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At least 451 records · Page 25

The Impacts of Changes to Nevada's Net Metering Policy on the Financial Performance and Adoption of Distributed Photovoltaics

As the adoption of distributed photovoltaics (DPV) has continued to rapidly increase, a national conversation has begun about the efficacy of full-retail net metering as a means of achieving the diverse objectives of electricity pricing. This conversation has prompted studies that have primarily focused on the total costs and benefits of DPV. To compliment those studies, we here characterize the potential impacts of tariff design on the customer-economics and adoption of DPV, where recent changes in Nevada are taken as a case study. We show that an increase in fixed charges more strongly impacts the payback period of small systems, and a decrease in credit for exported electricity more strongly impacts the payback period of large systems. We project that these combined changes will reduce DPV adoption in Nevada; total capacity in 2030 was projected to reach up to 363 MW, with 226 MW having already been installed at the end of the second quarter of 2016. In contrast, if full retail net metering had continued, DPV capacity was projected to reach up to 1,280 MW at the end of 2030, which would account for an estimated 6.5% of the total sales of electricity by NV Energy at that time. We project that the DPV systems will decrease the gross revenue from bill collection by $48 million per year under the new tariffs, whereas the decrease in gross revenue could have reached $255 million per year if full retail net metering had been continued. Although these results are given in the context of Nevada, the trends shown are intended to help information similar upcoming decisions in other states.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

2015 Wind Technologies Market Report

Annual wind power capacity additions in the United States surged in 2015 and are projected to continue at a rapid clip in the coming five years. Recent and projected near-term growth is supported by the industry’s primary federal incentive—the production tax credit (PTC)—having been extended for several years (though with a phase-down schedule, described further on pages 68-69), as well as a myriad of state-level policies. Wind additions are also being driven by improvements in the cost and performance of wind power technologies, yielding low power sales prices for utility, corporate, and other purchasers. At the same time, the prospects for growth beyond the current PTC cycle remain uncertain: growth could be blunted by declining federal tax support, expectations for low natural gas prices, and modest electricity demand growth. This annual report—now in its tenth year—provides a detailed overview of developments and trends in the U.S. wind power market, with a particular focus on 2015. The report begins with an overview of key installation-related trends: trends in U.S. wind power capacity growth; how that growth compares to other countries and generation sources; the amount and percentage of wind energy in individual states; the status of offshore wind power development; and the quantity of proposed wind power capacity in various interconnection queues in the United States. Next, the report covers an array of wind power industry trends: developments in turbine manufacturer market share; manufacturing and supply-chain developments; wind turbine and component imports into and exports from the United States; project financing developments; and trends among wind power project owners and power purchasers. The report then turns to a summary of wind turbine technology trends: turbine size, hub height, rotor diameter, specific power, and IEC Class. After that, the report discusses wind power performance, cost, and pricing trends. In so doing, it describes trends in project performance, wind turbine transaction prices, installed project costs, and operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses. It also reviews the prices paid for wind power in the United States and how those prices compare to short-term wholesale electricity prices and forecasts of future natural gas prices. Next, the report examines policy and market factors impacting the domestic wind power market, including federal and state policy drivers as well as transmission and grid integration issues. The report concludes with a preview of possible near-term market developments. This edition of the annual report updates data presented in previous editions while highlighting key trends and important new developments from 2015. The report concentrates on larger, utility-scale wind turbines, defined here as individual turbines that exceed 100 kW in size.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Impacts of the EISA 2007 Energy Efficiency Standard on General Service Lamps

