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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 OSTI2017

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Geospatial Marsh Model: Habitat Maps

Critical military training and testing on lands along the nation’s coastal and estuarine shorelines are increasingly placed at risk because of encroachment pressures in surrounding areas, impairments due to other anthropogenic disturbances, and changes in climate and sea level. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) intends to enhance and sustain its training and testing assets and also optimize its stewardship of natural resources through the development and application of an ecosystem-based management approach on DoD installations. To accomplish this goal, particularly for installations in estuarine/coastal environments, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) launched the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP) as a 10-year effort at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) in North Carolina. The results of the second 5 years of the program (DCERP2) are presented in the DCERP2 Final Report.There were four overarching objectives of DCERP2. The first objective was to understand the effects of climate change impacts, including warming temperatures, variability in the hydrological cycle, storm events, and sea level rise on the coastal ecosystems at MCBCL from observations and measurements made over the 10-year program. The second objective was to understand the carbon cycle of the coastal and terrestrial ecosystems at MCBCL through a highly integrated sampling program. The third objective was to develop models, tools, and indicators to evaluate current and projected future ecosystem state changes and translate scientific findings into actionable information for installation managers. The last objective was to recommend adaptive management strategies to sustain ecosystem natural resources within the context of an active military installation.This data package contains PNGs (images) of habitat maps (key is provided as single PNG) for Freeman, Traps, and French marsh modeling domains in the target years 2013 (initial), 2035, 2065, & 2100 after modeling marsh under the five SLR scenarios provided by the base.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Transmission-distribution long-term volt-var planning considering reactive power support capability of distributed PV

High penetration of grid-edge, inverter-based photovoltaic (PV) can cause significant voltage fluctuations not only at the distribution but also at the sub-transmission levels due to PV output intermittency. Traditional reactive power planning approaches do not consider intermittency, nor the possibility of coordinating the control of existing and future volt-ampere reactive resources. This paper proposes a reactive power planning tool for sub-transmission systems to mitigate voltage violations and fluctuations caused by high PV penetration and intermittency with a minimum investment cost. The planning tool coordinates with an optimization-based volt-var operational tool for: a) modeling the coordination of all existing var assets in both sub-transmission and distribution systems to reduce the need of new equipment, and b)selecting a set of scenarios with voltage violations, derived from PV intermittency c) testing the final investment decision. The tool obtains an investment need for each intermittency scenario with a proposed optimal power-flow framework with efficient techniques to handle a high number of discrete variables. Two options are provided for final planning decision: i) a conservative direct combination of investment need solutions and ii) a machine learning-based selection of representative investment needs at most time steps. The final investment decision options are verified using a realistic large-scale sub-transmission system and 5-minute PV and load data. The results show a significant voltage performance improvement with a lower investment cost for additional var equipment compared to conventional approaches.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Barrier Morphology- Elevation of Bear Island Sept 2011

Critical military training and testing on lands along the nation’s coastal and estuarine shorelines are increasingly placed at risk because of encroachment pressures in surrounding areas, impairments due to other anthropogenic disturbances, and changes in climate and sea level. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) intends to enhance and sustain its training and testing assets and also optimize its stewardship of natural resources through the development and application of an ecosystem-based management approach on DoD installations. To accomplish this goal, particularly for installations in estuarine/coastal environments, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) launched the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP) as a 10-year effort at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) in North Carolina. The results of the second 5 years of the program (DCERP2) are presented in the DCERP2 Final Report.There were four overarching objectives of DCERP2. The first objective was to understand the effects of climate change impacts, including warming temperatures, variability in the hydrological cycle, storm events, and sea level rise on the coastal ecosystems at MCBCL from observations and measurements made over the 10-year program. The second objective was to understand the carbon cycle of the coastal and terrestrial ecosystems at MCBCL through a highly integrated sampling program. The third objective was to develop models, tools, and indicators to evaluate current and projected future ecosystem state changes and translate scientific findings into actionable information for installation managers. The last objective was to recommend adaptive management strategies to sustain ecosystem natural resources within the context of an active military installation.This grid file was created from data collected using a Riegl 3-D laser scanner. Millions of x, y, and z points from Onslow Beach were processed using the MARS software package to define a bare-earth model. The beach was broken into a series of zones, each zone was processed separately, and this grid covers all of the zones. Data were collected during the same week and around the low tide (two hours before and after low tide).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Barrier Morphology - Elevation of Onslow Beach

