October 2012 Newsletter
The Energy Analysis at NREL newsletter highlights all the analysis activities in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies going on at the laboratory. Features include news and events, new website areas, updates to our models and tools, and our latest publications. You can subscribe to this newsletter using our simple online form, and you can also unsubscribe online.
NREL Studies of Voluntary Markets Draw Positive Feedback from Utilities
NREL analysts Jenny Heeter and Lori Bird presented at the 2012 Renewable Energy Markets Conference, a premier national forum for promoting renewable energy.
Heeter presented Innovations in Voluntary Renewable Energy Procurement: Methods for Expanding Access and Lowering Cost for Communities, Governments, and Businesses, which explores five innovative options for voluntarily procuring renewable energy generation or systems. Bird discussed Market Brief: Status of the Voluntary Renewable Energy Certificate Market (2011 Data), which documents the status and trends of voluntary markets—those in which consumers and institutions purchase renewable energy to match their electricity needs on a voluntary basis.
Heeter, who led the development of the two papers, said she received "a lot of positive feedback from utilities on our work tracking trends in the voluntary market."
NREL Report: Innovations in Voluntary Renewable Energy Procurement: Methods for Expanding Access and Lowering Cost for Communities, Governments, and Businesses
Authors: Jenny Heeter and Joyce McLaren, NREL
NREL Report: Status of the Voluntary Renewable Energy Certificate Market
(2011 Data)
Authors: Jenny Heeter, Philip Armstrong, and Lori Bird, NREL
OpenEI Spotlighted in White House Datapalooza Event
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The Hydrogen Gateway on OpenEI launched in preparation for Energy Datapalooza, an event that highlights the use of open energy data sourced from the government and used by entrepreneurs to build new businesses.
At the event, Dr. David Danielson, assistant secretary for EERE, mentioned OpenEI (Open Energy Information)—a knowledge-sharing online community dedicated to connecting people with the latest energy information and data. Debbie Brodt-Giles said he "mentioned OpenEI as being DOE's platform for sharing open data." In addition, several teams stated that they use OpenEI and NREL data in their applications that were highlighted and demonstrated at the event.
"It was a very inspirational event, and it was great to see so much support for open energy data!" exclaimed Brodt-Giles.
The Hydrogen Gateway provides relevant links to reports, such as National Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Learning Demonstration Final Report, and to HyDRA (Hydrogen Demand and Resource Analysis), which is a web-based GIS tool that allows users to view, download, and analyze hydrogen demand, resource, and infrastructure data spatially and dynamically. One the most interesting features of the gateway is the Hydrogen Composite Data Product Directory that can be searched by topic. It is a visual representation of data, and the plan is to provide more visualizations and access to raw open data in the future, which is directly in alignment with the government's Energy Data Initiative.
Reminder: NREL to Present Webinar on Geothermal FIT Design
NREL will hold a webinar to discuss research, analysis, and results from a new report: Geothermal FIT Design: International Experience and U.S. Considerations. The presentation will explore specifics on how feed-in tariff (FIT) policies can be designed to address certain risks of geothermal power plant development.
Date: Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Time: 1–2 p.m. ET (10–11 a.m. PT)
Registration link: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/940679710
NREL Analysis and Analysts in the News
RenewableEnergyWorld.com reposted NREL blogs "Municipal Bond: PPA Model Continues to Provide Low-Cost Solar Energy" by Bethany Speer and "Geothermal Transmission 101: Technologies Are Not Treated Equally" by Paul Schwabe.
At the International Life Cycle Assessment (InLCA) conference, Garvin Heath gave four presentations and Ethan Warner gave one on articles resulting from the LCA Harmonization Project. Heath said, "Much positive feedback was received on the presentations, especially the timely new results on natural gas systems." NREL is now a Silver-level institutional member of the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment, which is who puts on the annual InLCA conference.
Laboratory Design's article "NREL Database Reveals Technology Costs" highlighted NREL's Transparent Cost Database.
Paul Denholm and Mark Mehos wrote "Boosting CSP Production with Thermal Energy Storage" for Power Magazine, which is based on NREL technical report Enabling Greater Penetration of Solar Power via the Use of CSP with Thermal Energy Storage.
Garvin Heath and Debbie Sandor wrote "How NREL is Improving GHG Calculations for Power Plants" for GreenBiz.com, which summarizes the LCA Harmonization Project that was highlighted in a special supplemental issue of the Journal of Industrial Ecology. On the day this blog posted, there were 37 tweets about it.
Andy Reger and Lori Bird recently hosted a webinar, "Best Practices in the Design of Utility Solar Programs," that brought together representatives from industry, utilities, and regulatory authorities to share insights into the lessons learned from designing and implementing solar energy incentive programs.
At the annual member advisory meetings of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Garvin Heath presented research on the land use of wind, solar, and geothermal electricity generation technologies conducted at NREL and sponsored by EPRI.
Garvin Heath presented "Life Cycle GHG Emissions and Water Consumption from the Manufacture of an ATS Heliostat" at the international SolarPACES conference on CSP.
Recent Publications
JISEA Report: Integrating Wind and Solar Energy in the U.S. Bulk Power System: Lessons from Regional Integration Studies
Authors: Lori Bird and Debra Lew, NREL
This paper identifies key insights from two regional studies for integrating high penetrations of renewables: The Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS) and The Western Wind and Solar Integration Study (WWSIS).
Presentation: Impacts of Renewable Generation on Fossil Fuel Unit Cycling: Costs and Emissions
Author: Gregory Brinkman, NREL
Prepared for the Clean Energy Regulatory Forum III, this presentation looks at the Western Wind and Solar Integration Study and reexamines the cost and emissions impacts of fossil fuel unit cycling.
Presentation: Estimate of the Geothermal Energy Resource in the Major Sedimentary Basins in the United States
Authors: Ariel Esposito, Chad Augustine, Colleen Porro, and Billy Roberts, NREL
This study estimates the magnitude of recoverable geothermal energy from 15 major known U.S. sedimentary basins and ranks these basins relative to their potential.
Presentation: Impacts from Deployment Barriers on the United States Wind Power Industry: Overview & Preliminary Findings
Authors: Eric Lantz, Suzanne Tegen, Maureen Hand, and Donna Heimiller, NREL
This presentation details preliminary results from new NREL analysis focused on quantifying the impact of deployment barriers on the wind resource of the United States, the installed cost of wind projects, and the total electric power system cost of a 20% wind energy future.
NREL Report: Renewable Energy Finance Tracking Initiative (REFTI): Snapshot of Recent Geothermal Financing Terms, Fourth Quarter 2009 – Second Half 2011
Authors: Travis Lowder, Ryan Hubbell, Michael Mendelsohn, and Karlynn Cory, NREL
This report is a review of geothermal project financial terms as reported in NREL's Renewable Energy Finance Tracking Initiative (REFTI).
NREL Report: Renewable Energy Finance Tracking Initiative (REFTI) Solar Trend Analysis
Authors: Ryan Hubbell, Travis Lowder, Michael Mendelsohn, and Karlynn Cory, NREL
This report is a summary of the finance trends for small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects (PV <1 MW), large-scale PV projects (PV ≥1 MW), and concentrated solar power projects as reported in NREL's Renewable Energy Finance Tracking Initiative (REFTI).
This fact sheet summarizes a study completed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and NREL that quantifies the annual impact on county-level personal income resulting from wind power installations in nearly 130 counties across 12 states.
For the latest updates on information regarding energy analysis, visit the Energy Analysis website.
