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At least 397 records · Page 22

Land-Based Wind Market Report: 2022 Edition

The U.S. Department of Energy's 2022 edition of its Land-Based Wind Market Report provides an overview of key trends in the U.S. wind power market, with a focus on 2021. You can find a report, data file and presentation on the Files tab, below. Additionally, several data visualizations are available on the Visualizations tab. Despite ongoing supply chain challenges, wind energy in 2021 continued to see strong growth, technology improvements, and low prices in the U.S. Key highlights include: Wind comprises a growing share of electricity supply: U.S. wind power capacity grew at a strong pace in 2021, with the 13.4 GW of new additions representing a $\$20$ billion investment and 32% of all newly added U.S. generation capacity. Wind energy output rose to account for more than 9% of the entire nation’s electricity supply. At least 247 GW of wind are seeking transmission interconnection; 77 GW of this capacity are offshore wind and 19 GW are hybrid plants that pair wind with storage or solar PV. Wind project performance has increased over the decades: The average capacity factor among recently built projects was nearly 40%, considerably higher than projects built earlier. The highest capacity factors are seen in the interior ‘wind belt’ of the country. Turbines continue to get larger: Improved plant performance has been driven by larger turbines mounted on taller towers and featuring longer blades. In 2011, no turbines employed blades that were 115 meters in diameter or larger, but in 2021, 89% of newly installed turbines featured such rotors. Proposed projects indicate that total turbine height will continue to rise. Low wind turbine pricing has pushed down installed project costs over the last decade: Wind turbine prices averaged $\$800$–$\$950$/kW in 2021, a 5% to 10% increase from the year prior but substantially lower than in 2010. The average installed cost of wind projects in 2021 was $\$1,500$/kW, down more than 40% since the peak in 2010, though relatively stable in recent years. The lowest costs were found in Texas and the (non-ISO) West. Wind energy prices are on the rise, but generally remain low, around $\$20$/MWh in the interior of the country with higher prices in the West and East. After topping out above $\$75$/MWh for power purchase agreements (PPAs) executed in 2009, the national average price of wind PPAs has dropped—though supply-chain pressures have resulted in increased prices in recent years. In the interior ‘wind belt’ of the country, recent pricing is around $\$20$/MWh. In the West and East, prices tend to average above $\$30$/MWh. These prices, which are possible in part due to federal tax support, fall below the projected future fuel costs of gas-fired generation. Wind PPA prices are often attractive compared to wind’s grid-system market value: The value of wind in wholesale power markets is affected by the location of wind plants, their hourly output profiles, and how those characteristics correlate with real-time electricity prices and capacity markets. The market value of wind increased in 2021, averaging $\$16$/MWh in MISO, $\$19$/MWh in SPP, $\$23$/MWh in NYISO, $\$31$/MWh in ERCOT, $\$33$/MWh in PJM, $\$44$/MWh in ISO-NE, and $\$48$/MWh in CAISO. The average levelized cost of wind energy was $\$32$/MWh for plants built in 2021: Levelized costs, which exclude the impacts of federal tax incentives, vary across time and geography. The national average stood at $\$32$/MWh in 2021—down substantially historically, though relatively stable in recent years. Levelized costs were lowest in ERCOT, SPP, and the (non-ISO) West. The health and climate benefits of wind in 2021 were larger than its grid-system value, and the combination of all three far exceeds the current levelized cost of wind: Wind generation reduces power-sector emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. These reductions, in turn, provide public health and climate benefits that vary regionally, but together are economically valued at an average of over $\$90$/MWh-wind for plants built in 2021.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Wind Energy Accomplishments and Year-End Performance Report: Fiscal Year 2022

