Modeling and Tools for Market and Economic Development

NREL develops models and tools that can be used to evaluate renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies for market and economic development. The following is a list of models and tools that apply to this area.

Wind Deployment System (WinDS)

The Wind Deployment System (WinDS) is a multiregional, multitime-period, Geographic Information System (GIS) and linear programming model of capacity expansion in the electric sector of the United States. The model, developed by NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis and Applications Center (SEAAC), is designed to address the principal market issues related to the penetration of wind energy technologies into the electric sector. These principal market issues include access and cost of transmission, and the intermittency of wind power. WinDS addresses these issues through a highly discretized regional structure, explicit accounting for the variability in wind output over time, and consideration of ancillary services requirements and costs. See the WinDS Web site for more information.

Hydrogen Deployment System (HyDS)

The Hydrogen Deployment System (HyDS) model analyzes the transition to a hydrogen economy. It costs out numerous pathways — from production to distribution — finding the most economic mode for hydrogen to be delivered in a user-defined region. It integrates an intercity optimization algorithm, which considers economy-of-scale of production, transportation, and delivery — as well as the trade-offs between centralized and forecourt hydrogen production. Given price projections for gasoline, natural gas, and other feedstocks, the HyDS ME produces a supply curve reflecting the most economic pathway for hydrogen to be delivered. Contact Walter Short of the Strategic Energy Analysis and Applications Center (SEAAC) for more information.

Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) Model

A user-friendly tool to calculate the economic impacts from wind energy project development which—during the construction phase and throughout the 20- to 30-year life of the project—can be significant to both the rural counties and the state in which the project is located. This 6-page brochure provides an overview of the JEDI model, a free online tool to calculate the economic impacts from wind projects. The brochure lists JEDI's features, the inputs and outputs that a user can expect, visuals of the screens, and contact information. See the JEDI Web site for more information.

More Information

For more information, see our models and tools publications. You also can find more models and tools on NREL's Energy Analysis Web Site.