Computational acceleration strategies for large-scale energy system optimization: a comparative study of GPU-accelerated and distributed-memory solvers

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Zittel, Janina, Buchholz, Annika, Bussieck, Michael, Fiand, Frederik, Koch, Thorsten, Mehl, Lukas, Lindner, Niels, Wetzel, Manuel
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Zittel, Janina
Buchholz, Annika
Bussieck, Michael
Fiand, Frederik
Koch, Thorsten
Mehl, Lukas
Lindner, Niels
Wetzel, Manuel
author_facet Zittel, Janina
Buchholz, Annika
Bussieck, Michael
Fiand, Frederik
Koch, Thorsten
Mehl, Lukas
Lindner, Niels
Wetzel, Manuel
contents Energy system optimization models are increasing in scope and resolution, yielding large and challenging linear programs. For a long time, the standard way to address such problems has relied on shared-memory interior-point methods (IPM), which combine robustness and accuracy but face scalability limits as model instance size grows. Recently, two promising directions for specialized solver architectures have emerged: (i) GPU-accelerated first-order methods (FOM); and (ii) distributed-memory IPM, which can exploit block structure that arises in many energy system models. This paper presents a computational study comparing these solver classes on a diverse test set of large-scale linear programs arising from energy system analysis, including scenario-based formulations derived from stochastic programming. The results illustrate that distributed-memory IPM can leverage problem structure to deliver substantial speed-ups on specific problems with block-angular structures. GPU-accelerated FOMs demonstrate strong scalability but may yield solutions with higher relative infeasibilities, which, depending on the use case and model uncertainty, can still be acceptable. Overall, our findings indicate that recent algorithmic and hardware advances substantially broaden the computational toolbox available to the energy system optimization community. Each solver class exhibits distinct advantages: shared-memory IPMs remain a powerful tool for reliably obtaining high-accuracy solutions; distributed-memory IPMs can extend scalability to hundreds of cores for certain structured models, enabling faster time-to-solution; and GPU-based FOM can deliver fast solutions when such lower accuracy levels are appropriate. Together, they help make high-resolution, multi-scenario energy system optimization models tractable across a broader range of problem sizes and computing environments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_04605
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Computational acceleration strategies for large-scale energy system optimization: a comparative study of GPU-accelerated and distributed-memory solvers
Zittel, Janina
Buchholz, Annika
Bussieck, Michael
Fiand, Frederik
Koch, Thorsten
Mehl, Lukas
Lindner, Niels
Wetzel, Manuel
Optimization and Control
Energy system optimization models are increasing in scope and resolution, yielding large and challenging linear programs. For a long time, the standard way to address such problems has relied on shared-memory interior-point methods (IPM), which combine robustness and accuracy but face scalability limits as model instance size grows. Recently, two promising directions for specialized solver architectures have emerged: (i) GPU-accelerated first-order methods (FOM); and (ii) distributed-memory IPM, which can exploit block structure that arises in many energy system models. This paper presents a computational study comparing these solver classes on a diverse test set of large-scale linear programs arising from energy system analysis, including scenario-based formulations derived from stochastic programming. The results illustrate that distributed-memory IPM can leverage problem structure to deliver substantial speed-ups on specific problems with block-angular structures. GPU-accelerated FOMs demonstrate strong scalability but may yield solutions with higher relative infeasibilities, which, depending on the use case and model uncertainty, can still be acceptable. Overall, our findings indicate that recent algorithmic and hardware advances substantially broaden the computational toolbox available to the energy system optimization community. Each solver class exhibits distinct advantages: shared-memory IPMs remain a powerful tool for reliably obtaining high-accuracy solutions; distributed-memory IPMs can extend scalability to hundreds of cores for certain structured models, enabling faster time-to-solution; and GPU-based FOM can deliver fast solutions when such lower accuracy levels are appropriate. Together, they help make high-resolution, multi-scenario energy system optimization models tractable across a broader range of problem sizes and computing environments.
title Computational acceleration strategies for large-scale energy system optimization: a comparative study of GPU-accelerated and distributed-memory solvers
topic Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.04605