• The default Voronoi-based clustering does not align well with administrative or political boundaries
• You want to model specific regions or provinces as individual network nodes
• Regional policy analysis requires alignment with administrative divisions

Configuration

cluster_options:
  alternative_clustering: false  # Set to true to enable GADM-based clustering

Affected Rules

The alternative_clustering flag is passed as a parameter to several rules:

Rule	Effect
build_renewable_profiles	Changes how renewable profiles are assigned to regions
build_powerplants	Changes how power plants are assigned to buses
add_electricity	Adjusts how generators are attached to the network
cluster_network	Uses GADM shapes for clustering instead of Voronoi regions
prepare_gas_network	Adjusts gas network clustering
prepare_sector_network	Adjusts sector network clustering