Critical military training and testing on lands along the nation’s coastal and estuarine shorelines are increasingly placed at risk because of encroachment pressures in surrounding areas, impairments due to other anthropogenic disturbances, and changes in climate and sea level. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) intends to enhance and sustain its training and testing assets and also optimize its stewardship of natural resources through the development and application of an ecosystem-based management approach on DoD installations. To accomplish this goal, particularly for installations in estuarine/coastal environments, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) launched the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP) as a 10-year effort at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) in North Carolina. The results of the second 5 years of the program (DCERP2) are presented in the DCERP2 Final Report.There were four overarching objectives of DCERP2. The first objective was to understand the effects of climate change impacts, including warming temperatures, variability in the hydrological cycle, storm events, and sea level rise on the coastal ecosystems at MCBCL from observations and measurements made over the 10-year program. The second objective was to understand the carbon cycle of the coastal and terrestrial ecosystems at MCBCL through a highly integrated sampling program. The third objective was to develop models, tools, and indicators to evaluate current and projected future ecosystem state changes and translate scientific findings into actionable information for installation managers. The last objective was to recommend adaptive management strategies to sustain ecosystem natural resources within the context of an active military installation.This grid file was created from data collected using a Riegl 3-D laser scanner. Millions of x, y, and z points from Onslow Beach were processed using the MARS software package to define a bare-earth model. The beach was broken into a series of zones, each zone was processed separately, and this grid covers all of the zones. Data were collected during the same week and around the low tide (two hours before and after low tide).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Onslow Beach Washover Fan Morphology from 2012 to 2015

Critical military training and testing on lands along the nation’s coastal and estuarine shorelines are increasingly placed at risk because of encroachment pressures in surrounding areas, impairments due to other anthropogenic disturbances, and changes in climate and sea level. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) intends to enhance and sustain its training and testing assets and also optimize its stewardship of natural resources through the development and application of an ecosystem-based management approach on DoD installations. To accomplish this goal, particularly for installations in estuarine/coastal environments, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) launched the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP) as a 10-year effort at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) in North Carolina. The results of the second 5 years of the program (DCERP2) are presented in the DCERP2 Final Report.There were four overarching objectives of DCERP2. The first objective was to understand the effects of climate change impacts, including warming temperatures, variability in the hydrological cycle, storm events, and sea level rise on the coastal ecosystems at MCBCL from observations and measurements made over the 10-year program. The second objective was to understand the carbon cycle of the coastal and terrestrial ecosystems at MCBCL through a highly integrated sampling program. The third objective was to develop models, tools, and indicators to evaluate current and projected future ecosystem state changes and translate scientific findings into actionable information for installation managers. The last objective was to recommend adaptive management strategies to sustain ecosystem natural resources within the context of an active military installation.These grid files were created from data collected using a Riegl 3-D laser scanner. Millions of x, y, and z points from the F2 Washover Fan on Onslow Beach were processed using the MARS software package to define a bare-earth model. Grid files were imported into Golden Software Surfer version 19 for editing and exported from that application as .grd files. Files can be opened in Surfer or ArcMap, but the coordinate system information will be lost if opened in ArcMap. These data were collected to quantify the morphological changes that occur on a washover fan through time.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Coordinated Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and Ground-Based Weather Measurements to Predict Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCSs)

Concentrations of airborne chemical and biological agents from a hazardous release are not spread uniformly. Instead, there are regions of higher concentration, in part due to local atmospheric flow conditions which can attract agents. We equipped a ground station and two rotary-wing unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) with ultrasonic anemometers. Flights reported here were conducted 10 to 15 m above ground level (AGL) at the Leach Airfield in the San Luis Valley, Colorado as part of the Lower Atmospheric Process Studies at Elevation—a Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE) campaign in 2018. The ultrasonic anemometers were used to collect simultaneous measurements of wind speed, wind direction, and temperature in a fixed triangle pattern; each sensor was located at one apex of a triangle with ∼100 to 200 m on each side, depending on the experiment. A WRF-LES model was used to determine the wind field across the sampling domain. Data from the ground-based sensors and the two UASs were used to detect attracting regions (also known as Lagrangian Coherent Structures, or LCSs), which have the potential to transport high concentrations of agents. This unique framework for detection of high concentration regions is based on estimates of the horizontal wind gradient tensor. To our knowledge, our work represents the first direct measurement of an LCS indicator in the atmosphere using a team of sensors. Our ultimate goal is to use environmental data from swarms of sensors to drive transport models of hazardous agents that can lead to real-time proper decisions regarding rapid emergency responses. The integration of real-time data from unmanned assets, advanced mathematical techniques for transport analysis, and predictive models can help assist in emergency response decisions in the future.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune MARDIS Database

