|
Energy analysis at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) encompasses a broad range of energy analysis in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), NREL programs and initiatives, and the energy analysis community. Here is the latest news on energy analysis activities at NREL:
Nancy Carlisle
Jim Leach
|
On February 14, NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC) and DOE/EERE's Office of Planning, Budget, and Analysis (PBA) will present a seminar discussing renewable energy communities. This concept focuses on changing the way we design new communities using a renewable energy systems approach—with sustainable planning, net zero-energy homes, advanced vehicles, and innovative utility interconnections. During this seminar, Nancy Carlisle (NREL) will describe the concept of "renewable community" and how sustainability planning extends beyond technology solutions. Jim Leach (Wonderland Hill Development Company) will talk about results from 30 years of developing sustainable neighborhoods including cohousing communities.
For more information on the seminar series — including log-in and call-in information for remote access — visit the Web site.
Upcoming seminars
March 13, 2008
"The Solar Advisor Model (SAM) Tool" — Nate Blair (NREL) and Christopher Cameron (Sandia)
May 8, 2008
"Current and Emerging Solar Technologies" — Robert Margolis, NREL
The Technical Assistance Project (TAP) for State and Local Officials will sponsor a Webcast on February 13 about the Natural Energy Laboratory Hawaii Authority (NELHA) experiments in ocean thermal energy, aquaculture, and renewable energy development on the Island of Hawaii. The presentation, which will be 3-4:15 p.m. (EST), is titled "NELHA Creates the 'Green Energy Zone.'"
Information about the presenters, links to background materials and reports, and access to the speaker presentations (available February 11) can be found on the TAP Section of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program Web site.
Contact Misty Conrad via e-mail or by phone at 303-384-7467 to register or for additional information.
SEAC analysts Laura Vimmerstedt and Gail Mosey worked with the Department of Energy to publish a series of fact sheets for the Clean Energy and Air Quality Integration Initiative. This fact sheet series outlines how renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) technologies can and are being used to reduce air emissions and meet environmental goals, showcasing pilot studies and technology-specific topics. The primary fact sheet highlights examples of DOE-EERE pilot projects that partnered with states to use RE and EE technologies to improve air quality in their regions. Featured states include Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas. These fact sheets can be accessed from the Air Quality section of EERE's Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program (WIP) Web site.
|
Analysts Karlynn Cory and Blair Swezey recently published the report "Renewable Portfolio Standards in the States: Balancing Goals and Implementation Strategies" (PDF 664 KB) Download Adobe Reader. This report examines renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and how the RPS rules vary from state to state. This variation presents important challenges to successful implementation. Key issues are discussed in terms of resource availability, solar-specific provisions, and political and regulatory consistency — and their impacts on the ability to finance new renewable energy projects. This report emphasizes the fact that a successful RPS policy must balance a state's goals for fuel diversity, economic development, price effects, and environmental benefits.
|
NREL analyst Elizabeth Brown is leading the State Clean Energy Policies Analysis (SCEPA) project, which is a collaborative effort to better understand the environmental, economic, and energy security impacts of state policies using a uniform methodology. The intent of the project, funded by the Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program (WIP) at DOE-EERE, is to assist state policy-makers and implementers in determining which policies will have the most beneficial impact on the priorities of their states. NREL's Applying Technologies Web site includes a SCEPA section, which includes extensive information on the project's goals and deliverables, a project timeline, a Webcast schedule, and other resources.
 NREL analysts Nate Blair (right) and Walter Short are the originators of the Wind Deployment System (WinDS), a software tool for modeling the deployment of wind power technologies.
|
The Wind Deployment System (WinDS) model, developed by SEAC analysts Walter Short and Nate Blair, is featured on the home page of NREL's Web site. The WinDS model, which started out as a simple spreadsheet, analyzes the feasibility of low-speed wind turbines in the United States by evaluating capacity and transmission requirements. The story highlights how the model was developed, some of the research being done with WinDS, and plans for expanding the model to analyze different technologies. WinDS was previously featured in the laboratory's Research Review.
NREL staff members Dave Renné and Larry Kazmerski met with Salem M. Ghurbal (director of the Renewable Energies Research Branch) and his senior staff during a visit to the Renewable Energies and Water Desalination Research Center in Tripoli, Libya, on January 13-14. Discussions focused on possible areas of mutual collaboration in wind and solar resource assessment; exchanges and visits by technical staff; and testing of photovoltaics, concentrating solar power, and solar water heating components.
On January 15, SEAC director Doug Arent briefed a team of executives from Toyota (including president Katsuaki Watanabe), on U.S. energy technology and policy. The meeting was held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
The DOE Tribal Energy Program held the first of five regional Tribal Renewable Energy Development Training Sessions in Sacramento, California, on January 21-24. Focused on California tribes, the training course covered strategic energy planning, the EERE portfolio of technologies, project economics, business development, and financing options. Presenters included DOE, NREL, Sandia, Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the California Energy Commission, tribal groups, and private-sector personnel.
For the latest updates on information regarding energy analysis, visit the Energy Analysis Web site.
|
