HOMER Overview Dr Peter Lilienthal National Renewable Energy

HOMER Overview Dr. Peter Lilienthal National Renewable Energy Laboratory April 26, 2007 Free Training Workshop Tomorrow

History • 1993 Village Power – Internal NREL use • 1998 Version 1. 0 – Publicly available Windows application • 2001 Version 2. 0 – Grid-connected systems, multiple diesels, cogen, hydrogen, emissions • 2006 Version 2. 2 – Web link for solar resource data, time-ofuse rates, flow batteries, real time prices

Fundamental HOMER Question What (set of) technology(ies) is most cost-effective? – Micropower – Renewables – Fossil –Cogeneration – Hybrids A confused mind says “No!”

Fundamental HOMER Answer • It depends. – Resources – Loads – Equipment prices – Equipment performance • Many different applications

Simulation - Optimization Sensitivity Analysis • Simulation – Accurate analysis of time varying loads and resources require an hour-by-hour analysis for entire year • Optimization – Find the least cost solution • Sensitivity Analysis – The data is never “good enough”. – What if…. ? Sensitivity Analysis Optimization Simulation Hourly Energy Balance

HOMER is Flexible • Rough estimated inputs for general analysis – Annual averages for resources and loads – Cost per k. W or unit for equipment • Detailed inputs for system design – Measured hourly data – Detailed cost curves – Create your own wind turbine, battery, fuels

Answers from HOMER • • • Optimal System Design Cost Breakdowns and Comparisons Resource Analysis Technology Development Targets Policy Analysis Operational Analysis

Optimal System Design • What kind of system is best under which conditions?

Wind-Diesel Cogeneration What is the minimum fuel price for wind-diesel to be cost-effective? Does it depend on the size of thermal load?

Cost Breakdowns and Comparisons

Resource Analysis Complimentary resources Compare different resources Examine impacts of: • azimuth & tilt with TOU rates • tower height & power curve

Technology Development Targets What is the required decrease in fuel cell cost? What is the required increase in lifetime?

Policy Analysis • Cost of emission constraints

Operational Analysis • When is backup power needed?

Other HOMER Applications • • Net Metering Time of day rates Emissions Irrigation in the Central Valley

HOMER Around the World • Over 14, 000 total downloads • 184 countries • Over 2, 600 active users Top countries: Canada, Australia, Spain, Germany, U. K, France, Italy, Greece India, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, China, Chile, Philippines September 2006

September 2006

Selected US Applications • GE 27 registered users developing new technologies and distributed generation projects • Northern Power Systems “HOMER is a unique and valuable tool for our core business. HOMER represents the state-of-the-art for analysis of these applications. ” • Southwest Windpower created marketing and dealer education materials with HOMER. • Sharp Solar Systems “found HOMER to be incredibly robust and the best application available for system comparison among the 15 or so programs covered. ”

More Private Sector Applications • Manufacturers – Capstone, Plug Power, Cummins, John Deere – Propane Education and Research Council • Designing new engine designs for hybrids • Energy Service Companies – Noresco worked with FEMP to develop renewable projects • Venture Capital – Black Emerald, Chevron Technology Ventures • Center for Army Analysis – Transportable Hybrid Electric Power Stations • Storage Technologies – ZBB, Beacon Power, Powercorp – VRB funded major enhancements to HOMER • Islands – Alaska requiring HOMER analysis for all retrofits to 181 diesel-powered villages – Hawaii & Trust Territories using HOMER for EPACT compliance – Major international market for liquid fueled grids • System Integrators – Black & Veatch – Draker Solar designing ground water remediation projects

Selected US Industry HOMER users ABB Aerovironment Air Products Alaska Energy and Engineering Altair Energy Ameresco Antares Applied Materials Appplied Power Corporation APS Aquila Architectural Energy AWS Scientific Barber-Nichols Beacon Power Bechtel Bergey Windpower Black & Veatch Black Emerald Group Blue Sky Engineering Boeing Phantom Works Boeing Booz Allen Hamilton BP America Bristol Bay Native Corp. Capstone Turbine CH 2 M Hill Chemonics International Chevron Technology Ventures Cinergy Corp Community Power Corporation Consolidated Edison of New York CORE International Cummins Power Generation Distributed Generation Systems, Inc. Distributed Utility Associates Draker Solar Design DTE Energy Technologies E 3 Energy Services, Inc. Econergy Energy and Security Group Energy Conversion Devices Entegrity Wind Systems Inc Florida Power and Light GE General Atomics Global Energy Concepts Green Mountain Engineering Grid. Point GT Energy LLC Hamilton Sundstrand Hawaii Electric Light Company Honeywell International ICF Consulting Intelligent Energy Itron John Deere Kyocera Solar, Inc Lorax Energy Systems, LLC Mid. American Energy Holdings Navigant Consulting Nevada Power Company Nexant Inc. Noresco Northern Power Systems ORMAT INTERNATIONAL PA Consulting Group PERI Pinnacle Technology, Inc. Plug Power Polarconsult Alaska, Inc. Powercorp Alaska PPG Inc PPL Energy Services Proton Energy Systems PSE&G Puget Sound Energy Red Mountain Energy Partners Remote Power Inc. Resource Dynamics Corp. Rolls-Royce Corp. RWE Schott Solar Inc. Sacred Power Corporation Scripps Howard SDGE Sempra Energy Services Sentech, Inc. Shaw PTI Siemens Building Technologies Southern States Power Company, Inc Southwest PV Systems, Inc. Southwest Windpower Spire Corporation Square D Company Sun. Wize Technologies Sustainable Automation TDX Power, Inc. Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group Texaco The AES Corporation Trexler and Associates United Parcel Service United Technologies Vail resorts VRB Power Systems Inc World. Water Corporation XCel Energy ZBB Technologies, Inc

Availability • HOMER can be downloaded at no cost from: www. nrel. gov/homer. • Register for tomorrow’s training workshop • For more information: – Dr. Peter Lilienthal • 303 -384 -7444 office • 303 -204 -3575 mobile • peter_lilienthal@nrel. gov