# Presentation: 244980

## HOMER Overview

- Dr. Peter Lilienthal
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- October 11,2006

## History

- 1993 Village Power
- Internal NREL use
- 1998 Version 1.0
- Publicly available Windows application
- 2001 Version 2.0
- Grid-connected systems, multiple diesels, cogen, hydrogen, emissions
- 2006 Version 2.2
- Web link for solar resource data, time-of-use rates, flow batteries, real time prices

## Fundamental HOMER Question

- What (set of) technology(ies) is most cost-effective?

-  Micropower
-  Renewables
-  Fossil
-  Cogeneration
-  Hybrids

**A confused mind says “No!”**

**Notes:**
There are a lot of new technologies with very different characteristics.  None of them is a silver bullet.  Once you get beyond central station electric generation there are also many different energy applications, which also have very different characteristics.  Which technology best serves which applications?  The only short answer that is correct is that it depends.  It depends on the locally available resources.  It depends on local costs.  Frequently, the best solution is a hybrid or combination of technologies.  Frankly, it can be very confusing and a confused mind says “No!”.  We deve

## Fundamental HOMER Answer

**It depends.**
- Resources
- Loads
- Equipment prices
- Equipment performance
- Many different applications

## Simulation - Optimization - Sensitivity Analysis

- Simulation
- Accurate analysis of time varying loads and resources require an hour-by-hour analysis for entire year
- Optimization
- Find the least cost solution
- Sensitivity Analysis
- The data is never “good enough”.
- What if....?

**Hourly Energy Balance**

**Simulation**

**Optimization**

**Sensitivity Analysis**

## Answers from HOMER

- Optimal System Design
- Cost Breakdowns and Comparisons
- Resource Analysis
- Technology Development Targets
- Policy Analysis
- Operational Analysis

## Optimal System Design

- What kind of system is best under which conditions?

## Cost Breakdowns and Comparisons

## Resource Analysis

- Complimentary resources
- Compare different resources

- Examine impacts of:
-  azimuth & tilt  with TOU rates
-  tower height & power curve

## Technology Development Targets

- What is the required decrease in fuel cell cost?
- What is the required increase in lifetime?

## Policy Analysis

- Cost of emission constraints

## Operational Analysis

- When is backup power needed?

## HOMER is Flexible

- Rough estimated inputs for general analysis
- Annual averages for resources and loads
- Cost per kW or unit for equipment
- Detailed inputs for system design
- Measured hourly data
- Detailed cost curves
- Create your own wind turbine, battery, fuels

## HOMER Around the World

- Over 12,000 total downloads
- 184 countries
- Over 2,600 active users

- India, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, China, Chile, Philippines

- Canada, Australia, Spain, Germany, U.K, France, Italy, Greece

- Top countries:

- September 2006

## HOMER in China

- 168 users in China
- One example:
- Collaboration with Institute for Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- "Efficient System Design and Sustainable Finance for China's Village Electrification"

## HOMER in India

- 343 Users in India
- Two Examples:
- West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency
- “Remote Village Electrification Plan through Renewable Energy in the Islands of Indian Sundarbans”
- National Institute of Technology
- “Feasibility study of low speed wind turbines in India Using HOMER”

## HOMER in Australia

- 667 HOMER users in Australia
- 3 Trainings in November 2005
- HydroTasmania
- Murdoch University
- Australian version of HOMER
- Collaboration with ZBB, inc. on large-scale storage systems

## September 2006

## HOMER in the States

- Net Metering
- Time of day rates
- Emissions
- Irrigation in the Central Valley

## Selected US Applications

**GE** 27 registered users developing new technologies and distributed generation projects
**Northern Power Systems** “HOMER is a unique and valuable tool for our core business. HOMER represents the state-of-the-art for analysis of these applications.”
**Southwest Windpower **created marketing and dealer education materials with HOMER.
**Sharp Solar Systems** “found HOMER to be incredibly robust and the best application available for system comparison among the 15 or so programs covered.”

