|
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:
Wallace Tyner
|
On January 10, NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC) and DOE/EERE's Office of Planning, Budget, and Analysis (PBA) will present a seminar discussing policy alternatives for integrated energy and agricultural markets. This seminar will examine the issue from two perspectives: 1) the economics of ethanol production from the perspective of a typical firm; and 2) a partial equilibrium model incorporating crude oil, gasoline, ethanol, corn, and distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Both of these perspectives provide valuable insight on the functioning and impacts of ethanol policy alternatives, and both approaches illustrate quite well the newly emerging integration of energy and agricultural markets. During this presentation, Wallace Tyner of Purdue University will discuss his research and how it demonstrates "why" and "how" the markets are now becoming tightly integrated.
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" — Nathan Blair (NREL) and Christopher Cameron (Sandia NL)
May 8, 2008
"Current and Emerging Solar Technologies" — Robert Margolis, NREL
The documents in this section are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader
Analysts Lori Bird, Leila Dagher, and Blair Swezey recently published the report "Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report (Tenth Edition)" (PDF 2.1 MB). This report documents green power marketing activities and trends in the United States, focusing on consumer decisions to purchase electricity supplied from renewable energy sources and how this choice represents a powerful market support mechanism for renewable energy development. The report presents aggregate green power sales data for all voluntary purchase markets across the United States. It also provides summary data on utility green pricing programs offered in regulated electricity markets, on green power marketing activity in competitive electricity markets, and green power sold to voluntary purchasers in the form of renewable energy certificates. It also includes a discussion of key market trends and issues.
|
SEAC analysts Paul Denholm and Robert Margolis have published the report "The Regional Per-Capita Solar Electric Footprint for the United States" (PDF 1.7 MB). Solar photovoltaics (PV) offer a renewable alternative to traditional sources of electricity generation. The potential resource base for PV in the United States is enormous; however, there are a number of challenges related to realizing this potential including relatively high cost, intermittent output, and potentially significant land use. This report quantifies the state-by-state per-capita "solar electric footprint" for the United States. The analysts use state-level data on population, electricity consumption, economic activity and solar insolation, along with solar photovoltaic (PV) array packing density data to develop a range of estimates of the solar electric footprint. They found that the solar electric footprint, defined as the land area required to supply all end-use electricity from solar photovoltaics, is about 181 m2 per person in the United States. The solar electric footprint is about 0.6% of the total land area of the United States with state-level estimates ranging from less than 0.1% for Wyoming to about 9% for New Jersey.
In early December, SEAC staff members Deb Beattie and Karen Thomas represented the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) Utility Program as instructors at a utility-focused workshop. The event, which attracted nearly 80 participants, was held in conjunction with the Federal Utility Partnership Working Group meeting, hosted by San Diego Gas & Electric. Several of the utilities are considering offering utility energy services contracts (UESCs) to their customers as a new service and asked the NREL-FEMP team for training.
Doug Arent, director of SEAC, attended the Energy Security, Innovation, and Sustainability (ESIS) Initiative Advisors Session in Chicago, Illinois, on December 13. The Council on Competitiveness is a unique group of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and labor leaders committed to the future prosperity of all Americans through enhanced U.S. competitiveness in the global economy and the creation of high-value economic activity in the United States.
For the latest updates on information regarding energy analysis, visit the Energy Analysis Web site.
|
