NREL Estimates Economically Viable US Renewable Generation
December 9, 2015 | DOE/National Renewable Energy LaboratoryEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Analysts at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are providing, for the first time, a method for measuring the economic potential of renewable energy across the United States.
A study applying this new method found that renewable energy generation is economically viable in many parts of the United States largely due to rapidly declining technology costs.
The report, Estimating Renewable Energy Economic Potential in the United States: Methodology and Initial Results, describes a geospatial analysis method used to estimate the economic potential of several renewable resources. Economic potential is a metric that quantifies the amount of economically viable renewable generation that is available at a specific location. Analysis to date includes photovoltaics (PV), wind, geothermal, biomass and hydropower resources.
"This report presents one method for estimating economic potential," NREL Energy Analyst Philipp Beiter said. "The initial results are intended to explore this method as a screening metric for understanding the economic viability of renewable generation at a detailed geospatial resolution."
Looking at the potential at developable sites, the report found that when the social cost of carbon is taken into account, renewable generation is economically viable in many parts of the country. At 2014 costs, the technologies combine for 820 terawatt-hours of estimated economic potential beyond the generation from renewable energy facilities already in operation. This additional potential is equivalent to nearly 20 percent of total U.S. annual electricity generation from all sources in 2014.
"Declining renewable technology costs are a significant driver for these results," Beiter said. "Economic potential has more than tripled as a result of cost reductions already realized for renewable generation technologies between 2010 and 2014, particularly for wind and solar PV."
Page 1 of 2
Suggested Items
Incap UK Completes Roof Installation Project
05/24/2024 | IncapIncap UK is excited to announce the completion of the roof installation project at our facility in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, covering an area of 4780 square metres. This new roof improves both the look and functionality of our building.
China Retains Market Advantage in Battery Development Despite US Raising Tariffs on Chinese Battery Imports to 25%
05/23/2024 | TrendForceTrendForce posits that Chinese EVs account for less than 2% of the US EV market, making the actual impact of these tariff hikes minimal.
Dana on Data: The Insane PCB DFM Process
05/22/2024 | Dana Korf -- Column: Dana on DataThis industry just doesn’t like to change. Line width/space is consistently narrowed; layer counts are now over 120 layers; via diameters constantly shrink. But a fabricator still can’t build per the supplied data package because of design, document, and capability mismatch errors. I have been writing for I-Connect007, and of the 41 articles and interviews I have done, 39 have focused on highlighting designer-to-fabricator data transfer issues with proposed solutions. Little has changed to improve the transfer. This industry seems to accept receiving erroneous PCB data.
IPC Releases May 2024 Global Sentiment of the Electronics Supply Chain Report
05/16/2024 | IPCSentiment among electronics manufacturers fell this month, after hitting a new high in April. Despite the decline, sentiment remains historically high according to IPC’s May Sentiment of the Global Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain Report.
Redwire Announces Development of New European-Built Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) Spacecraft Platform called Phantom
05/13/2024 | BUSINESS WIRERedwire Corporation, a leader in space infrastructure for the next generation space economy, announced Phantom, a new European Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) spacecraft platform.