The Experts below are selected from a list of 264 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Peter H Larsen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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U.S. Energy Service Company Industry: Market Size and Project Performance from 1990-2008
Energy Policy, 2014Co-Authors: Peter H LarsenAbstract:The U.S. energy service company (ESCO) industry is an example of a private sector business model where energy savings are delivered to customers primarily through the use of performance-based contracts. This study was conceived as a snapshot of the ESCO industry prior to the economic slowdown and the introduction of federal stimulus funding mandated by enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This study utilizes two parallel analytic approaches to characterize ESCO industry and market trends in the U.S.: (1) a ?top-down? approach involving a survey of individual ESCOs to estimate aggregate industry activity and (2) a ?bottom-up? analysis of a database of ~;;3,250 projects (representing over $8B in project investment) that reports market trends including installed EE retrofit strategies, project installation costs and savings, project Payback Times, and benefit-cost ratios over Time. Despite the onset of a severe economic recession, the U.S. ESCO industry managed to grow at about 7percent per year between 2006 and 2008. ESCO industry revenues were about $4.1 billion in 2008 and ESCOs anticipate accelerated growth through 2011 (25percent per year). We found that 2,484 ESCO projects in our database generated ~;;$4.0 billion ($2009) in net, direct economic benefits to their customers. We estimate that the ESCO project database includes about 20percent of all U.S. ESCO market activity from 1990-2008. Assuming the net benefits per project are comparable for ESCO projects that are not included in the LBNL database, this would suggest that the ESCO industry has generated ~;;$23 billion in net direct economic benefits for customers at projects installed between 1990 and 2008. There is empirical evidence confirming that the industry is evolving by installing more comprehensive and complex measures?including onsite generation and measures to address deferred maintenance?but this evolution has significant implications for customer project economics, especially at K-12 schools. We found that the median Simple Payback Time has increased from 1.9 to 3.2 years in private sector projects since the early-to-mid 1990s and from 5.2 to 10.5 years in public sector projects for the same Time period.
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evolution of the u s energy service company industry market size and project performance from 1990 2008
Energy Policy, 2012Co-Authors: Peter H Larsen, Charles Goldman, Andrew SatchwellAbstract:The U.S. energy service company (ESCO) industry is an example of a private sector business model where energy savings are delivered to customers primarily through the use of performance-based contracts. This study was conceived as a snapshot of the ESCO industry prior to the economic slowdown and the introduction of federal stimulus funding mandated by enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This study utilizes two parallel analytic approaches to characterize ESCO industry and market trends in the U.S.: (1) a “top-down” approach involving a survey of individual ESCOs to estimate aggregate industry activity and (2) a “bottom-up” analysis of a database of ∼3250 projects (representing over $8B in project investment) that reports market trends including installed EE retrofit strategies, project installation costs and savings, project Payback Times, and benefit-cost ratios over Time. Despite the onset of a severe economic recession, the U.S. ESCO industry managed to grow at about 7% per year between 2006 and 2008. ESCO industry revenues were about $4.1 billion in 2008 and ESCOs anticipate accelerated growth through 2011 (25% per year). We found that 2484 ESCO projects in our database generated ∼$4.0 billion ($2009) in net, direct economic benefits to their customers. We estimate that the ESCO project database includes about 20% of all U.S. ESCO market activity from 1990–2008. Assuming the net benefits per project are comparable for ESCO projects that are not included in the LBNL database, this would suggest that the ESCO industry has generated ∼$23 billion in net direct economic benefits for customers at projects installed between 1990 and 2008. There is empirical evidence confirming that the industry is evolving by installing more comprehensive and complex measures—including onsite generation and measures to address deferred maintenance—but this evolution has significant implications for customer project economics, especially at K-12 schools. We found that the median Simple Payback Time has increased from 1.9 to 3.2 years in private sector projects since the early-to-mid 1990s and from 5.2 to 10.5 years in public sector projects for the same Time period.
