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Frew, Bethany

Publications and source records attributed to Frew, Bethany.

At least 19 records
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DOE OSTI2024

Planning and Operations in Electricity Markets Under System Transformation

United States electricity markets, planning mechanisms, and operational procedures are currently evolving in concert with three key trends. First, a range of new resources—solar, wind, energy storage, hybrid co-located storage, and distributed energy—are coming online and require new solutions to ensure they are efficiently integrated into existing systems. Second, consumers now face more opportunities to participate in markets by providing demand response and engaging in two-way interactions with the grid. Third, there is an increasing need for enhanced coordination between generation and transmission planning as well as across transmission and distribution systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Planning and Operations in Electricity Markets Under System Tansformation: Key Findings

This report summarizes a set of key findings that have been developed through a set of interconnected research activities performed by five institutions between January 2020 and December 2023. The project team, comprising Argonne National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Electric Power Research Institute, and Johns Hopkins University, collective engaged with the North American Independent System Operators and Regional Transmission Operators (ISO/RTOs) to identify the key challenges they are facing and opportunities for the project team to provide technical assistance in several prioritized challenge areas.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Wholesale Electricity Market Design to Support Resource Adequacy

Wholesale electricity markets are intended to incentivize system generation investments and operations outcomes that meet evolving system needs. In this work, we evaluate the effectiveness of wholesale market structures, rules and policies in achieving system resource adequacy (RA) and clean energy targets in the presence of self-interested generation investors using the Electricity Markets and Investment Suite Agent-based Simulation (EMIS-AS) model. Results highlight that both capacity markets and operating reserve demand curves (ORDCs) can help achieve a reliable system but with different RA compliance timelines and distribution of generation technologies. Structures with capacity markets tend to favor more capital-intensive peaking technologies while reducing wind and solar build-outs due to suppressed energy and clean energy market prices, particularly in the absence of strong clean energy targets. Conversely, ORDCs improve the commitment of available generation units, but this comes at the expense of higher system costs and renewable generation curtailment. We also find that well-calibrated static capacity demand curves can yield similar reliability and total cost compared to capacity market demand curves informed dynamically by resource adequacy while also yielding stable annual capacity prices. Different approaches to formulating ORDC curves can also yield key trade-offs, namely that a more efficient treatment of storage chronology results in lower ORDC curves and prices, yielding less investment and cost but at the expense of reliability. Finally, the effectiveness of wholesale electricity markets in practically achieving very high clean energy generation targets highly depends on the cost-competitiveness of clean energy technologies that can support critical balancing needs across multiple timescales.

agent based modeling↗
DOE OSTI2024

Wholesale Electricity Markets and Resource Adequacy with High Clean Energy Generation Targets

Wholesale electricity markets are intended to incentivize system generation investments and operations outcomes that meet evolving system needs. In this work, we evaluate the effectiveness of wholesale market structures, rules and policies in achieving system resource adequacy (RA) and clean energy targets in the presence of self-interested generation investors using the Electricity Markets and Investment Suite Agent-based Simulation (EMIS-AS) model. Results highlight that both capacity markets and operating reserve demand curves (ORDCs) can help achieve a reliable system but with different RA compliance timelines and distribution of generation technologies. Structures with capacity markets tend to favor more capital-intensive peaking technologies while reducing wind and solar build-outs due to suppressed energy and clean energy market prices, particularly in the absence of strong clean energy targets. Conversely, ORDCs improve the commitment of available generation units, but this comes at the expense of higher system costs and renewable generation curtailment. We also find that well-calibrated static capacity demand curves can yield similar reliability and total cost compared to capacity market demand curves informed dynamically by resource adequacy while also yielding stable annual capacity prices. Different approaches to formulating ORDC curves can also yield key trade-offs, namely that a more efficient treatment of storage chronology results in lower ORDC curves and prices, yielding less investment and cost but at the expense of reliability. Finally, the effectiveness of wholesale electricity markets in practically achieving very high clean energy generation targets highly depends on the cost-competitiveness of clean energy technologies that can support critical balancing needs across multiple timescales.

capacity expansion↗
DOE OSTI2024

Summary of a Workshop on Integrating Energy Equity into Power System Planning and Operation

