Engineering topics

Lantz, Eric J.

Publications and source records attributed to Lantz, Eric J..

7 records

DOE OSTI2022

Counterfactuals to Assess Effects to Species and Systems from Renewable Energy Development

Renewable energy production, mostly via wind, solar, and biofuels, is central to goals worldwide to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate anthropogenic climate change (IPCC, 2014; Portner et al., 2021). Nevertheless, adverse impacts to natural systems, especially fatalities of wildlife and alteration of habitat, are key challenges for renewable energy production (Allison et al., 2019; Katzner et al., 2019).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2020

The Potential Impact of Offshore Wind Energy on a Future Power System in the U.S. Northeast

This study aims to understand and quantify the potential impact of offshore wind on a future electricity system in the U.S. Northeast. In this analysis, a detailed representation of the Northeast power system is adopted, using a generation portfolio for 2024 paired with offshore wind nameplate capacities of 0 gigawatts (GW), 2 GW, and 7 GW. The analysis identifies points of offshore wind interconnection in the ISO-New England and New York Independent System Operator control areas and uses hourly wind profiles from the Wind Integration National Dataset Toolkit. Hourly simulations of the 2024 power system operations show an ability to accommodate the prescribed offshore wind capacities by adapting the system's generation dispatch. Curtailment levels of offshore wind range between 4% and 5%. Offshore wind generation displaces primarily natural-gas combined-cycle generation; however, requires increased flexibility from combined cycles through more frequent start-ups. The number of hours with transmission congestion increases because of offshore wind injection, with varying impact on a subregional level. Offshore wind's capacity credit was found to be 14.5%-28.3% and is lower than estimated in other large-scale power system studies, in part because this study considered a different weather year and a power system representation with higher shares of solar PV and onshore wind. The reliability contribution of resources is a topic area identified for more research and collaboration. The 7-GW scenario shows a reduction in locational marginal price of 11%, with production cost savings of up to 18% compared to the 0-GW scenario.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

2019 Annual Technology Baseline [Slides]

Consistent cost and performance data for various electricity generation technologies can be difficult to find and may change frequently for certain technologies. With the Annual Technology Baseline (ATB), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory annually provides an organized and centralized set of such cost and performance data. The ATB uses the best information from the Department of Energy national laboratories' renewable energy analysts as well as information from the Energy Information Administration for fuel-based technologies. The ATB has been reviewed by experts and it includes the following electricity generation technologies: land-based wind, offshore wind, utility-scale solar photovoltaics (PV), commercial-scale solar PV, residential-scale solar PV, concentrating solar power, geothermal power, hydropower, utility-scale battery storage, coal, natural gas, nuclear, and conventional biopower. This webinar presentation introduces the 2019 ATB.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2019

Assessing wind power operating costs in the United States: Results from a survey of wind industry experts

This paper draws on a survey of wind industry professionals to clarify trends in the operational expenditures (OpEx) of U.S. land-based wind power plants. We find that average all-in lifetime OpEx has declined from approximately $80/kW-yr (~$35/MWh) for projects built in the late 1990s to a level approaching $40/kW-yr (~$11/MWh) for projects built in 2018. Turbine operations and maintenance costs represent the single largest component of overall OpEx and the primary source of cost reductions. We observe wide ranges of OpEx over time; respondents cite a range in average expected costs for recently commissioned projects from $33/kW-yr to $59/kW-yr. We also use historical OpEx learning rates, showing a 9% OpEx reduction for each doubling of global wind capacity, to project a further $5-$8/kW-yr reduction from 2018 to 2040. These findings suggest that continued OpEx reductions may contribute 10% or more of the expected reductions in land-based wind's levelized cost of energy. Moreover, these estimates understate the importance of OpEx owing to the multiplicative effects through which operational advancements influence not only operations and maintenance costs but also component reliability, performance, and plant-level availability - thereby also affecting levelized costs by enhancing annual energy production and plant lifetimes. Given the limited quantity and comparability of previously available OpEx data, the trends reported here may inform OpEx assumptions used by electric planners, analysts, and modelers. The results may also provide useful benchmarks to the wind industry, helping developers and asset owners compare their expectations with historical experience and other industry projections.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

Increasing Wind Turbine Tower Heights: Opportunities and Challenges

This report has two primary objectives. First, it seeks to inform the opportunities and potential associated with increasing wind turbine hub heights. It also explores the conditions and locations where taller towers offer the most significant potential to increase wind technology performance and reduce costs. The second objective is to examine the status of tall tower technology as a key subcomponent of wind power advancement.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

IEA Wind TCP: Results of IEA Wind TCP Workshop on a Grand Vision for Wind Energy Technology

This report provides workshop findings including the future landscape of the electricity system with over 50% of the electricity supply from wind energy, a review of key innovation opportunities in different topic areas that will be embodied in the wind power plant of the future (including innovations that both reduce levelized cost of energy and increase system value of wind energy), and identification of the key R&D challenges that must be addressed to realize the wind power plant of the future and the Grand Vision.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

The Vineyard Wind Power Purchase Agreement: Insights for Estimating Costs of U.S. Offshore Wind Projects

This report analyzes the power purchase agreements (PPAs) between Massachusetts electric distribution utilities (EDC) and Vineyard Wind LLC filed on July 31, 2018, and derives insights for estimating cost of U.S. offshore wind systems and broader cost modeling activities. The documented price for delivery of offshore wind generation and renewable energy certificates under the Vineyard Wind/electric distribution utilities PPA is 74 $/megawatt-hour (MWh) (2022$) for facility 1 (400 MW) and 65 $/MWh (2023$) for facility 2 (400 MW). However, this PPA price does not comprise the complete set of expected revenue sources and tax benefits available to the Vineyard Wind LLC project. A comprehensive accounting of expected revenue sources inclusive of those that are exogenous to the reported PPA is conducted in this study to estimate the project's levelized revenue of energy (LROE). This allows for a more equivalent comparison of the PPA pricing with bottom-up modeled (unsubsidized) levelized cost of energy (LCOE) estimates. LROE from the Vineyard LLC/EDC PPA is estimated to be 98$/MWh (2018$). This LROE estimate for the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the United States appears to be within the range of LROE estimated for offshore wind projects recently tendered in Northern Europe with a start of commercial operation by the early 2020s. This suggests that a cost and risk premium for the initial set of U.S. offshore wind projects may be less pronounced than anticipated by many industry observers and analysts.

17 WIND ENERGY↗