Critical military training and testing on lands along the nation’s coastal and estuarine shorelines are increasingly placed at risk because of encroachment pressures in surrounding areas, impairments due to other anthropogenic disturbances, and changes in climate and sea level. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) intends to enhance and sustain its training and testing assets and also optimize its stewardship of natural resources through the development and application of an ecosystem-based management approach on DoD installations. To accomplish this goal, particularly for installations in estuarine/coastal environments, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) launched the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP) as a 10-year effort at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) in North Carolina. The results of the second 5 years of the program (DCERP2) are presented in the DCERP2 Final Report.There were four overarching objectives of DCERP2. The first objective was to understand the effects of climate change impacts, including warming temperatures, variability in the hydrological cycle, storm events, and sea level rise on the coastal ecosystems at MCBCL from observations and measurements made over the 10-year program. The second objective was to understand the carbon cycle of the coastal and terrestrial ecosystems at MCBCL through a highly integrated sampling program. The third objective was to develop models, tools, and indicators to evaluate current and projected future ecosystem state changes and translate scientific findings into actionable information for installation managers. The last objective was to recommend adaptive management strategies to sustain ecosystem natural resources within the context of an active military installation.The Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP) Monitoring and Research Data Information System (MARDIS) database is the long-term repository for all DCERP monitoring and research data. Metadata provide supporting information about monitoring and research data that include, but are not limited to, a description of the location where the data were collected, the field and laboratory methods used to collect and analyze the data, and the spatial extent and temporal frequency of the data collected. In MARDIS, metadata fields have been combined with the actual sampling data fields; therefore, DCERP metadata are not a separate element, table, or document, but instead they are an integral component of each data record.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Electric Utility Distribution Costs: Scoping Study on Trends, Drivers, and Possible Response Strategies [Slides]

This scoping study synthesizes information that will help stakeholders understand the scope, scale, and drivers of recent increases in investor-owned utility (IOU) expenditures on local distribution power grids, while providing regulators and other decision-makers with potential strategies to keep electricity bills down. The study includes five distinct components. Drawing first on data from FERC Form 1, it summarizes key trends in past and recent IOU distribution costs. Next, through a review of a sample of distribution-system plans, it characterizes material drivers of planned distribution expenditures. Ultimately, regulators must approve cost recovery for IOU expenditures, including those for the distribution system. The study therefore also: examines trends in utility requests and regulatory approvals related to changes in retail rates and return on equity; identifies areas where utility shareholder and customer incentives may be misaligned; and develops a menu of options that state regulators might consider to optimize distribution system expenditures. Some of the key findings include: - IOU distribution spending at a national level has grown by 6%/yr since 2014 in real dollar terms, 4x faster than in the prior 20 years and consisting mostly of capital (not operating) expenditure. - On a per-kWh basis, increases in IOU distribution costs since 2014 represent over 30% of the overall national-average increase in retail electricity rates. - Regional spending growth has ranged from 2-8%/yr, with larger estimated rate impacts in CAISO, then NYISO & ISO-NE, and then the Southeast, MISO & PJM (see figure). - Some utilities are planning for significantly increased distribution system spending. Planned spending on managing the existing system (asset replacement, safety & reliability, and resilience are all important drivers) exceeds that for capacity expansion. - IOU rate increase requests ($18 billion in 2025) and public utility commission (PUC) approval levels (average of 64% of requested amounts from 2021-2025) have recently hit multi-decadal highs. - PUCs in New England and the Southeast have recently approved a greater fraction of rate requests (>75%, on average) than in ther regions, while PUCs in California and the Southeast have generally authorized higher equity returns than in other regions. - Regulators have many tools to tackle potential misalignments between utility and customer interests and, more specifically, to optimize and reduce distribution costs. Shorter-term options include those related to return on equity, capital structure, depreciation, trackers, construction work in progress, and securitization. Longer-term options include performance-based regulation and a wide variety of planning-related requirements. All options embed important tradeoffs.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS2003

