This paper presents results from the first U.S. based data collection effort to quantify non-hardware, business process costs for PV systems at the residential and commercial scales, using a bottom-up approach. Annual expenditure and labor hour productivity data are analyzed to benchmark business process costs in the specific areas of: (1) customer acquisition; (2) permitting, inspection, and interconnection; (3) labor costs of third party financing; and (4) installation labor.

As with any industrial-scale technology, wind power has impacts. As wind technology deployment becomes more widespread, a defined opposition will form as a result of fear of change and competing energy technologies. As the easy-to-deploy sites are developed, the costs of developing at sites with deployment barriers will increase, therefore increasing the total cost of power. This presentation provides an overview of wind development stakeholders and related stakeholder engagement questions, Energy Department activities that provide wind project deployment information, and the quantification of deployment barriers and costs in the continental United States.

Only US Laboratory Dedicated Solely to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. High Contribution Renewables in Islanded Power Systems.

A net zero energy installation (NZEI) is one that produces as much energy from on-site renewable sources as it consumes. NZEI assessment provides a systematic approach to energy projects.

This presentation covers modeling metal fatigue as a key step in photovoltaic (PV) module lifetime predictions. Described are time-dependent and time-independent case studies.

Prepared for the Clean Energy Regulatory Forum III, this presentation looks at the Western Wind and Solar Integration Study and reexamines the cost and emissions impacts of fossil fuel unit cycling.

Designed to be the world's most comprehensive, open, and collaborative energy information network, Open Energy Information (OpenEI - openei.org) supplies essential energy data to decision makers and supports a global energy transformation. The platform, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is intended for global contribution and collaboration.

Targeting Net Zero Energy for Military Installations in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. A net zero energy installation (NZEI) is one that produces as much energy from on-site renewable sources as it consumes. NZEI assessment provides a systematic approach to energy projects.

Describe the aspects of NREL's S and TF and Campus Master Planning in terms of how they have influenced ultra-efficient architecture on NREL's campus. Energy goals for the NREL campus are: (1) Understand how buildings uses energy, implement the cost-effective energy and water efficiency retrofits; (2) Use principals of energy efficiency and low energy design to reduce energy demand in all new construction; (3) Operate central plants efficiently; (4) Alternative transportation; (5) Use combined heat and power systems; (6) Use on-site renewables for demonstration and where it is cost-effective; and (7) Buy green power (over the next 25 years) so that 100% of our power will be from renewable sources.

The goals of this project are to highlight the diverse approaches for enabling high renewable energy penetration; synthesize lessons on effective policies and programs and present avenues for action to energy ministers and other stakeholders.

Presentation given at the 2012 Department of Homeland Security Renewable Energy Roundtable on Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for Renewable Energy (RE)

Presentation on NREL's e-Ca test.

This presentation library summarizes findings of NREL's Renewable Electricity Futures study, published in June 2012. RE Futures investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. It was presented at Wind Powering America States Summit. The Summit, which follows the American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA's) annual WINDPOWER Conference and Exhibition, provides state Wind Working Groups, state energy officials, U.S. Energy Department and national laboratory representatives, and professional and institutional partners an opportunity to review successes, opportunities, and challenges for wind energy and plan future collaboration.

Presentation on innovative indirect evaporative cooling technology developed by Coolerado Corporation given at the Rocky Mountain Chapter ASHRAE conference in April 2012.

Presentation on real-time imaging of plant cell wall structure at nanometer scale. Objectives are to develop tools to measure biomass at the nanometer scale; elucidate the molecular bases of biomass deconstruction; and identify factors that affect the conversion efficiency of biomass-to-biofuels.

We are establishing a theoretical procedure to identify most potential candidates of CO{sub 2} solid sorbents from a large solid material databank to meet the DOE programmatic goal for energy conversion; and to explore the optimal working conditions for the promising CO{sub 2} solid sorbents, especially from room to warm T ranges with optimal energy usage, used for both pre- and post-combustion capture technologies.

