News
This page includes news on activities related to the Energy Collaborative Analysis Initiative and results of collaborative efforts.
Analysis Activities
Analysis Results
Analysis Activities
Web Forum: Improving Behavior Modeling
August 2008
The Energy Collaborative Analysis Initiative (ECAI) presented its sixth Web forum, "Improving Behavior Modeling," on August 28, 2008. This forum focused on the issues of consumer decision making and behavior modification in relation to energy efficiency. Speakers addressed how research findings from the social sciences can be applied to improve demand-side energy modeling. In particular, this forum provided an opportunity to learn and discuss the findings of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) conference on the subject of behavior and energy efficiency that took place in November 2007. Speakers included Karen Ehrhardt-Martinez, research associate with ACEEE, Marvin Horowitz, president of Demand Research, and Skip Laitner, economic analysis director for ACEEE.
For more information on the speakers and/or to access their presentations, please access the Web Forum Archive on the ECAI Web site. Please contact Alison Wise with any questions.
Analysis Results
Some of the following documents in this section are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader
California Energy Commission
September 2008
Ken Koyama, an office manager with the California Energy Commission (CEC), presented, "Ocean Energy Potential in California: Alternative Energy Development in the West Coast Ocean Environment" (PDF 532 KB) at the Alternative Energy Workshop. The workshop topic was Alternative Energy Development in the West Cost Ocean Environment. Participants heard from ocean energy experts about the potential for wind, wave, and tidal energy along the Pacific Coast and Puget Sound, as well as experts in the emerging technologies being developed to capture that energy. Other presentation topics included environmental and social issues.
Clean Energy States Alliance
September-October 2008
The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) has released comments about alternate uses of existing facilities on the outer continental shelf as well as information on a $4 million grant for offshore wind development.
Comments on Alternative Energy and Alternate Uses of Existing Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf
The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) submitted comments on the Minerals Management Service's Proposed Rule for Alternative Energy and Alternate Uses of Existing Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf. The recommendations (PDF 123 KB) address barriers to the development and growth of viable renewable energy resources in the United States. CESA urges the Minerals Management Service (MMS) to finalize the rule in 2008 to promptly establish a predictable process for review and approval of alternative energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf.
$4 Million Grant Awarded for Offshore Wind Development
The Clean Energy States Alliance announced that New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) awarded $4 million grant to Garden State Offshore Energy to develop offshore wind farm on the East Coast. The proposed 345.6 MW offshore wind facility would be located southeast of Atlantic City, 16 miles off the coastline. When completed, the facility would produce enough electricity to power approximately 125,000 homes annually. For more information, see the NJBPU press release (PDF 28 KB).
Energy Information Administration
September 2008
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released two analysis reports for the United States. One analyzes the impacts of advanced hydrogen and fuel cell technology commercialization on U.S. energy imports while the other reflects changes made to the renewable fuels module over the past year for the Annual Energy Outlook 2008. An interactive map depicting the restructuring of the electric industry also was released.
The Impact of Increased Use of Hydrogen on Petroleum Consumption and Carbon Dioxide Emissions
EIA's Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting (OIAF) and Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels (CNEAF) prepared "The Impact of Increased Use of Hydrogen on Petroleum Consumption and Carbon Dioxide Emissions" report (PDF 780 KB). This report responds to a request from Senator Byron L. Dorgan for an analysis of the impacts of advanced hydrogen and fuel cell technology commercialization in the transportation and distributed generation markets on U.S. energy import dependence and emission reductions.
Model Documentation Renewable Fuels Module of the National Energy Modeling System
EIA's Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting Coal and Electric Power Division prepared the "Model Documentation Renewable Fuels Module of the National Energy Modeling System" report (PDF 500 KB). This edition reflects changes made to the renewable fuels module over the past year for the Annual Energy Outlook 2008. These changes include: 1) the addition of offshore wind technology and resources as a capacity expansion option; 2) significant revision to the long-term cost adjustment factors used to characterize the wind resource supply and to the characterization of wind transmission costs; 3) significant revision to the cost and performance characteristics of dedicated biomass generation technology; and 4) significant revision to the resource supply curves for biomass fuel.