Four decades ago, construction was just beginning on experimental turbines at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC). Today, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) facility is the centerpiece of the laboratory's Flatirons Campus, a world-class hub for renewable energy research. The nation's shift to 100% clean electricity by 2035 will require a mix of renewable energy sources and strategies - and together, wind and solar energy could account for 60% to 80% of that clean energy resource. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, NREL scientists, engineers, and analysts contributed to these visionary goals through their wind energy research. As wind innovations push into new areas, NREL continues to play a vital role in advancing technology and addressing deployment barriers in pursuit of more efficient, reliable, and predictable wind energy systems. FY 2022 wind research and development explored the potential for dramatic growth in land-based systems, the launch of the nation's first commercial-scale offshore installations, and transmission infrastructure buildout. Land-based wind energy is one of the most cost-effective electricity supply options - but utility-scale deployment will require up to 10 times the current number of turbines. An NREL plan addressed this need to accelerate U.S. wind technology rollout at distributed and utility scales. Another project conducted by NREL and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) helps position the nation's first major offshore wind corridor for success. The WETO-funded Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study is evaluating options for balancing electricity supply and demand, while supporting resilience of the grid and marine industries. WETO, NREL, and other partners are working to enable the enormous supply chain and workforce changes the U.S. wind energy industry will need to meet net-zero-carbon-emissions targets. As part of a seminal series of DOE-funded supply chain studies, NREL analysts reported on the trade-offs involved in manufacturing large volumes of wind technologies, while addressing cost, workforce, and logistics issues. All of this research is supported by NREL's outstanding research teams, tools, data, and facilities. A WETO-funded international wind energy field campaign, the American WAKE experimeNt (AWAKEN), has brought together experts from NREL, PNNL, and Sandia National Laboratories to create the world's most comprehensive set of high-resolution data on wind energy atmospheric phenomenon. This study could lead to more accurate predictions of losses from turbine-to-turbine wake interactions, eventually helping wind plants capture more energy and operators save millions of dollars. In addition, NREL researchers developed testing, modeling, and analysis tools to improve the security of power grids by identifying wind power plant dynamic stability problems. A new Stochastic Soaring Raptor Simulator (SSRS) protects golden eagles from turbine encounters by predicting flight paths. This report provides more detail on these top achievements and other accomplishments made by NREL and its partners during FY 2022 (between October 1, 2021, and September 30, 2022).

accomplishments↗

Natural Gas as a Decarbonization Strategy

The purpose of this work is to evaluate methane mitigation strategies for the existing natural gas supply chain and blending scenarios of hydrogen and renewable natural gas with the existing natural gas stream. Results focus on estimated emission reduction potential for decarbonization of the natural gas supply chain.

Mumm, Katherine↗

DOE Challenges and Opportunities Associated with Accountable Nuclear Material Needs for Development and Commercialization of Fusion Nuclear Energy

Fusion energy represents a transformative opportunity to deliver a safe, plentiful, and carbon-free source of reliable primary power. In recent years, fusion research and development have accelerated significantly, particularly within the US, driven by decades of foundational public investment. Notably, in 2024 the US Department of Energy (DOE) established a comprehensive Fusion Energy Strategy aimed at collaborating with industry partners to enable the deployment of fusion power plants and grid integration by the 2030s. This strategy is chiefly implemented through the DOE Office of Science (SC) Fusion Energy Sciences program. This project was initiated to identify potential approaches for the Office of Environment, Safety, and Health (NA-ESH-12) within DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration to begin engagement with the fusion community on future accountable material needs. The goal of the project is to inform and influence the supply of and demand for accountable nuclear materials as fusion energy is developed and commercialized. NA-ESH-12 must proactively engage with the fusion community regarding the production and management of accountable nuclear materials. Given the complexity and scale of materials required for research, pilot projects, and eventual commercial reactors, early coordination is vital. The project’s objective is to provide insights that will shape the supply and demand landscape for critical nuclear materials, ensuring that DOE is prepared to effectively support fusion energy development and commercialization. In FY 2025, an initial limited review was conducted to identify the status of the fusion energy community’s progress toward full-scale energy production and the need for accountable nuclear material. This included communications with SC, NA-ESH-12, Savannah River National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and attending the Rutgers University–sponsored Supply Chain Workshop: Scaling the Fusion Industry and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Ninth DEMO Programme Workshop. The review to date indicates that the amounts of tritium, lithium-6, and deuterium required by the fusion industry will be dependent on fuel type, breeding technology, blankets, and R&D improvements. One concern is that the commercial sector does not have a sufficient supply chain to meet the demand for development and commercialization for fusion energy production. The supply and demand estimates for these materials should be routinely reviewed as fusion technologies mature.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Blockchain Research and Development Activities Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and Utility Sector

