Renewable Energy

Tools by Topic

State Clean Energy Policy Maps and Data Table

This online resource identifies which states are adopting what policies and initiatives to promote clean energy. The summary table and policy maps highlight state activity on the policies described in the Clean Energy Environment Guide to Action: Policies, Best Practices, and Action Steps for States. The maps and data table provide a “snap shot” of state efforts across the country. EPA updates these materials on a quarterly basis.

http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/state-and-local/state-best-practices.html

Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE)

The DSIRE Web site provides information about renewable energy and energy efficiency policies and incentives administered by federal and state agencies, utilities, and local organizations. Summary maps provide a geographical perspective of the availability of each renewable energy incentive type across the United States, and the summary tables provide an overview of renewable energy incentives offered in each state. On the renewable side, DSIRE tracks financial incentives and looks at a range of state rules, regulations, and policies. On the efficiency side, DSIRE includes information on incentives for energy efficiency upgrades, purchases of energy efficient products and systems, and construction of new energy efficient buildings.

http://www.dsireusa.org/

U.S. EPA Report, “Clean Energy-Environment Guide to Action: Policies, Best Practices, and Action Steps for States”

The Guide to Action is a first-of-its-kind compendium that details the experience states have had with 16 cost-effective clean energy policies and strategies in meeting state energy, environmental, and economic objectives. EPA developed the Guide to Action to help states learn from each other as they develop their own clean energy programs and policies. The Guide to Action is part of a package of planning, policy, technical, analytical, and information resources EPA provides to help members of its Climate and Energy State Partnership and other state and local governments establish and implement sound Climate and Energy State Action Plans.

http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/state-and-local/state-best-practices.html

NREL Renewable Energy Resource Maps

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provides interactive, online maps that show the resource potential for various renewable energy resources (solar, wind and biomass) in the United States. This portal also includes maps that explore the viability of three solar technologies in the United States (PV, Solar Water Heating and Solar Ventilation-Air Preheating) as well as a Renewable Energy Atlas Map of the West, an 80-page, full-color presentation of the renewable energy resources in the West, including newly released, high-resolution wind maps of the Pacific Northwest.

http://www.nrel.gov/renewable_resources/

State Climate and Energy Technical Forum

EPA’s Technical Forum conference calls provide a venue for exploring analytical questions and resolving key issues surrounding state clean energy efforts. Organized as a monthly discussion among state energy, environmental, and public utility commission officials, the Technical Forum features peer exchanges, expert presentations and targeted technical assistance. For each call, state experts describe their clean energy initiatives, lessons learned, and barriers to success.

http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-programs/state-and-local/state-forum.html

Supplemental Environmental Projects Toolkit

EPA’s toolkit helps state and local governments pursue clean energy projects through enforcement settlements. The toolkit starts with the basics, describing the process by which violators voluntarily agree to undertake Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) as a means of offsetting a portion of their monetary penalty. It then focuses on how state and local agencies can use SEPs to promote new renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. In addition, the toolkit provides case studies of how SEPs have been used to support clean energy projects, offers additional ideas for projects, and includes a step-by-step regulatory “road map” for pursuing SEPs.

http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/documents/sep_toolkit.pdf (PDF) (66 pp., 1.9M, About PDF)

HOMER

This computer model from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) simplifies the task of evaluating design options for both off-grid and grid-connected power systems for remote, stand-alone, and distributed generation (DG) applications. HOMER's optimization and sensitivity analysis algorithms allow you to evaluate the economic and technical feasibility of a large number of technology options and to account for variation in technology costs and energy resource availability.

http://www.nrel.gov/homer/

The Building Life Cycle Cost (BLCC) Programs

The BLCC computer programs conduct economic analyses by evaluating the relative cost-effectiveness of alternative buildings and building-related systems or components. Typically, BLCC software is used to evaluate alternative designs that have higher initial costs but lower operating-related costs over the project life than the lowest-initial-cost design. It is especially useful for evaluating the costs and benefits of energy and water conservation and renewable energy projects. BLCC also calculates comparative economic measures for alternative designs, including Net Savings, Savings-to-Investment Ratio, Adjusted Internal Rate of Return, and Years to Payback.

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/information/download_blcc.html

The Clean Air and Climate Protection Software (CACPS)

CACPS is a Windows-based software tool that allows states and localities to analyze the impact of various air pollution control scenarios on traditional air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs). The tool is divided into government and community modules, with each type allowing users to supply data on electricity and fuel-use reductions to analyze GHGs and air pollution impacts. For the community module, CACPS is subdivided into residential, industrial, commercial, transportation, and waste sectors. In the government module, sectors include buildings, vehicle fleet, employee commute, streetlights, water/sewage, and waste.

http://www.4cleanair.org/InnovationDetails.asp?innoid=1
For a copy of the software send an e-mail to 4clnair@4cleanair.org with “CACP Software” in the subject line.

NREL PVWatts

Developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), PVWatts calculates electrical energy produced by a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system. This tool enables non-experts to quickly obtain performance estimates for grid-connected PV systems within the United States. Two versions of PVWatts are currently available to users: Version 1 uses hourly Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) weather data and a PV performance model based on Sandia National Laboratories' PVFORM to estimate monthly and annual AC energy production (kWh) and cost savings for a crystalline silicon PV system; and Version 2 provides the same output as the Version 1, but also incorporates NREL's 40 km resolution solar resource data to permit site-specific calculations.

http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/codes_algs/PVWATTS/

NREL JEDI Tool

Developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) model is an interactive model to analyze the economic impacts of constructing and operating wind power plants. Users enter basic information about a wind project (including the state location, the year of construction, and the size of the facility) to determine project cost (i.e., specific expenditures) and the income (i.e., wages and salary), economic activity, and number of jobs that will accrue to the state (or local region) from the project.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/filter_detail.asp?itemid=707

RMI Community Energy Opportunity Finder

This interactive Web site from Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) calculates the benefits of implementing energy efficiency across a community. RMI’s Community Energy Opportunity Finder helps municipalities collect energy use data and then calculate potential energy savings, dollar savings, emission reductions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide, and jobs creation that could be achieved through energy efficiency programs. In addition, the online tool includes valuable information to help a community get started with its own energy projects, including case studies of similar initiatives, data sources, and ideas for funding.

http://www.energyfinder.org/

“Lead by Example” Guidebook and Tracking Tool

EPA is currently developing a “Lead by Example” (LBE) guidebook and tracking tool that will identify opportunities for states to achieve energy savings and promote the development of clean energy supply within state facilities, operations, and vehicle fleets. The guidebook and tracking tool are being developed to provide support to states interested in analyzing, prioritizing, and tracking progress of their clean energy initiatives.

Contact Jeffrey Brown (brown.jeffrey@epa.gov)

International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP)

The IPMVP is an industry-standard protocol for measuring and verifying energy savings. It is a broad framework that outlines a flexible and broad set of measurement and verification approaches for evaluating energy savings in buildings. Specific techniques are designed to match project costs and savings requirements with particular efficiency measures and technologies. Each option is applicable to different programs and projects based on factors such as the complexity of the efficiency measures under evaluation and the risk expectations. Accordingly, each option varies in accuracy and cost of implementation, as well as strengths and limitations.

http://www.evo-world.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=80

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