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007), requires that, effective beginning January 1, 2020, the Secretary of Energy shall prohibit the sale of any general service lamp (GSL) that does not meet a minimum efficacy standard of 45 lumens per watt. This is referred to as the EISA 2007 backstop. The U.S. Department of Energy recently revised the definition of the term GSL to include certain lamps that were either previously excluded or not explicitly mentioned in the EISA 2007 definition. For this subset of GSLs, we assess the impacts of the EISA 2007 backstop on national energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and consumer expenditures. To estimate these impacts, we projected the energy use, purchase price, and operating cost of representative lamps purchased during a 30-year analysis period, 2020-2049, for cases in which the EISA 2007 backstop does and does not take effect; the impacts of the backstop are then given by the difference between the two cases. In developing the projection model, we also performed the most comprehensive assessment to date of usage patterns and lifetime distributions for the analyzed lamp types in the United States. There is substantial uncertainty in the estimated impacts, which arises from uncertainty in the speed and extent of the market conversion to solid state lighting technology that would occur in the absence of the EISA 2007 backstop. In our central estimate we find that the EISA 2007 backstop results in significant energy savings of 27 quads and consumer net present value of $120 billion (at a seven percent discount rate) for lamps shipped between 2020 and 2049, and carbon dioxide emissions reduction of 540 million metric tons by 2030 for those GSLs not explicitly included in the EISA 2007 definition of a GSL.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

America Saves! Energizing Main Street's Small Businesses

The America Saves! Energizing Main Street Small Businesses project engaged the 1,200-member National Main Street Center (NMSC) network of downtown organizations and other local, regional, and national partners to test a methodology for sharing customized energy efficiency information with owners of commercial buildings smaller than 50,000 square feet. Led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Green Lab, the project marshalled local staff and volunteers to gather voluntarily-disclosed energy use information from participating businesses. This information was analyzed using a remote auditing tool (validated by the National Renewable Energy Lab) to assess energy savings opportunities and design retrofit strategies targeting seven building types (food service and sales, attached mixed-use, strip mall, retail, office, lodging, and schools). The original project design contemplated extensive leveraging of the Green Button protocol for sharing annualized utility data at a district scale. Due the lack of adoption of Green Button, the project partners developed customized approaches to data collection in each of twelve pilot communities. The project team encountered considerable challenges in gathering standardized annual utility data from local partners. After overcoming these issues, the data was uploaded to a data storehouse. Over 450 properties were benchmarked and the remote auditing tool was tested using full building profiles and utility records for more than 100 commercial properties in three of the pilot communities. The audit tool demonstrated potential for quickly capturing, analyzing, and communicating energy efficiency opportunities in small commercial buildings. However, the project team found that the unique physical characteristics and use patterns (partial vacancy, periodic intensive uses) of small commercial buildings required more trouble-shooting and data correction than was anticipated. In addition, the project revealed that remote technology alone (such as audits) is not sufficient to convince most owners of commercial buildings or businesses to invest in energy efficiency. Additional, one-on-one personal communication is critical. A combination of technology and well-planned direct contact is likely to produce the highest rate of energy efficiency implementation in the small commercial building market sector. Note that only two of the three planned phases of this project were completed. As a result, research and testing were not fully implemented and thus all results and conclusions from the America Saves! Energizing Main Street Small Businesses project should be considered preliminary. In addition to the National Main Street Center, local organizations, and regional utilities, the America Saves! project partners included the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Energy Center of Wisconsin (Seventh Wave), Lend Lease, Building Energy, and Energy RM.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Pt-based Bi-metallic Monolith Catalysts for Partial Upgrading of Microalgae Oil