This article provides an in-depth analysis of blockchain research in the energy sector, focusing on projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and comparing them with industry-funded initiatives. A total of 110 funded activities within the U.S. power industry were successfully tracked and mapped into a newly developed categorization framework. This framework is designed to help research agencies to systematically understand their funded portfolio. Such characterization is expected to help them make effective investments, identify research gaps, measure impact, and advance technological progress to meet national goals. In line with this need, the proposed framework proposes a 2-D categorization matrix to systematically classify blockchain efforts within the energy sector.Under the proposed framework, the Energy System Domain serves as the primary classification dimension, categorizing use cases into 30 distinct applications. The second dimension, Blockchain Properties, captures the specific needs and functionalities provided by Blockchain technology. The aim was to capture blockchain’s applicability and functionality: where and why blockchain? Principles behind the selection of the viewpoint dimensions were carefully defined based on consensus obtained through the Blockchain for Optimized Security and Energy Management (BLOSEM) project. The mapped results show that activities within the Grid Automation, Coordination, and Control (31.8%), Marketplaces and Trading (25.5%), Foundational Blockchain Research (19.1%), and Supply Chain Management (17.3%) domains have been actively pursued to date. The three leading specific use case applications were identified as Transactive Energy Management for Marketplaces and Trading, Asset Management for Supply Chain Management, and Fundamental Blockchain for Foundational Blockchain Research. The Marketplaces and Trading and Retail Services Enablement domains stood out as being favored by industry by a factor greater than 2 (2.3 and 2.6, respectively), yet there seemed to be little to zero investment from DOE. Approximately 76% of the total projects prioritized Immutability, Identity Management, and Decentralization and/or Disintermediation compared to Asset Digitization and/or Tokenization, Automation, and Privacy and/or Anonymity. The greatest discrepancies between DOE and industry were in Asset Digitization and/or Tokenization and Automation. The industry efforts (36% in Asset Digitization/Tokenization and 22% in Automation) was 14 times and 2.4 times, respectively, more intensive than the DOE-sponsored efforts, indicating a significant discrepancy in industry versus government priorities. Overall, quantifying DOE-sponsored projects and industry activities through mapping provides clarity on portfolio investments and opportunities for future research.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Ambient-Pressure Chemical Recycling of Thermoset Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymers via Low-Temperature Solvolysis: Techno-Economic and Life-Cycle Assessment

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) waste is rapidly accumulating, with global volumes projected to exceed 500,000 tons annually by 2050. Virgin carbon fiber production is extremely energy- and cost-intensive, and growing demand has intensified supply-chain vulnerabilities associated with precursor availability and reliance on critical materials. Scalable recycling technologies therefore offer not only environmental benefits but also opportunities to reduce material costs and strengthen domestic composite supply chains. This study introduces an efficient, mild chemical recycling method for epoxy-amine CFRPs, utilizing acetic acid (80 wt%) and zinc acetate (1 wt%) at atmospheric pressure and low temperature (~110 °C). The solvolysis process preserves residual resin (~40%) on recycled carbon fibers (rCF), enhancing interfacial bonding in remanufactured composite materials. Recycled fibers retain ~90% of their mechanical properties, and recovered oligomers show potential for reuse in epoxy formulations, supporting material circularity. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) confirm the scalability and sustainability of this process.

Recycling CFRP↗

Well‐to‐wheels analysis of greenhouse gas emissions for passenger vehicles in Middle East and North Africa

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are widely considered a pathway to achieve low carbon mobility. BEVs emit zero emissions from the tailpipe, but their life cycle carbon reduction compared to gasoline vehicles varies based on primary energy sources, electricity generation, and use efficiency. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is an area rich in fossil fuels, meriting a detailed comparison between the emissions from BEV and other powertrains. We developed a MENA‐specific life cycle model that estimates well‐to‐wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from passenger transport with internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug‐in hybrid electric vehicles, and BEVs. MENA's average WTW GHG emissions for all supply chain steps including combustion emissions from vehicle operation are 767 g/kWh and 84 g CO 2 eq/MJ for electricity and gasoline, respectively, but are highly variable due to heterogeneity in upstream supply chains. The use of hybrid gasoline ICEVs provides the largest emission reduction opportunity for existing vehicle fleets in 9 of the 16 MENA countries. For these nine countries, replacing gasoline ICEVs with HEVs could, on average, reduce country‐level life cycle GHG emissions by 47%. There is a similar emission reduction opportunity for 14 of the 16 MENA countries when normalizing vehicle efficiencies irrespective of the powertrain shares and other trends in existing vehicle fleets. Future scenario analysis shows that BEVs would have the lowest WTW GHG emissions among all powertrains in most MENA countries only if significantly reduced electricity transmission losses and cleaner grid mix are realized, although a high cost of infrastructure developments is expected.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Securing Grid Communications Infrastructure: Addressing Gaps Beyond NERC CIP Facility Perimeters

The North American electric grid relies on a complex communications infrastructure that extends beyond facility perimeters traditionally covered by NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards. While CIP requirements have significantly strengthened cybersecurity within Electronic Security Perimeters, many operational communications—such as those between control centers, substations, and third-party networks—fall outside current regulatory scope. As grid modernization introduces new technologies and connectivity models, these external pathways present evolving security challenges. This brief explores the nature of these challenges, including emerging attack vectors and supply chain considerations, and highlights how ongoing grid transformation increases exposure to sophisticated threats. It outlines practical strategies and policy options to complement existing standards, such as expanding secure communications practices, enhancing supply chain transparency, and fostering collaboration among federal, state, and industry stakeholders. Near-term actions like encryption, authentication, and contractual safeguards can help reduce risk while longer-term frameworks are developed to ensure resilient and secure grid operations.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Environmental Metrics of Ethanol Production Improve with Increased Biomass Yield and Carbohydrate Content in Populus Trichocarpa

