A national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future Solar Advisor Model Technical Report NREL/TP-670-43704 User Guide for Version 2.0 August 2008 Paul Gilman Nate Blair, Mark Mehos, Craig Christensen, and Steve Janzou National Renewable Energy Laboratory Chris Cameron Sandia National Laboratories NREL is operated by Midwest Research Institute ● Battelle Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337 Solar Advisor Model Technical Report NREL/TP-670-43704 User Guide for Version 2.0 August 2008 Paul Gilman Nate Blair, Mark Mehos, Craig Christensen, and Steve Janzou National Renewable Energy Laboratory Chris Cameron Sandia National Laboratories Prepared under Task No. PVB7.6201 National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov Operated for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by Midwest Research Institute • Battelle Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337 NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof. Available electronically at http://www.osti.gov/bridge Available for a processing fee to U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. Box 62 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0062 phone: 865.576.8401 fax: 865.576.5728 email: mailto:[email protected] Available for sale to the public, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Commerce National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 phone: 800.553.6847 fax: 703.605.6900 email: [email protected] online ordering: http://www.ntis.gov/ordering.htm Printed on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste Executive Summary The Solar Advisor Model provides a consistent framework for analyzing and comparing power system costs and performance across the range of solar technologies and markets, from photovoltaic systems for residential and commercial markets to concentrating solar power and large photovoltaic systems for utility markets. This manual describes Version 2.0 of the software, which can model photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies for electric applications for several markets. The current version of the Solar Advisor Model does not model solar heating and lighting technologies. The current version number is displayed in the software under Help, About. Solar Advisor Model Disclaimer © 2008 National Renewable Energy Laboratory The Solar Advisor Model is provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory ("NREL"), which is operated by the Midwest Research Institute ("MRI") for the Department Of Energy ("DOE"). Access to and use of the Solar Advisor Model shall impose the following obligations on the user. The user is granted the right, without any fee or cost, to use the Solar Advisor Model for any purpose whatsoever, except commercial purposes or sales, but not to modify, alter, enhance or distribute. Further, the user agrees to credit DOE/NREL/MRI in any publications that result from the use of the Solar Advisor Model. The names DOE/NREL/MRI, however, may not be used in any advertising or publicity to endorse or promote any products or commercial entity unless specific written permission is obtained from DOE/NREL/MRI. The user also understands that DOE/NREL/MRI is not obligated to provide the user with any support, consulting, training or assistance of any kind whatsoever with regard to the use of the Solar Advisor Model or to provide the user with any updates, bug-fixes, revisions or new versions. The Solar Advisor Model is provided by DOE/NREL/MRI "as is" and any express or implied warranties, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are hereby disclaimed. In no event shall DOE/NREL/MRI be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever, including but not limited to claims associated with the loss of data or profits, which may result from an action in contract, negligence or other tortious claim that arises out of or in connection with the access, use or performance of the Solar Advisor Model. Microsoft and Excel are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation. i Table of Contents Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... i Solar Advisor Model Disclaimer ................................................................................................................. i Table of contents ........................................................................................................................................ ii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................... v Before you Begin ........................................................................................................................................ 1 About the Solar Advisor Model .................................................................................................1 Contacting user support .............................................................................................................2 Getting Started ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Installing and starting the software ............................................................................................2 What to do if you encounter a bug .............................................................................................3 Reviewing an existing analysis ..................................................................................................4 Creating a new analysis .............................................................................................................4 Working with files and cases .....................................................................................................5 Solar Advisor file formats ....................................................................................................6 User Interface Overview ............................................................................................................................. 6 Main window .............................................................................................................................6 Text box background colors.......................................................................................................7 Run Analysis and results buttons ...............................................................................................9 Results ......................................................................................................................................................... 9 Metrics table.............................................................................................................................10 Graphs ......................................................................................................................................14 Adding and removing sliders .............................................................................................17 Customizing graphs ...........................................................................................................18 Spreadsheets .............................................................................................................................20 Time series graphs in DView ...................................................................................................22 Waterfall graphs (CSP only) ..............................................................................................24 Exporting Data and Graphs...................................................................................................................... 25 Exporting graph and table data ................................................................................................26 Exporting graph images ...........................................................................................................27 Input Pages ................................................................................................................................................ 