The possibility of making alternative fuels more
cost-effective and accessible to residential, commercial and industrial end-users
is being aggressively researched. We have been at the forefront of this effort,
as well as research into the technical and market feasibility for hydrogen
production and infrastructure.
RDC has also produced
technology and market assessments on emerging, unconventional (opportunity)
fuels including landfill gas, ethanol, digester gas, and fuels made from
biomass resources.
Leading Solutions
To help our clients understand the potential costs and
benefits from renewable energy sources and alternative fuels, we offer several
products and services:
Evaluation of the potential for renewable energy sources and
alternative fuels in end-use markets. These evaluations include identifying the
best sectors (residential, commercial, industrial), geographic areas, and
applications where renewable energy sources and alternative fuels make the most
sense.
Strategic Planning for the renewable energy marketplace.
Technical assessments of alternative fuels including the
technologies used to make them and issues involved such as carbon sequestration
and refinery capacity representation.
Market assessments of alternative fuels including lifecycle
costs and the potential market penetration of alternative fuel applications.
Feasibility Studies for specific renewable energy and
alternative fuel projects.
Recent Accomplishments
Supported the USDOEs
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Hydrogen, Fuel Cells &
Infrastructure Technologies program by generating technical scenarios for
hydrogen delivery and infrastructure development.
Produced a number of
studies on the projected hydrogen economy and the potential scenarios for
hydrogen delivery and infrastructure.
Developed a report for
EPRI which included an analysis of biofuel use for power generation.
RDC
conducted a study for ORNL and DOE that identified many waste products that
could be used for thermal generation, including boilers and furnaces. These “opportunity
fuels” include landfill gas, anaerobic digester gas, biomass, and many
others. Technologies included
conventional boilers and process heating equipment as well as advanced
technology such as biomass gasification.
For each state, the study identified the key opportunity fuels,
established a baseline of supply availability, evaluated the cost benefits from
using these fuels to replace conventional fossil fuels, and determined the
economically-achievable market potential for these applications.
