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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 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Monolithic Bifacial Halide Perovskite-Cadmium Selenide Telluride (CST) Tandem Thin-Film Solar Cells (Final Technical Report)

In this project, we develop a bifacial tandem design for monolithic metal halide perovskite-cadmium selenide telluride (CST) tandem solar cells. The bifacial tandem design not only enables the monolithic integration of perovskite-CST tandems but also delivers high efficiency by harvesting the albedo light. It also allows better current match and thus enables higher power output of the tandem devices than conventional tandem cells. We worked on understanding the critical factors limiting bifacial CST cells and developing strategies to improve their bifaciality. We also developed efficient wide-bandgap perovskite subcells and interconnecting layers that enable the monolithic perovskite-CST tandem solar cells. We successfully demonstrated prototype monolithic bifacial perovskite-CST tandem solar cells with bifacial equivalent efficiencies of more than 25% under an albedo of 0.4. Additionally, we optimized the wide-bandgap perovskite to realize four-terminal perovskite-CST tandem devices with efficiencies of 25.5% under monofacial illumination. The team disseminated these results to stakeholders in the PV academic and industry and discussed the challenges and major technical barriers for their market entry. The technologies developed in the project are promising but are not yet ready for immediate commercialization. Future fundamental study and R&D work are needed to advance these promising technologies.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Southwest Wind Power R&D Test Site Development at the National Wind Technology Center (CRADA CRD-12-00472 Final Report)

Southwest Windpower, Inc. (SWWP) has been designing and distributing small wind turbines for more than 22 years and is the recognized global leader in the design, manufacturing and distribution of small wind systems (400-3000 watts). The company has been a pioneer in the development of wind technology and has built and shipped more than 170,000 wind turbines to over 120 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Flagstaff AZ, SWWP has sales representatives in over 88 countries. Applications for SWWP systems include residential homes, commercial properties, micro grids, remote cabins, telecom transmitters, offshore platforms, water pumping and sailboats. In addition, U.S. Department of Defense uses SWWP’s products in Forward Operating Bases (FOB’s), USGS uses them for remote monitoring of glacier movements and the CIA uses them to provide power seismic monitoring. Today, SWWP plans development of new technologies to address distributed energy market needs and become even more aggressive in international markets. This strategy includes extensive Research, Development, Demonstration & Deployment (RDD&D) activities to improve existing production line into more simple, reliable, and cost-effective wind turbine systems. Important part of such activities is the field testing of the new systems, which should provide: (i) validation of the reliable operation of hardware and software; (ii) validation of numerical models of the system and its components; (iii) field comparison of various control and optimization strategies; (iv) customized reliability testing; (v) customized monitoring and analysis testing; and (vi) IEC certification testing (vii) filed demonstration of system performance and reliability. Such field testing facility should encompass multiple towers and appropriate data acquisition systems. SWWP is exploring to move part of the engineering department to Colorado, and execute its RDD&D strategies in this new location. Partnership with NREL will provide great insights into SWWP’s RDD&D processes and more efficient commercialization by utilizing NWTC as the field testing site, and working close with NREL personnel. NWTC is ideally suited to strain the design. NREL is very experienced with customized and IEC testing. During this project, Southwest Windpower aims to improve the value proposition of distributed renewable energy, and make it a competitive choice in the energy markets. As of today, more then 170,000 small wind turbines, manufactured in the U.S., are installed in more then 180 countries. With the improved value proposition, Southwest Windpower wants to create and address new market needs, substantially increase its sales domestically and internationally, which should have positive impact on the creation of American jobs, competitiveness of U.S. economy, export or U.S. products, and the use of renewable energy.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

The good, the bad, and the future: Systematic review identifies best use of biomass to meet air quality and climate policies in California

Abstract California has large and diverse biomass resources and provides a pertinent example of how biomass use is changing and needs to change, in the face of climate mitigation policies. As in other areas of the world, California needs to optimize its use of biomass and waste to meet environmental and socioeconomic objectives. We used a systematic review to assess biomass use pathways in California and the associated impacts on climate and air quality. Biomass uses included the production of renewable fuels, electricity, biochar, compost, and other marketable products. For those biomass use pathways recently developed, information is available on the effects—usually beneficial—on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and there is some, but less, published information on the effects on criteria pollutants. Our review identifies 34 biomass use pathways with beneficial impacts on either GHG or pollutant emissions, or both—the “good.” These included combustion of forest biomass for power and conversion of livestock‐associated biomass to biogas by anaerobic digestion. The review identified 13 biomass use pathways with adverse impacts on GHG emissions, criteria pollutant emissions, or both—the “bad.” Wildfires are an example of one out of eight pathways which were found to be bad for both climate and air quality, while only two biomass use pathways reduced GHG emissions relative to an identified counterfactual but had adverse air quality impacts. Issues of high interest for the “future” included land management to reduce fire risk, future policies for the dairy industries, and full life‐cycle analysis of biomass production and use.

