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Energy Analysis Newsletter — November 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
November Seminar: Adequate Ventilation and Energy Costs
Shelly Miller
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On November 13, NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC) and DOE/EERE's Office of Planning, Budget, and Analysis (PBA) will present a seminar (in Golden, Colorado) on ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI). Airborne transmission of infectious agents within indoor environments has been a recognized hazard for decades. Engineering controls such as ventilation and negative pressure have been helpful for control of airborne infectious agents in high-risk settings such as hospital isolation rooms. Increasing energy costs associated with providing adequate ventilation has prompted renewed interest in other means to remove airborne infectious agents from room air, such as the application of UVGI. During this seminar, Shelly Miller will discuss the aim of a University of Colorado (CU) UVGI research program, which systematically investigates the conditions under which UVGI can be expected to mitigate the spread of infectious agents. She will discuss the results from CU's detailed experiments during the past 10 years, summarize the commercial applications of this technology, and present the potential energy and cost savings related to building operation.
For more information on the seminar series — including log-in and call-in information for remote access — visit the Web site.
Upcoming Seminars
December 11, 2008
"DSIRE Project: Current Trends and Challenges in Analyzing Renewable Energy Incentives" — Rusty Haynes (North Carolina State University)
January 8, 2009
"The Global Pursuit for Methane Hydrates: Advances in Exploration and Present Hurdles" — Kelly Rose (National Energy Technology Laboratory)
February 12, 2009
"Economic Development Impacts from 1,000 MW of Wind Energy in Texas, Iowa, Washington, Pennsylvania" — Sandra Reategui (NREL)
Publications
Some of the documents in this section are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs.
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Renewable Energy Development and the Role of Policy
NREL analysts Elizabeth Brown and Sarah Busche 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.
Growth in Green Power
NREL recently staff participated in the National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference held in Denver, Colorado. Two new reports, which were discussed during staff presentations at the conference (see the Analysts Meet with Stakeholders section), are featured below.
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SEAC analysts Barry Friedman and Lori Bird, along with Galen Barbose of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, recently published the report, "Considerations for Emerging Markets for Energy Savings Certificates" (PDF 825 KB). Early experiences with energy savings certificates (ESCs) have revealed both their merit and the challenges associated with them. In the United States, there has been little activity to date, so any lessons must be drawn from experiences in Italy, the United Kingdom (UK), France, and elsewhere. The staying power of European examples, particularly in Italy, demonstrates that ESCs can help initiate more efficiency projects. Although a robust market for renewable energy certificates (RECs) has emerged in both the voluntary and policy compliance contexts in the United States, ESCs have yet to gain significant traction. This report looks at the opportunity presented by ESCs, the unique challenges they bring, a comparison with RECs that can inform expectations about ESC market development, and the solutions and best practices early ESC market experience have demonstrated. It also examines whether there are real market barriers that have kept ESCs from being adopted and what structural features are necessary to develop effective trading programs.
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NREL analysts Lori Bird, Claire Kreycik, and Barry Friedman also published "Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report (11th Edition)" (PDF 762 KB). This report documents green power marketing activities and trends in the United States by presenting aggregate green power sales data for voluntary purchase markets nationwide. The analysis showed that, in 2007, total retail sales of renewable energy in voluntary purchase markets exceeded 18 billion kWh, representing a capacity equivalent of 5,100 MW of renewable energy, including 4,300 MW from "new" renewable energy sources. Wind energy provided 55% of total green power sales, followed by biomass energy sources including landfill gas (28%), hydropower (11%), geothermal (3%), solar (<1%), with the remainder unknown (3%). Total market sales increased by more than 50% in 2007, dominated by renewable energy certificate (REC) sales to nonresidential consumers. In 2007, sales to nonresidential customers continued to outpace those to residential consumers, bringing the fraction of nonresidential sales to nearly three-quarters of all green power sales on a kWh-basis. Overall, the total number of customers purchasing green power increased by roughly 20%, with gains primarily in competitive markets and utility green pricing programs.
Analysts Meet With Stakeholders
NREL analyst William Wallace and Keith Kline from Oak Ridge National Laboratory met with representatives in China over a two-week period in October to discuss the USDA/DOE project for Cooperation for Biofuels Development in China. The visit included discussions with the Energy Research Institute for biomass resource assessment; Tsinghua University for cellulosic feedstock conversion research, and other experts and organizations knowledgeable regarding biomass resource assessment in China. The two also presented at the CAS/University of Tennessee "Bioenergy Consequences for Global Environmental Change" conference in Beijing and attended the Clean Energy Forum in Beijing at the invitation of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
SEAC analysts Suzanne Tegen and Sandra Reategui attended the New Energy Economy Conference in Denver, Colorado, on Oct 14. The analysts discussed the economic impact of wind energy in Colorado and provided several reports on the topic.
SEAC Center Director Doug Arent attended the European Union (EU)-U.S. Science and Technology Cooperation in Non-Nuclear Energy Technical visit to the EU on October 15-18. Arent was invited to the event — held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Brussels, Belgium — by members of the European Commission.
Several SEAC analysts presented during the National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference on Oct. 26-29 in Denver. The event, which is sponsored by DOE, attracted several leading renewable energy and green power industry stakeholders. NREL staff discussed their latest green power market work: Lori Bird presented "The State of the Green Power Market," Barry Friedman presented "Energy Saving Certificates: Opportunities and Implementation Barriers," and Karlynn Cory presented "RE Price Stability Benefits in Utility Green Power Programs" (see the Publications section for the newest reports).
On October 28, SEAC Director Doug Arent chaired two sessions and spoke about "Beyond Borders: Investing and Partnering for a Sustainable World" at the 19th Annual Socially Responsible Investing in the Rockies Conference in British Columbia, Canada. The audience, which heard presentations on "cleantech" and climate change, included investment advisers and asset managers that oversee approximately $3 trillion in assets. Climate change was discussed as one of the top priorities for focusing investment that would bring multiple benefits to U.S. and global economies.
Margaret Mann, a SEAC group manager, presented results of a life-cycle assessment of distributed generation (DG) at the California Energy and Air Quality Conference on October 29-30 in Los Angeles. The presentation focused on the environmental trade-offs between DG and central power generation, highlighting sections of the life-cycle systems that are responsible for the greatest greenhouse gas and criteria air pollutant emissions. Conference participants discussed current issues and activities related to improving air quality and its relation to energy production.
NREL staff member Daniel Inman, part of NREL's team investigating the life-cycle environmental impacts of the ethanol goals of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), met with the government-industry Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) in October. Inman discussed an upcoming study on life-cycle impacts of biofuels produced from forestry biomass, which is sponsored by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The analysis aims to produce results complementary to NREL's life-cycle assessment of ethanol, including that derived from forestry feedstocks. NREL and CORRIM will work in close collaboration on this analysis project.
SEAC analyst David Kline recently traveled to Yerevan, Armenia, where NREL has several projects under the Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention program, sponsored by DOE. Recently concluded projects covered advanced fuel-cell components and systems, biochemical ethanol R&D, and diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings for poly-acrylic lenses and mirrors. The product of a key ongoing project will be a prototype semiconductor scanning device representing a two-order-of-magnitude improvement in the resolution of NREL's current PVScan device. Kline also will discuss prospective projects in the biofuels area, possibly including the characterization of novel feedstocks or enzymes.
For the latest updates on information regarding energy analysis, visit the Energy Analysis Web site.
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