28 Program ....................................................................................................................................28 Environment .............................................................................................................................29 Climate .....................................................................................................................................30 Typical Meteorological Year (TMY2) ...............................................................................30 EnergyPlus Weather (EPW) data .......................................................................................31 Utility Rates .............................................................................................................................32 Financials .................................................................................................................................32 Incentives .................................................................................................................................35 Loads ........................................................................................................................................37 System: Photovoltaic ...............................................................................................................37 Configuration .....................................................................................................................38 Array ..................................................................................................................................38 Module: PV ........................................................................................................................40 Module: CPV .....................................................................................................................42 Inverter ...............................................................................................................................43 ii Storage and BOS ................................................................................................................44 System: Concentrating Solar Power ........................................................................................44 Configuration .....................................................................................................................45 Solar Field ..........................................................................................................................45 SCA / HCE .........................................................................................................................48 Power Block .......................................................................................................................51 Storage ...............................................................................................................................54 Parasitics ............................................................................................................................58 System: Generic .......................................................................................................................58 Costs .........................................................................................................................................60 Capital costs .......................................................................................................................60 Operation and maintenance costs.......................................................................................61 Entering year-by-year O&M costs .....................................................................................62 Working with Parametric Variables ......................................................................................................... 63 Example 1: Independent parametric ........................................................................................65 Example 2: Independent parametric with linkage ...................................................................70 Example 4: Combination parametric with linkage ..................................................................79 Example 5: Review the CSP parametric analysis ....................................................................85 Working with External Workbooks and UDVs........................................................................................ 87 Overview ..................................................................................................................................88 A. Review the external workbook ...........................................................................................89 B. Define the Captured From variable .....................................................................................90 C. Create a UDV ......................................................................................................................91 D. Define the Sent To variables ...............................................................................................92 Managing UDVs, Sent To and Captured From Variables .......................................................94 Appendix 1: Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) ....................................................................................... 95 Residential and commercial LCOE .........................................................................................96 Utility LCOE ............................................................................................................................96 Real and nominal LCOE ..........................................................................................................97 Appendix 2: Cash Flow ............................................................................................................................. 98 After tax net equity cash and cost flows ..................................................................................98 State and federal taxes .............................................................................................................99 Total operating expenses........................................................................................................101 Total debt payment ................................................................................................................101 Project income (revenue and offset payments) ......................................................................102 Appendix 3: Equations for Calculated Values ..................................................................................... 102 Financials ...............................................................................................................................103 Loan Amount .........................................................................................................................103 Weighted Average Cost of Capital ........................................................................................103 PV Array ................................................................................................................................104 PV Derate ...............................................................................................................................106 PV Module .............................................................................................................................107 PV Inverter .............................................................................................................................107 CSP Solar Field ......................................................................................................................108 Solar Field Area, Solar Multiple, and Exact Area ...........................................................108 Exact Number of SCAs ....................................................................................................109 Solar Field Piping Heat Losses ........................................................................................109 iii CSP SCA / HCE.....................................................................................................................110 HCE Optical Efficiency ...................................................................................................110 HCE Heat Losses .............................................................................................................111 CSP Power Block ...................................................................................................................112 Design Turbine Thermal Input.........................................................................................112 CSP Storage ...........................................................................................................................112 Maximum Energy Storage ...............................................................................................112 Heat Exchanger Duty .......................................................................................................113 Maximum Power To and From Storage...........................................................................113 CSP Parasitics ........................................................................................................................114 Effective tax rate ....................................................................................................................115 References ............................................................................................................................................... 