UL releases HOMER Front to optimise utility-scale storage assets
UL, renewable energy modelling software developer, announced the release of HOMER Front.
The licensable web-based software platform will enable designing and optimising of complex utility-scale energy storage systems (ESS) — whether standalone or in combination with solar or wind energy.
Equipped with battery dispatch modelling and an intuitive user interface, HOMER Front performs technical and economic analysis that helps developers optimise the revenue of their energy storage or hybrid project.
The software reportedly allows users to rapidly test and analyse wind, solar and battery project size, architecture and technology. Users can also optimise battery augmentation strategies for participating in energy and capacity markets and meeting off-take agreement requirements.
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With HOMER Front, UL hopes to provide energy developers in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Latin America economic insight into utility-scale systems, including:
• Optimal sizing of energy storage
• Battery capacity degradation and augmentation strategies
• Robust sensitivity analysis to screen projects for economic viability and de-risk internal rate of return
• Revenue stack analysis from:
o Wholesale energy markets with hourly and sub-hourly pricing
o Capacity markets such as resource adequacy in the CAISO market
o Power purchase agreements, including shaping or time of delivery capacity injection requirements
“By providing accurate, detailed results for different system configurations, HOMER Front allows developers and financiers to evaluate the system’s performance and make critical project decisions with confidence,” stated Colin Tareila, engineering manager of Renewables in UL’s asset and sustainability performance group.
“We’re extremely pleased with the significant advantages we’ve seen HOMER Front provide through our work on UL’s advisory projects and feedback from early users of the software. The capabilities will help advance deployment of energy storage projects worldwide.”
HOMER Front aims to eliminate the need for download and installation, which would enable use on any operating system by global teams and increase computational power.
Capacity markets and power purchase agreements, including California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), are modelled in the software.
HOMER Front is built on the HOMER software platform, which designs and optimises microgrids and behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DERs).
