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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

EVSE Cybersecurity and Resilience

Consequence-driven Cybersecurity Analysis for Extreme Fast Charging Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Electric vehicle (EV) development and associated charging infrastructure are expected to advance rapidly. Thirty percent of all global vehicle sales may be EVs and hybrid EVs by 2025, and they will rely on increasingly sophisticated strategies for grid integration. Next-generation EV charging infrastructure is expected to include interconnected renewable resources, such as photovoltaic (PV) arrays and battery storage systems, along with grid-edge devices. Although distributed energy resources (DERs) are useful in several ways, such as peak shaving at high demand times and backup supply for added resilience, the integration of vehicle charging and DERs could create more avenues for cyberattack. Physical and/or remote access to EV charging station components, including charge ports, power electronics, controllers, and local generation (e.g., PV and energy storage) could be paths to cause power fluctuations, leading to altered operations at the charging station, escalated privileges to administrative systems, exfiltration of financial information (including personally identifiable information), and reduced grid stability. One compromised EV supply equipment component can open the door to a variety of exploitable vulnerabilities. Cloud computing and mobile application control have the potential to expand the threat surface to non-repudiation and firmware integrity challenges. Vendor clouds have access to hundreds of chargers, and if compromised, can scale the attack surface exponentially. The high power and voltage levels of xFC infrastructure (e.g., 400 kW at 1000- V DC) increase the hazards and ability to impact the grid and vehicles more than lower-power charging systems. Legacy communications systems and protocols could also put EV infrastructure at risk of cyberattacks requiring a robust patch management process. Communications networks link EVs and chargers to several stakeholders - including charging station operators, grid operators, vendors/manufacturers, and aggregators - who have both physical and network access to share information for control, monitoring, and analytics. Information in these networks that is vulnerable to compromise includes the state of charge, charging duration, payment information, electricity price, and load control. Analyzing and prioritizing these interconnections risks could help address cybersecurity related to data leakage and manipulation.

charging↗
DOE OSTI2021

Resampling and data augmentation for short-term PV output prediction based on an imbalanced sky images dataset using convolutional neural networks

Integrating photovoltaics (PV) into electricity grids is challenged by potentially large fluctuations in power generation. In recent years, sky image-based PV output prediction using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) has emerged as a promising approach to forecasting fluctuations. A key challenge is imbalanced sky image datasets: because of the geography of solar PV system installations, sky image datasets are often rich in sunny condition data but deficient in cloudy condition data. This imbalance contrasts with the fact that model errors are dominated by cloudy condition performance. In this study, we attempt to remedy this by exploring the enrichment and augmentation of an imbalanced sky images dataset for two PV output prediction tasks: nowcasting (predicting concurrent PV output) and forecasting (predicting 15-minute-ahead future PV output). We empirically examine the efficacy of using different resampling and data augmentation approaches to create a rebalanced dataset for model development. A three-stage greedy search is used to determine the optimal resampling approach, data augmentation techniques and over-sampling rate. The results show that for the nowcast problem, resampling and data augmentation can effectively enhance the model performance, reducing overall root mean squared error (RMSE) by an average of 4%, or a 15 std. (standard deviation) of improvement compared to the variability of the baseline model. In contrast, the treatment RMSE for the forecast problem nearly always overlaps the baseline performance at the ± 2 std. level. The optimal resampling approach expands on the original dataset by over-sampling the minority cloudy data, with the best results from large over-sampling rate (e.g., 4 ~ 6 times over-sampling of cloudy images).

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Physics-Based Method for Generating Fully Synthetic IV Curve Training Datasets for Machine Learning Classification of PV Failures

Classification machine learning models require high-quality labeled datasets for training. Among the most useful datasets for photovoltaic array fault detection and diagnosis are module or string current-voltage (IV) curves. Unfortunately, such datasets are rarely collected due to the cost of high fidelity monitoring, and the data that is available is generally not ideal, often consisting of unbalanced classes, noisy data due to environmental conditions, and few samples. In this paper, we propose an alternate approach that utilizes physics-based simulations of string-level IV curves as a fully synthetic training corpus that is independent of the test dataset. In our example, the training corpus consists of baseline (no fault), partial soiling, and cell crack system modes. The training corpus is used to train a 1D convolutional neural network (CNN) for failure classification. The approach is validated by comparing the model’s ability to classify failures detected on a real, measured IV curve testing corpus obtained from laboratory and field experiments. Results obtained using a fully synthetic training dataset achieve identical accuracy to those obtained with use of a measured training dataset. When evaluating the measured data’s test split, a 100% accuracy was found both when using simulations or measured data as the training corpus. When evaluating all of the measured data, a 96% accuracy was found when using a fully synthetic training dataset. The use of physics-based modeling results as a training corpus for failure detection and classification has many advantages for implementation as each PV system is configured differently, and it would be nearly impossible to train using labeled measured data.