When selecting economically and environmentally advantageous genotypes for domestication in a biofuel supply chain, variability of cell-wall composition within a feedstock population and its impact on biorefinery metrics must be understood. We performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) on a poplar-to-ethanol supply chain to quantify global warming potential and cumulative energy demand as affected by variable carbohydrate content in a large representative natural variant population of Populus trichocarpa. The results showed that both environmental metrics decrease with increasing tree size and with increasing biomass carbohydrate content. These trends parallel prior economic results and provide clear direction to breeders or genetic engineers when improving poplar cultivars.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Accessibility and Availability of Gas Stations for Liquid Fuel Supply During Severe Weather Events

Energy infrastructure is a pivotal lifeline with wider inter-dependencies. Electric power is essential to the continued functioning of critical assets; liquid fuels and other physical primary energy commodities that are used to supply the local energy needs of these assets during extreme events when electricity infrastructure is compromised. During Superstorm Sandy, the disruption of fuel supplies in the Tri-state area necessitated increasing situational awareness about oil and natural gas (ONG) systems to redirect fuel supplies to first responders and for restoration efforts. During winter storm events over the past several years, the demand for ONG for heating and power generation has skyrocketed in the north-east, which subsequently had caused ONG price to hit their highest level in years. ONG is a major energy source for restoration and recovery activities. However, very little, if any, situational awareness information about ONG supply and demand is available to those coordinating emergency efforts. Often this lack of information is due to the decentralized nature of the ONG supply chain and proprietary data maintained by private entities. To understand the impact of fuel availability on response and recovery efforts, this research focuses on (i) determining the accessibility to gas stations for liquid fuel supply across space and time, and (ii) examining the spatio-temporal variation of fuel availability and demand during extreme weather events. The broader scope of the project focuses on providing spatio-temporal situational awareness information about ONG availability and demand across the fuel supply chain for positioning of resources for response activities.

Kar, Bandana↗

Marine Alternative Fuel Pricing, Supply, and Demand

The International Maritime Organization low sulfur fuel rules and greenhouse gas-reduction strategy may create a significant perturbation to global refinery operations, impacting volumes and prices of marine fuel globally and within the United States and incentivizing the transition to alternative fuel use. The goals of this project are to (1) enhance understanding of how very low-sulfur fuel-primarily fuel oil and diesel-and low carbon fuel requirements and promising biofuel processes will affect the marine fuel supply chain; and (2) explore how these perturbations interact with and impact indicators such as pricing, number of trips, and demand behavior, along with the potential to meet low sulfur and carbon fuel demand with biofuel supply chains, (3) merge innovative thinking in the area of marine fuels within research centers of DOE (NREL) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (Volpe). These goals will be accomplished through the combination of detailed refinery, marine fuel burn, system dynamics, and geospatially explicit linear programming models.

biofuel↗

Material Design Strategies for Recovery of Critical Resources from Water

Population growth, urbanization, and decarbonization efforts are collectively straining the supply of limited resources that are necessary to produce batteries, electronics, chemicals, fertilizers, and other important products. Securing the supply chains of these critical resources via the development of separation technologies for their recovery represents a major global challenge to ensure stability and security. Surface water, groundwater, and wastewater are emerging as potential new sources to bolster these supply chains. Recently, a variety of material-based technologies have been developed and employed for separations and resource recovery in water. Judicious selection and design of these materials to tune their properties for targeting specific solutes is central to realizing the potential of water as a source for critical resources. Here, the materials that are developed for membranes, sorbents, catalysts, electrodes, and interfacial solar steam generators that demonstrate promise for applications in critical resource recovery are reviewed. In addition, a critical perspective is offered on the grand challenges and key research directions that need to be addressed to improve their practical viability.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Hawaii Threat Brief

The Digital Energy Transformation is redefining how power systems operate, integrating physical infrastructure with digital technologies to enhance efficiency, visibility, and resilience. For islanded and digitally modernizing systems like Hawai‘i’s, this shift presents both new opportunities and evolving challenges in cybersecurity, supply chain assurance, and environmental resilience. This brief provides an overview of critical infrastructure dependencies and systemic risks associated with increasing digital integration. It summarizes recent energy-sector threat activity and case studies that illustrate adversary tactics and supply chain vulnerabilities, and identifies pathways to strengthen resilience.