Valicor’s proprietary wet extraction process in conjunction with thermochemical pre-treatment was performed on algal biomass from two different algae strains, Nannochloropsis Salina (N.S.) and Chlorella to produce algae oils. Polar lipids such as phospholipids were hydrolyzed, and metals and metalloids, known catalyst poisons, were separated into the aqueous phase, creating an attractive “pre-refined” oil for hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) upgrading by Stevens. Oil content and oil extraction efficiency of approximately 30 and 90% respectively were achieved. At Stevens, we formulated a Pt-based bi-metallic catalyst which was demonstrated to be effective in the hydro-treating of the algae oils to produce ‘green’ diesel. The bi-metallic catalyst was wash-coated on a monolith, and in conjunction with a high throughput high pressure (pilot plant) reactor system, was used in hydrotreating algae oils from N.S. and Chlorella. Mixtures of these algae oils and refinery light atmospheric gas oil (LAGO) supplied by our petroleum refiner partner, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, were co-processed in the pilot plant reactor system using the Pt-based bi-metallic monolith catalyst. A 26 wt% N.S. algae oil/74 wt % LAGO mixture hydrotreated in the reactor system was subjected to the ASTM D975 Diesel Fuel Specification Test and it met all the important requirements, including a cetane index of 50.5. An elemental oxygen analysis performed by an independent and reputable lab reported an oxygen content of trace to none found. The successful co-processing of a mixture of algae oil and LAGO will enable integration of algae oil as a refinery feedstock which is one of the goals of DOE-BETO. We have presented experimental data that show that our precious metal-based catalysts consume less hydrogen than the conventional hydrotreating catalyst NiMo Precious metal catalysts favor the hydrodecarbonylation/hydrodecarboxylation route of HDO over the dehydration route preferred by base metal catalysts, and consumes less hydrogen, if methanation can be mitigated. Our methanation data on Pt and Rh indicate effective suppression of methanation. Our data also show that our catalysts are less susceptible to coking; and unlike NiMo and CoMo, precious metal catalysts are not deactivated by water, a by-product of HDO of algae oil. Finally, our catalysts do not need to be sulfided to be active. A rigorous techno-economic analysis of our process for commercial scale production of 10,000 barrels per day of hydrotreated algae oil, with nutraceuticals co-product claiming only 0.05% of the raw algae oil, indicates an estimated plant gate price of ~$10/gal. Sensitivity analysis shows that critical parameters affecting sale price include (1) algae doubling time (2) biomass oil content (3) CAPEX, and (4) moisture content of post extracted algae residue. Modest improvements in these areas will result in enhanced and competitive economics. Based on a life cycle assessment for greenhouse gas emission, we found that if algae oil replaced 10% of the US consumption, this would result in a CO2e reduction of 210,000 tons per day. Improving the drying process for animal feed by 50% would result in further significant reduction in CO2e.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Making the Grid "Smart" Through "Smart" Microgrids: Real-Time Power Management of Microgrids with Multiple Distributed Generation Sources Using Intelligent Control

In this Project we collaborated with two DOE National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBL). Dr. Hammerstrom of PNNL initially supported our project and was on the graduate committee of one of the Ph.D. students (graduated in 2014) who was supported by this project. He is also a committee member of a current graduate student of the PI who was supported by this project in the last two years (August 2014-July 2016). The graduate student is now supported be the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at Montana State University (MSU). Dr. Chris Marney of LBL provided actual load data, and the software WEBOPT developed at LBL for microgrid (MG) design for our project. NEC-Labs America, a private industry, also supported our project, providing expert support and modest financial support. We also used the software “HOMER,” originally developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the most recent version made available to us by HOMER Energy, Inc., for MG (hybrid energy system) unit sizing. We compared the findings from WebOpt and HOMER and designed appropriately sized hybrid systems for our case studies. The objective of the project was to investigate real-time power management strategies for MGs using intelligent control, considering maximum feasible energy sustainability, reliability and efficiency while, minimizing cost and undesired environmental impact (emissions). Through analytic and simulation studies, we evaluated the suitability of several heuristic and artificial-intelligence (AI)-based optimization techniques that had potential for real-time MG power management, including genetic algorithms (GA), ant colony optimization (ACO), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and multi-agent systems (MAS), which is based on the negotiation of smart software-based agents. We found that PSO and MAS, in particular, distributed MAS, were more efficient and better suited for our work. We investigated the following: • Intelligent load control - demand response (DR) - for frequency stabilization in islanded MGs (partially supported by PNNL). • The impact of high penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV)-generated power at the distribution level (partially supported by PNNL). • The application of AI approaches to renewable (wind, PV) power forecasting (proposed by the reviewers of our proposal). • Application of AI approaches and DR for real-time MG power management (partially supported by NEC Labs-America) • Application of DR in dealing with the variability of wind power • Real-time MG power management using DR and storage (partially supported by NEC Labs-America) • Application of DR in enhancing the performance of load-frequency controller • MAS-based whole-sale and retail power market design for smart grid A

