Nontechnical Barriers to Solar Energy Use: Review of Recent Literature

This paper reviews the nontechnical barriers to solar energy use, drawing on recent literature to help identify key barriers that must be addressed as part of the Technology Acceptance efforts under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar America Initiative. A broad literature search yielded more than 400 references, which were narrowed to 19 recent documents on nontechnical barriers to the use of solar energy and other energy efficiency and renewable energy (EE/RE) technologies. Some of the most frequently identified barriers included lack of government policy supporting EE/RE, lack of information dissemination and consumer awareness about energy and EE/RE, high cost of solar and other EE/RE technologies compared with conventional energy, and inadequate financing options for EE/RE projects

Fuel Cell Power Model Version 2: Startup Guide, System Designs, and Case Studies. Modeling Electricity, Heat, and Hydrogen Generation from Fuel Cell-Based Distributed Energy Systems

This guide helps users get started with the U.S. Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory Fuel Cell Power (FCPower) Model Version 2, which is a Microsoft Excel workbook that analyzes the technical and economic aspects of high-temperature fuel cell-based distributed energy systems with the aim of providing consistent, transparent, comparable results. This type of energy system would provide onsite-generated heat and electricity to large end users such as hospitals and office complexes. The hydrogen produced could be used for fueling vehicles or stored for later conversion to electricity

H2A Production Model, Version 2 User Guide

The H2A Production Model analyzes the technical and economic aspects of central and forecourt hydrogen production technologies. Using a standard discounted cash flow rate of return methodology, it determines the minimum hydrogen selling price, including a specified after-tax internal rate of return from the production technology. Users have the option of accepting default technology input values--such as capital costs, operating costs, and capacity factor--from established H2A production technology cases or entering custom values. Users can also modify the model's financial inputs. This new version of the H2A Production Model features enhanced usability and functionality. Input fields are consolidated and simplified. New capabilities include performing sensitivity analyses and scaling analyses to various plant sizes. This User Guide helps users already familiar with the basic tenets of H2A hydrogen production cost analysis get started using the new version of the model. It introduces the basic elements of the model then describes the function and use of each of its worksheets

Strategic Planning of Communications and Knowledge Transfer for the Solar Energy Technologies Program

The goal of the Solar Communications Team is to get the right information to the right people at the right time in the right form at the right cost, and to measure the effectiveness of projects and our strategic communications plan. Our communications efforts in FY 2005 emphasized the following: 1) Reaching the Buildings and Consumer audiences (e.g., Solar Decathlon, International Builders' Show). 2) Developing and distributing critical program documents to key stakeholders (e.g., Solar Program Review Meeting Proceedings, Industry Roadmap, second Multi-Year Program Plan). 3) Conducting a gap analysis of communications products and evaluating their effectiveness. 4) Working with our program management to streamline business processes and improve communications of management expectations. 5) Developing and maintaining content for all Solar Program Web sites that reflect research and program accomplishments. 6) Representing the interests of the Solar Program at strategic events (technical conferences, meetings, workshops, community events)

A framework for integrating supply chain, environmental, and social justice factors during early stationary battery research

The transition to a decarbonized economy will drive dramatically higher demand for energy storage, along with technological diversification. To avoid mistakes of the past, the supply chain implications and environmental and social justice (ESJ) impacts of new battery technologies should be considered early during technological development. We propose herein a systematic framework for analyzing these impacts for new stationary battery technologies and illustrate the framework with a case study. The goal is to promote future development of technologies with secure supply chains and favorable ESJ profiles to avoid expensive corrective actions after substantial resources have been invested. This framework should be a useful tool for public and private researchers and sponsors who want to ensure that supply chain and ESJ concerns are considered and integrated as part of decision making throughout the research and development process

Fuel Cell Power Model Version 2: Startup Guide, System Designs, and Case Studies. Modeling Electricity, Heat, and Hydrogen Generation from Fuel Cell-Based Distributed Energy Systems

This guide helps users get started with the U.S. Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory Fuel Cell Power (FCPower) Model Version 2, which is a Microsoft Excel workbook that analyzes the technical and economic aspects of high-temperature fuel cell-based distributed energy systems with the aim of providing consistent, transparent, comparable results. This type of energy system would provide onsite-generated heat and electricity to large end users such as hospitals and office complexes. The hydrogen produced could be used for fueling vehicles or stored for later conversion to electricity

Emission Testing of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Natural Gas and Diesel Transit Buses

An evaluation of emissions of natural gas and diesel buses operated by the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority

Demand charge savings from solar PV and energy storage

With an increasing number of jurisdictions considering alternatives to net metering policies to financially compensate behind-the-meter solar photovoltaics (PV), customer economics will increasingly depend on its ability to reduce demand charges. Understanding these demand charge savings from PV—and how behind-the-meter storage can potentially enhance those savings—is essential to understand PV market dynamics and adoption in the coming years. This article explores how these demand charge savings vary with demand charge designs and customer load profiles, modeled for a variety of residential and commercial customers. Our findings indicate that demand charge savings are lowest under a basic, non-coincident demand charge design where the demand charge is based on the maximum demand level over the month, regardless of timing, resulting primarily from the temporal mismatch between the timing of the PV host's demand peak and PV generation. PV provides greater demand charge savings, for both commercial and residential customers, when demand charge designs are based on predefined, daytime peak periods or longer averaging intervals. Demand charge savings from PV combined with storage are almost always greater than the sum of the savings attained through either technology separately. We also explore how well demand charge savings from PV align with corresponding utility savings

Benchmarking Non-Hardware Balance-of-System (Soft) Costs for U.S. Photovoltaic Systems, Using a Bottom-Up Approach and Installer Survey - Second Edition

This report presents results from the second U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored, bottom-up data-collection and analysis of non-hardware balance-of-system costs -- often referred to as 'business process' or 'soft' costs -- for U.S. residential and commercial photovoltaic (PV) systems. In service to DOE's SunShot Initiative, annual expenditure and labor-hour-productivity data are analyzed to benchmark 2012 soft costs related to (1) customer acquisition and system design (2) permitting, inspection, and interconnection (PII). We also include an in-depth analysis of costs related to financing, overhead, and profit. Soft costs are both a major challenge and a major opportunity for reducing PV system prices and stimulating SunShot-level PV deployment in the United States. The data and analysis in this series of benchmarking reports are a step toward the more detailed understanding of PV soft costs required to track and accelerate these price reductions