Transferring Knowledge from Observations and Models to Decision Makers: An Overview and Challenges

Over the last 25 years, a tremendous progress has been made in the Earth science space-based remote sensing observations, technologies and algorithms. Such advancements have improved the predictability by providing lead-time and accuracy of forecast in weather, climate, natural hazards, and natural resources. It has further reduced or bounded the overall uncertainties by partially improving our understanding of planet Earth as an integrated system that is governed by non-linear and chaotic behavior. Many countries such US, European Community, Japan, China and others have invested billions of dollars in developing and launching space-based assets in the low earth (LEO) and geostationary (GEO) orbits. However, the wealth of this scientific knowledge that has potential of extracting monumental socio-economic benefits from such large investments have been slow in reaching to public and decision makers. For instance, there are a number of areas such as energy forecasting, aviation safety, agricultural competitiveness, disaster management, security, air quality and public health can directly take advantage. Nevertheless, we all live in a global economy that depends on access to the best available Earth Science information for all inhabitants of this planet. This paper surveys and examines a number such applications in terms of their architecture, maturity and economic applicability as they apply to the societal needs. A detailed analysis is also presented of various challenges and issues that pertain to a number of areas such as: (1) difficulties in making a speedy transition of data and information from observations and models to relevant Decision Support Systems (DSS) or tools, (2) data and models inter-operability issues, (3) limitations of spatial, spectral and temporal resolution, (4) communication limitations as dictated by the availability of image processing and data compression techniques. Additionally, the most critical element amongst all is the organizational and management boundaries that must be resolved at local, state, national and international levels to implement and realize free flow of such vital information. This paper also makes attempts to address this topic and discuss possible approaches to deal with this quandary.

Habib, Shahid↗
DOE OSTI2018

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune New River Estuary (NRE) Regions

Critical military training and testing on lands along the nation’s coastal and estuarine shorelines are increasingly placed at risk because of encroachment pressures in surrounding areas, impairments due to other anthropogenic disturbances, and changes in climate and sea level. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) intends to enhance and sustain its training and testing assets and also optimize its stewardship of natural resources through the development and application of an ecosystem-based management approach on DoD installations. To accomplish this goal, particularly for installations in estuarine/coastal environments, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) launched the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP) as a 10-year effort at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) in North Carolina. The results of the second 5 years of the program (DCERP2) are presented in the DCERP2 Final Report.There were four overarching objectives of DCERP2. The first objective was to understand the effects of climate change impacts, including warming temperatures, variability in the hydrological cycle, storm events, and sea level rise on the coastal ecosystems at MCBCL from observations and measurements made over the 10-year program. The second objective was to understand the carbon cycle of the coastal and terrestrial ecosystems at MCBCL through a highly integrated sampling program. The third objective was to develop models, tools, and indicators to evaluate current and projected future ecosystem state changes and translate scientific findings into actionable information for installation managers. The last objective was to recommend adaptive management strategies to sustain ecosystem natural resources within the context of an active military installation.The New River Estuary regions were digitized using desktop GIS and elevation data to determine the watershed boundaries and bathymetry data is determined by the water depth. Geographic representation of box and flow model produced by DCERP aquatic & esturaine module team, includes micro-watershed data. A spatial approximation of the areas defined in the Estuarine Simulation Model developed by Mark Brush.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Combined Cycle Integrated Thermal Energy Storage “CiTES” (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