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

20 MW Flywheel frequency regulation plant

Hazle designed, built, commissioned, and operates a utility-scale 20 MW flywheel energy storage plant in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania (the Hazle Facility) using flywheel technology developed by its affiliate, Beacon Power, LLC (Beacon Power). The Hazle Facility provides frequency regulation services to the regional transmission organization, PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM), through its participation in PJM’s Regulation Market (a market-based system for the purchase and sale of the Regulation ancillary service). The zero emission Hazle Facility is designed for a 20 year-life over which it is capable of performing at least 100,000 full depth of discharge cycles. To achieve its 20 MW capacity, the Hazle Facility is comprised of two hundred of Beacon Power’s 100 kilowatt (kW)/25 kilowatt/hour (kWh) flywheels connected in parallel. The Hazle Facility can fully respond to a signal from PJM in less than 2 seconds. The Hazle facility was constructed in an economic development zone designated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its construction relied on local contractors and labor for completion.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Survey of Neutron Generators for Active Interrogation

Some of these commercially available generators meet all of the requirements in Table 1, but there are other concerns. Most generators containing SF6 will be required to have the SF6 gas removed for shipping because of DOT regulations. However, Thermo Fisher has a DOT exemption. The P211 and B211 from Thermo Fisher meet the requirements listed in Table 1, but they are old designs and are no longer offered for sale. Also, they require 15 minutes or more of warmup before neutron output is available, and they lack a modern digital control. The nGen-300C from Starfire Industries is interesting because it is a portable system, but it uses the DD reaction for 2.5 MeV neutrons, which are not as penetrating as the 14 MeV neutrons from the DT reaction. The MP 320 from Thermo Fisher is another portable system, but the minimum pulse rate is 250 Hz, which is too fast for measurement of delayed neutrons and re-interrogation by delayed neutrons between pulses. The Genie 16 from Sodern (from France) probably meets the requirements, but the required power is probably too high for battery operation. The generators from Russia and China may be difficult to purchase, and service may not be available. The power required by some of these generators is low enough that batteries can be used. The portable units, nGen-300C and the MP320, could easily be operated with batteries. Other generators with low power requirements, as specified in the above vendors list, could possibly be operated with reason size batteries. The batteries do not need to be internal to the generator, but can be in a separate package. The availability of high capacity lithium batteries with sophisticated safety circuits makes battery operation more possible now than when lead acid batteries were used. The best path forward probably requires working with vendors of the existing systems. If Starfire Industries could be persuaded to put tritium in their nGen-300C generator, possibly in collaboration with a national laboratory, this would provide the 14-MeV neutrons needed. Another possibility is a modification of the Thermo Fisher MP 320 to run at 50 to 100 Hz. More discussions with these vendors, and possibly others, are required to determine their interest and possible costs.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

