Technology Overview Jimmy Salasovich, NREL October 28 th 31 st, 2013 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
Potential Technologies Energy Storage Micro-Grids CHP, Combined Cycle, Tri-Generation Fuel Cells Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Energy Efficiency Back-Up Generators 2
Overview Definition of each technology Examples How the technology relates to disasters Benefits and drawbacks Costs 3
Energy Storage Energy storage is anything that can store energy in order to perform useful functions at a later time Photo by Warren Gretz, NREL Pix #12532 Batteries store chemical energy in electrochemical cells that can be converted to electricity Photo by Warren Gretz, NREL Pix #08351 Flywheels store kinetic energy in a rotating mass that can be converted to electricity by extracting energy from the mass Photo by Ian Metzger, NREL Ice Storage systems create and store ice during off peak hours to be used during on peak hours 4
Energy Storage During and after a natural disaster, energy storage can provide useful functions such as providing electricity or space conditioning in the event of a power outage Benefits: High reliability and uninterrupted power Fast response times Compliments renewable energy systems Demand response during normal operation Space conditioning during grid outages Drawbacks: Relatively expensive Relatively large space requirements 5
Energy Storage 6
Microgrids Microgrids are systems which have at least one distributed energy resource and associated loads and can form intentional islands in the electrical distribution system to operate independently of the power grid. Microgrids: can operate in island mode separate from the grid or in parallel with the grid can be made up of conventional distributed generation technologies and/or renewable energy technologies are commonly connected to critical loads to provide energy security Photo by Connie Komomua, NREL Pix #21951 7
Microgrids During and after a natural disaster, microgrids can provide power to critical loads in the event of a power outage Benefits: High reliability and uninterrupted power Energy Surety Can use conventional generation and renewables Demand response during normal operation Drawbacks: Relatively expensive Relatively difficult to design 8
Microgrids 9
CHP, Combined Cycle, Tri-Gen Combined heat and power (CHP is also known as cogeneration or cogen) is a system that produces thermal energy for buildings or processes and concurrently generates electricity Image Source: U.S. Department of Energy 10
CHP, Combined Cycle, Tri-Gen Combined Cycle is a group of heat engines that operate together to create mechanical energy, which typically drives an electrical generator 11
CHP, Combined Cycle, Tri-Gen Tri-Generation (tri-gen) is the simultaneous generation of electricity, and useful heating and cooling 12
CHP, Combined Cycle, Tri-Gen During and after a natural disaster, CHP, Combined Cycle, or Tri-Gen systems can provide electricity and useful heating and cooling in the event of a power outage. Benefits: High reliability Useful heating & cooling during grid outages Very high efficiencies Drawbacks: Relatively expensive Typically larger systems Requires year round base load (electrical & thermal) May require existing infrastructure 13
CHP, Combined Cycle, Tri-Gen 14
Fuel Cells Fuel Cells convert chemical energy into electricity by a chemical reaction with a fuel and oxygen Fuel cells are different than batteries in that a constant supply of fuel and oxygen are required to maintain the chemical reaction Natural gas and hydrogen are common fuels used in fuel cells Very high efficiencies of 40-60% and up to 85% with heat recovery Photo by Daniel Slagle, NREL Pix #20694 Photo by Keith Wipke, NREL Pix #17319 15
Fuel Cells During and after a natural disaster, fuel cells can provide power to critical loads in the event of a power outage Benefits: High reliability even in harsh environments Few moving parts and lower maintenance than batteries and generators Low noise and zero emissions Electrical production during normal operation Drawbacks: Relatively expensive Specialty knowledge needed for maintenance and repair 16
Fuel Cells 17
Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Solar Photovoltaics (PV) are semiconductor devices that convert sunlight directly into electricity, without noise, moving parts, or emissions 18
Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Solar PV in New Jersey 776 PV systems of public facilities in New Jersey 170 MW of PV 204,000,000 kwh per year This equates to powering ~24,000 homes in NJ Photos by Jimmy Salasovich, NREL 19
Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Crystalline Silicon Slightly higher first cost 17 21% efficient Higher energy output Amorphous (Thin Film) Slightly lower first cost 6 8% efficiency Panels can be flexible Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 26970 Photo by Peter McNutt, NREL 13313 Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 21771 Photo by United Solar Ovonic, NREL 13571 20
Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Roof Mounted Typically higher first cost Typically higher packing density Ground Mounted Typically lower first cost Typically lower packing density Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 21582 Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 25930 Photo by Jimmy Salasovich, NREL Photo by Sustainaissance International, NREL 10314 21
Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Major components PV modules Combiner box Inverter Transformer Meter Install off-grid inverters Inverters typically shut down during a grid outage Off-grid inverters with transfer switches allow PV systems to continue to operate during grid outages Only 2 known PV systems in New Jersey were operational after the storm Illustration by Jim Leyshon, NREL 22
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) During and after a natural disaster, PV can provide power to critical loads in the event of a power outage Benefits: High reliability No moving parts and low maintenance Low noise and zero emissions Electricity production during normal operation Good incentives in New Jersey Drawbacks: Relatively expensive High space requirement 23
Solar Photovoltaics (PV) 24
Building Energy Efficiency Building Energy Efficiency is any measure that effectively reduces the energy consumption in a building HVAC Lighting Plug Loads Envelope Photos by Jimmy Salasovich, NREL 25
Building Energy Efficiency 26
Building Energy Efficiency During and after a natural disaster, building energy efficiency can allow for more critical electrical and space conditioning loads to be met by backup or alternative power sources while the grid is down. Benefits: Many low cost measures with high impact Increase building efficiency during normal operation, which equates to saving money Drawbacks: Implementation costs can be difficult to obtain 27
Generators A Generator converts mechanical energy to electrical energy Generators can either be permanent or portable Reciprocating engine generators are common Natural gas, diesel, and propane are common fuels Photo by Jimmy Salasovich, NREL 28
Generators During and after a natural disaster, Generators can provide power to critical loads in the event of a power outage Benefits: Relatively inexpensive Drawbacks: Potential safety hazard for untrained users Space requirement s for fuel tanks and fuel expires High maintenance High emissions High noise 29
Generators 30
Simulation Tools HOMER HOMER is a micro-power optimization tool Good for detailed modeling of solar, wind, batteries, generators, CHP, fuel cells, biomass, and hydropower Free download of legacy version https://homerenergy.com/download.html New version is $99.99 for 6 months 31
Simulation Tools System Advisor Model System Advisor Model (SAM) is a performance and financial modeling package Good for detailed modeling of solar, wind, and geothermal Free download https://sam.nrel.gov/content/downloads 32
Simulation Tools JEDI Jobs and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) is a spreadsheet based model for determining the economic impact of RE technologies Good for modeling the economic impact of PV, wind, biofuels, natural gas, petroleum, coal, hydro, geothermal, and transmission Free download http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/jedi/download.html 33
Simulation Tools PVWatts PVWatts is a solar PV calculator Good for quick and accurate solar PV modeling Free web-based calculator http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/ca lculators/pvwatts/version1 34
Simulation Tools equest equest is an hourly building energy modeling package Good for simulating building energy efficiency measures Free download www.doe2.com/equest 35
Simulation Tools DER CAM The Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) is an economic and environmental model of customer DER adoption. The DER-CAM model selects appropriate DG technologies, how they should be operated, and the economics of the technology. Free download http://der.lbl.gov/der-cam/how-access-der-cam/#gohere 36
Questions Are there any questions? For more information please contact any of our team members: james.salasovich@nrel.gov ian.metzger@nrel.gov eliza.hotchkiss@nrel.gov 37
Thank You NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.