The Phase I of this project confirmed the technical feasibility of a Combined Cycle integrated Thermal Energy Storage “CiTES” system, calculated the key performance parameters like power efficiency and costs, and proved its commercial value with full-year simulations for several US electricity markets with high degree of variable renewable generation and volatile hourly electricity prices. The core element of this project is the Electro Thermal Energy Storage (ETES) technology from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy GmbH, using thermally stable and inexpensive volcanic rocks as storage material and air as heat transfer medium. This technology is backed by more than 10 years of experience and a 440MMBTU (130MWh-th) pilot plant in Hamburg, Germany, which is in operation since 2019. The integration of this thermal storage in an existing combined cycle power plant (CCPP) is typical power plant technology without any major technology risks. It allows the storage of inexpensive renewable energy during times of surplus renewable generation and the discharge of this energy in times of high energy demand when the fossil plant is in operation. This supplements the fossil power generation with CO2-emission-free energy. The secondary effect of the CiTES system is that a small part of the stored thermal energy is used to keep the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and steam turbine (ST) of the combined cycle power plant in hot and ready-to-start condition. This enables the plant to start rapidly when fossil generation is required to satisfy demand as soon variable generation drops off in the evenings or during cloud cover and calm wind periods. Without pre-warming of the HRSG and ST, the CCPP would need several hours for a cold or warm start, burn a lot of gas and release high NOx emissions during start and wouldn’t be able to use the short times of high energy prices in an efficient or economical manner. The economic parameters of CiTES were determined by a full year “8760” simulation using a data set calculation for each of the hours of the year, and historical electricity and gas prices. For consistency, the simulations were focused on the pre-COVID year 2019. The financially most attractive markets were in the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region, which allowed substantial value generation with arbitrage (charge with cheap energy during renewable surplus times and discharge when energy is needed and expensive). The improvement of flexibility with the CiTES system by pre-heating and warm-keeping of the CCPP allowed for additional power generation during short time periods when demand is high but renewable generation is down; when the hourly energy prices are highest in these markets. The simulations are based on 2019 data, when ERCOT had 27GW of installed photovoltaic (PV) and wind generation. They showed that the created revenue with the prototypically sized CiTES system of 1,000MMBTU (300MWh-th) falls a little bit short of what is expected from a commercially viable investment. The system has optimization opportunities for cost reduction and increased effectiveness which will be realized during a potential Phase II Pre-FEED study following this project. Furthermore, it is safe to assume that a lot of renewable generation capacity will be added all over the US in the coming years. As an example, ERCOT is predicting to more than double its renewable generation from 27GW in 2019 to a forecasted 63GW in 2023. This will increase the amount of renewable overproduction exponentially. This rapid increase of local overproduction and the need to curtail renewable generation is well documented by the California ISO (www.CAISO.com / managing oversupply). However, the simulations also revealed a weakness in the structure of the electricity markets in the US. More specifically, when electricity prices are very low and approaching negative levels, the owners of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) will curtail a part of their facility to stabilize the price by reducing supply. This results in a situation in which storage facilities, which are integrated in existing fossil assets and don’t have the behind-the-meter benefit of a VRE, won’t be able to purchase low cost – otherwise curtailed – renewable energy off the grid. A special tariff, which motivates VRE owners to sell otherwise curtailed renewable energy to storage facilities (Hydrogen, thermal, pumped hydro, etc.) can solve this issue. The implementation of such a regulating tariff by Independent System Operators, thus avoiding renewable curtailment, is a pre condition for successful commercialization for renewable energy storage technologies. With this advancement of design and technology and improvements in the market environment, it can be expected that the Combined Cycle integrated Thermal Energy Storage proves itself as an important innovation to keep highly efficient, natural gas-based power generation economically successful and relevant for the power industry in the United States of America.

Wolf, Thorsten↗
NASA NTRS2010

Utilizing Earth Observations for Societal Issues

Over the last four decades a tremendous progress has been made in the Earth science space-based remote sensing observations, technologies and algorithms. Such advancements have improved the predictability by providing lead-time and accuracy of forecast in weather, climate, natural hazards, and natural resources. It has further reduced or bounded the overall uncertainties by partially improving our understanding of planet Earth as an integrated system that is governed by non-linear and chaotic behavior. Many countries such as the US, European Community, Japan, China, Russia, India has and others have invested billions of dollars in developing and launching space-based assets in the low earth (LEO) and geostationary (GEO) orbits. However, the wealth of this scientific knowledge that has potential of extracting monumental socio-economic benefits from such large investments have been slow in reaching the public and decision makers. For instance, there are a number of areas such as water resources and availability, energy forecasting, aviation safety, agricultural competitiveness, disaster management, air quality and public health, which can directly take advantage. Nevertheless, we all live in a global economy that depends on access to the best available Earth Science information for all inhabitants of this planet. This presentation discusses a process to transition Earth science data and products for societal needs including NASA's experience in achieving such objectives. It is important to mention that there are many challenges and issues that pertain to a number of areas such as: (1) difficulties in making a speedy transition of data and information from observations and models to relevant Decision Support Systems (DSS) or tools, (2) data and models inter-operability issues, (3) limitations of spatial, spectral and temporal resolution, (4) communication limitations as dictated by the availability of image processing and data compression techniques. Additionally, the most critical element amongst all is the organizational and management boundaries that must be resolved at local, state, national and international levels to implement and realize free flow of such vital information.