2016 Vehicle Technologies Market Report

This is the seventh edition of this report, which details the major trends in U.S. light-duty vehicle and medium/heavy truck markets. This report is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), and, in accord with its mission, pays special attention to the progress of high-efficiency and alternative-fuel technologies. After opening with a discussion of energy and economics, this report features a section each on the light-duty vehicle and heavy/medium truck markets, and concluding with a section each on technology and policy. The first section on Energy and Economics discusses the role of transportation energy and vehicle markets on a national (and even international) scale. For example, Figures 12 through 14 discuss the connections between global oil prices and U.S. GDP, and Figures 21 and 22 show U.S. employment in the automotive sector. The following section examines Light-Duty Vehicle use, markets, manufacture, and supply chains. Figures 27 through 69 offer snapshots of major light-duty vehicle brands in the United States and Figures 73 through 85 examine the performance and efficiency characteristics of vehicles sold. The discussion of Medium and Heavy Trucks offers information on truck sales (Figures 94 through 98) and fuel use (Figures 101 through 104). The Technology section offers information on alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure (Figures 109 through 123), and the Policy section concludes with information on recent, current, and near-future Federal policies like the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard (Figures 135 through 142). In total, the information contained in this report is intended to communicate a fairly complete understanding of U.S. highway transportation energy through a series of easily digestible nuggets. Suggestions for future expansion, additional information, or other improvements are most welcome.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Impact of the EISA 2007 Energy Efficiency Standard on General Service Lamps

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007), requires that, effective beginning January 1, 2020, the Secretary of Energy shall prohibit the sale of any general service lamp (GSL) that does not meet a minimum efficacy standard of 45 lumens per watt. This is referred to as the EISA 2007 backstop. The U.S. Department of Energy recently revised the definition of the term GSL to include certain lamps that were either previously excluded or not explicitly mentioned in the EISA 2007 definition. For this subset of GSLs, we assess the impacts of the EISA 2007 backstop on national energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and consumer expenditures. To estimate these impacts, we projected the energy use, purchase price, and operating cost of representative lamps purchased during a 30-year analysis period, 2020-2049, for cases in which the EISA 2007 backstop does and does not take effect; the impacts of the backstop are then given by the difference between the two cases. In developing the projection model, we also performed the most comprehensive assessment to date of usage patterns and lifetime distributions for the analyzed lamp types in the United States. There is substantial uncertainty in the estimated impacts, which arises from uncertainty in the speed and extent of the market conversion to solid state lighting technology that would occur in the absence of the EISA 2007 backstop. In our central estimate we find that the EISA 2007 backstop results in significant energy savings of 27 quads and consumer net present value of $120 billion (at a seven percent discount rate) for lamps shipped between 2020 and 2049, and carbon dioxide emissions reduction of 540 million metric tons by 2030 for those GSLs not explicitly included in the EISA 2007 definition of a GSL.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

SDN Project

The SDN Project completed on time and on budget and successfully accomplished 100% of the scope of work outlined in the original Statement of Project Objective (SOPO). The SDN Project formed an alliance between Ameren Corporation, University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign (UIUC), Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL), and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL). The objective of the SDN Project is to address Topic Area of Interest 2: Sustain critical energy delivery functions while responding to a cyber-intrusion under Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0000797. The goal of the project is to design and commercially release technology that provides a method to sustain critical energy delivery functions during a cyber intrusion and to do this control system operators need the ability to quickly identify and isolate the affected network areas, and re-route critical information and control flows around. The objective of the SDN Project is to develop a Flow Controller that monitors, configures, and maintains the safe, reliable network traffic flows of all the local area networks (LANs) on a control system in the Energy sector. The SDN team identified the core attributes of a control system and produced an SDN flow controller that has the same core attributes enabling networks to be designed, configured and deployed that maximize the whitelisted, deny-bydefault and purpose built networks. This project researched, developed and commercially released technology that: Enables all field networks be to configured and monitored as if they are a single asset to be protected; Enables greatly improved and even precalculated response actions to reliability and cyber events; Supports pre-configured localized response actions tailored to provide resilience against failures and centralized response to cyber-attacks that improve network reliability and availability; Architecturally enables the right subject matter experts, who are usually the information technology and operational technology engineers, to be the ones centrally administering the technology and responding to events; Simplifies network configuration, improving deterministic Ethernet transport times, and providing instant visualization on where the communication circuits are and how all circuits are impacted when changes (e.g., configuration changes, failures or intrusions) happen, allowing operators to minimize downtime; and Improves the ability to identify deviations in network behavior resulting in detection and analysis of potential cyber intrusions and faster response times Results: This project has forever changed the way critical infrastructure networks are designed, secured, deployed and maintained. The cybersecurity and performance advantages achieved are significant, simply put traditional networking has been obsoleted while the team maintained Ethernet interoperability avoiding any legacy concerns. The team commercially released technology that accomplished all the cybersecurity goals outlined in the SOPO and completed it by executing the project management plan approved in the initial contract. The resulting Energy sector SDN flow controller model number is SEL-5056 and can be freely downloaded from the www.SELinc.com website. This technology not only improves the cybersecurity of control systems but has measured results that it improves the performance and reliability of the control system as well. This means the system owners can confidently apply it to their systems knowing that it will, “first do no harm” but actually improve the system as well. Success of the project is best measured by the sales and deployment of the technology. System owners in industrial, electric, defense, and oil and gas only months after commercial release have approved plans for deployment.