Status of Electricity Restructuring by State
EIA recently produced an interactive map of the United States that shows state-by-state information on the restructuring of the electric industry. Here, restructuring means that a monopoly system of electric utilities has been replaced with competing sellers.
Environmental Protection Agency
October 2008
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented information about modeling through a conference presentation and a recent journal article.
EPA's Application of a Detailed Power Sector Model for Analysis of GHG Cap and Trade Proposals
Misha Adamantiades, Clean Air Markets Division partner of EPA, presented at the INFORMS 2008 Annual Conference (PDF 520 KB). His presentation, "EPA Power Sector Analysis using the Integrated Planning Model," (PowerPoint 2.6 MB) focused on U.S. EPA's application of the Integrated Planning Model (IPM), a detailed model of the U.S. power sector, in recently completed analyses of legislative proposals to reduce domestic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The session highlighted key modeling results, model assumptions, approach, and impacts of the analyses.
Representing Technology in CGE Models
ECAI partners Michael G. Shelby, Allen A. Fawcett, and O. Eric Smith published a journal article with Donald A. Hanson and Ronald D. Sands titled, "Representing technology in CGE models: a comparison of SGM and AMIGA for electricity sector CO2 mitigation." This article was published in the International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy. The goal of the article is to compare two climate economic models — the Second Generation Model (SGM) and All Modular Industry Growth Assessment Model (AMIGA) — and highlight the consequences of different modeling approaches and structures on the estimation of climate change policy results. The article shows that different assumptions about how technology choices are made in the U.S. electricity sector in response to a carbon charge can lead to differences in estimates of environmental, fuel market, and economy-wide impacts. If the differences among models can be better understood, improvements in the models may be made, and policy makers will be better informed by the insights provided by the models.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
August-October 2008
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), in conjunction with NREL and the U.S. Department of Energy, recently released two reports on distributed generation investments. An assessment of publicly available information on the United States electric power system also was released.
Distributed Generation Investment by a Microgrid Under Uncertainty
The "Distributed Generation Investment by a Microgrid Under Uncertainty" report (PDF 156 KB) examines a California-based microgrid's decision to invest in a distributed generation (DG) unit fuelled by natural gas. Using the real options approach, a natural gas generation cost threshold that triggers DG investment is found. By allowing the electricity price to be stochastic, an investment threshold boundary is determined. Investment delays and values are also discussed.
Investment and Upgrade in Distributed Generation Under Uncertainty
The "Investment and Upgrade in Distributed Generation Under Uncertainty" paper (PDF 348 KB), takes the perspective of a microgrid that can proceed in a sequential manner with DG capacity and HX investment in order to reduce its exposure to risk from natural gas price volatility. In particular, with the availability of the HX, the microgrid faces a tradeoff between reducing its exposure to the natural gas price and maximizing its cost savings. By varying the volatility parameter, the report finds that the microgrid prefers a direct investment strategy for low levels of volatility and a sequential one for higher levels of volatility.
Tracking the Reliability of the U.S. Electric Power System: An Assessment of Publicly Available Information Reported to State Public Utility Commissions
This assessment (PDF 244 KB) examines current state and utility practices for collecting and reporting electricity reliability information and discusses challenges that arise in assessing reliability because of differences among these practices. The study is based primarily on reliability information for 2006 reported by 123 utilities to 37 state public utility commissions.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
August-October 2008
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently released several analysis reports on renewable energy development and the role of policy, the development of hydrogen infrastructure, green power marketing trends, benefits for utilities offering fixed prices for renewable energy, and a guide for the Solar Advisor Model. An updated economic development model also was released. An overview of NREL's current direction and the results of the recompetition were presented.
Renewable Energy Development and the Role of Policy
NREL recently published the report "State of the States 2008: Renewable Energy Development and the Role of Policy (PDF 1.5 MB) This report provides insights into the status of renewable energy development at the state level. Renewable resources are increasing in development overall, but state development varies by resource and rates of change. The factors contributing to renewable energy development at the state level are identified and discussed, including the challenges of understanding the role of different factors in development. The report also compiles and evaluates the status of "best-practice" state policy design and connects the existence of some policies with increased renewable energy development through correlation analysis. The report proposes a strategy for better understanding the role of policy in renewable energy development, based on market-transformation principles. Correlation analysis illustrates the potential for further application of these principles to renewable energy. The final section provides resources for state policy makers for better understanding and developing renewable energy resources.
