According to a new study from NREL, in 2010 the average soft costs for residential systems averaged $1.50 per watt, or roughly 23 percent of system cost. For commercial systems, the median 2010 soft costs were $0.99/W for systems smaller than 250 kW (about 17 percent of system cost) and $0.25/W for systems larger than 250 kW (about 5 percent). The study, “Benchmarking Non-Hardware Balance-of-System (Soft) Costs,” included typical permitting fees but did not measure installer profit, overhead, financing and contracting, which are significant and would add to these figures. The study follows the Lawrence Berkeley Lab report, “Tracking the Sun V,” which suggested that the median cost of installing large systems fell to about $4.50 per watt by the middle of 2012, based largely on the declining cost of modules.

Read the full report here:  http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy13osti/56806.pdf

Craig Christensen of the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), showed off the already existing building version of their residential modeling program which is located in California.  BEopt is the Lamborghini of building modeling programs.  Under the hood, they have a finely-tunable mechanism of inputs for envelope equipment, setpoints, surroundings, and shading, and have newly integrated existing characteristics, detailed utility tariffs and cost/benefit tests, demand response, and energy storage – but that’s not all.  BEopt runs on a variety of fuels — the simulation engines TRNSYS + DOE2 or EnergyPlus.  Its most unique feature is its ability to test a single design (Design Mode), or to test a wide range of possible designs to find the optimal blend of design features (Optimization Mode), where a cost-energy “swoosh” distribution lays out the options, and shows those closest to the sweet spot.  The engine doesn’t assume efficiency first, but usually recommends it to a point, which then is cheaper to add PV.

Many other modeling tools exist but are usually specialized for renewables or efficiency. A few provide output standards to allow sharing among tools and between PV and EE service providers.  “Integrated tools will encourage integrated projects,” says Devan Johnson of kW Engineering.  The model developed by the team of kW Engineering, SolarNexus, Inc and SaveEnergy123 defines an IEP (Integrated Energy Project) and proposes an open XML standard to speed collaboration and integration of existing tools.  There are schemas for several categories of project data — from existing site and building features to energy systems, utility data, stakeholder information and proposed measure –as well as common schemas to interlink these data.

Seeing these tools in action really brings them to life.  The team from ConSol used BEopt to optimize their low-cost smart-grid-ready solar re-roof project, designed to a target installed cost of less than $4.25/W, including a Home Energy Management system and demand response controller.  A simple mounting assembly with a plug-and-play microinverter electrical interface (as simple as standard home wiring) require no special tools for installation, so a roofing contractor can install it.  This installation cost savings dramatically reduces first costs of the system.  In their showcase home, the team paired a 2.4 kW PV system with a package of energy-efficiency retrofits that amounted in BEOpt to a 30.5% energy savings without PV, and 55% with PV – a clear demonstration of the synergy between load reduction and supply. Actual production of the system came out at 10% better than PVWatts estimates.

Photo Credit: UC Davis West Village Project

Taking the PV-EE synergy to the community level, a partnership between UC Davis and Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. (E3) produced the West Village Project, which is part of UC Davis’ zero net energy community initiative.  1900 student beds were already close to Zero Net Energy on an annual basis, and the team wanted to model the solutions for 343 single family homes at no higher cost to developer and owner.  BEopt allowed them to model many possible solution packages, maximizing energy efficiency where feasible and integrating both PV and biogas to cover annual energy use.  The models also considered shifting conditions, from future economics to policy changes.  The team’s conclusions were that the best package had an incremental cost of around $5000 for a 22-30% energy reduction over California’s Title 24 standards.  The number of homes constructed greatly affected the economic feasibility, but all their modeled batches (30, 60 and 90) compared favorably against the neighboring conventional homes.  Economics were more favorable for a natural gas (rather than all-electric) strategy, and without electric vehicle storage.  In all situations, they concluded that Zero Net Energy is possible with little to no incremental cost to homeowners given the current state of incentives and smart development.

The key is to properly size PV at that sweet spot between the price of efficiency and the price of PV.  While customers often go for the easy but more expensive PV first, it makes natural sense to design and implement them together. Common data is collected to perform the design analysis, and they will perform reciprocally in the built reality.  The overall return on investment on combined EE and PV projects is better than for PV alone, and with evidence from the integrated modeling tools and their brainchild projects will help efficiency and supply to penetrate the market as a winning duo.