Marco Beccali - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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concrete thermal energy storage for linear fresnel collectors exploiting the south mediterranean s solar potential for agri food processes
Energy Conversion and Management, 2018Co-Authors: Alessandro Buscemi, Domenico Panno, Giuseppina Ciulla, Marco Beccali, Lo V BranoAbstract:Abstract Italy is celebrated in the world for its agri-food industries while the process of production of pasta is highly energy demanding and requires both electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. Because most of the Italian factories producing pasta are located in the Southern part of the country, the direct use of thermal energy generated from the sun would be particularly profitable. In this study, the authors examine the possibility of generating by a Solar Industrial Process Heating plant the thermal energy required annually by an existing factory that produces durum wheat pasta located in Sicily (Italy). The hypothesized plant scheme consists of an array of Fresnel linear solar collectors and a concrete thermal energy storage system in which a heat transfer diathermal fluid circulates. This particular combination, although not the most efficient from the thermodynamic point of view, determines a lower visual impact and easier maintenance during the life span of the system. The use of food graded thermal oil ensures a high level of safety. A TRNSYS model has been developed in order to simulate the energy performance of the above described plant with the aim of optimizing the design of the solar heat for industrial process systems in terms of solar collectors and thermal energy storage dimensions taking into account the available space in the specific location. The obtained results show that the direct use of the thermal energy generated with the Fresnel solar collectors can significantly contribute to increase the sustainability of the most thermal energy-demanding factories working in the food industry, a strategic sector in the Mediterranean Area. The average annual solar contribution can reach about 40% of the total thermal energy requirement, maximizing the solar energy production during the summer season. Moreover, the proposed study allowed the determination of the maximum investment cost of the plant linked to a Simple Payback Time, without external incentives, of 8 years.
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Concrete thermal energy storage for linear Fresnel collectors: Exploiting the South Mediterranean’s solar potential for agri-food processes
Energy Conversion and Management, 2018Co-Authors: Alessandro Buscemi, Domenico Panno, Giuseppina Ciulla, Marco Beccali, V. Lo BranoAbstract:Abstract Italy is celebrated in the world for its agri-food industries while the process of production of pasta is highly energy demanding and requires both electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. Because most of the Italian factories producing pasta are located in the Southern part of the country, the direct use of thermal energy generated from the sun would be particularly profitable. In this study, the authors examine the possibility of generating by a Solar Industrial Process Heating plant the thermal energy required annually by an existing factory that produces durum wheat pasta located in Sicily (Italy). The hypothesized plant scheme consists of an array of Fresnel linear solar collectors and a concrete thermal energy storage system in which a heat transfer diathermal fluid circulates. This particular combination, although not the most efficient from the thermodynamic point of view, determines a lower visual impact and easier maintenance during the life span of the system. The use of food graded thermal oil ensures a high level of safety. A TRNSYS model has been developed in order to simulate the energy performance of the above described plant with the aim of optimizing the design of the solar heat for industrial process systems in terms of solar collectors and thermal energy storage dimensions taking into account the available space in the specific location. The obtained results show that the direct use of the thermal energy generated with the Fresnel solar collectors can significantly contribute to increase the sustainability of the most thermal energy-demanding factories working in the food industry, a strategic sector in the Mediterranean Area. The average annual solar contribution can reach about 40% of the total thermal energy requirement, maximizing the solar energy production during the summer season. Moreover, the proposed study allowed the determination of the maximum investment cost of the plant linked to a Simple Payback Time, without external incentives, of 8 years.
