Energy Analysis Newsletter — June 2008
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:
Upcoming Events
Paul Denholm
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June Seminar: Energy Storage in the Low-Carbon Grid
On June 12, NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC) and DOE/EERE's Office of Planning, Budget, and Analysis (PBA) will present a seminar discussing energy storage in the low-carbon grid. Energy storage is seen by many as an important component of a future grid, which will derive a large fraction of its energy from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. During this seminar, Paul Denholm (of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory) will discuss the role of energy storage in the current and future grid. He will emphasize the valuation of energy storage for providing a variety of grid services including energy, capacity, and ancillary services; and the potentially increasing opportunities for storage in a low-carbon grid of the future. The presentation also will discuss current storage technologies, those under development, and the potential role of energy storage in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as a grid-enabling technology.
For more information on the seminar series — including log-in and call-in information for remote access — visit the Web site.
Upcoming seminars
July 10, 2008
"Geographic-Economic Analysis of Large-Scale, Grid-Connected Wind Projects in China" — David Kline (NREL)
August 14, 2008
"Sketch-up/E+ and E+/BIM Integration" — Drury Crawley (U.S. DOE)
October 9, 2008
"Meta Analysis of Renewable Energy Scenarios" — Gail Mosey (NREL)
Publications
The documents in this section are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs.
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Solar Photovoltaic Financing
NREL staff members Karlynn Cory, Jason Coughlin, and Charles Coggeshall have published the report "Solar Photovoltaic Financing: Deployment on Public Property by State and Local Governments" (PDF 1.2 MB). State and local governments have grown increasingly aware of the economic, environmental, and societal benefits of taking a lead role in U.S. implementation of renewable energy, particularly distributed photovoltaic (PV) installations. Recently, solar energy's cost premium has declined as a result of technology improvements and an increase in the cost of traditional energy generation. At the same time, a nationwide public policy focus on carbon-free, renewable energy has created a wide range of financial incentives to lower the costs of deploying PV even further. Many state and local governments are considering deployment of solar photovoltaics (PV) on public-building rooftops, and also large-scale applications on public lands. This report examines ways that governments can optimize the financial structure of deploying solar PV for public uses.
A related presentation, given as part of the NREL/PBA seminar series, is available in the Archive section of the Web site. (Powerpoint 4.4 MB)
ASES Conference Papers
A group of NREL analysts recently participated in SOLAR 2008, sponsored by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), on May 3-8. Some key analysis papers are featured below.
Modeling Photovoltaic and Concentrating Solar Power Trough Performance, Cost, and Financing with the Solar Advisor Model (PDF 373 KB)
This paper on the Solar Advisor Model presents an overview of each PV and inverter model, introduces a new generic model, and briefly discusses the concentrating solar power (CSP) parabolic trough model.
Impacts of Array Configuration on Land-Use Requirements for Large-Scale Photovoltaic Deployment in the United States (PDF 304 KB)
This paper examines the relationship between land-use requirements for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) deployment in the United States and PV-array configuration.
Solar San Diego: The Impact of Binomial Rate Structures on Real PV
Systems (PDF 450 KB)
This paper uses PV-system data from two San Diego facilities to illustrate the impacts of binomial rate designs on electricity bills.
Renewable Energy Planning: Multiparametric Cost Optimization (PDF 385 KB)
This paper describes a method for determining the combination of renewable energy technologies that minimize life-cycle cost at a facility, often with a specified goal regarding percent of energy use from renewable sources.
Future of Grid-Tied PV Business Models: What Will Happen When PV Penetration on the Distribution Grid is Significant? (PDF 535 KB)
This paper describes potential future PV business models in terms of combinations of utility ownership and control of the PV assets, and the various relationships between end users and third-party owners.
