NREL's Renewable Energy Optimization (REopt) Tool: Models & Tools (Fact Sheet) Page: 1 of 2
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NREL's Renewable Energy
Optimization (REopt) Tool
NREL's REopt tool is an early screening tool
that identifies and prioritizes renewable
energy (RE) projects at a single site, or
across a portfolio of geographically
dispersed sites, to meet agency goals.
Key Features
- Optimization. REopt considers RE resources,
energy rates, and utility policies to identify the
most cost-effective technologies to meet energy
goals.
" Integration. REopt simultaneously models
the complex hourly interactions of multiple
thermal and electric RE technologies, along with
conventional energy sources.
- Low cost. REopt provides a quick and low-cost
method to identify the most economically and
technically viable technologies for further study.
Minimal data is required from the client, which
reduces the time and cost burden.
Technologies
REopt evaluates multiple RE technologies, along
with existing utility electric and thermal options:
- Photovoltaics (PV)
- Solar Hot Water
- Solar Ventilation Preheating
- Wind: small, medium, and large
" Biomass: thermal, combined heat and power
(CHP), and electric
- Waste-to-Energy: thermal, CHP, and electric
" Landfill Gas (LFG): thermal, CHP, and electric.The REopt Process
REopt combines site, resource, cost, incentives, and
financial data. The solver identifies the technology
sizes that meet the defined goals at minimum cost,
along with the optimal dispatch strategy. It also
estimates capital costs, operation and maintenance
(O&M) costs, and lifecycle cost (LCC) for the
recommended solution, as well as the levelized
cost of electricity for each technology. Batch mode
automation allows input data to be iteratively
refined and multiple scenarios to be run quickly andefficiently (Figure 1).
Run
REaptsite 1e iz 2
d2c 2.510 Mw1-3 A
Site TeF size
1 C PV 150" W
2 B Wind 3 MW
3 A LFG 2MWRun
REoptFigure 1 The REopt process
Results
REopt is highly adaptable to the needs of each
project. Some common results include:
- Optimum technologies for a site. REopt
evaluates the RE generation and site load on an
hourly basis to identify the types and sizes of RE
and conventional energy technologies that meet
site goals at minimum LCC (Figure 2).
" Prioritization across a portfolio of sites. REopt
compares the net present value (NPV) of projects
across multiple sites to prioritize which sites an
agency should target for further study.
" Sensitivity analysis. REopt runs thousands of
scenarios to evaluate the effect of varying inputs
(such as technology cost or utility escalation
rate) on NPV.8
2)
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Figure 2 Hourly electric load and total generation of the integrated solution for one typical day per month
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.,&-
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- Electric load
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NREL's Renewable Energy Optimization (REopt) Tool: Models & Tools (Fact Sheet), report, April 1, 2013; Golden, Colorado. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc839444/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.