Photo Credit: NREL

Dr. Dan Arvizu, Director and Chief Executive of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), gave a very detailed presentation on how to “Realize a Clean Energy Future” at WREF 2012. He started off his presentation by talking about the pressing energy issues we currently have: energy security, the economy, and protecting the environment. Currently, the U.S. is producing about 74.9 Quadrillion BTUs of energy while consuming more than 98 Quadrillion BTUs of energy. Arvizu pushed the idea that our country is still focused on natural gas, coal, and petroleum for energy but 12.9% of global energy supply comes from renewable energy generation. The problem with incorporating more renewable energy generation is that costs are still high and haven’t reached a competitive state with current energy production. Energy like geothermal, hydro, wind, and biomass are reaching a point where they will be soon cost competitive, therefore it is more likely that these sources will grow in production.

One of the points Dr. Arvizu came back throughout his presentation was that globally, renewable energy potential is enormous but a profound transformation in our energy system is required. Our current energy system is dependent on non-domestic sources, subject to price volatility, vulnerability to energy delivery systems, wasted source energy, and increasing amounts of carbon emissions. To have a sustainable energy system, Arvizu stated that we need carbon neutrality, efficiency, diverse supply options, sustainable use of resources, economic development, and a system that is accessible, affordable and secure. In order to get there, the challenges that need to be overcome are legal, market, and institutional barriers; coordination between all agencies to create a shared vision; public support by understanding importance; and finding a solution that works for our country and our needs. Some ways to deal with these issues is by more investment in research and development, utilizing the asset, capital investment for long term, and national strategies to drive the energy market.

After discussing where renewable energy stands on a national and global level, Dr. Arvizu took a look into the current status of renewable technologies. He recognized that many states have Renewable Portfolio Standards and goals while also having great potential for a variety of renewable energy options. Because of this, the improvements in a variety of renewable and efficient technologies is necessary. He discussed the promising technologies in a bunch of different sectors including solar, wind, biofuels, transportation, building innovation, and efficiency/integration innovation. Throughout all of these sectors, he pressed the idea that their is huge potential for this field because of the variety of options within each sector. For example, for solar power alone there are three impressive PV technologies that are being developed to perform more efficiently and effectively: CPV, Thin Films, and Crystalline Silicon. Arvizu went into detail on all the different sectors and the prevalent innovation occurring right now to strengthen renewable energy.

Dr. Arvizu wrapped up his discussion by leaving this final statement:

“To achieve a clean energy vision, we must invest in innovation, invent the future we desire, improve access to capital, and partner on a global scale.”

To learn more about WREF 2012 and see the proceedings from the event, please click here. View below to see part of Arvizu’s powerpoint presentation:

Photo Credit: BrightParks

Answer: We’re getting there. It’s always good to ask the question of whether or not our society is sustainable. At home or within our places of business it is necessary to live within our means and do our part to reduce our consumption of natural resources, reuse things instead of throwing them away into a landfill, and recycle materials so that they can be reused in another product. The Thursday Ignite session at the WREF 2012 brought together a diverse array of speakers that understood the methods of becoming more sustainable. Overviews of each presentation are as follows:

• One presentation touted the great opportunity of educating the large U.S. Hispanic market on the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy (RE). There are approximately 50 million U.S. Hispanics with trillions of dollars of buying power. The opportunity is ripe to start targeting this untapped market with renewables especially where a large portion of Hispanics live. In the Southwest U.S., Hispanics could be key to an economic recovery for the nation while giving a much needed boost to the RE sector.
• Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” In the next presentation The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) advocated a new approach to solving our energy issues by using “systems thinking“. Roughly, systems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. Our energy issues are so complex that we need to take everything that affects or touches the energy issue (environment, human health, economy, fuels, transportation, etc.) and think about how each of those work together to create this huge thing we label “the energy issue”.
• Up next was a rep from the Solar Electric Light Fund, a Washington D.C. non-profit that uses solar to assist those living in energy poverty. My attention was peaked right off the bat when the presenter said, “Energy is a human right.” The organization helps poorer communities around the world take ownership of their energy needs with solar PV and thermal. For example, they provided a solar drip irrigation system in Benin, West Africa, which enabled them to rid themselves of a fuel generator which was always susceptible to fuel supply disruptions. The community is now able to bring fresh vegetables to the market on a regular basis, which also helps provide economic stability.
• Finally, a novel idea presented by a recent Phd. took the Environmental Protection Agency’s “brownfield” project to another, more sustainable level called “BrightParks”. A substantial amount of the estimated 400,000-600,000 “brownfields” are landfills. The EPA’s brownfield project will take a landfill and either cover it with a solar array to supply electricity to the local community or they will create a public park on a landfill. The goal of BrightParks is to take this a step further and make these landfills a multifunctional space that produces clean energy, restores the native ecosystems, and creates a social space with a network of trails for people to enjoy.

