Renewable Power Pathways A Review of the U.S. Department of Energy's Renewable Energy Programs (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-9
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In the last decade or so, globalization of the economy has increased, priorities in Congress have changed, and the wholesale electric power-generation sector in many parts of the country has undergone restructuring. DOE' s goal of providing options for the future energy needs of the United States requires a constant
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OPT has not developed the policies or resources needed to achieve its goals in an increasingly competitive electricity market, in which electricity can be generated relatively cheaply from conventional sources, such as natural gas and coal. Significant challenges will have to be overcome for renewable energy technologies to be competitive in a market in which the traditional customer (the utility industry)
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Although the objectives of individual programs are reasonably well thought out, they have not been considered in the overall context of OPT's goals or in light of the changing needs of the electric power sector. However, the committee believes that stronger OPT leadership and the formation of crosscutting teams could help OPT identify synergies among these programs.
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However, at the time of the committee's review, OPT had paid little attention to a coherent roadmapping exercise that would include technical objectives and critical barriers to be overcome, a program for achieving objectives and setting priorities, the establishment of budget requirements, or the development of contingency plans to cope with uncertain budgets. Although it appears that the individual programs have identified critical barriers to the development of individual technologies, OPT has not developed a systems analysis framework for examining the existing and emerging electric power system in detail and identifying the contribution (e.g., baseload, intermediate load, peaking, hybrid, etc.)
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The challenges posed by the restructuring of the electric power industry, the use of distributed resource technologies, the need for storage technologies for many intermittent renewable technologies, and opportunities in the international market could be the integrating themes. One mechanism for facilitating integration among the individual programs would be to establish crosscutting teams to identify enabling opportunities and critical roadblocks and/or barriers to the development of technologies.
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Today, natural gas turbines and pumped hydroelectric power can be used to provide supplemental energy. But promising "clean" energy carriers for the future (e.g., electricity and hydrogen)
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, the coupling of electrolysis with renewable energy generation, and distributed storage. OPT's Hydrogen Research Program should be coordinated with other elements in DOE, such as the Office of Transportation Technology, the Office of Fossil Energy, and the Office of Science that also are involved in hydrogen and hydrogen-related research.
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Wind Energy Program The Wind Energy Program's research on advanced wind turbine technology should focus on turbulent flow studies, durable materials to extend turbine life, blade efficiency, and higher efficiency operation in lower quality wind regimes.
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Distributed Resources DOE should develop a technology road map for distributed power-generation technologies to define the role of, and program goals for, distributed power systems in restructured electricity markets. DOE could then define the potential benefits of expanded markets for distributed power technologies and provide an analysis for policy decisions on distributed power markets.
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