Habib, Shahid↗
DOE OSTI2026

Software Control Program For Transportable Microgrid State-of-charge Balancing And Frequency Stability Controls

A deterministic state-of-charge (SOC) balancing approach software control code is introduced as an integral secondary management to primary control layer of an islanded small microgrid or nanogrid system made up of multiple grid-forming inverter/battery/solar combination systems, where each set of batteries with each inverter are on independent DC buses (i.e. non-paralleled on the DC sides). A DERMS-level control approach, algorithm and automation controller program was developed to improve coordination and enable microgrid asset compliance and SOC balancing, enabling provision of a system-level power stability support architecture, load support, and asset scalability. The architecture is configured to treat each unit or micro/nano-grid as a node in a microgrid network, allowing for autonomous DERMS control regarding load and SOC balancing and power stability. As the network grows with the addition of units, greater coordination efforts may be required. The ideal small network microgrid ranges from 2-10 inverter/battery units before additional control parameters must be considered in the existing architecture. The control approach focuses on a deterministic state-of-charge analysis as the primary level control process followed by a secondary control loop using a forced frequency-watt droop strategy to conform off-the-shelf components into behaving under a leader-follower configuration. Adopting this control scheme has been shown to allow for a balanced, unit-coordinated microgrid network, enabling stable power flow. The deterministic state-of-charge approach is introduced as an integral primary control layer of an islanded small network microgrid. A standard strategy for SOC balancing is implementing a battery management system (BMS) to control SOC on the DC side. An alternative approach is to determine how to coordinate sending and receiving power on the AC side with multiple units. The latter approach assesses all the integrated units in the microgrid network. Once the individual units are identified, further system data is required to calculate each unit's total kWh, provided information about its capability to supply or consume kWh and availability. The secondary control layer in the multi-layered small network microgrid methodology uses the primary layer’s decision to initiate frequency setpoint changes, initializing the SOC balancing. The secondary control layer considers numerous system-dependent variables to enable a charging and discharging profile based on adjustable frequency setpoints. The combined architecture will result in stable, coordinated power flow enhancing an AC microgrid's functionalities.

Myers, KurtS [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Ida↗
DOE OSTI2017

Enabling CCS via Low-temperature Geothermal Energy Integration for Fossil-fired Power Generation

Here, among the key barriers to commercial scale deployment is the cost associated with CO 2 capture. This is particularly true for existing large, fossil-fired assets that account for a large fraction of the electricity generation fleet in developed nations, including the U.S. Fitting conventional combustion technologies with CO 2 capture systems can carry an energy penalty of thirty percent or more, resulting in an increased price of power to the grid, as well as an overall decrease in net plant output. Taken together with the positive growth in demand for electricity, this implies a need for accelerated capital build-out in the power generation markets to accommodate both demand growth and decreased output at retrofitted plants. In this paper, the authors present the results of a study to assess the potential to use geothermal energy to provide boiler feedwater preheating, capturing efficiency improvements designed to offset the losses associated with CO 2 capture. Based on NETL benchmark cases and subsequent analysis of the application using site-specific data from the North Valmy power plant, several cases for CO 2 capture were evaluated. These included geothermally assisted MEA capture, CO2BOLs capture, and stand-alone hybrid power generation, compared with a baseline, no-geothermal case. Based on Case 10, and assuming 2.7 MMlb/h of geothermally sourced 150 ºC water, the parasitic power load associated with MEA capture could be offset by roughly seven percent, resulting in a small (~1 percent) overall loss to net power generation, but at levelized costs of electricity similar to the no-geothermal CCS case. For the CO 2 BOLs case, the availability of 150°C geothermal fluid could allow the facility to not only offset the net power decrease associated with CO 2 BOLs capture alone, but could increase nameplate capacity by two percent. The geothermally coupled CO 2 BOLs case also decreases LCOE by 0.75 ¢/kWh relative to the non-hybrid CO 2 BOLs case, with the improved performance over the MEA case driven by the lower regeneration temperature and associated duty for CO 2 BOLs relative to MEA.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2015

