STTR Phase II: Matching the Timing of Renewable Energy Production with Patterns of Electricity Demand

Homer Energy Llc, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will transform the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER®) software into a tool that empowers professionals, students, and industry to design "hybrid" electricity systems that blend renewable resources, which are unpredictably intermittent, and fossil-fueled-based fuels, which are polluting and expensive. As renewable resources become more prevalent due to regulatory requirements, cost decreases, and consumer interest, the numbers and complexities of these hybrid systems will rise. HOMER is a simple, easy-to-learn tool that simulates the permutations of generating equipment in an electrical system to recommend the lowest-cost configuration that satisfies consumer demand. Developed at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) from 1992 to 2007 as a free downloadable application, the software will be converted into a web-based, e-commerce-enabled service (proven feasible in Phase I) as the vital component of HOMER Energy® LLC's growing business selling software, services and community to HOMER users. In addition, as part of this Phase II project, University researchers will apply this new version of HOMER to current, real-world issues relating to energy policy and technology in order to validate the software and promote it as a valuable research tool. This project has the potential to improve the access, usability, and features of the HOMER® software tool with the following impacts: 1) This easy-to-use modeling tool will assist research on existing, new and conceptual types of electricity generation and storage, as well as their implications on electricity supply and policy. 2) By recommending systems with lower costs and providing more accurate estimates on initial and operating investment, distributed renewable energy will be integrated more rapidly into electrical systems, augmenting or displacing fossil-fuel-based generation with a commensurate reduction in carbon emissions while increasing the reliability and security of electricity supply; 3) The accelerated electrification of rural areas, especially in developing nations, enabled by the tool has the potential to positively impact a region's standard of living.