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US REGEN model

Also known as: US REGEN model, REGEN model

Facts (37)

Sources
Impact of carbon dioxide removal technologies on deep ... - Nature nature.com Nature Jun 17, 2021 37 facts
measurementThe REGEN model assumes existing pumped hydro storage has an energy storage capacity of 20 hours at nominal power and is limited to current installed capacity.
claimThe REGEN model includes a reserve requirement that firm capacity, excluding variable renewables, must exceed peak load in each region to ensure robustness against extended wind and solar droughts.
referenceThe REGEN model represents energy storage technologies including batteries, compressed air energy storage, existing pumped hydro, and hydrogen via electrolysis.
referenceThe REGEN model includes endogenous capacity planning and dispatch with joint investment decisions in generation, energy storage, transmission, and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) capacity.
measurementThe REGEN model assumes hydrogen storage costs of $50/MMBtu, a figure similar to storage cost estimates for salt caverns.
procedureThe REGEN model derives solar output profiles from gridded hourly radiation flux data from NASA’s MERRA-2 dataset, translating diffuse and direct irradiance into output based on panel orientation and tilt.
referenceThe REGEN electric sector model uses regional agricultural and forestry cellulosic biomass supply curves as inputs, which are estimated at the state level and aggregated into model regions.
claimThe REGEN model analysis of the 2015 sample year observed significant wind droughts, which reinforces the importance of energy storage and firm resources for balancing the grid.
referenceThe analysis uses the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) US REGEN model, which is an electric sector capacity planning and dispatch model linked to an end-use model with technological, temporal, and spatial detail.
measurementThe REGEN model assumes electrolysis capital costs of $200/kW, which represents the lower range of current estimates.
procedureThe REGEN model translates diffuse and direct irradiance into solar photovoltaic output based on panel orientation and tilt specifications.
referenceThe REGEN model includes energy storage market participation for energy arbitrage, capacity value, ancillary services (specifically operating reserves when specified), and interregional transmission deferral.
measurementThe REGEN model includes approximately 73 GW of existing nuclear capacity, assuming units would be online in 2050 with 80-year license extensions.
procedureThe REGEN model calculates wind power output by translating wind speed at hub height into power output using assumed power curves for a range of turbine technologies.
referenceThe analysis in the Nature article 'Impact of carbon dioxide removal technologies on deep decarbonization' is based on scenarios conducted in EPRI’s US REGEN model, which features an electric sector capacity planning and dispatch model linked to an end-use model with technological, temporal, and spatial detail.
referenceThe REGEN electric sector model assumes equal charging and discharging capacities for battery inverters and bases battery costs on a 4-hour lithium-ion system.
referenceFor hydrogen storage pathways, the REGEN model independently optimizes the capacity of hydrogen production via electrolysis, hydrogen storage, and generation from hydrogen turbines.
claimIn the REGEN model, wind output profiles for specific regions and resource classes vary by vintage, determined by an assumed mix of turbine type and hub height.
referenceIn the 2050 static equilibrium mode, the REGEN model adds new capacity for most of the system (greenfield investment) while inheriting only endowments of existing hydropower, nuclear, and interregional transmission.
referenceThe REGEN model considers three types of central station solar PV technologies (fixed-tilt crystalline silicon, single-axis tracking, and double-axis tracking), concentrated solar with endogenous determination of thermal storage, and fixed-tilt rooftop solar PV.
claimThe REGEN model uses gridded hourly data from NASA’s MERRA-2 dataset to model variability, utilizing meteorological variables including wind speed, solar irradiation, and temperature.
referenceThe REGEN model documentation provides additional technical details regarding solar technology modeling in Section 2.4.1.
referenceThe REGEN model documentation provides additional details on wind and solar resource assumptions and technology characteristics in Section 2.4.
referenceRegional CO2 storage capacity estimates are derived from the National Carbon Sequestration Database (NATCARB), which utilizes data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s 'Carbon Storage Atlas: Fifth Edition'.
referenceThe REGEN model variant used in this analysis is a single-year (2050) static equilibrium model that performs capacity investment and hourly dispatch.
procedureThe REGEN model adjusts captured solar energy for temperature impacts on module efficiency, nonlinear inverter losses, and a gross de-rating factor.
procedureThe REGEN model uses 2015 as the representative year for hourly profiles to avoid dampening variance through multiyear averaging, applying the same underlying meteorology and temperatures to the end-use model for hourly load shapes.
referenceThe REGEN electric sector model includes energy storage market participation for energy arbitrage, capacity value, ancillary services (specifically operating reserves), and interregional transmission deferral.
measurementWind and solar energy sources account for 50% of the national generation share in the reference cost scenario without policy, as determined by the US REGEN model analysis.
referenceThe REGEN model aggregates US states into 16 regions.
referenceThe REGEN model assumes that for batteries, charging and discharging capacities of the inverter are equal, and it endogenously selects battery storage investment and system configurations based on cost structure assumptions from EPRI.
claimThe REGEN model determines the cost of electricity input endogenously from the grid mix.
referenceThe REGEN electric sector model derives technological cost and performance estimates from literature, the EPRI Integrated Technology Generation Options report, and expert elicitations.
referenceThe REGEN model assumes greenfield investment for most of the system, while inheriting existing endowments of hydropower, nuclear, and interregional transmission capacity.
referenceThe REGEN model calculates hourly regional renewable output and resource potentials using analysis and data from EPRI, AWS Truepower, and NASA’s MERRA-2 dataset.
referenceThe REGEN model simulates the transport of captured CO2 to injection sites for storage in saline aquifers.
referenceThe REGEN electric sector model is formulated as a linear program that minimizes the net present value of total system costs subject to technical and economic constraints under given scenario assumptions.