This study estimates the magnitude of geothermal energy from fifteen major known US sedimentary basins and ranks these basins relative to their potential. Because most sedimentary basins have been explored for oil and gas, well logs, temperatures at depth, and reservoir properties are known. This reduces exploration risk and allows development of geologic exploration models for each basin as well as a relative assessment of geologic risk elements for each play. The total available thermal resource for each basin was estimated using the volumetric heat-in-place method originally proposed by Muffler (USGS). Total sedimentary thickness maps, stratigraphic columns, cross sections, and temperature gradient Information were gathered for each basin from published articles, USGS reports, and state geological survey reports. When published data was insufficient, thermal gradients and reservoir properties were derived from oil and gas well logs obtained on oil and gas commission websites. Basin stratigraphy, structural history, and groundwater circulation patterns were studied in order to develop a model that estimates resource size and temperature distribution, and to qualitatively assess reservoir productivity.

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.

This presentation 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.

This presentation discusses U.S. DOE Learning Demonstration Project goals, fuel cell vehicle and H2 station deployment status, and technical highlights of vehicle and infrastructure analysis results and progress.

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.

This presentation discusses analysis results for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act early market fuel cell deployments and describes the objective of the project and its relevance to the Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program; NREL's analysis approach; technical accomplishments including publication of a fourth set of composite data products; and collaborations and future work.

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 powerpoint presentation to be presented at the World Renewable Energy Forum on May 14, 2012, in Denver, CO, discusses systematic review and harmonization of life cycle GHG emission estimates for electricity generation technologies.

The Clean Energy Ministerial launched the Clean Energy Solutions Center in April, 2011 for major economy countries, led by Australia and U.S. with other CEM partners. Partnership with UN-Energy is extending scope to support all developing countries: 1. Enhance resources on policies relating to energy access, small to medium enterprises (SMEs), and financing programs; 2. Offer expert policy assistance to all countries; 3. Expand peer to peer learning, training, and deployment and policy data for developing countries.

The failures and performance issues associated with three years of on-sun testing of CPV modules are discussed. Pictures of various failure mechanisms and performance issues are presented. A wide array of CPV module failures and performance issues have been experienced at NREL. Many of the modules are prototypes and have not been through qualification testing. It is assumed that the qualification test would have captured many of the problems. Internal lens soiling due to condensation is not currently captured by the qualification test. Lens temperature dependence can be built into modeling if CPV is to operate in cold locations.

Edge seal materials were evaluated using a 100-nm film of Ca deposited on glass and laminated to another glass substrate. As moisture penetrates the package it converts the Ca metal to transparent CaOH2 giving a clear indication of the depth to which moisture has entered. Using this method, we have exposed test samples to a variety of temperature and humidity conditions ranging from 45C and 10% RH up to 85C and 85% RH, to ultraviolet radiation and to mechanical stress. We are able to show that edge seal materials are capable of keeping moisture away from sensitive cell materials for the life of a module.

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.

Presentation given at the 2012 Department of Homeland Security Renewable Energy Roundtable on Algal Fuels.

The presentation shows a brief status report on the development of a specification being considered by IEC TC82 WG7 for a concentrator cell data sheet and solicits suggestions from the community.

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.

Recently there has been an interest in the use of thermoplastic encapsulant materials in photovoltaic modules to replace chemically crosslinked materials, e.g., ethylene-vinyl acetate. The related motivations include the desire to: reduce lamination time or temperature; use less moisture-permeable materials; or use materials with better corrosion characteristics. However, the use of any thermoplastic material in a high-temperature environment raises safety and performance concerns, as the standardized tests currently do not expose the modules to temperatures in excess of 85C, yet modules may experience temperatures above 100C in operation. Here we constructed eight pairs of crystalline-silicon modules and eight pairs of glass/encapsulation/glass mock modules using different encapsulation materials of which only two were designed to chemically crosslink. One module set was exposed outdoors with insulation on the back side in Arizona in the summer, and an identical set was exposed in environmental chambers. High precision creep measurements and performance measurements indicate that despite many of these polymeric materials being in the melt state at some of the highest outdoor temperatures achievable, very little creep was seen because of their high viscosity, temperature heterogeneity across the modules, and in the case of the crystalline-silicon modules, the physical restraint of the backsheet. These …

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

GSA's Green Proving Ground (GPG) program utilizes GSA's real estate portfolio to test and evaluate innovative and underutilized sustainable building technologies and practices. Findings are used to support the development of GSA performance specifications and inform decision making within GSA, other federal agencies, and the real estate industry. The program aims to drive innovation in environmental performance in federal buildings and help lead market transformation through deployment of new technologies.

A new approach to modeling residential air conditioners and heat pumps allows users to model systems by specifying only the more readily-available SEER/EER/HSPF-type metrics. Manufacturer data was used to generate full sets of model inputs for over 450 heat pumps and air conditioners. A sensitivity analysis identified which inputs can be safely defaulted 'behind-the-scenes' without negatively impacting the reliability of energy simulations.

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.

Regardless of cost and performance some wind projects are unable to proceed to commissioning as a result of deployment barriers. Principal deployment barriers in the industry today include: wildlife, public acceptance, access to transmission, and radar. To date, methods for understanding these non-technical barriers have failed to accurately characterize the costs imposed by deployment barriers and the degree of impact to the industry. Analytical challenges include limited data and modeling capabilities. Changes in policy and regulation, among other factors, also add complexity to analysis of impacts from deployment barriers. This presentation details preliminary results from new NREL analysis focused on quantifying the impact of deployment barriers on the wind resource of the United States, the installed cost of wind projects, and the total electric power system cost of a 20% wind energy future. In terms of impacts to wind project costs and developable land, preliminary findings suggest that deployment barriers are secondary to market drivers such as demand. Nevertheless, impacts to wind project costs are on the order of $100/kW and a substantial share of the potentially developable windy land in the United States is indeed affected by deployment barriers.

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)

Analysis discussing the cost models and supply chains of various PV technologies.

We examine a proposed test standard that can be used to evaluate the maximum representative change in linear dimensions of sheet encapsulation products for photovoltaic modules (resulting from their thermal processing). The proposed protocol is part of a series of material-level tests being developed within Working Group 2 of the Technical Committee 82 of the International Electrotechnical Commission. The characterization tests are being developed to aid module design (by identifying the essential characteristics that should be communicated on a datasheet), quality control (via internal material acceptance and process control), and failure analysis. Discovery and interlaboratory experiments were used to select particular parameters for the size-change test. The choice of a sand substrate and aluminum carrier is explored relative to other options. The temperature uniformity of +/- 5C for the substrate was confirmed using thermography. Considerations related to the heating device (hot-plate or oven) are explored. The time duration of 5 minutes was identified from the time-series photographic characterization of material specimens (EVA, ionomer, PVB, TPO, and TPU). The test procedure was revised to account for observed effects of size and edges. The interlaboratory study identified typical size-change characteristics, and also verified the absolute reproducibility of +/- 5% between laboratories.