The panel of speakers was impressive and truly provided methods of making our world a little more sustainable and renewable. How are you working towards a more sustainable and renewable world?

NREL's Renewable Energy Futures Study

Today’s technology can do it, if the grid is modernized.

A new report published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Renewable Electricity Futures Study (RE Futures), finds that the United States could achieve a very high level of renewable energy generation by 2050, using today’s commercially viable technologies.

At 80 percent penetration, though, renewable electricity sources will require a more flexible grid in order to meet demand on an hourly bases in all regions.

The report, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, suggests that the needed grid flexibility can come from a portfolio of supply- and demand-side options, including flexible conventional generation, grid storage, new transmission, more responsive loads and changes in power system operations.

The abundance and diversity of U.S. renewable energy resources can support multiple combinations of renewable technologies that result in deep reductions in electric sector green house gas emissions and water use.

As the most comprehensive analysis of high-penetration renewable electricity of the continental United States to date, the study can inform broader discussion of the evolution of the electric system and electricity markets towards clean systems. RE Futures results indicate that renewable generation could play a more significant role in the U.S. electricity system than previously thought and that further work is warranted to investigate this clean generation pathway.

Download the Renewable Electricity Futures Study

• Volume 1: Exploration of High-Penetration Renewable Electricity Futures(includes Executive Summary)
• Volume 2: Renewable Electricity Generation and Storage Technologies
• Volume 3: End-Use Electricity Demand
• Volume 4: Bulk Electric Power Systems: Operations and Transmission Planning

Chevy Volt parked outside the Denver Convention Center at the WREF 2012

Driving on Sunshine is a reality for more and more folks across the country.

Though EV deployment across the country is still in the early adopter phase, many people in the industry are extremely bullish about the number of EVs we will see on the roads in the coming years.  By some estimates, the United States could see as a total market size of 10 million vehicles by 2020. If gas prices continue to rise as they have in the past year, this number could go even higher.

The Solar-Charged Vehicles panel on Tuesday at the World Renewable Energy Forum in Denver, CO featured three experts coming from diverse fields. Sudipta Chakraborty, a scientist from NREL, Christof Demont-Heinrich, a journalist and founder of SolarChargedDriving.com, and Cary Hayes, director of business development at REC Solar provided an overview of the many unique – and exciting – dimensions of the rooftop/home solar PV + electric vehicle synergy.

As EVs roll out across the country, car companies are creating partnerships with solar manufacturers and installers. Ford has teamed up with solar panel manufacturer SunPower Corporation to offer a special package that will include a 2.5kW rooftop solar panel to offset the energy used in charging up a Ford electric car. According to the two companies, the solar charging station will be good for around 1,000 miles per month of driving. This offer gives purchasers of an electric vehicle the chance to “drive green for life” for an additional $10,000.  BMW is also preparing for the 2013 launch of their fully-electric vehicle i3 by offering all of their 700 test drivers discounts and financing to install a solar PV system through Real Goods Solar.

Christop Demont-Heinrich sited an already 35% crossover between solar buyers and EV buyers, with this number expect to grow as solar becomes more affordable. Demonts’s site SolarChargedDriving.com has a survey of what is the most enticing reason to solar-charge a car? The responses point to the value of driving on home-produced solar energy for EV owners of the future:

Fueling independence (131)  42.7%
True zero emissions driving (72)  23.5%
It makes economic sense (68)  22.1%
Reduce global warming (30)  9.8%
Other (6)  2%

Results collected on 5/15/2012

Will EV’s help to drive wide-spread adoption of solar technologies or will solar warm-up buyers to consider an EV? With bullish outlooks for both technologies in the coming years and more programs combining the purchase of a new EV with a PV systems set to be released, PV could follow EVs into new areas where current penetration of the technology is low.