This presentation discusses the Building America Program. This presentation discusses the background and goals of the program. A few hot topic technologies are discussed. Outreach activities are discussed as well.

Geopressured geothermal reservoirs are characterized by high temperatures and high pressures with correspondingly large quantities of dissolved methane. Due to these characteristics, the reservoirs provide two sources of energy: chemical energy from the recovered methane, and thermal energy from the recovered fluid at temperatures high enough to operate a binary power plant for electricity production. Formations with the greatest potential for recoverable energy are located in the gulf coastal region of Texas and Louisiana where significantly overpressured and hot formations are abundant. This study estimates the total recoverable onshore geopressured geothermal resource for identified sites in Texas and Louisiana. In this study a geopressured geothermal resource is defined as a brine reservoir with fluid temperature greater than 212 degrees F and a pressure gradient greater than 0.7 psi/ft.

Because most sedimentary basins have been explored for oil and gas, well logs, temperatures at depth, and reservoir properties such as depth to basement and formation thickness are well known. The availability of this data reduces exploration risk and allows development of geologic exploration models for each basin. This study estimates the magnitude of recoverable geothermal energy from 15 major known U.S. sedimentary basins and ranks these basins relative to their potential. The total available thermal resource for each basin was estimated using the volumetric heat-in-place method originally proposed by (Muffler, 1979). A qualitative recovery factor was determined for each basin based on data on flow volume, hydrothermal recharge, and vertical and horizontal permeability. Total sedimentary thickness maps, stratigraphic columns, cross sections, and temperature gradient information was gathered for each basin from published articles, USGS reports, and state geological survey reports. When published data were insufficient, thermal gradients and reservoir properties were derived from oil and gas well logs obtained on oil and gas commission databases. Basin stratigraphy, structural history, and groundwater circulation patterns were studied in order to develop a model that estimates resource size, temperature distribution, and a probable quantitative recovery factor.

The potential economic benefits of the growing renewable energy sector have led to increased federal, state, and local investments in solar industries, including federal grants for expanded workforce training for U.S. solar installers. However, there remain gaps in the data required to understand the size and composition of the workforce needed to meet the demand for solar power. Through primary research on the U.S. solar installation employer base, this report seeks to address that gap, improving policymakers and other solar stakeholders understanding of both the evolving needs of these employers and the economic opportunity associated with solar market development. Included are labor market data covering current U.S. employment, expected industry growth, and employer skill preferences for solar installation-related occupations. This study offers an in-depth look at the solar installation sectors. A study published by the Solar Foundation in October 2011 provides a census of labor data across the entire solar value chain.

This presentation summarizes NREL biological systems for hydrogen photoproduction work for the DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting, May 14-18, 2012. General goal is develop photobiological systems for large-scale, low cost and efficient H{sub 2} production from water (barriers AH, AI and AJ). Specific tasks are: (1) Address the O{sub 2} sensitivity of hydrogenases that prevent continuity of H{sub 2} photoproduction under aerobic, high solar-to-hydrogen (STH) light conversion efficiency conditions; and (2) Utilize a limited STH H{sub 2}-producing method (sulfur deprivation) as a platform to address or test other factors limiting commercial algal H{sub 2} photoproduction, including low rates due to biochemical and engineering mechanisms.

Energy Security: Microgrid Planning and Design presentation to be given at the 2012 WREF in Denver, CO.

Over the past decade, there have been observations of module degradation and power loss because of the stress that system voltage bias exerts. This results in part from qualification tests and standards note adequately evaluating for the durability of modules to the long-term effects of high voltage bias that they experience in fielded arrays. This talk deals with factors for consideration, progress, and information still needed for a standardized test for degradation due to system voltage stress.

The presentation describes the test-to-failure protocol that was developed and piloted at NREL, stressing PV modules with multiple applications of damp heat (with bias) and thermal cycling until they fail.