Extending cost–benefit analysis for the sustainability impact of inter-urban Intelligent Transport Systems

The paper reports research involving three cost–benefit analyses performed on different ITS schemes (Active Traffic Management, Intelligent Speed Adaptation and the Automated Highway System) on one of the UK's busiest highways — the M42. The environmental scope of the assets involved is widened to take into account the possibility of new technology linked by ICT and located within multiple spatial regions. The areas focused on in the study were data centre energy emissions, the embedded emissions of the road-side infrastructure, vehicle tailpipe emissions, additional hardware required by the vehicles (if applicable) and safety, and all aspects of sustainability. Dual discounting is applied which aims to provide a separate discount rate for environmental elements. For ATM, despite the energy costs of the data centre, the initial implementation costs and mitigation costs of its embedded emissions, a high cost–benefit ratio of 5.89 is achieved, although the scheme becomes less effective later on its lifecycle due to rising costs of energy. ISA and AHS generate a negative result, mainly due to the cost of getting the vehicle on the road. In order to negate these costs, the pricing of the vehicle should be scaled depending upon the technology that is outfitted. Retrofitting on vehicles without the technology should be paid for by the driver. ATM will offset greenhouse gas emissions by 99 kt of CO{sub 2} equivalency over a 25 year lifespan. This reduction has taken into account the expected improvement in vehicle technology. AHS is anticipated to save 280 kt of CO{sub 2} equivalency over 15 years of operational usage. However, this offset is largely dependent on assumptions such as the level of market penetration. - Highlights: • Three cost–benefit analyses are applied to inter-urban intelligent transport. • For ATM, a high cost–benefit ratio of 5.89 is achieved. • ATM offsets greenhouse gas emissions by 99 kt of CO{sub 2} equivalency over 25 years. • ISA and AHS generate a negative result due to vehicle implementation costs. • AHS is anticipated to save 280 kt of CO{sub 2} equivalency over 15 years.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Carbon Burial in Natural and Created Fringing Marshes of Northwest Florida (Choctawhatchee to Pensacola Bay)

Critical military training and testing on lands along the nation’s coastal and estuarine shorelines are increasingly placed at risk because of encroachment pressures in surrounding areas, impairments due to other anthropogenic disturbances, and changes in climate and sea level. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) intends to enhance and sustain its training and testing assets and also optimize its stewardship of natural resources through the development and application of an ecosystem-based management approach on DoD installations. To accomplish this goal, particularly for installations in estuarine/coastal environments, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) launched the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP) as a 10-year effort at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) in North Carolina. The results of the second 5 years of the program (DCERP2) are presented in the DCERP2 Final Report.There were four overarching objectives of DCERP2. The first objective was to understand the effects of climate change impacts, including warming temperatures, variability in the hydrological cycle, storm events, and sea level rise on the coastal ecosystems at MCBCL from observations and measurements made over the 10-year program. The second objective was to understand the carbon cycle of the coastal and terrestrial ecosystems at MCBCL through a highly integrated sampling program. The third objective was to develop models, tools, and indicators to evaluate current and projected future ecosystem state changes and translate scientific findings into actionable information for installation managers. The last objective was to recommend adaptive management strategies to sustain ecosystem natural resources within the context of an active military installation.The research effort described in this report is an attempt to quantify burial rates and standing stocks of carbon in several natural and created (aged 3 to 28 years) marshes in Northwest Florida from eastern Choctawhatchee Bay to Pensacola Bay. The goal of this work was to provide data that are useful in determining the carbon sequestration value of the sites in question and to contribute to a broader understanding of the geographical variability of carbon storage rates in both natural and created marshes. The sites chosen for this study were identified in collaboration with partners from the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, Hurlburt Field (part of Eglin Air Force Base), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2006

