Session: 09-02-02 Wave Energy: Hydrodynamics 2

Paper Number: 128334

128334 - Techno-Economic Modeling of Marine Energy Systems With the System Advisor Model 

The system Advisor Model (SAM) developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with funds by the United States (US) Department of Energy (DOE) is a free, publicly available techno-economic modeling software designed to evaluate renewable energy system’s design, performance, and project economics. Since the software’s launch in 2007, new versions have been released annually, adding to the collection of technologies and financing options it can accommodate. The marine energy module, which includes wave and tidal energy technologies, were added to SAM in 2019. SAM’s marine energy module is a standardized, user-friendly modeling platform that estimates annual energy production, capital expenditures, operational expenditures, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), and other techno-economic metrics for marine energy systems. 

The SAM tool offers resource modeling capabilities for both wave and tidal systems. Users are able to upload custom resource datasets or use resource data accessible from SAM.  The SAM wave energy module leverages resource data from the Wave Hindcast Dataset enabling users to download wave resource data using latitude and longitude coordinates. The SAM tidal energy module has a tidal resource library that stores time-series datasets for select locations in the US exclusive economic zone (EEZ), supplied from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Current Measurement Interface for the Study of Tides (C-MIST) tool. SAM has built-in power performance data for many marine energy technologies. The SAM wave energy module has a wave energy converter (WEC) library that stores power matrices for multiple WEC architypes and scales. Similarly, the SAM tidal module has multiple tidal energy converter (TEC) power curves available in the SAM’s TEC library. Alternately, users are able upload customized power data for both wave and tidal systems. 

SAM has two financial modeling options: the fixed-charge-rate LCOE model or the power purchase agreement cash flow model. The LCOE model can be used with time-series resource and power performance data, or probabilistic data (like joint probability distributions), whereas the cash flow model requires the use of time-series data. Both models require the user to define system costs using a standardized cost breakdown structure. SAM provides cost estimates for all major system costs based on parametric cost functions, but users are encouraged to use custom costs specific to their technology when available.

In this work, case studies of wave and tidal energy systems will be presented to provide an overview of the performance and cost modeling capabilities of SAM and to highlight the newest implemented features. The newest model features include: 1) applying learning curves to estimate the cost of commercial scale systems using first-of-a-kind single device costs; 2) applying uncertainty ranges on cost and power performance estimates based on the stage of the technology development. The case studies will use the built-in analysis and reporting capabilities of SAM to demonstrate how users can quicky assess the techno-economic feasibility of marine energy systems. Additionally, the case studies will be used to inspire discussion and to solicit feedback to shape future SAM tool development. 

Presenting Author: Elena Baca National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Presenting Author Biography: Elena Baca is a research engineer for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Water Power Research and Development group. Her work focuses on techno-economic modeling of marine energy (ME) systems and investigating pathways to reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of ME technologies. She leads the development of the marine energy module of the System Advisor Model, which is a standardized modeling platform used to estimate annual energy production and LCOE for wave and tidal energy systems. Elena holds a Master of Science degree in Advanced Energy Systems Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University in Energy Systems Engineering. Prior to working at NREL, Elena has experience with mechanical design and energy efficiency of commercial and industrial systems.

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