## More Private Sector Applications

- Manufacurers
- Capstone, Plug Power, Cummins, John Deere
- Energy Service Companies
- Noresco, Ameresco
- Venture Capital
- Black Emerald, Chevron Technology Ventures
- Center for Army Analysis
- Storage Technologies
- VRB, ZBB, Beacon Power, Powercorp
- Islands
- Alaska, Hawaii, Trust Territories, International
- System Integrators
- Black & Veatch, Draker Solar Design

## Selected US Industry HOMER users

- ABB
- Aerovironment
- Air Products
- Alaska Energy and Engineering
- Altair Energy
- Ameresco
- Antares
- Applied Materials
- Appplied Power Corporation
- APS
- Aquila
- Architectural Energy
- AstroPower
- AWS Scientific
- Barber-Nichols
- Beacon Power
- Bechtel
- Bergey Windpower
- Black & Veatch
- Black Emerald Group
- Blue Sky Engineering
- Boeing Phantom Works
- Boeing
- Booz Allen Hamilton
- BP America
- Bristol Bay Native Corp.
- Capstone Turbine
- CH2M Hill
- Chemonics International
- Chevron Technology Ventures
- Cinergy Corp
- Community Power Corporation
- Consolidated Edison of New York
- CORE International
- Cummins Power Generation
- Distributed Generation Systems, Inc.
- Distributed Utility Associates

- Draker Solar Design
- DTE Energy Technologies
- E3 Energy Services, Inc.
- Econergy
- Energy and Security Group
- Energy Conversion Devices
- Entegrity Wind Systems Inc
- Florida Power and Light
- GE
- General Atomics
- Global Energy Concepts
- Green Mountain Engineering
- GridPoint
- GT Energy LLC
- Hamilton Sundstrand
- Hawaii Electric Light Company
- Honeywell International
- ICF Consulting
- Intelligent Energy
- Itron
- John Deere
- Kyocera Solar, Inc
- Lorax Energy Systems, LLC
- MidAmerican Energy Holdings
- Navigant Consulting
- Nevada Power Company
- Nexant Inc.
- Noresco
- Northern Power Systems
- ORMAT INTERNATIONAL
- PA Consulting Group
- PERI
- Pinnacle Technology, Inc.
- Plug Power
- Polarconsult Alaska, Inc.
- Powercorp Alaska

- PPG Inc
- PPL Energy Services
- Proton Energy Systems
- PSE&G
- Puget Sound Energy
- Red Mountain Energy Partners
- Remote Power Inc.
- Resource Dynamics Corp.
- Rolls-Royce Corp.
- RWE Schott Solar Inc.
- Sacred Power Corporation
- Scripps Howard
- SDGE
- Sempra Energy Services
- Sentech, Inc.
- Shaw PTI
- Siemens Building Technologies
- Southern States Power Company, Inc
- Southwest PV Systems, Inc.
- Southwest Windpower
- Spire Corporation
- Square D Company
- SunWize Technologies
- Sustainable Automation
- TDX Power, Inc.
- Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group
- Texaco
- The AES Corporation
- Trexler and Associates
- United Parcel Service
- United Technologies
- Vail resorts
- VRB Power Systems Inc
- WorldWater Corporation
- XCel Energy
- ZBB Technologies, Inc

## How Can HOMER Help DOE?

- HOMER’s users are your front line.
- Expand the user base
- Training
- Simplified version
- Support the user base
- Sample files, analyses, & case studies
- On-line community
- Newsletters
- Conference

## Availability

- Industry values a non-proprietary tool that their customers can use.
- HOMER can be downloaded at no cost from: _[www.nrel.gov/homer](http://www.nrel.gov/homer)_ .
- For more information:
- Dr. Peter Lilienthal
- 303-384-7444
- peter_lilienthal@nrel.gov