Katty Chen 7/24/2013

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My target is to estimate how many capacities will be needed to satisfy future (2030) electricity requirements of the “Renewable scenario”.

First, I assumed the “generation proportion” for each renewable technology in 2030 (the concept is like the RPS) and chose “process share” as the dispatch rules.
Second, I input current renewable capacity in the “current account”.

I assumed that the LEAP will calculate (1) the additional renewable capacity which the system needs to satisfy energy consumption in 2030 and (2) reveals the costs of additional renewable devices.

My question is:
(1)Do my two above assumptions correct? Will the LEAP software calculate the additional capacity requirement through the function of “endogenous capacity expansion calculations” and also calculate the costs?

(2)Where could I check the capacity factor for renewable technology in the LEAP model? (the LEAP user guide uses the “capacity value” instead of “capacity factor”. However, the “capacity factor” is a more crucial factor to decide how many capacities need to be added in order to satisfy more final demand) (the capacity factor will directly influence the capacity but I have not found the column to input capacity factor data or check default capacity factor)

(3)Do I need to identify and input “Endogenous Capacity Additions” information (User Guide page 102-103)? Or I need not to do so because I already set up the “generation proportion” in 2030.

Sorry to have so many questions recently. Sincerely wish to clearly understand how the LEAP model works. :)

Taylor Binnington 7/25/2013
 

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Hi there Katty,

The procedure that you outline would be valid for any kind of generation, not only renewable power. For the purposes of capacity expansion and dispatch, LEAP treats renewable processes the same way it treats any other process - it's up to you to carefully input how you'd like the process share and capacity additions to change in each scenario. The exception to this is if you're using LEAP's optimization routine, which gives you the option to explicitly categorize processes as 'Renewable Qualified', and allows you to specify a 'Renewable Target'.

That said, if you dispatch your renewable processes according to their process share (the PercentShare rule), you're free to change the process shares as you like, up to a total of 100% of your module's total generation. This will not take care of any capacity expansion, since capacity is different than generation. So if you plan to pursue a strategy of renewable capacity additions, you would have to either enter this explicitly in your exogenous capacity variables, or implicitly as endogenous capacity additions that LEAP is free to call upon in order to maintain a planning reserve margin.

I think your question about capacity factor stems from a difference in lingo that different energy planners tend to use - I know this can be confusing. LEAP enables you to specify capacity 'value', which is essentially the same thing as capacity 'credit'. This number represents the fraction of installed capacity that is considered to have the same reliability as the rest of the power system. In other words, it is the fraction of a power plant's capacity that is credited towards the planning reserve margin: http://www.energycommunity.org/WebHelpPro/Transformation/Capacity_Value.htm.

The capacity 'factor' is something altogether different. It is the amount of power that a process generates during each year, as a fraction of the amount of power that it would generate if it ran to full capacity. In LEAP, this value is called the 'Maximum Availability', and is unique to each process.

Hope this clears a few things up,

Taylor

Katty Chen 7/25/2013
 

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Dear Tayler,

Thank you for your explaining, especially for the capacity factor. Although I read through the UserGuide, however, to be honest, it is a little bit hard to link "maximum ability" with "capacity factor". Therefore, I am really glad that you clarify this concept.

For capacity additions, I try to use the function of "endogenous capacity addictions" in order to know how many capacity need to be added. My logic is (1) set up the target of process share (as the percentage of power generation), (2) input current capacity, (3) LEAP will calculate the capacity additions for each technology in order to satidfy the target.

I know capacity is different from generation amount. But I also know that I can calculate the total capacity I need to satisfy certain generation amounts if I have capacity factor.

Therefore, I assume the LEAP can calculate the additional capacity through the function of "endogenous capacity" in order to satisfy future electricity demand.


To be detailed,

(1) The target of my renewable scenario in 2030 is: electricity generation (nuclear 16.85%, ciak 28.55%, natural gas 24.6%, solar PV 7.24%, wind 9.14%, biomass 4.06%, hydro 9.56%)

(2) I input current capacity data for each technology as "exogenous capacity"

(3) I also input capacity factor for each technology in the "maximum availability".

However, I cannot do my first step now because I could not find the "process share" column anymore. In other words, I cannot see the "dispatch rule" column now. Is there anything wrong or should I input my target in alternative column?

Thank you so much! Your reply really encourage me to stay with the LEAP model.

Sincerely,
Katty

So,

Taylor Binnington 7/25/2013
 

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Hi Katty,

Your understanding of what LEAP will do to add endogenous capacity is correct. It does so to maintain a level of planning reserve that you specify at the module level (make sure you tick off the appropriate checkbox in the module properties). There are a few additional subtleties in the differences between exogenous and endogenous capacity, but I'm sure you'll come to those in time, as you learn the software.

I can't definitively answer your question about the Dispatch Rule and Process Share tabs disappearing, since they are only visible under certain circumstances. Make sure you've checked off 'System Load Curve' in the properties of your electricity generation module (and that you've specified a load curve), and that the 'Optimize' tab for the module is set to 'No'. Off the top of my head it's hard to think what else might cause those tabs not to appear. Have a bit of a look around your model, and if you're still stuck let me know (but be sure to be specific).

Good luck,

Taylor