On November 29 and 30, 2023, the Energy Systems Integration Group convened a one-and-a-half-day workshop in Arlington, Virginia, to improve knowledge and practices for integrating energy equity considerations into power system planning and operation. Workshop participants were invited to discuss approaches for integrating energy equity aspects into models and tools and to explore possible pathways for enhanced technical practices. Participants included utility planning and modeling practitioners, social science and energy justice academics, representatives from energy and environmental justice nongovernmental organizations, non-profits, consumer advocates, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy, national labs, and other government agencies. This report summarizes the discussion points and outcomes of the workshop, which prioritized the technical aspects of incorporating the challenges and solutions identified by electricity-futures stakeholders and communities. These technical activities include the fundamental grid structure and hardware, detailed modeling approaches that benchmark energy system performance and justify future investments, and engineering designs and limitations for potential solutions to meet energy equity goals in communities.

energy equity↗
DOE OSTI2024

Research Priorities and Opportunities in U.S. Wholesale Electricity Markets: Market Design under Deep Decarbonization

This report contributes to the body of literature by reviewing key challenges for competitive wholesale electricity market design in deeply decarbonized power systems and establishing potential solutions and associated research needs. We provide a long-term perspective on ways in which competitive wholesale electricity markets can evolve to ensure that they still operate efficiently throughout the transition to a deeply decarbonized future. In this report, we use the term “deep decarbonization” to refer broadly to systems that generate nearly all their electricity from zero-carbon or carbon-neutral resources, while recognizing that there are many potential configurations of such systems. We also stress that many of these issues will arise to varying degrees as systems move toward full decarbonization, even if they are not truly 100% carbon-free.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Research Priorities and Opportunities in U.S. Wholesale Electricity Markets: Market Design under Deep Decarbonization

This report provides a comprehensive review of challenges, research needs, and potential solutions for competitive wholesale electricity market design in deeply decarbonized power systems. We provide context regarding how competitive wholesale electricity markets can evolve in a longer-term perspective to ensure that they still operate efficiently throughout the transition to a deeply decarbonized future. We organize the discussion across seven topics: operational reliability, emerging technology integration, adequacy and resilience, price formation, interactions across transmission and distribution systems, transmission planning, achieving clean energy objectives, and challenges associated with cost-effectively achieving clean energy objectives. In each section we first identify key associated challenges before proposing a set of corresponding solutions and research needs.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Can Wholesale Electricity Markets Achieve Resource Adequacy and High Clean Energy Generation Targets in the Presence of Self-Interested Actors?

Wholesale electricity markets are intended to incentivize system generation investments and operations outcomes that meet evolving system needs. In this work, we evaluate the effectiveness of wholesale market structures, rules and policies in achieving system resource adequacy (RA) and clean energy targets in the presence of self-interested generation investors using the Electricity Markets and Investment Suite Agent-based Simulation (EMIS-AS) model. Results highlight that both capacity markets and operating reserve demand curves (ORDCs) can help achieve a reliable system but with different RA compliance timelines and distribution of generation technologies. Structures with capacity markets tend to favor more capital-intensive peaking technologies while reducing wind and solar build-outs due to suppressed energy and clean energy market prices, particularly in the absence of strong clean energy targets. Conversely, ORDCs improve the commitment of available generation units, but this comes at the expense of higher system costs and renewable generation curtailment. We also find that well-calibrated static capacity demand curves can yield similar reliability and total cost compared to capacity market demand curves informed dynamically by resource adequacy while also yielding stable annual capacity prices. Different approaches to formulating ORDC curves can also yield key trade-offs, namely that a more efficient treatment of storage chronology results in lower ORDC curves and prices, yielding less investment and cost but at the expense of reliability. Finally, the effectiveness of wholesale electricity markets in practically achieving very high clean energy generation targets highly depends on the cost-competitiveness of clean energy technologies that can support critical balancing needs across multiple timescales.

capacity expansion↗
DOE OSTI2023

Improving Wind Power Market Value with Various Aspects of Diversification: Preprint

The wind generation share in many European bidding zones is already large enough to impact the market value of wind power and wind energy is getting less-than-average market price in day-ahead markets. As alternatives to investing in dedicated energy storage, there are two main ways to mitigate the decreasing market value trend, the first being different diversification measures (geographical spread, alternative wind turbine technologies, integration with solar), and the second being demand flexibility measures. Examples of these measures from some European and USA studies are given in this article, which stems from the international collaboration under IEA Wind TCP Tasks 25 and 53.

diversification↗
DOE OSTI2023

The interaction of wholesale electricity market structures under futures with decarbonization policy goals: A complexity conundrum