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energy and economic assessment of desiccant cooling systems coupled with single glazed air and hybrid pv thermal solar collectors for applications in hot and humid climate
Solar Energy, 2009Co-Authors: Marco Beccali, Pietro Finocchiaro, B NockeAbstract:Abstract This paper presents a detailed analysis of the energy and economic performance of desiccant cooling systems (DEC) equipped with both single glazed standard air and hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/t) collectors for applications in hot and humid climates. The use of ‘solar cogeneration’ by means of PV/t hybrid collectors enables the simultaneous production of electricity and heat, which can be directly used by desiccant air handling units, thereby making it possible to achieve very energy savings. The present work shows the results of detailed simulations conducted for a set of desiccant cooling systems operating without any heat storage. System performance was investigated through hourly simulations for different systems and load combinations. Three configurations of DEC systems were considered: standard DEC, DEC with an integrated heat pump and DEC with an enthalpy wheel. Two kinds of building occupations were considered: office and lecture room. Moreover, three configurations of solar-assisted air handling units (AHU) equipped with desiccant wheels were considered and compared with standard AHUs, focusing on achievable primary energy savings. The relationship between the solar collector’s area and the specific primary energy consumption for different system configurations and building occupation patterns is described. For both occupation patterns, sensitivity analysis on system performance was performed for different solar collector areas. Also, this work presents an economic assessment of the systems. The cost of conserved energy and the Payback Time were calculated, with and without public incentives for solar cooling systems. It is worth noting that the use of photovoltaics, and thus the exploitation of related available incentives in many European countries, could positively influence the spread of solar air cooling technologies (SAC). An outcome of this work is that SAC systems equipped with PV/t collectors are shown to have better performance in terms of primary energy saving than conventional systems fed by vapour compression chillers and coupled with PV cells. All SAC systems present good figures for primary energy consumption. The best performances are seen in systems with integrated heat pumps and small solar collector areas. The economics of these SAC systems at current equipment costs and energy prices are acceptable. They become more interesting in the case of public incentives of up to 30% of the investment cost (Simple Payback Time from 5 to 10 years) and doubled energy prices.
Alessandro Buscemi - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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concrete thermal energy storage for linear fresnel collectors exploiting the south mediterranean s solar potential for agri food processes
Energy Conversion and Management, 2018Co-Authors: Alessandro Buscemi, Domenico Panno, Giuseppina Ciulla, Marco Beccali, Lo V BranoAbstract:Abstract Italy is celebrated in the world for its agri-food industries while the process of production of pasta is highly energy demanding and requires both electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. Because most of the Italian factories producing pasta are located in the Southern part of the country, the direct use of thermal energy generated from the sun would be particularly profitable. In this study, the authors examine the possibility of generating by a Solar Industrial Process Heating plant the thermal energy required annually by an existing factory that produces durum wheat pasta located in Sicily (Italy). The hypothesized plant scheme consists of an array of Fresnel linear solar collectors and a concrete thermal energy storage system in which a heat transfer diathermal fluid circulates. This particular combination, although not the most efficient from the thermodynamic point of view, determines a lower visual impact and easier maintenance during the life span of the system. The use of food graded thermal oil ensures a high level of safety. A TRNSYS model has been developed in order to simulate the energy performance of the above described plant with the aim of optimizing the design of the solar heat for industrial process systems in terms of solar collectors and thermal energy storage dimensions taking into account the available space in the specific location. The obtained results show that the direct use of the thermal energy generated with the Fresnel solar collectors can significantly contribute to increase the sustainability of the most thermal energy-demanding factories working in the food industry, a strategic sector in the Mediterranean Area. The average annual solar contribution can reach about 40% of the total thermal energy requirement, maximizing the solar energy production during the summer season. Moreover, the proposed study allowed the determination of the maximum investment cost of the plant linked to a Simple Payback Time, without external incentives, of 8 years.
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Concrete thermal energy storage for linear Fresnel collectors: Exploiting the South Mediterranean’s solar potential for agri-food processes
Energy Conversion and Management, 2018Co-Authors: Alessandro Buscemi, Domenico Panno, Giuseppina Ciulla, Marco Beccali, V. Lo BranoAbstract:Abstract Italy is celebrated in the world for its agri-food industries while the process of production of pasta is highly energy demanding and requires both electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. Because most of the Italian factories producing pasta are located in the Southern part of the country, the direct use of thermal energy generated from the sun would be particularly profitable. In this study, the authors examine the possibility of generating by a Solar Industrial Process Heating plant the thermal energy required annually by an existing factory that produces durum wheat pasta located in Sicily (Italy). The hypothesized plant scheme consists of an array of Fresnel linear solar collectors and a concrete thermal energy storage system in which a heat transfer diathermal fluid circulates. This particular combination, although not the most efficient from the thermodynamic point of view, determines a lower visual impact and easier maintenance during the life span of the system. The use of food graded thermal oil ensures a high level of safety. A TRNSYS model has been developed in order to simulate the energy performance of the above described plant with the aim of optimizing the design of the solar heat for industrial process systems in terms of solar collectors and thermal energy storage dimensions taking into account the available space in the specific location. The obtained results show that the direct use of the thermal energy generated with the Fresnel solar collectors can significantly contribute to increase the sustainability of the most thermal energy-demanding factories working in the food industry, a strategic sector in the Mediterranean Area. The average annual solar contribution can reach about 40% of the total thermal energy requirement, maximizing the solar energy production during the summer season. Moreover, the proposed study allowed the determination of the maximum investment cost of the plant linked to a Simple Payback Time, without external incentives, of 8 years.
