Abstract
The Reference Model Project (RMP), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s
(DOE) Wind and Water Power Technologies Program (WWPTP) within the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE), was a multi-year effort that launched six open-source MHK technology point designs as reference models to benchmark performance and costs. Open-source products developed by the RMP include: (1) A detailed methodology for design and analysis of MHK devices and estimation of capital costs, operational costs, and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) [1]; (2) Design specifications and SolidWorks geometry files for each reference model device to allow exact replication for physical and numerical modeling studies, e.g., [2]; (3) Reference resource site information for designing MHK devices, e.g., [3]; (4) Physical model data sets for validating design modeling tools, e.g., [4]; (5) Spreadsheets with cost breakdown structures for calculating the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for single devices and multiple unit arrays [5]; (6) PNNL logic models that provide environmental compliance requirements and methods for estimating their costs [6]. These open-source products, along with supporting documentation, are available at the RMP web site http://energy.sandia.gov/rmp to facilitate their use in future R&D studies by industry, academia and national laboratories.