NREL: Energy Analysis - Seminar Series

Mark your calendar! The NREL Strategic Energy Analysis Center hosts analytical seminars on the second Thursday of every month. Topics focus on new and innovative renewable energy and energy efficiency analysis strategies, models, and technologies in development or recently completed. The presentation takes place at NREL's Washington, D.C., office from noon until 1 p.m. and at NREL's Golden, Colorado, office from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.

An RSVP is required to ensure that we have enough phone lines and/or seats, please contact Kalia Kehoe at 303-384-7439.

Remote access: This seminar is also offered via conference call or Internet conferencing. After accessing the Web conference, you will need to provide conference number SA306396 and leave Conference/Meeting Passcode blank. You also can join the event directly through the conference Web site. To access by phone, call 1-877-989-1543 — the passcode is 8864359.

We request that all participants mute their phones by pressing *6 (unmuting for Q&A is also *6). Please be courteous to other participants and disconnect your call rather than putting our call on hold; if your hold function features background music, you will be disconnected.

Next Seminar

Renewable Energy Optimization Tool

Andy Walker, Princpal Engineer
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Thursday, February 11, 2010
10-11 a.m. (Golden, Colo.)
Noon-1 p.m. (Washington, D.C.)

(The seminar is also offered via conference call or Internet conferencing. See the log-in and call-in information above. An RSVP is required to ensure that we have enough phone lines and/or seats. The presenter will be in Golden, Colorado)

Organizations that operate multiple facilities in various locations with differing renewable energy resources (solar, wind, biomass, etc), differing utility rates, differing incentives regimes, and differing construction costs may benefit from a means to identify and prioritize opportunities to install renewable energy projects. NREL has developed a method to help these organizations that is based on the laboratory's expertise in technology characterization, geographic information systems (GIS), and resource assessment. This method is called Renewable Energy Optimization or REO. Andy Walker, of NREL, will discuss how the application of this method combines information from several databases to identify the combination of renewable energy technologies that minimizes life-cycle cost. The optimization accommodates constraints such as percent renewables goal (including net zero), land area constraints, initial cost constraints, and others as specified. Chris Helm of NREL will discuss efforts to further automate and develop the method.

Andy Walker is a principal engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He supports the U.S. DOE Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) Technical Assistance Task by conducting engineering and economic analysis of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in federal buildings. He also serves as chair of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Conservation and Solar Buildings Committee and has been an associate editor for the ASME Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Walker's credentials include a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and he is a registered professional engineer in Colorado.

Upcoming Seminars

Please check back closer to the seminar date for more information on the topic and the speaker. Interested in speaking?

March 11, 2010 (Golden, CO)

Seminar Archive

You also can access our archive area to read about past seminars and view the presentations.

Attendance Information

In Golden

Due to security issues, if you are attending the Golden videoconference and are not an NREL or DOE employee, you must check in at Building 17 in Golden for a visitor badge to enter Building 3 (for directions, visit Golden Laboratories and Offices). Please bring identification (i.e., driver's license, passport, military I.D., etc.). Contact Kalia Kehoe at 303-384-7439 for questions regarding attendance in Golden.

In Washington, D.C.

To attend the Washington, D.C., seminar, security will accept all company-issued ID badges for tenants in the building, as well as all government-issued ID badges.

For nongovernment visitors, RSVP your name to Wanda Addison of Midwest Research Institute (MRI) or call 202-488-2202. Security will be notified that you are expected; otherwise you will be delayed while they call to authorize your entry. Nongovernment visitors must show a photo ID. Foreign national visitors require advance paperwork and approval by NREL's Security Office (see below). Everyone who enters the building will have to pass through a magnetometer and any carried-in items will be X-rayed.

Foreign nationals (either site)

Foreign national visitors must submit a Foreign National Data Card for approval, a minimum of five days prior to the visit. For foreign national details, contact Kalia Kehoe at 303-384-7439 or Wanda Addison at 202-488-2202.

Interested in speaking?

If you have a topic that you would be interested in presenting during an energy analysis seminar — and it fits the criteria described at the top of the page — please contact seminar organizer Elizabeth Doris by e-mail or at 303-384-7489.

Seminars at EERE

The Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation (PAE) group at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) also presents seminars, which are every Thursday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. ET. These seminars bring together analysts from all the laboratories in the DOE system, as well as other groups working in energy analysis, to discuss their current projects and results. To find out more about these topics, access the Events page on the Planning, Budget, and Analysis (PBA) Web site.