Analysts Meet With Stakeholders
On May 1, NREL staff members Garvin Heath, Tom Foust, and Bob Wallace attended the Lab Summit on Sustainability, hosted by DOE's Office of Biomass Programs (OBP). All DOE national laboratories with sustainability-related biomass research programs attended, including NREL, Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Idaho National Laboratory. The meeting helped inform the OBP and other national labs of each other's ongoing biomass sustainability-related research and helped identify gaps in research agendas. Heath presented on NREL's life-cycle assessment of the ethanol goals of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
SEAC staff members Nancy Carlisle and Jason Coughlin recently presented at the Salt Lake Sustainable Buildings Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is a designated Solar America City. Coughlin discussed "Solar Financing Strategies," and Carlisle talked about "Solar Design and Integration in Commercial Buildings." Approximately 150 people attended each presentation.
Analysts Margaret Mann and Elizabeth Brown recently presented preliminary results of a study examining the economic development impacts of a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) to the Governors' Ethanol Coalition (GEC) spring meeting held in Chicago, Illinois. The study, sponsored by the GEC, assumes a 10% reduction in carbon intensity in light-duty transportation through the adoption of corn-based and cellulosic ethanol. Analyst Gail Mosey estimated the jobs creation benefits of such a policy using NREL's Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) model. Oil and gasoline-use reductions were also evaluated for the study.
The NREL Tribal Energy Program recently held its regional "Renewable Energy Project Development and Financing" training for Alaska natives in Anchorage, Alaska. Attendees included 93 representatives from 30 different communities, making it the largest audience for any regional training through late April. The price of diesel-based power and heating oil is causing serious hardship in many of the 200-plus Alaskan villages, which has led to increased interest in renewable and energy efficiency technologies.
NREL staff supporting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 9006 Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency program provided a three-day training course (ending May 1) in Denver for 32 USDA state engineers, architects, and renewable energy coordinators. Lectures focused on primary renewable energy technology options including both electricity and fuels. Attendees also toured the NREL main campus and the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC).
SEAC analyst Gail Mosey attended the brownfields conference on May 5-6 in Detroit, Michigan, as part of a panel invited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Mosey joined the group discussing "Siting Renewable Energy on Contaminated Lands and Mining Sites." Brownfields are sites with suspected or known environmental contamination, including abandoned mine lands. The conference is an annual event designed to bring together federal, state, and local agencies; land developers; land owners; and others who are interested in remediation, monitoring, and revitalization of brownfields. Through the panel discussion, Mosey described some of the resources (including databases, tools, and analyses) that NREL uses to evaluate siting of renewables for power generation and implementing energy efficiency technologies at brownfield sites.
SEAC center director Doug Arent participated in a colloquium on "Managing R&D to Address Climate Change" in Chicago on May 6-7. Convened by the University of Chicago and the National Commission on Energy Policy, the colloquium explored various options on the organizational approaches for U.S. government research and development. Other participants included representatives from Argonne National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, Harvard University, DOE Office of Policy, and DOE Office of Nuclear Energy.
NREL staff assisted with organization of an event on May 6 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) regarding clean energy investment in the Masdar Initiative. Spearheaded by Paul Dickerson at DOE, the event informed U.S. clean energy finance representatives of opportunities for clean energy investment through Masdar (a $15 billion United Arab Emirates clean energy program). Participants discussed how DOE and the national laboratories can support Masdar emerging technology investments and the Masdar zero-carbon city and regional project development activities.
NREL staff recently attended the Utility Energy Service Contract workshop in Dallas, Texas. The workshop promoted government support (such as work done by the Federal Energy Management Program) to federal agency customers including contracting officers, energy managers, and other personnel with utility company representatives in attendance. The work supports the DOE in providing alternative finance training to federal agencies and promoting projects implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy measures.
On May 15, SEAC analyst Lori Bird provided an overview presentation of federal and state policies that support the deployment of solar photovoltaics in the United States. Her talk was part of the Technology Velocity Forum at the IEEE PV Specialists Conference in San Diego.
On May 20, SEAC analyst Karlynn Cory gave a presentation on "Best Implementation Practices for RPS Success." It was part of the State/Federal RPS Collaborative organized by the Clean Energy States Alliance.
Analyst Karlynn Cory also presented "Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and Financing Renewables" on May 22 to a group hosted by the National Association of Counties (NACo). The Webinar also included a speaker from Johnson Controls talking about energy service performance contracting, and a county representative discussing a project in operation.
For the latest updates on information regarding energy analysis, visit the Energy Analysis Web site.
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