Inter-calibrating Brightness Temperatures of a Constellation of Radiometers

In 2010, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) of the U.S.A. and the Japanese Exploration Agency (JAXA) of Japan in cooperation with other U.S. and international partners will launch the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. The mission center-piece is a core U.S. provided satellite holding a scanning microwave imager provided by the U.S. A. and a dual-frequency precipitation radar provided by Japan. The core satellite is in a 65 deg inclination (the current Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission -TRMM is in a 35 deg inclination). Joining the core satellite are a constellation of approximately 8 satellites containing scanning radiometers. The purpose of the constellation is to increase the global sampling capability of the mission. One constellation satellite will be provided by NASA. Some of the constellation radiometers will provided by other U.S. agencies with existing (e.g. SSMI/S) or planned (NPOESS) radiometer assets. International groups have also expressed interest in contributing to the GPM mission including providing radiometer data for the GPM constellation. The use of a heterogeneous group of scanning radiometers each with its own unique purpose, characteristics and calibration offers a significant challenge for combining brightness temperatures or rain retrievals to create meaningful combined global radiometer products. However, the availability of active dual precipitation radar on the GPM core in combination with a well-calibrated radiometer on the same platform offers the possibility of inter-calibrating the constellation radiometers using the core satellite as a calibrator. This paper describes a joint NASA/GSFC and Colorado State University prototype effort at inter-calibrating existing radiometers using such a core calibrator approach. In the prototype, existing radiometers (i.e. SSM/I and AMSR-E) are intercalibrated, as required, using the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) and TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) as the calibration core. This prototype includes four basic steps: provide the data in a normalized-common logical radiometer format, convert all data to a granule that stops and starts at the southernmost latitude rather than at the equator, perform basic processing and finally inter-calibrate the radiometers with the TRMM core as appropriate. Basic processing includes quality control, cross-track bias correction as well as the core action of converting T(sub a), to T(sub b). The purpose of the inter-calibration step is to provide consistent brightness temperatures for the various SSMA sensors, TMI and AMSR-E. The C appended to the level of the product indicates common brightness temperature (T(sub c)). The paper provides a summary of each of these actions. The details of the processing as well as data format and tools can be obtained by connecting to the website at mrain.atmos.colostate.eduLEVEL1C .

Stocker, Erich Franz↗
DOE OSTI2018

FY 2018 ARM Radar Plan

The fundamental objective of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility radar facility is to provide high-quality radar observations to the scientific user community with an overarching goal of improving the treatment of clouds and precipitation in climate models. Historically, ARM has operated zenith-profiling cloud radars at millimeter wavelengths at five of its facilities. Since 2010, 16 scanning systems have been added to the radar facility. The ARM radar facility has 33 radars in its possession at three fixed sites and three mobile facilities. A breakdown of the ARM radar assets is given below: 8 Scanning ARM Clouds Radar Systems (SACR: two radars on single pedestal; six 1st- and two 2nd- generation) 7 Ka-band ARM Zenith profiling Radar (KAZR: five 1st- and two 2nd-generation) 5 X-band Scanning ARM precipitation Radar (XSAPR: four 1st- and one 2nd-generation) 3 C-band Scanning ARM precipitation Radar (CSAPR: two 1st- and one 2nd-generation) 1 W-band ARM Cloud Radar (WACR) 1 Marine W-band ARM Cloud Radar (MWACR: configured to be deployed on a stable table or scanning pedestal). Of these radars, all but six (two SACRs [accounting for four radars], one KAZR, and one 1st-generation CSAPR) have operational assignments. Therefore, the current measurement strategy involves operating 27 radars, not including radar wind profilers (RWPs). This array of instruments represents a combination of scanning and profiling radars at ARM’s sites. In addition to the scanning capabilities, the radars at each site differ in operating frequency, technology, and complexity, but all are complex systems. Some of them were custom designed and built specifically for ARM. Typically, newer systems take a few years to reach operational maturity with adequate characterization, calibration, testing, and quality control. Due to various factors, not all of the radars have achieved an operationally mature status sufficient to provide high-quality data in a research environment. In addition, these radars are often deployed in remote locations and harsh environments to meet science needs. The remoteness of such complex systems is a considerable challenge for continuous operations. Tools needed for a research-level operational radar are not readily available from vendors, and many of the necessary system management tools, both hardware and software, to manage these systems must be developed in-house for such deployments. Based on experience over the past seven years, including conclusions from the first phase of the radar plan, implemented in mid-2016, it is clear that ARM cannot support the operation of all 27 currently deployed radars and expect to provide research-quality data (including higher-order products) with the current resources. Experience from the first phase of the radar plan has provided a better indication than has been available previously of what size radar network is reasonable. A preliminary proposal for what that radar network could look like is provided here. The plan presented here uses the available resources to best support this proposed network.

ARM Mobile Facility↗