Hopwood, Michael W. (ORCID:0000000161901767)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evaluating the Incident Energy of Arcs in Photovoltaic DC Systems: Comparison Between Calculated and Experimental Data

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems have permeated the energy generation world at a very high rate, some of the safety codes and standards are still lagging in accurately assessing the hazards and risks associated with PV array arcing energies. Safety professionals and maintenance workers using NFPA 70E have utilized the Doan, Stokes & Oppenlander or Enrique models, meant to determine arc energies in DC power systems using the maximum power method. These methods may lead to an overestimate of energy available in PV systems during a fault. Since PV modules/arrays are non-linear, current limited DC devices, some of these calculation methods may not accurately predict fault energy. This paper will validate current arc energy models for PV systems by comparing experimental and calculated data. Additionally, this data will help modify the current NFPA 70E models related to smaller solar arrays. Understanding where the real safety threshold for DC arc flash in PV systems exists will help maintenance and safety professionals better prepare for a variety of work related activities. This paper will analyze real arc data taken for PV systems <1000VDC and <60amps and compare this to the calculated incident energy models, to include 70E. Thus, using these comparisons, it may be possible to reduce the safety hazard severity and thus relax the PPE requirements for installation and maintenance crews.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Role of Interface Band Alignment in Epitaxial SrTiO 3 /GaAs Heterojunctions

Recent concerns surrounding climate change and the contribution of fossil fuels to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have sparked interest and advancements in renewable energy sources including wind, solar, and hydroelectricity. These energy sources, often referred to as “clean energy”, generate no operational onsite GHG emissions. They also offer the potential for clean hydrogen production through water electrolysis, presenting a viable solution to create an environmentally friendly alternative energy carrier with the potential to decarbonize industrial processes reliant on hydrogen. To conduct a full life cycle analysis, it is crucial to account for the embodied emissions associated with renewable and nuclear power generation plants as they can significantly impact the GHG emissions linked to hydrogen production and its derived products. In this work, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the embodied emissions associated with solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, hydro, and nuclear electricity. We investigated the implications of including plant-embodied emissions in the overall emission estimates of electrolysis hydrogen production and subsequently on the production of synthetic ammonia, methanol, and Fischer– Tropsch (FT) fuels. Results show that average embodied GHG emissions of solar PV, wind, hydro, and nuclear electricity generation in the United States (U.S.) were estimated to be 37, 9.8, 7.2, and 0.3 g CO 2 e/kWh, respectively. Life cycle GHG emissions of electrolytic hydrogen produced from solar PV, wind, and hydroelectricity were estimated as 2.1, 0.6, and 0.4 kg of CO 2 e/kg of H 2 , respectively, in contrast to the zero-emissions often used when the embodied emissions in their construction were excluded. Average life cycle emission estimates (CO 2 e/kg) of synthetic ammonia, methanol, and FT-fuel from solar PV electricity are increased by 5.5, 16, and 49 times, respectively, compared to the case when embodied emissions are excluded. This change also depends on the local irradiance for solar power, which can result in a further increase of GHG emissions by 35–41% in areas of low irradiance or reduce GHG emissions by 21–25% in areas with higher irradiance.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Optimizing Distributed Energy Storage Sizing in Puerto Rico: Leveraging Increased Distributed Generation for Enhanced Resilience

Distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems (BESS) adoption has increased rapidly in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria in 2017 as customers seek local resilient energy solutions. To investigate how to best leverage these many distributed PV and BESS systems, in this paper, we introduce a modeling framework that can be used by entities planning resilience investments to provide insights about the sizing and operational needs to achieve desired resilience benefits.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nature of innovations affecting photovoltaic system costs