Competitive wholesale electricity markets can help facilitate energy system decarbonization by incentivizing investments in clean energy technologies that meet evolving system needs. We explore market structure impacts on generator operations and deployment by risk-averse, heterogeneous investor firms using the Electricity Markets and Investment Suite - Agent-based Simulation (EMIS-AS) model. Here we apply clean energy targets of 45%-100% by 2035 considering energy, ancillary services, capacity, and clean energy credit products and pricing and eligibility rules. Results highlight a complexity conundrum, whereby finding the "right" market design to achieve decarbonization goals and avoid unintended consequences can be a highly-nuanced, non-incremental challenge. Carefully designed energy-only markets can achieve the same clean energy targets as capacity market structures but with different revenue and profitability outcomes. Operating reserve demand curve-based scarcity pricing can substitute capacity markets for similar deployment outcomes. Carbon pricing alone is most effective at achieving decarbonization levels at low clean energy targets, and clean energy credit markets and carbon pricing are substitutionary at high clean energy targets. Restricting technology participation in capacity and operating reserve markets can impact deployment and operations, even for nonrestricted technologies. Adding an inertia product with fast frequency response yields insufficient provision at high clean energy targets, but work is needed to understand frequency requirements and capabilities.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Analysis of Multi-Output Hybrid Energy Systems Interacting with the Grid: Application of Improved Price-Taker and Price-Maker Approaches to Nuclear-Hydrogen Systems

The growing recognition of the value of hydrogen as an energy intermediate in supporting future power systems with high shares of variable renewable energy has prompted many studies to quantify the economic potential of multi-output hybrid systems, which are one type of integrated energy systems (IES). Because of the complexity of modeling multiple sectors, these studies typically use simplified modeling approaches to capture the interactions between sectors. In this study, we explore the implications of alternative modeling approaches for nuclear-hydrogen IES focusing on a power system in the Midwest United States. We combine highly resolved capacity expansion and production cost modeling tools of the power system with a detailed hydrogen system optimization tool to determine the optimal electrolyzer and storage sizing and optimal operations of the nuclear-hydrogen hybrid resource across three future study years. We compare economic and operational outcomes across a spectrum of modeling approaches, including a non-hybridized base approach; a traditional price-taker approach that does not include the impact of hydrogen production on the electricity system; a power-system-focused price-maker approach that does not account for temporal hydrogen constraints; and two improved price-taker and price-maker approaches that each address the impact of revenue-optimal levels of electricity production on the resulting power system and temporal hydrogen constraints on the overall feasible solution. Results show how a traditional price-taker approach can overestimate the economic benefits of multi-output nuclear-hydrogen IES compared to our two improved approaches that estimate both hydrogen system constraints and power system interaction. We find that hydrogen output requirements and storage size limits are key drivers to overall operations and some economic outcomes. Under our assumed constant hydrogen output requirement, storage costs, test system, and modeling approaches, our results indicate that hybridization can provide a net benefit, but results are sensitive to the treatment of hydrogen revenues and electricity prices as impacted by the power system evolution.

capacity expansion modeling↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electricity Costs and Carbon Implications for CO 2 -to-Fuels in Selected Locations in 2030

With the growing interest in converting carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to fuels and products to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions and extend carbon from biogenic and other sources, the development of carbon capture and utilization (CO2U) technologies and industry is crucial. The Markets, Resources, and Environmental and Energy Justice of CO 2 -to-Fuels Technologies (short title: MarkeRs & EEJ) project supports this goal by assessing the resource and market potential and infrastructure requirements for mid-term (-2030) and long-term (-2050) deployment of CO2U technologies. The overall project analyzes CO2U economic and resource requirements as well as sustainability and environmental and energy justice (EEJ) metrics. This report focuses on short-term (-2030) aspects of the project. It identifies three CO2U locations in the Midwestern United States and quantifies the costs for potential electricity resources and marginal emissions for each site in the near term (e.g., 2030). We focus on four electricity purchase options, including retail rate, physical power purchase agreement (PPA), financial PPA, and real-time pricing (RTP), for each of the three sites and consider potential policies such as production tax credits (PTCs). We also assess time-dependent hourly marginal electricity costs and the marginal emission rates using modeled scenarios from Cambium (Gagnon et al. 2021).The results of the analysis are expected to inform other projects within the U.S. Department of Energy's CO 2 -to-Fuels Consortium, especially the Economics and Sustainability of CO 2 Utilization Technologies with Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Analysis (TEA/LCA) project, led by Michael Wang of Argonne National Laboratory and Ling Tao of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The project results are also expected to inform the investment and technology communities and policymakers at the U.S. Department of Energy, state, and regional levels and guide investment by government and industry in research and development portfolios.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Insights into Methodologies and Operational Details of Resource Adequacy Assessment: A Case Study with Application to a Broader Flexibility Framework

