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Identifying
and screening renewable energy projects
Do you know how to identify wind resource potential in your consumer-owned utility service territory and which wind technologies are best
for your wind resources? Do you know how to determine the cost of a
kWh of wind for specific project? Do you know how to evaluate which
roofs are best suited for solar energy applications or which buildings
have the best passive and active solar opportunities? Do you know how
to evaluate the biomass and geothermal resource potential in your utility
service territory? Public Renewables Partnership has collected the best
resources for your consumer-owned utility to use in evaluating renewable
resource potential and technology application.
General renewables
- Accessing Clean Energy Tools, Data and Expertise across U.S. National Laboratories
- Clean
Power Estimator is an economic evaluation
software program the California Energy Commission
is licensing for use from Clean
Power Research. The program provides California residential and
commercial electric customers a personalized estimate of the costs and
benefits of investing in a photovoltaic solar or small wind electric
generation system.
- Data
Synthesizer (Beta). Download the test version of the Wind/Solar/Load
data synthesizer.
- The
DOE Office of Building Technology, State and Community Program has
descriptions of 265 energy-related software tools for buildings, with
an emphasis on using renewable energy and achieving energy efficiency
and sustainability in buildings.
- Energy
Atlas of the West
- Focus on Energy's Resource Evaluation
Tools site provides energy production calculators and software resources.
- A new version of the Federal
Renewable Energy Screening Assistant (FRESA) is currently under development. Contact Alicen Kandt for more information on its release date.
- Focus on
Energy’s Wind Site Evaluation Tools will help you learn more about the wind resources in Wisconsin, and about windpower in general.
- Guide to
Tribal Energy Development
- How
do I use Renewable
Energy in my Region (pdf)
- Job
and Economic Development Impact Model
- Reegle Renewable Energy Search Map
- Renewable Energy Atlas of the
West
- Renewable Energy Project Locator
- Renewable GIS information
- RETFinance
is used to calculate cost of energy of biomass, geothermal, solar, and
wind based on modifiable project assumptions; the program also allows
users to store and change multiple projects.
- RETScreen International is used
to analyze the technical and financial viability of renewable energy
projects. These tools make it easier for stakeholders to consider the
financial feasibility of renewable energy projects at the critically
important initial planning stage while significantly reducing the costs
of assessing potential projects. Some of the enabling tools include
renewable energy project analysis software models and manuals; international
product and weather databases; project case studies; and university
textbooks. RETScreen assesses both large and small scale, on-grid and
off-grid wind, photovoltaic, small hydro, solar thermal, passive solar,
biomass heating and ground source heat pumps.
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Distributed generation
- The Distributed
Generation Analysis Tool provides assessments
of DG applications in the form of a 20-year
life cycle cost analysis and environmental
impact assessment and predicts successful
projects.
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Geothermal
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Green power
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Greenhouse gas
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Hydropower
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Solar (photovoltaic)
- The purpose of A
Guide to Photovoltaic System Design and Installation is to provide
tools and guidelines for the installer to help ensure that residential
photovoltaic power systems are properly specified and installed, resulting
in a system that operates to its design potential. This document sets
out key criteria that describe a quality system, and key design and
installation considerations that should be met to achieve this goal.
This document deals with systems located on residences that are connected
to utility power, and does not address the special issues of homes that
are remote from utility power.
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Wind
- AWEA Wind Siting Handbook
- Department of Defense Preliminary Radar Screening Tool
- Wind Development Handbook
- Wind Energy–Visual Impacts and Public Perceptions
- Wind
Engineering Mini Codes. Download the collection of mini codes related
to Wind Power Engineering
- WindScreen3.
Download the wind/diesel systems screening model
- The Utility Wind Resource
Assessment Program database was prepared by the Utility Wind Interest
Group to technically and financially support utilities conducting wind
resource assessments.
- The Union of concerned Scientists has produced Assessing
Wind Resources: A Guide for Landowners, Project Developers, and
Power Suppliers that is intended to guide developers through the process
of site assessment. It provides practical information on how to develop
reliable estimates of the wind resource and electricity production at
a given site. This includes information on how to measure wind speeds
and direction; how to qualify your land's potential for wind projects;
how certain variables affect wind production costs and return on investment;
what information is typically needed by banks and investors to finance
a project; and where to look for additional information.
Wind Power Map.org's Northwestern
United States Wind Mapping Project new high-resolution, state-of-the-art
maps of wind energy potential are now available for the Northwest. Resource
estimates are easily accessible to the public through an interactive
Geographic Information System website. Maps are provided at state, county
and utility scale.
- TrueWind Solutions provides state
wind resource maps.
- US Wind Power Projects
- The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Wind
Project Finance Calculator allows users to create new (or modify
an existing) project by entering values for numerous assumptions step-by-step,
until enough information has been entered to calculate the project's
cost of electricity.
- Windustry's Wind
Project Calculator was developed to assist farm owners and operators
in evaluating the economics of installing a wind turbine on their farms
to provide electricity for the farm and home. Windustry also provides
a directory of national
wind maps resources.
- The National Wind Coordinating Committee has produced a report Guidelines
for Assessing the Economic Development
Impacts of Wind Power designed
to guide the assessment of the economic impacts
of wind power development. The purpose of
the guidelines is to identify the most important
factors that should be considered in economic
impact analyses of wind power development
as well as to provide a consistent basis
for comparing the impacts across studies.
- Recognizing the emerging popularity of wind as a distributed generation
application, the Utility Wind Interest Group has organized this effort
to assess the impacts of small-scale wind generation on utility distribution
networks. The primary goal of the Distributed
Wind Impacts Project is the development of a set of tools to aid
utility distribution and planning engineers in analyzing wind generation
at the distribution system level. The tools consist of technical information
resources and a set of engineering software application tools.
- The Utility Wind Interest Group has released
a summary report, Wind
Power Impacts on Electric-Power-System Operating
Costs,
which includes results from studies conducted
on the power systems of Xcel Energy, Bonneville
Power Administration, PJM, We energies and
others. The study results, which are linked
to the penetration of wind on a given system,
show a range of $1.47/MWh for 7 percent penetration
in BPA's system to a high of $5.50/MWh for
much higher penetration of 20 percent in
PacifiCorp's system. The report also addresses
integration issues that still warrant investigation.
- AWEA's small
wind toolbox is a resource for individuals seeking to install a
small wind energy system and for individuals, policy makers, or others
interested in improving opportunities for small wind energy use.
- For more information on wind resource assessment,
see Wind
Resource Page.
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