25 - ENERGY STORAGE↗

Life Cycle Analysis and Life Cycle Costing for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management and Materials Redeployment to Support ARPA-E’s Potential Program on Waste to Energy and Materials

Municipal solid waste infrastructure in the United States contains complex supply chains to transport, sort, and sequester waste. This project developed models to estimate the environmental and economic costs of waste infrastructure in the U.S. using data from several municipalities. Life cycle costing (LCC) models were developed for waste management relevant supply chain steps, including waste collection, sorting, landfilling, waste-to-energy, ash processing, and recycling. A waste-to-materials and energy (WTM&E) life cycle analysis (LCA) and LCC dashboard was developed in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and an LCC tool was developed for additional analysis.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Agent-based modeling of supply disruptions in the global rare earths market

Several independent assessments have identified rare earth elements (REEs) as critical materials, notably neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), and dysprosium (Dy) used in permanent magnets. Factors affecting their criticality include expected growth in demand arising from their unique performance-enhancing properties in consumer, energy, and military applications and the supply risk associated with China's dominance in their production. We demonstrate the use of Argonne's Global Critical Materials (GCMat) agent-based model to explore the possible consequences to REE market dynamics of different types of regional supply disruptions including a temporary loss of production, shutdown of capacity, and diversion of supply. Results suggest that supply disruptions may foster earlier and more REE mine starts outside of China, although some of these mines may not be able to sustain operations post disruption. Further, price and associated market responses such as production, capacity, and demand tended to extend beyond the disruption period. Such market impacts in the magnet supply chain could affect the costs and availability of a number of emerging clean energy technology applications such as electric vehicles and wind turbines. In the future, GCMat could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation strategies - including recycling, conservation, product substitution, and diversification of supplies - on reducing the severity of disruptions in REE markets.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A regional inter-disciplinary partnership focusing on the development of a carinata-centered bioeconomy

Brassica carinata or Ethiopian mustard, a non-edible oilseed brassica, is a low carbon, purpose-grown, and none-to-low indirect land-use change bioenergy feedstock for the production of drop-in sustainable aviation fuel, biodiesel, renewable diesel, and a suite of value-added coproducts. Carinata oil converted to drop-in fuel using an American Society for Testing and Materials approved Catalytic Hydrothermolysis process has been successfully tested in commercial and military aviation. Carinata meal, the residue after oil extraction, is a high-protein feed supplement for livestock, poultry, and swine, and can also yield specialty products. The Southeast Partnership for Advanced Renewables from Carinata (SPARC) is a public–private partnership formed with a twofold mission: (1) Removing physical, environmental, social, and economic constraints that prevent regional intensification of carinata production as a low-carbon feedstock for renewable fuel and coproducts and (2) demonstrating enhanced value across the entire value chain by mitigating risk to farmers and other stakeholders. The partnership's goal is to energize the US bioeconomy through sustainable agriculture and thus contribute to energy security and economic diversification. SPARC relies on a combination of cutting-edge multidisciplinary research and active industry engagement to facilitate adoption of the crop. This involves informing stakeholders along the entire supply chain, from producers to end-users, policymakers, influencers, and the public, about the opportunities and best practices related to carinata. This article provides context and background concerning carinata commercialization as a winter cash crop in the Southeast US for renewable fuels and bioproducts. The advances made to date in the areas of feedstock development, fuel and coproduct development, meal valorization, supply chain logistics, and stakeholder engagement are outlined.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Benchmarks of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing, 2014-2016

The Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center (CEMAC), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), provides objective analysis and up-to-date data on global supply chains and manufacturing of clean energy technologies. This updated version of the Benchmarks of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing sheds light on several fundamental questions about the global clean technology manufacturing enterprise: How does clean energy technology manufacturing impact national economies? What are the economic opportunities across the manufacturing supply chain? What are the global dynamics of clean energy technology manufacturing?

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Effects on the Sustainable Development Goals of Wood Pellet Production in the Southeastern United States

Wood-based pellets produced in the southeastern United States (SE US) and shipped overseas for the generation of heat and power support achievement of several of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and their targets. If improperly implemented, pellet supply chains, like most energy technologies, can have negative impacts on water and air quality, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services. Cooperation between regional and local industry partners and local communities as well as readily accessible information on environmental and societal effects of the industry are important for addressing sustainability goals. Strengths of this supply chain include replacement of fossil coal with bioenergy; support for renewable energy goals; conservation of forests through sustainable, green economy jobs; and more efficient use of waste materials.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