Charles Goldman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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evolution of the u s energy service company industry market size and project performance from 1990 2008
Energy Policy, 2012Co-Authors: Peter H Larsen, Charles Goldman, Andrew SatchwellAbstract:The U.S. energy service company (ESCO) industry is an example of a private sector business model where energy savings are delivered to customers primarily through the use of performance-based contracts. This study was conceived as a snapshot of the ESCO industry prior to the economic slowdown and the introduction of federal stimulus funding mandated by enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This study utilizes two parallel analytic approaches to characterize ESCO industry and market trends in the U.S.: (1) a “top-down” approach involving a survey of individual ESCOs to estimate aggregate industry activity and (2) a “bottom-up” analysis of a database of ∼3250 projects (representing over $8B in project investment) that reports market trends including installed EE retrofit strategies, project installation costs and savings, project Payback Times, and benefit-cost ratios over Time. Despite the onset of a severe economic recession, the U.S. ESCO industry managed to grow at about 7% per year between 2006 and 2008. ESCO industry revenues were about $4.1 billion in 2008 and ESCOs anticipate accelerated growth through 2011 (25% per year). We found that 2484 ESCO projects in our database generated ∼$4.0 billion ($2009) in net, direct economic benefits to their customers. We estimate that the ESCO project database includes about 20% of all U.S. ESCO market activity from 1990–2008. Assuming the net benefits per project are comparable for ESCO projects that are not included in the LBNL database, this would suggest that the ESCO industry has generated ∼$23 billion in net direct economic benefits for customers at projects installed between 1990 and 2008. There is empirical evidence confirming that the industry is evolving by installing more comprehensive and complex measures—including onsite generation and measures to address deferred maintenance—but this evolution has significant implications for customer project economics, especially at K-12 schools. We found that the median Simple Payback Time has increased from 1.9 to 3.2 years in private sector projects since the early-to-mid 1990s and from 5.2 to 10.5 years in public sector projects for the same Time period.
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review of us esco industry market trends an empirical analysis of project data
Energy Policy, 2005Co-Authors: Charles Goldman, Nicole Hopper, Julie OsbornAbstract:Abstract This comprehensive empirical analysis of US energy service company (ESCO) industry trends and performance employs two parallel analytical approaches: a survey of firms to estimate total industry size, and a database of ∼1500 ESCO projects, from which we report target markets and typical project characteristics, energy savings and customer economics. We estimate that industry investment for energy-efficiency related services reached US$2 billion in 2000 following a decade of strong growth. ESCO activity is concentrated in states with high economic activity and strong policy support. Typical projects save 150–200 MJ/m2/year and are cost-effective with median benefit/cost ratios of 1.6 and 2.1 for institutional and private sector projects. The median Simple Payback Time (SPT) is 7 years among institutional customers; 3 years is typical in the private sector. Reliance on DSM incentives has decreased since 1995. Preliminary evidence suggests that state enabling policies have boosted the industry in medium-sized states. ESCOs have proven resilient in the face of restructuring and will probably shift toward selling “energy solutions”, with energy efficiency part of a package. We conclude that appropriate policy support—both financial and non-financial—can “jump-start” a viable private-sector energy-efficiency services industry that targets large institutional and commercial/industrial customers.
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Review of U.S. ESCO industry market trends: An empirical analysis of project data
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2003Co-Authors: Charles Goldman, Nicole Hopper, Julie Osborn, Terry E SingerAbstract:This article summarizes a comprehensive empirical analysis of U.S. Energy Service Company (ESCO) industry trends and performance. We employ two parallel analytical approaches: a comprehensive survey of firms to estimate total industry size and a database of ~;1500 ESCO projects, from which we report target markets and typical project characteristics, energy savings and customer economics. We estimate that industry investment for energy-efficiency related services reached US $2 billion in 2000 following a decade of strong growth. ESCO activity is concentrated in states with high economic activity and strong policy support. Typical projects save 150-200 MJ/m2/year and are cost-effective with median benefit/cost ratios of 1.6 and 2.1 for institutional and private sector projects. The median Simple Payback Time is 7 years among institutional customers; 3 years is typical in the private sector. Reliance on DSM incentives has decreased since 1995. Preliminary evidence suggests that state enabling policies have boosted the industry in medium-sized states. ESCOs have proven resilient in the face of restructuring and will probably shift toward selling energy solutions, with energy efficiency part of a package. We conclude that a private sector energy-efficiency services industry that targets large commercial and industrial customers is viable and self-sustaining with appropriate policy support both financial and non-financial.