42 ENGINEERING↗

FINAL REPORT - Development of High Pressure Hydrogen Storage Tank for Storage and Gaseous Truck Delivery

The “Development of High Pressure Hydrogen Storage Tanks for Storage and Gaseous Truck Delivery” project [DE-FG36-08GO18062] was initiated on 01 July 2008. Hexagon Lincoln (then Lincoln Composites) received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to support the design and development of an improved bulk hauling and storage solution for hydrogen in terms of cost, safety, weight and volumetric efficiency. The development of this capability required parallel development and qualification of large all-composites pressure vessels, a custom ISO container to transport and store said tanks, and performance of trade studies to identify optimal operating pressure for the system. Qualification of the 250 bar TITAN® module was completed in 2009 with supervision from the American Bureau of Shipping [ABS], and the equipment has been used internationally for bulk transportation of fuel gases since 2010. Phase 1 of the project was successfully completed in 2012 with the issuance of USDOT SP 14951, the special permit authorizing the manufacture, marking, sale and use of TITAN® Mobile Pipeline® equipment in the United States. The introduction of tube trailers with light weight composite tankage has meant that 2 to 3 times as much gaseous fuel can be transported with each trip. This increased hauling efficiency offers dramatically reduced operating costs and has enabled a profitable business model for over-the-road compressed natural gas delivery. The economic drivers of this business opportunity vary from country to country and region to region, but in many places gas distribution companies have realized profitable operations. Additional testing was performed in 2015 to characterize hydrogen-specific operating protocols for use of TITAN® systems in CHG service at 250 bar. This program demonstrated that existing compression and decompression methodologies can efficiently and safely fill and unload lightweight bulk hauling systems. Hexagon Lincoln and U.S. DOE agreed to continue into Phase 2 of the project without pursuing the development of higher pressure capabilities as originally planned. At 250 bar, development of equipment for hydrogen transport is supported by strong activity in the adjacent natural gas transportation sector. Trade studies performed since 2011 indicate optimization of hauling efficiency and system cost for hydrogen transport at about 350 bar (5076 psi). However, due to reduced efficiency of compression of natural gas above 250 bar, 350 bar operation is not an attractive option for natural gas transportation. The CHG market is not developed at this time, and it is difficult to forecast the arrival of significant revenues. On the investment side, the cost to fully qualify a large tank module at 350 bar is estimated at $3MM to $5MM. There is insufficient CHG market definition to support a stand-alone business case for this investment without near term revenue in the adjacent CNG transportation market. Therefore development of a 350 bar TITAN® system was deferred and not pursued under this project. Hexagon Lincoln continues to support the development of tankage and equipment for operation at 350 bar and above; with 700 bar vehicle tanks and 950 bar tanks for ground storage applications. Phase 2 activities were focused on reducing system cost, increasing system capacity, increasing system safety and characterization of polymer material performance specific to hydrogen pressure vessel usage. With the successful launch of TITAN® modules and trailers in natural gas transportation, over 600 units have been produced through the end of 2016, resulting in improved purchasing power for raw materials and manufactured components. This has allowed Hexagon Lincoln to approach the current project goals for system cost. At $590/kg of compressed hydrogen delivered, the system cost of the baseline TITAN® module is below the project’s 2015 target of $730/kg H2 delivered, and very close to the project’s 2020 target of $575/kg H2 delivered. [Based on product pricing in 1Q2017.] Emphasis was placed on configuration of larger capacity systems within the vehicle weights and dimensions allowed on federal and state highways in the United States and other countries. These activities resulted in the design and development of integrated tube trailer systems that have increased delivery capacities by 45%. The hydrogen delivery capacity of our largest system is 845 kg, exceeding the project’s 2015 target of 700 kg H2 delivered. Emerging technologies offering improvement of the safety systems used on the equipment were investigated, with particular focus on improving the reliability and cost of the emergency venting system for fire protection. Finally, investment in our materials laboratory improved detection and characterization of hydrogen-induced damage in polymer materials, supporting the development of operational protocols to avoid damage to pressure vessel liners and valve components.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Do PEV Drivers Park Near Publicly Accessible EVSE in San Diego but Not Use Them?

