Linking Cyberspace with Real World Impact in Clean Energy Economic Development

NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

The Clean Energy Landscape: Linking Cyberspace with Real World Impact

Alison Wise

[email protected]

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future

Overview

• Clean Energy Landscape Definition

• Market Visualization & Acceleration

• Clean Energy Economy Gateway

• Clean Energy Community Organizing

Markets

Generation

Distributed

ResidentialCommercial/Industrial

Micro

Utility Scale

Distribution

Smart Grid

Physical Cyber

Alternative-Clean Fuels

Alternative-Clean

Vehicles

Efficiency/”Negawatts”

Services MaterialsProcess

Innovation

Technology

RE

EERE Tech

Portfolio

Nano Tech

Emerging Tech

EE

AMI IT/SoftwareBldg.

MaterialsProcess

Innovation/Application

Policy

RE/EE Specific

Generation Distribution Transportation

Entrepreneurial Specific

Low-Carbon Specific

What are the levers for the CE paradigm shift?

How can we create mechanisms to accelerate the adoption of clean energy by coordinating complexity?

Clean Energy Landscape

Finance

DRAFT


Market Acceleration

market forces n : the interaction of supply and demand that shapes a market economy

To accelerate the market economy’s adoption of clean energy, we map the components that create clean energy economies

Supply and demand for CE influenced by finance, policy, technology and behavior


Market Visualization and Acceleration

Policy Incentives & Investments

Organizational Information

Communication

Mechanisms

(Social

Networking)

• Synergies made visible through participation

• Open source design to leverage semantic web

• Gives market better information for enhanced cooperation and learning

• Helps identify trends and opportunities for future analysis


OpenEI Wiki: Clean Energy Economy Gateway

This is the gateway’s homepage. Like Wikipedia, users create an account to register their organization (whereas Wikipedia is community driven content for it’s own sake, this gives each organization their own wiki page to describe their operations and activities) The categories for organizations were defined by those viewed as necessary for creating “clusters” of economic growth. Go to http://openei.org/cee

http://openei.org/cee



When an organization registers, our platform automatically maps their presence on a static Google map visualization tool. One can view organizations based on type, geography, sector, etc. Each click through on the right goes to that organization’s page. Note the “Download as CSV”: all information can be exported to Excel to aggregate as the user sees fit



Here is an example of an organization’s wiki page. Note that video, pictures, links can all be uploaded. Also note that the presence of LinkedIn is strategic; when an organization registers the platform pulls information from that social media resource to match participants virtually



In addition to organizational information, developers can add information on utility-scale clean energy generation facilities. Again, each facility has their own page, is mapped, and able to download as a spreadsheet. For the fields that we request (MW, etc) please visit the site.



Information from the CEE gateway as an open platform is migrated to the GoogleEarth platform. Known as “kmz” files, these can be visualized from multiple sources. So, CEE files can be run with other files like Google’s Enhanced Geothermal System tool, the EPA’s Repowering America tool, etc.



Within the Google Earth visualization tool, they have built in additional layers that a viewer can select to contextualize the organizational and facility information (in addition to other kmz files). So, these economic stories can be told within areas such as congressional districts, etc. We have begun reaching out to Google designers to build in other context like utility service areas.



In addition to openly accessed information on the CEE gateway, we also link to other visualization resources. For example, we link to the “Natural Capital” maps pertinent to clean energy, in this case created by NREL



In a similar vein, we link to maps that show existing and planned transmission. This is another layer that could be developed by Google or others as a kmz file per previous slides.



The CEE Gateway links to other more robust maps/visualization tools as well such as this Smart Metering Projects map. Many experts feel that in order for distributed renewable energy to scale up significantly, our grid infrastructure needs an intelligence to be able to handle intermittent sources like wind and solar. OpenEI has a distinct smart grid gateway (the CEE gateway is one of many in development) Go to http://openei.org for the OpenEI home page

http://openei.org/


Clean Energy Community Organizing: Clean Energy is Regional


Clean Energy Community Organizing: Clean Energy Has Many Stakeholders

Government Stakeholders•Economic and Technology InterestsGovernor’s Energy OfficeMunicipal and State Economic Development representativesRASEI and NREL

•Academic and Service InterestsCO Public university system representativesPublic school system (elementary, middle and upper school) representativesLibrary system representativesPrison system representativesTransportation system representatives

•Political InterestsState and Congressional elected representativesPublic Utility Commission representativesState agency political appointees

Company Stakeholders•Existing clean tech/clean energy trade association memberships & new/transitioning corporations

•Energy SectorGeneration: Utilities, distributed energy companiesDistribution: SmartGrid companies, alternative fuels Efficiency: Retrofit contractors, systems innovators

•Materials Sector•Water Sector•Process Sector

NGO Stakeholders•Environmental (conservation sense of the word)•Other clean-tech networking orgs•Low-income•Civic•Local business groups•Veterans groups

Citizen Stakeholders•Neighborhood organizations (virtual and “brick-and-mortar”)•Interest organizations (again, virtual and “brick-and-mortar”)•School organizations (e.g. PTAs)

Government

Companies

NGOs

Citizens


Clean Energy Community Organizing: Innovations Online May Impact CE Growth

Online visualization and communications

Regional strategic stakeholder engagement

Accelerated rate of adoption of clean energy infrastructure


Clean Energy Community Organizing: Grassroots Example


Clean Energy Community Organizing: Decision-Maker Potential


Vision for 21st Century Version of TVA

We have an opportunity to use the best of new information communications technology to accelerate the country’s transformation to a clean energy economy This kind of "thinking outside the box" has a precedent: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was envisioned not only as a provider, but also as a regional economic development agency that would use federal experts and electricity to rapidly modernize the region's economy and society. According to the community driven content of Wikipedia, "The TVA was the most revolutionary of all the New Deal programs." This presentation will discuss what implementation strategies might look like for the 21st century, recognizing the qualities that have evolved in terms of both our citizenry and our technologies

21st Century Stakeholders “Consumers” today are online, interactive, and networked; decision-makers are also part of virtual communities and used to engaging in a much more dynamic way than those post-Great Depression

21st Century Tools We think of this as a pathway for using the communication tools and technologies of the 21st century such as social media, online visualization tools like GoogleEarth, open platforms (think Wikipedia), and others to accelerate the development of regional clean economies

21st Century Strategy Networks of people can learn from online networks of information and insight to aggregate the right tools/stakeholder engagements for strategic implementation of energy efficiency programs and business development, municipal level policies like Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) that can help accelerate the uptake of already commercially viable distributed renewable energy technologies, and other shifts in our economy towards energy security, reliability and environmental sustainability. Conversely, these same online resources can help tell the story of job creation, investments, and other econometrics in an iterative and dynamic way that could give insights in "real time" as opposed to historic data as we build a network of clean economic regions nationally.

21st Century Opportunity The opportunity here is to strategically engage regional stakeholders for clean energy development, recognizing the synergy that needs to happen between technology, market & finance, and policy in order to create the right conditions for transformation. This complexity can be coordinated by leveraging cyberspace for real world implementation.


Online Resources- CEE Gateway Coverage


http://www.nextagenda.com/

http://www.cleaneconomynetwork.org/

http://1bog.org/

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/nrels-big-picture-on-the-green-economy/

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/12/the-clean-energy-economy-gateway-where-the-medium-is-the-message


http://www.nextagenda.com/

http://www.cleaneconomynetwork.org/

http://1bog.org/






Linking Cyberspace with Real World Impact in Clean Energy Economic Development

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