Innovations improve technology costs through various kinds of engineering advancements, including changes to materials choices and device or process designs. Understanding how these innovations relate to cost change can reveal aspects of the process of technology evolution, yet developing such understanding is often not possible with a strictly quantitative approach due to data limitations. In this paper we develop a hybrid quantitative-qualitative framework for relating specific innovations to cost change by using the variables in a quantitative technology cost change model as an organizing principle. We demonstrate this framework by applying it to the cost decline in photovoltaic (PV) systems over the last five decades. This framework generates new understanding of a set of innovations that contributed to PV modules’ sustained cost decline and the more modest trends observed in balance-of-system (BOS) costs. The results show the great diversity of innovations that affected PV costs, drawing on wide-ranging fields of expertise within scientific research and practice. We find that there are differences in the characteristics of innovations that reduced the cost of PV modules compared to innovations influencing BOS costs. Numerous module innovations reduced costs by advancing manufacturing tools and processes that improved material quality. Many BOS innovations reduced costs through a combination of component design changes, integration, automation, digitalization, and standardization. Overall, most innovations in our sample affected PV hardware. However, some also target ‘soft technologies’ such as task durations through innovations like fast-track permitting, which require improved collaboration and process streamlining. This framework also provides insight into the nature of knowledge spillovers between technologies. Both module and BOS hardware innovations show the benefits of PV’s position within an ‘ecosystem’ of continuously advancing technologies in many industries, in particular semiconductors and electronics, and also point to the importance of public institutions for accelerating testing, permitting, and training.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evaluating Utility-Scale PV-Battery Hybrids in an Operational Model for the Bulk Power System

Systems that combine solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage technologies (PV-BES) are increasingly being proposed and deployed on the bulk power system. The operations and value of PV-BES systems have been extensively studied from the project developer's perspective through analyses that maximize plant-level revenue. However, PV-BES hybrids' operational characteristics are seldom studied from the perspective of bulk power system operators, who seek to optimize the performance of a suite of generation and storage assets that are connected via the transmission network. This work presents modeling approaches for representing and evaluating PV-BES hybrids in a model that optimizes operations across the bulk power system. Its novel contributions include demonstrating a technique to modify a unit commitment and dispatch model to represent the operational synergies of PV-BES hybrids. In particular, we describe the challenges and an approach for representing so-called DC-coupled PV-BES - which utilize a single bi-directional inverter - as a dispatchable resource in a commercial, production cost model (PCM), PLEXOS. We demonstrate this technique in a PCM study of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) test system, by replacing existing PV and battery generators on the test system with our PV-BES hybrids. We then pursue scenario analysis that is designed to isolate the various drivers of operational strategies for DC-coupled PV-BES hybrids, including the nature of coupling, PV penetration on the system, and varying inverter loading ratios (or degrees of over-sizing of the PV field). Results from the analysis include utilization profiles for the PV DC energy across available pathways, dispatch profiles for the battery component, and the hybrid technologies' impacts on system-wide production costs. The approach presented in this paper can be used in any PCM that is looking to study PV-BES hybrids as a resource in different power system configurations and services.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Navigating the Use of Direct Current in Residential Settings: Merits and Obstacles

This review paper provides an in-depth analysis of the role of Direct Current (DC) power systems in residential settings, focusing on their safety, efficiency, and environmental advantages. It recognizes the significant contribution of the residential sector to global carbon dioxide emissions and explores how DC power systems can help mitigate these effects. The paper traces the historical evolution of DC power, its resurgence with renewable energy technologies, and the advancements in power electronics that facilitate its integration. Emphasizing the efficiency and safety benefits, especially in low-voltage applications, the paper highlights the seamless integration of DC systems with inherently DC-generating renewable sources like solar PV and wind. The review discusses the critical role of converter technologies in the transition to DC power and examines the compatibility of DC systems with energy storage solutions, underscoring their potential for enhanced energy management. It also addresses the environmental impacts of adopting DC power, aligning with global carbon reduction efforts. The paper analyzes regional case studies, exploring practical applications and outcomes, and addresses challenges such as the need for standardization. It concludes with recommendations for stakeholders and future research directions, emphasizing the economic, technological, and environmental aspects of DC power systems. Overall, the paper presents DC power as a viable and sustainable option for residential energy conservation, contingent upon ongoing technological progress, supportive policies, and standardization.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Challenges of Modeling Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) as Blackstart Resources and for Volt-VAR Optimality

Modeling, testing and instituting Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) as Blackstart Resoucrces presents several challenges due to the fundamental differences between traditional black start resources (e.g., large generators) versus DERs like solar PV systems with battery storage. This paper addresses some of these key challenges. These include intermittency of coordinating DERs to provide continuous power during a black start event, especially during extended periods of cloud cover or when battery energy storage is depleted. This paper additionally addresses the collapsing voltage and stability control challenges specific to maintaining bulk power system stability during black start synchronization These physical and engineering limitations require careful engineering design, modeling and engineering to ensure that DERs can support critical loads and substations during black start events. A variety of additional challenges also exist. Additionally, there are challenges associated with feeder location and low voltage secondary system impacts on DER functions and settings. We compare typical functions and settings for DERs for power factor control and correction. We also demonstrate how voltag control via Volta-VAR power factor correction can be done