The PEV charging stations deployed as part of The EV Project included both residential and non-residential sites. Non-residential sites included EVSE installed in workplace environments, fleet applications and those that were publicly accessible near retail centers, parking lots, and similar locations. The EV Project utilized its Micro-Climate® planning process to determine potential sites for publicly accessible EVSE in San Diego. This process worked with local stakeholders to target EVSE deployment near areas where significant PEV traffic and parking was expected. This planning process is described in The Micro-Climate deployment Process in San Diego1. The EV Project issued its deployment plan for San Diego in November 2010, prior to the sale of PEVs by Nissan and Chevrolet. The Project deployed residential EVSE concurrent with vehicle delivery starting in December 2010. The installation of non-residential EVSE commenced in April 2011 consistent with the original Project schedule, closely following the adoption of PEVs. The residential participation portion of The EV Project was fully subscribed by January 2013 and the non-residential EVSE deployment was essentially completed by August 2013.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

2016 Wind Technologies Market Report

Wind power capacity in the United States experienced strong growth in 2016. Recent and projected near-term growth is supported by the industry’s primary federal incentive—the production tax credit (PTC)—as well as a myriad of state-level policies. Wind additions have also been driven by improvements in the cost and performance of wind power technologies, yielding low power sales prices for utility, corporate, and other purchasers.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Electric Vehicles in Colorado: Anticipating Consumer Demand for Direct Current Fast Charging

To support the State of Colorado in planning for growth in direct current fast charging (DCFC) for electric vehicles, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has partnered with the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to analyze a number of DCFC investment scenarios. NREL analyzed existing electric vehicle registration data from IHS Markit (IHS) to highlight early trends in the electric vehicle market, which were compared with sales forecasts predicting large growth in the Colorado electric vehicle market. Electric vehicle forecasts were then used to develop future DCFC scenarios to be evaluated in a simulation environment to estimate consumer benefits of the hypothetical DCFC networks in terms of increased driving range and electric vehicle miles traveled (eVMT). Simulated utilization of the hypothetical DCFC networks was analyzed for geographic trends, particularly for correlations with vehicle electric range. Finally, a subset of simulations is presented for consumers with potentially inconsistent access to charging at their home location and presumably greater reliance on public DCFC infrastructure.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmark: Q1 2017

NREL has been modeling U.S. photovoltaic (PV) system costs since 2009. This year, our report benchmarks costs of U.S. solar PV for residential, commercial, and utility-scale systems built in the first quarter of 2017 (Q1 2017). Costs are represented from the perspective of the developer/installer, thus all hardware costs represent the price at which components are purchased by the developer/installer, not accounting for preexisting supply agreements or other contracts. Importantly, the benchmark this year (2017) also represents the sales price paid to the installer; therefore, it includes profit in the cost of the hardware, along with the profit the installer/developer receives, as a separate cost category. However, it does not include any additional net profit, such as a developer fee or price gross-up, which are common in the marketplace. We adopt this approach owing to the wide variation in developer profits in all three sectors, where project pricing is highly dependent on region and project specifics such as local retail electricity rate structures, local rebate and incentive structures, competitive environment, and overall project or deal structures.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