116 Weather data ..........................................................................................................................116 Project economics financing ..................................................................................................116 Performance models...............................................................................................................116 CSP technology ......................................................................................................................116 TRNSYS and Excelergy ........................................................................................................117 Useful web sites .....................................................................................................................117 Index ......................................................................................................................................................... 118 iv List of Tables Table 1. Current status of Photovoltaic modeling in the Solar Advisor Model .................................... 1 Table 2. Current status of Concentrating Solar Power modeling in the Solar Advisor Model ........... 2 Table 3. Description of text box background colors. .............................................................................. 9 Table 4. Variables that appear in the Metrics table for different financing types............................... 11 Table 5. Standard Graph Descriptions and Samples. ........................................................................... 16 Table 6. Graph Axis options..................................................................................................................... 20 Table 7. DView graph formats. ................................................................................................................. 23 Table 8. Hourly data variable names and explanations for CSP systems. ......................................... 23 Table 9. Hourly data variable names and explanations for PV systems. ............................................ 23 Table 10. Waterfall variable names in DView. Primary variables are shown in bold font. ................ 25 Table 11. Program options. ...................................................................................................................... 29 Table 12. Financing options for different project types. ....................................................................... 33 Table 13. Finacials page variables. ......................................................................................................... 34 Table 14. Summary of incentives and tax credits. ................................................................................. 36 Table 15. Heat transfer fluids. .................................................................................................................. 47 Table 16. Default collector types. ............................................................................................................ 49 Table 17. Default receiver types. ............................................................................................................. 50 Table 18. Receiver conditions.................................................................................................................. 50 Table 19. Power cycle reference systems. ............................................................................................. 52 Table 20. Reference system parameters. ............................................................................................... 53 Table 21. Suggested Tank Heat Losses values for different thermal storage capacities. ................ 55 Table 22. O&M cost options. .................................................................................................................... 61 v Before you Begin About the Solar Advisor Model The Solar Advisor Model provides a consistent framework for analyzing and comparing power system costs and performance across the range of solar technologies and markets, from photovoltaic systems for residential and commercial markets to concentrating solar power and large photovoltaic systems for utility markets. Installation requirements: • The installation file: SAM_install.exe. • A computer running Windows Vista, XP or 2000 with at least 500 MB of free disk space. • Microsoft® Excel if you plan to use the spreadsheet linking feature. Solar Advisor combines an hourly simulation model with performance, cost, and finance models to calculate energy output, energy costs, and cash flows. The software can also account for the effect of incentives on cash flows. Solar Advisor includes both built-in cost and performance models, and a spreadsheet interface for exchanging data with external models developed in Microsoft Excel. Most of Solar Advisor's inputs can be used as parametric variables for sensitivity studies to investigate impacts of variations in performance, cost, and financial parameters on model results. This manual describes the current version of the software, which can model photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies for electric applications for several markets. The current version of the Solar Advisor Model does not model solar heating and lighting technologies. The current version number is displayed in the software under Help, About. Solar Advisor models photovoltaic flat-plate and concentrating grid-connected systems. Table 1. Current status of Photovoltaic modeling in the Solar Advisor Model Balance of Technology Module Inverter Storage System Flat-plate • Single-point • Single-point • Under • Under photovoltaic efficiency efficiency development development • Sandia PV Array • Sandia Performance Performance Model Model for Grid- • CEC Connected PV Performance Inverters Model Concentrating • Single-point • Single-point • Under • Under photovoltaic efficiency efficiency development development (CPV) • Sandia Performance Model for Grid- Connected PV Inverters Solar Advisor also models concentrating solar power (CSP) systems. The current version only models trough systems, future versions will model other types of CSP systems. 1 Table 2. Current status of Concentrating Solar Power modeling in the Solar Advisor Model Collector and Power Technology Solar Field Receiver Block Storage Parasitics Concentrating • Layout as • Library of • Library of • Thermocline • Library of Solar Power multiple of collector power cycle • Two-tank parameter (CSP) design point types types Storage sets for or specified • Library of parasitic area receiver losses • List of heat types and transfer fluid condition options The single-point efficiency models are simple representations of system components based on a size value in rated watts or kilowatts and an efficiency value. The PV single-point efficiency model also includes a simple representation of module temperature effects. The commercial models represent particular commercially available inverters and PV modules using a set of parameters based on field measurements. System components that are in development are not available in the current version of Solar Advisor. The Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP) initially developed Solar Advisor for analysis to support the implementation of the SETP Systems Driven Approach. The model also has applications for the solar industry for planning research and development programs, and developing project cost and performance estimates. Solar Advisor is being used as part of the Solar America Initiative application and monitoring process. Solar Advisor models system performance using the TRNSYS software developed at the University of Wisconsin combined with customized components. TRNSYS is a validated, time- series simulation program that can simulate the performance of photovoltaic, concentrating solar power, water heating systems, and other renewable energy systems using hourly resource data. TRNSYS is integrated into Solar Advisor so there is no need to install TRNSYS software or be familiar with its use to run Solar Advisor. Contacting user support If you have any questions about Solar Advisor, please send an email to [email protected]. You can also find more information about the model on the Solar Advisor website.at https://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sam/. Getting Started Installing and starting the software The following procedure describes how to install the software, open a sample file, and create a second copy of the file for reviewing inputs. Solar Advisor comes with a set of four sample files: • Standard PV Systems.sam • Standard CSP Systems.sam 2