Mukherjee, Srijib↗
DOE OSTI2026

V2XConnect: Harmonizing the Landscape of Bidirectional Charging Codes, Standards, and Communication Protocols

The utility grid is constantly evolving with new generation sources and diverse loads from backup generators, backup batteries, rooftop photovoltaics (PV), and flexible charging loads. Each of these technologies presents consumers with an opportunity to work with their local utility to promote grid stability, reliability, and affordability. Through a wide range of programs, utilities are incentivizing the use of these resources to benefit the grid. However, especially for devices with inverters that supply power back to the grid, it is important that these assets comply with local grid codes to ensure human safety, power quality, and grid reliability. One of the most promising of these new technologies is the bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) coupled with bidirectional electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). This report introduces the technologies that enable bidirectional charging and how these systems operate. It then outlines the necessary interconnection codes and industry standards that govern the operations of grid-tied inverters, including those in bidirectional charging. A key challenge is then outlined from the complex landscape of communication protocols and proprietary systems designed to coordinate these grid assets. Finally, a single gateway solution is proposed to harmonize communications between all assets across an entire site for a cohesive response to grid codes and utility programs that is flexible enough to support a range of market options.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Limerick Safety-Related Instrumentation and Control Upgrade Human Factors Engineering Preliminary Validation Report

This document is a results summary report for the human factors engineering (HFE) preliminary validation (PV) performed for the Limerick Generating Station (LGS) Safety-Related (SR) Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Upgrade Project at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL). This occurred during the week of February 20, 2023.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Supply Chain Cybersecurity Recommendations for Solar Photovoltaics

Solar photovoltaic (PV) cybersecurity is a growing field of research. As deployments of solar PV has increased, cyber risk has also increased. However, utility solar PV installations are not required to comply with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) unless they meet a minimum generation threshold of 75 Megawatts (MW). Individual residential scale solar PV deployments will not meet that generation threshold and are therefore excluded from NERC CIP requirements. With most solar installations below 75MW, solar PV has been deployed with minimal oversight and highly variable cybersecurity maturity. The resources that make up the digital supply chain can include software, code, data, as well as other digital components. However as clean energy technology advances, cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities continue to evolve and grow in sophistication. Solar PV faces a unique challenge in which it can be deployed in residential buildings and purchased by a consumer directly. This makes the supply chain of PV a unique challenge, where responsible parties for cybersecurity vary widely depending on the type of solar PV being deployed. Supply chain cybersecurity for solar PV represents a critical area for ensuring safe operations as the U.S. moves towards a clean energy future.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Navy Ratchets Up Resilience Through Agency/Utility Collaboration

The Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) in Gulfport, Mississippi, and Mississippi Power Company (MPC) have integrated a 15-acre solar photovoltaic (PV) array, battery storage, and backup generation with an innovative microgrid. The Navy and utility teams are helping ensure mission readiness at NCBC while increasing renewable energy generation on the grid in MPC's service area. The NCBC/MPC resilience effort will allow the base to more effectively deploy disaster recovery activities in the event of a grid outage.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Incident Energy Systems Model: User Guide and Examples

U.S. Forest Service (USFS) wildfire base camps use portable power for electrical needs, including yurts and trailers from which logistics staff work during the incident. These yurts and trailers are conventionally powered by portable diesel generators. Hybrid portable power systems consisting of a combination of solar photovoltaics (PV), battery energy storage systems (BESS), and/or backup diesel generators have been used in recent years and were piloted by the National Technology and Development Program (NTDP) on incidents in fall 2024 as part of NTDP's Portable Power Project. As part of that project, this work included the development of two Excel-based tools and two reports explaining the tools. The first tool, the Incident Energy Systems Model, is an Excel-based tool that models the power output of hybrid portable power systems powering yurts and/or trailers at fire camps over a typical day.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

DER Digital Supply Chain Gap Analysis

Solar photovoltaic (PV) cybersecurity is a growing field of research. As deployments of solar PV have increased, cyber risk has also increased. Utility solar PV installations, however, are not required to comply with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) plan unless they meet a minimum generation threshold of 75 MW. Individual residential-scale solar PV deployments will not meet that generation threshold and are therefore excluded from the NERC CIP requirements. With most solar installations less than 75 MW, solar PV has been deployed with minimal oversight and highly variable cybersecurity maturity. The resources that comprise the digital supply chain can include software, code, data, and other digital components. But as clean energy technologies advance, cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities continue to evolve and grow in sophistication. Supply chain cybersecurity represents a critical area for ensuring safe operations as the U.S. moves toward a clean energy future.

cybersecurity↗