U.S. Renewables Portfolio Standards: 2017 Annual Status Report

Berkeley Lab’s annual status report on U.S. renewables portfolio standards (RPS) provides an overview of key trends associated with U.S. state RPS policies. The report, published in slide-deck form, describes recent legislative revisions, key policy design features, compliance with interim targets, past and projected impacts on renewables development, and compliance costs. The 2017 edition of the report presents historical data through year-end 2016 and projections through 2030. Key trends from this edition of the report include the following: -Evolution of state RPS programs: Significant RPS-related policy revisions since the start of 2016 include increased RPS targets in DC, MD, MI, NY, RI, and OR; requirements for new wind and solar projects and other major reforms to the RPS procurement process in IL; and a new offshore wind carve-out and solar procurement program in MA. -Historical impacts on renewables development: Roughly half of all growth in U.S. renewable electricity (RE) generation and capacity since 2000 is associated with state RPS requirements. Nationally, the role of RPS policies has diminished over time, representing 44% of all U.S. RE capacity additions in 2016. However, within particular regions, RPS policies continue to play a central role in supporting RE growth, constituting 70-90% of 2016 RE capacity additions in the West, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast. -Future RPS demand and incremental needs: Meeting RPS demand growth will require roughly a 50% increase in U.S. RE generation by 2030, equating to 55 GW of new RE capacity. To meet future RPS demand, total U.S. RE generation will need to reach 13% of electricity sales by 2030 (compared to 10% today), though other drivers will also continue to influence RE growth. -RPS target achievement to-date: States have generally met their interim RPS targets in recent years, with only a few exceptions reflecting unique state-specific policy designs. -REC pricing trends: Prices for renewable energy certificates (RECs) used to meet general RPS obligations fell in most markets in 2016, as surplus RPS supplies emerged in many regions. Price trends for solar RECs were more varied, with a particularly pronounced drop in MD. -RPS compliance costs and cost caps: RPS compliance costs totaled $3.0 billion in 2015 (the most-recent year for which relatively complete data are available), which equates to 1.6% of average retail electricity bills in RPS states. Though total U.S. RPS compliance costs rose from 2014, future cost growth in most RPS states will be capped by cost containment mechanisms.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

National Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Analysis

This document describes a study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory quantifying the charging station infrastructure required to serve the growing U.S. fleet of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). PEV sales, which include plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs), have surged recently. Most PEV charging occurs at home, but widespread PEV adoption will require the development of a national network of non-residential charging stations. Installation of these stations strategically would maximize the economic viability of early stations while enabling efficient network growth as the PEV market matures. This document describes what effective co-evolution of the PEV fleet and charging infrastructure might look like under a range of scenarios. To develop the roadmap, NREL analyzed PEV charging requirements along interstate corridors and within urban and rural communities. The results suggest that a few hundred corridor fast-charging stations could enable long-distance BEV travel between U.S. cities. Compared to interstate corridors, urban and rural communities are expected to have significantly larger charging infrastructure requirements. About 8,000 fast-charging stations would be required to provide a minimum level of coverage nationwide. In an expanding PEV market, the total number of non-residential charging outlets or 'plugs' required to meet demand ranges from around 100,000 to more than 1.2 million. Understanding what drives this large range in capacity requirements is critical. For example, whether consumers prefer long-range or short-range PEVs has a larger effect on plug requirements than does the total number of PEVs on the road. The relative success of PHEVs versus BEVs also has a major impact, as does the number of PHEVs that charge away from home. This study shows how important it is to understand consumer preferences and driving behaviors when planning charging networks.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