Released December 2002
(Next Release:
November 2003)

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Renewable Fuels Module (RFM)

Description:

The RFM consists of five analytical submodules that represent major renewable energy resources — landfill gas, wind energy, solar, biomass, and geothermal electric.

The purpose of the RFM is to define the technological, cost and resource size characteristics of renewable energy technologies. They are provided to the Electricity Market Module (EMM) for grid-connected electricity capacity planning decisions. The characteristics include available energy capacity, capital costs, fixed operating costs, variable operating costs, capacity factor, heat rate, construction lead time, and fuel product price.

The Landfill Gas Submodule (LFG) provides the NEMS Electricity Market Module with annual regional projections of energy produced from landfill gas. The submodule provides regional forecasts of electric capacity to be decremented from electric utility capacity requirements, as well as capital and operating costs for the calculation of electricity prices.

The purpose of the Wind Energy Submodule (WES) is to project the cost, performance, and availability of wind-generated electricity, and provide this information to the Electricity Capacity Planning (ECP) component of the Electric Market Module (EMM) for building the new capacity in competition with other sources of electricity generation.

The purpose of the NEMS Solar Submodule (SOLAR) is to define the costs and performance characteristics of central station Solar Thermal (ST) and Photovoltaic (PV) electricity generating technologies and to pass them to the EMM for capacity planning decisions.

The Biomass Submodule passes to the EMM cost and performance characteristics by EMM regions and years. The fuel component of the cost characteristics is determined from the regional biomass supply schedules and then converted to a variable O&M cost.

The purpose of the Geothermal Electric Submodule (GES) is to provide the Electricity Capacity Planning (ECP) module the amounts of available geothermal generating capacity and its cost and performance characteristics for competition in the ECP for new regional electricity supply in the Western United States.

Last Model Update:

February 2001

Part of Another Model?

National Energy Modeling System (NEMS)

Sponsor:

  • Office: Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting
  • Division: Coal and Electric Power Division
  • Model Contact: Tom Petersik
  • Telephone: (202) 586-6582
  • E-Mail Address: Tom.Petersik@eia.doe.gov

Documentation:

Energy Information Administration, Model Documentation Report, Renewable Fuels Module of the National Energy Modeling System, DOE/EIA-M069 (2001) (Washington, DC, February 2001)
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/modeldoc/m0692001.pdf.

Archive Media and Installation Manual(s):

See Integrating Module of the National Energy Modeling System.

Coverage:

Landfill Gas Submodule:

  • Geographic: Thirteen modified EMM regions
  • Time Unit/Frequency: Annual through 2020
  • Product(s): Generating capacity
  • Economic Sector(s): Electric utility sector.

Wind Energy Submodule:

  • Geographic: 13 EMM Regions: East Central, Texas, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-America, Mid-Continent, Northeast, New England, Florida, Southeastern, Southwest, Western, Rocky Mountain, California and South Nevada
  • Time Unit/Frequency: Annual through 2020
  • Product(s): Electricity
  • Economic Sector(s): Electric utility sector, nonutility generators (NUGS).

Solar Submodule:

  • Geographic: For PV 13 EMM Regions: East Central, Texas, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-America, Mid-Continent, Northeast, New England, Florida, Southeastern, Southwest, Western, Rocky Mountain and Arizona, California and South Nevada. For solar thermal: Western, Rocky Mountain, California, and South Nevada.
  • Time Unit/Frequency: Annual through 2020
  • Product(s): Electricity.

Biomass Submodule:

  • Geographic: 13 EMM Regions
  • Time/Unit Frequency: Annual through 2020
  • Product(s): Electricity.

Geothermal Electric Submodule:

  • Geographic: EMM Regions 11, 12, 13
  • Time Unit/Frequency: Annual through 2020
  • Product(s): Electricity
  • Economic Sector(s): Electric generators.