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market trends in the u s esco industry results from the naesco database project
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2002Co-Authors: Charles Goldman, Nicole Hopper, Julie Osborn, Terry E SingerAbstract:The U.S. Energy Services Company (ESCO) industry is often cited as the most successful model for the private sector delivery of energy-efficiency services. This study documents actual performance of the ESCO industry in order to provide policymakers and investors with objective information and customers with a resource for benchmarking proposed projects relative to industry performance. We have assembled a database of nearly 1500 case studies of energy-efficiency projects-the most comprehensive data set of the U.S. ESCO industry available. These projects include $2.55B of work completed by 51 ESCOs and span much of the history of this industry. We estimate that the ESCO industry completed $1.8-2.1B of projects in 2000. The industry has grown rapidly over the last decade with revenues increasing at a 24% annualized rate. We summarize and compare project characteristics and costs and analyze energy savings, including the relationship between predicted and actual savings. ESCOs typically invested about $2.30/ft{sup 2} per project in various energy efficiency improvements, although there is large variation in project costs within and across market segments. We find that lighting-only projects report median electricity savings of 47% of targeted equipment consumption; the median for lighting-&-non-lighting projects is 23% of the total electric bill baseline. We examine project economics, including project net benefits, benefit/cost ratio and Simple Payback Time. Median Simple Payback Time is seven years for institutional sector projects and three years in the private sector. We estimate direct economic benefits of $1.62 billion for the 1080 projects in our database with both cost and savings data. The median benefit/cost ratio is 2.1 for 309 private sector projects and 1.6 for 771 institutional sector projects. We discuss the role of policies and programs adopted by state/federal legislatures and agencies that have played an important role in stimulating ESCO activity in various markets. Finally, we estimate the overall size and growth of the energy-efficiency services industry over the last ten years based on a survey of 63 ESCOs.
V. Lo Brano - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Concrete thermal energy storage for linear Fresnel collectors: Exploiting the South Mediterranean’s solar potential for agri-food processes
Energy Conversion and Management, 2018Co-Authors: Alessandro Buscemi, Domenico Panno, Giuseppina Ciulla, Marco Beccali, V. Lo BranoAbstract:Abstract Italy is celebrated in the world for its agri-food industries while the process of production of pasta is highly energy demanding and requires both electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. Because most of the Italian factories producing pasta are located in the Southern part of the country, the direct use of thermal energy generated from the sun would be particularly profitable. In this study, the authors examine the possibility of generating by a Solar Industrial Process Heating plant the thermal energy required annually by an existing factory that produces durum wheat pasta located in Sicily (Italy). The hypothesized plant scheme consists of an array of Fresnel linear solar collectors and a concrete thermal energy storage system in which a heat transfer diathermal fluid circulates. This particular combination, although not the most efficient from the thermodynamic point of view, determines a lower visual impact and easier maintenance during the life span of the system. The use of food graded thermal oil ensures a high level of safety. A TRNSYS model has been developed in order to simulate the energy performance of the above described plant with the aim of optimizing the design of the solar heat for industrial process systems in terms of solar collectors and thermal energy storage dimensions taking into account the available space in the specific location. The obtained results show that the direct use of the thermal energy generated with the Fresnel solar collectors can significantly contribute to increase the sustainability of the most thermal energy-demanding factories working in the food industry, a strategic sector in the Mediterranean Area. The average annual solar contribution can reach about 40% of the total thermal energy requirement, maximizing the solar energy production during the summer season. Moreover, the proposed study allowed the determination of the maximum investment cost of the plant linked to a Simple Payback Time, without external incentives, of 8 years.