Transportation Sector Market Transition: Using History and Geography to Envision Possible Hydrogen Infrastructure Development and Inform Public Policy
NREL recently published the report "Transportation Sector Market Transition: Using History and Geography to Envision Possible Hydrogen Infrastructure Development and Inform Public Policy" (PDF 1.0 MB). Based on historical transitions in the transportation sector and the drivers for hydrogen transition, targeted market development scenarios are suggested as options for hydrogen infrastructure development. In this paper, three primary scenarios for targeted development are created and tested using the HyDS Modeling Environment (HyDS-ME) to visualize the options: Energy Policy Act (EPAct) qualifying fleets, lighthouse cities, and the state of California. Each of these targeted markets has potential benefits and drawbacks for extensive market development over time. Each targeted market also possesses the important factors that inform public policy making for hydrogen market development.
Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report (11th Edition)
The 11th edition of NREL's green power marketing status report (PDF 764 KB) was recently released. The report documents green power marketing activities and trends in the United States. It 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 and green power marketing activity in competitive electricity markets, as well as green power sold to voluntary purchasers in the form of RECs. Key market trends and issues are also discussed.
Renewable Energy Price-Stability Benefits in Utility Green Power Programs
A renewable energy price stability report "Renewable Energy Price-Stability Benefits in Utility Green Power Programs," (PDF 592 KB) was released. The report examines utility experiences when offering the fixed-price benefits of renewable energy in green pricing programs, including the methods utilized and the impact on program participation.
Solar Advisor Model User Guide for Version 2.0
NREL, in conjunction with Sandia National Laboratories, published the "Solar Advisor Model User Guide for Version 2.0" (PDF 3.0 MB). The guide describes the newest version of the Solar Advisor Model (SAM), which provides a consistent framework for analyzing and comparing power system costs and performance across the range of solar technologies and markets.
Job and Economic Development Impact Model
NREL has added two new technologies to its Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) model — coal and natural gas. Available for download from the Energy Analysis Web site, the JEDI models are easy-to-use, spreadsheet-based tools that estimate the economic impacts of constructing and operating power generation plants at the state level. First developed to model wind energy development impacts, JEDI recently expanded to offer more technologies, including dry mill corn ethanol and concentrating solar power plants — and now coal and natural gas. The site provides more information about JEDI, as well as free downloads.
Renewable Electricity Overview Presented at STEAB Meeting
ECAI collaborator and NREL Senior Vice President Bobi Garrett presented "Renewable Electricity Overview" (PDF 2.8 MB) at the 2008 State Energy Advisory Board (STEAB) Meeting in August. The overview with Q&A focused on the current political environment, climate directions, fossil fuel depletion, and the challenge facing us in the coming energy transformation in implementing speed and scale. The results of the recompetition for NREL's management and operating contractor also were presented.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
October 2008
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently released a compendium updating surveys of knowledge and opinions of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies from 2003 and the 2009 Fuel Economy Guide.
Compendium: Surveys Evaluating Knowledge and Opinions of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies
The compendium, "Surveys Evaluating Knowledge and Opinions of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies," (PDF 156 KB) updates a 2003 literature review of surveys of knowledge and opinions of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Its purpose is to ensure that results of comparable surveys are considered in surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy.
2009 Fuel Economy Guide
The 2009 Fuel Economy Guide (PDF 1.1 MB) helps consumers choose the most fuel efficient car for their needs, both new and used. The Guide, working in tandem with the FuelEconomy.gov Web site and it's Find and Compare Cars tool, provides the miles per gallon and annual fuel cost for every passenger vehicle available this year.
EERE's Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation Group
October 2008
The Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation (PAE) group at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) established a new national system of indicators, Indicators of Energy Intensity in the U.S., to track changes in the energy intensity of our economy and economic sectors over time. The purpose of the site is to provide the public with information on energy intensity indicators that can be used to consistently track changes in the energy intensity of the U.S. economy and economic sectors over time.
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