DOE Open Energy Information Platform Transparent Cost Database This DOE link is a new public database featuring cost and performance estimates for electric generation, advanced vehicle, and renewable fuel technologies. The Transparent Cost Database (TCDB) provides technology cost estimates for companies, utilities, policy makers, consumers, and academics, and can be used to benchmark company costs, model energy scenarios, and inform research and development decisions. This database makes it much easier to view the range of estimates for what energy technologies, such as a utility-scale wind farm, rooftop solar installation, biofuel production plant, or an electric vehicle, might cost today or in the future.
NREL System Advisor Model (SAM) This NREL model makes performance predictions and cost of energy estimates for gird-connected power projects based on installation, operating costs and system design parameters that users specify as inputs to the model. Projects can either be on the customer or the utility side of the meter. The current version of the SAM includes performance models for solar systems (Photovoltaic, Parabolic trough concentrating, Power tower concentrating, Linear Fresnel concentrating, and Dish-Stirling concentrating), conventional fossil-fuel thermal systems, solar water heating, wind power, geothermal power and biomass power.
NREL BITES Model The Buildings Industry Transportation Electricity Scenarios (BITES) tool is an interactive framework that lets users explore the energy and carbon implications of altering the current U.S. energy profile. Using ‘what-if’ scenarios, users are able to adjust inputs to the electricity generation, buildings, industry and transportation sectors in order to compare outcomes to baseline reference cases.
CREST Cost of Energy Models The Cost of Renewable Energy Spreadsheet Tool (CREST) is an economic cash flow model to assess projects, design cost-based incentives (e.g. feed-in tariffs), and evaluate the impact of tax incentives or other support structures. CREST is a suite of three analytical tools for solar (photovoltaic and solar thermal), wind and geothermal technologies. The model allows for streamlined input entry, search on state-specific capacity factors, and evaluation on the impact of Renewable Energy Credit revenue.
JOBS Fuel Cell Model This Argonne National Laboratory spreadsheet model estimates economic impacts from the manufacture and use of select types of fuel cells based on input-output methodology. A variety of scenarios can be defined by inputting information on geography, fuel cell technology and annual fuel cell production number. A national analysis can calculate both gross and net impacts on job years.
NREL JEDI Model The Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) models estimate the number of jobs and economic impact of constructing and operating power plants, fuel production facilities, and other projects at the local (usually state) level. This is an Excel based model available for Biofuel, Coal, Conventional Hydro, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), Geothermal, Transmission Line, Natural gas, Photovoltaic, Wind and Marine & Hydrokinetic Power projects. Specific project data on construction, equipment, annual operating and maintenance costs and financing parameters are expected to be input by the users while default values are also provided by the model.