Modeling Features:

Landfill Gas Submodule:

  • Model Structure: Sequential calculation of landfill gas to electricity generation, followed by derivation of regional and sector energy shares based on estimates of the percentage of landfill gas combusted
  • Modeling Technique: Econometric estimation of municipal solid waste generation, coupled with an energy share allocation algorithm for deriving electric generation capacity and energy quantities by sector and region
  • Special Features: Allows for the modeling of regional and national resource recovery efforts.

Wind Energy Submodule:

  • Model Structure: Sequential calculation of available wind capacity by EMM Region, wind class and year, with a deduction of that year's installed capacity from the remaining available capacity
  • Modeling Technique: Accounting function of available windy land area and conversion of land area to swept rotor area and then to available generation capacity
  • Special Features: Accounting for policy and/or production incentives.

Solar Submodule:

  • Model Stucture: Read input file for time-of-day and seasonal capacity factors by region
  • Modeling Technique: None
  • Special Features: None.

Biomass Submodule:

  • Model Structure: Data from nine Census divisions are restructured into 13 EMM supply regions
  • Modeling Technique: None
  • Special Features: Accounting for production tax incentives.

Geothermal Electric Submodule:

  • Model Structure: The model operates at the level of individual geothermal sites aggregated to segmented EMM regional averages.
  • Modeling Technique: Levelized electricity costs from each supply segment of each site in each region are arrayed in increasing cost order, then aggregated into three increasing average-cost segments in each iteration in each year, along with attendant quantities (megawatts) and average heat rates and capacity factors. Incorporates short-term cost elasticities of supply, technological optimism, and learning.

Non-DOE Input Sources:

Landfill Gas Submodule:

  • Franklin Associates, data prepared for the Environmental Protection Agency
  • National annual quantity of municipal solid waste generated
    • Current annual percentages of municipal solid waste combusted and landfilled
  • Government Advisory Associates, Resource Recovery Database, and Resource Recovery Yearbook
    • Plant-specific electricity generation, Btu energy content of MSW
    • Plant locations and energy-consuming sectors
  • Electric Power Research Institute, TAG Technical Assessment Guide
    • Capital cost; fixed and variable operation and maintenance costs
    • Plant capacity factor.

Wind Energy Submodule:

  • Princeton Economic Research, Incorporated (PERI)
    • WNDSLICE preprocessing program
  • Electric Power Research Institute and U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
    • Renewable Energy Technology Characterizations (EPRI TR-109496, December 1997).

Solar Submodule:

  • California Energy Commission
    • Cost and performance characteristics, solar thermal technology
  • Electric Power Research Institute and U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
    • Renewable Energy Technology Characterizations (EPRI TR-109496, December 1997)
  • Electric Power Research Institute
    • Cost and performance characteristics, PV technology
  • IRS Tax Code
    • 10-percent investment tax credit
  • National Solar Radiation Database
    • Regional Insulation.

Biomass Submodule:

None.

Geothermal Electric Submodule:

DynCorp I&ET, "Geothermal Supply and Cost Performance Characteristics," contract deliverable for Purchase Order #36727 for the Energy Information Administration, Coal and Electric Power Division, Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting, June 30, 2000.

DOE Data Input Sources:

Landfill Gas Submodule:

  • Source reduction factor
  • Waste stream adjustment factor
  • Landfill gas-fueled capacity
  • Projected shares of MSW combusted and landfilled
  • Heat content of MSW
  • Current capacities for MSW and landfill gas-fueled units.

Wind Energy Submodule:

  • Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 1991, DOE/EIA-0384(91) (Washington, DC, June 1992)
  • Pacific Northwest Laboratory
    • Reports PNL-7789, DOE/CH10093-4, and PNL-3195
  • DOE/EPRI, Turbine Verification Program — "TVP Project-at-a-Glance" Series.

Solar Submodule:

  • Electric Power Research Institute and U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, "Technology Characterizations," EPRI (TR-109496, December 1997).

Biomass Submodule:

None.

Geothermal Electric Submodule:

None.

Computing Environment:

See Integrating Module of the National Energy Modeling System.