Assessing and maintaining resource adequacy (RA) is a core pillar of power systems. However, recent changes in the physical makeup of these systems and the conditions under which these systems must operate have yielded a renewed interest in the methods, metrics, and assumptions that underpin RA assessments. In this paper, we systematically explore a wide range of RA modeling dimensions, including: the objective function and level of operational detail in the underlying model formulation; the quantity (look-ahead) and quality (accuracy) of data that is available for making operational decisions within those models; and the physical configuration of solar photovoltaics (PV) with battery storage hybrid resources. We apply a set of probabilistic RA tools and production cost modeling tools to a realistic test system based loosely on a future Electric Reliability Council of Texas power system dominated by solar PV resources. Under the assumptions of our system and models, we find that multi-stage probabilistic assessments may provide a more robust evaluation of RA by capturing a wider range of operational and system interactions, but this comes at a computational cost of 1-2 orders of magnitude longer run time depending on the specific configuration. In addition, the information on thermal generator availability impacts RA performance by an order of magnitude more than solar resource forecasts, which is driven by the comparatively larger magnitude of thermal outages than solar forecast errors within our test system. Lastly, the flexibility provided by hybrid and other resources can help reduce system load-shedding event frequencies and enable the system to be more robust to inaccurate forecast information, and alternative hybrid inverter sizes can impact RA levels by 1-2 orders of magnitude. Our results point to the importance of a broader flexibility framework to describe the interaction between (1) flexibility "supply" from both physical resource capabilities and operational constraints considered in the modeling, and (2) flexibility "demand" from forecast errors, thermal generator outages, and other sources of uncertainty, as well as their RA impacts. Results are likely sensitive to the system buildout explored; future work could consider additional system configurations and conditions.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,POWER TRANSMI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Addressing Market Issues in Electrical Power Systems with Large Shares of Variable Renewable Energy

This paper reports recent findings from IEA Wind TCP Task 25, which compiles international experiences and research related to large-scale integration of wind and other renewable energy. In the paper, we address the main challenges for market integration of variable renewable energy, relating to price formation, cost recovery, balancing and other grid services. The paper gives an overview of recent scenario studies on electricity price impacts of (1) various generation, energy storage and demand types in different markets, and (2) different market designs and energy/climate policies. Studying markets with very high shares of variable renewable energy requires an improved set of analysis tools for forecasting market outcomes, estimating flexibility needs and sources, and assessing resource adequacy. Key market features need to be investigated within these improved analytical capabilities for systems transitioning to high shares of variable renewable energy, storage and flexible demand. System services that can be supported by markets will likely need to be revisited. Finally, this paper identifies open questions and suggested future market design work for supporting systems with very high shares of variable renewable energy, which are to be addressed in follow-up work of Task 25 collaborative research.

cost recovery↗
DOE OSTI2022

Regional Hybrid Energy Systems Technoeconomic Analysis

This presentation summarizes the final outputs from a multi-year HFTO-funded project that evaluated the potential for hybridized nuclear power plants to economically produce hydrogen. The focus of this presentation is on the interactions between the electricity system modeling and hydrogen system optimization and the resulting figures of merit. This project partnered with Idaho National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Electric Power Research Institute, and Xcel Energy.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Impact of Thermal Plant Operational Flexibility on VRE Curtailment: The Curtailment Paradox

This presentation provides an overview of a previously published paper in Joule "The curtailment paradox in the transition to high solar power systems." The adoption of PV and battery storage has accelerated globally in recent years, driven by rapid cost declines. A corresponding increase in curtailment is anticipated as PV growth continues. This study explores the effect of system flexibility options on curtailment across increasing PV penetration levels. Results highlight a paradox where thermal generator flexibility matters most only at mid-PV penetration levels (25%-40%), and a misalignment exists where PV provides system value by providing operating reserves without sufficient opportunity for monetary compensation.

capacity expansion modeling↗
DOE OSTI2022

Emerging Trends in Power System Planning Models

This presentation highlights NREL's power system modeling capabilities, both existing and the future direction of improvements. Specific enhancements to the ReEDS (Regional Energy Deployment System) model and a new electricity market design testbed called EMIS (Electricity Markets and Investment Suite) were described. This content was part of a broader discussion to help inform the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on the Future of Electric Power in the U.S. on existing power system models and improvements needed in these models to capture the increasing complexity and interconnectedness of the power system.

capacity expansion modeling↗