Agriculture↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development of an Optimized Gasoline Surrogate Formulation for PACE Experiments and Simulations

New powertrain solutions are needed to address societal challenges stemming in part from a transportation sector which relies heavily on combustion of conventional hydrocarbon fuels like gasoline. One way to advance new solutions is through predictive simulations. Predictive simulations can potentially limit the extent of experimental validations, reduce time spent in engineering design cycles, unlock new strategies for high efficiency combustion with power density, and minimize tailpipe emissions. However, the simulation tools currently available are either too computationally expensive, inadequate in their accuracy, or a combination of the two. A DOE-funded consortium of national laboratories called the Partnership to Advance Combustion Engines (PACE) seeks to address this gap by rapidly delivering new knowledge and tools which enable market-competitive powertrain solutions for light-duty vehicles. Approaches to modeling combustion in powertrain systems typically incorporate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with chemical kinetic models. These CFD simulations generally use surrogate fuels featuring a limited number of existing components in a reduced kinetic model to limit computational costs. Such surrogate fuels often sacrifice matching several or more combustion and physical properties of the target gasoline fuel. Validation of surrogate fuels is also often only pursued for a small subset of standard metrics such as research or motor octane number (RON, MON). The purpose of this project is to develop an optimal E10 gasoline surrogate fuel suitable for tasks across PACE to facilitate rapid common analysis and progression toward consortium goals. This project received contributions from tasks led by eight PACE principal investigators. The project funding here reflects all tasks under Pitz, whose tasks also contributed to additional PACE projects. Based on the optimal gasoline surrogate fuel composition, a reduced chemical kinetic model will be shared with PACE researchers, industry, and the broader combustion community.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Storing Co 2 in Built Infrastructure: Co 2 Carbonation of Precast Concrete Products

The overall objective of the proposed study was to advance the technical understanding of CO 2 incorporation into novel cementitious materials for the development of high value products that provide a net reduction in carbon emissions. This project combined two primary phases of research that addressed technical barriers related to (i) optimizing CO 2 storage capability of cementitious materials, (ii) evaluating and enhancing physical properties of novel carbonated materials, and (iii) assessing the reductions in life cycle CO 2 emissions attributed to CO 2 carbonation of precast cementitious materials. Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) are a class of highly ductile concrete composites that have been shown to be very durable when used in the built environment. CO 2 carbonation of ECC was examined in this study and it was found that precast ECC specimens could sequester up to 35% CO 2 by cement mass after 24 hours of curing at a CO 2 pressure of 0.5 MPa and 23°C and had a strain capacity of 3%. Carbonation conditions were optimized at the bench-scale and then utilized to create full-scale CO 2 -cured ECC railroad ties that were field tested on a train track. Rail ties were selected for this initial assessment of CO 2 storage in precast concrete materials due to the large market for concrete ties in the railroad industry. Although the full-scale rail ties passed all of the required American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association qualifying mechanical tests, on-track testing of the CO 2 -cured ECC rail ties was unsuccessful due to fiber alignment in the ECC the during the rail tie casting process which prevented the material from achieving the expected level of strain capacity. This result highlights the challenge in scaling up bench-scale processes to full-scale product manufacturing and requires additional investigation into the casting process of large-scale infrastructure elements using ECC combined with carbonation curing. Life cycle assessment of a CO 2 -cured ECC rail tie versus a traditional concrete rail tie indicates that the ECC tie can have lifecycle carbon savings of between 11% and 51% depending on how much longer its useful lifetime is compared to traditional concrete rail ties. Both carbon and cost savings are driven by a reduction in the need to replace broken rail ties, so the key factor is the extent to which a CO 2 -cured ECC rail tie will have increased lifetime durability compared to alternative rail ties.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

The NREL Sensor Laboratory: Status and Future Directions for Hydrogen Detection

The NREL Hydrogen Sensor Laboratory was commissioned in 2010 as a resource for the national and international hydrogen community to ensure the availability and proper use of hydrogen sensors. Since then, the Sensor Laboratory has provided unbiased verification of hydrogen sensor performance for sensor developers, end-users, and regulatory agencies and has also provided active support for numerous code and standards development organizations. Although sensor performance assessment remains a core capability, the mission of the NREL Sensor Laboratory has expanded toward a more holistic approach regarding the role of hydrogen detection and its implementation strategy for both assurance of facility safety as well as for process control applications. Active monitoring for detection of unintended releases has been identified by the NFPA 2 Storage Task Group as a viable approach for improving facility safety and lowering setbacks. The current research program for the Sensor Laboratory addresses both conventional and advanced developing detection strategies in response to the emerging large-scale markets, such as those envisioned by H2@Scale. These emerging hydrogen applications may require alternative detection strategies that supplement and may ultimately supplant the use of traditional sensors for monitoring hydrogen releases. Research focus areas for the NREL Sensor Laboratory now encompasses the characterization of released hydrogen behavior to optimize detection strategies for both indoor and outdoor applications, advanced methods of hydrogen leak detection such as hydrogen wide area monitoring approaches for large scale and distributed applications, the incorporation of active monitoring as a risk reduction strategy to improve safety at hydrogen facilities, and continuing support of hydrogen safety codes and standards. In addition to assurance of safety, detection will be critical for process control applications, such as hydrogen fuel quality verification for fuel cell vehicle applications and for monitoring and controlling of hydrogen-natural gas blend composition.

codes and standards↗
DOE OSTI2023

Synergistic Heat Pumped Thermal Storage and Flexibly Carbon Capture System

As the U.S. grid evolves toward a lower-carbon system, fossil generation assets need to operate in energy markets with high variable renewable energy (VRE) penetration while also decreasing carbon emissions. Current carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies suffer from high capital cost and an inability to operate flexibly during periods of oscillating demand. The ARPA-E FLECCS Program Phase 1 was created to fund designing and optimizing innovative CCS processes that enable flexibility on a high-VRE grid. To address this need, the Colorado State University (CSU) Team won funding to design a synergized system of thermal energy storage, power generation, and flexible carbon capture to enable breakthrough system performance that achieves an LCOE <$75/MWh with >99% capture rate. This approach will target new or existing natural gas combined cycle power plants. The proposed design utilizes novel hot and cold thermal energy storage (TES) technologies that store low-cost, off-peak electricity as thermal energy to power CCS solvent regeneration and boost plant output during periods of peak demand. The design provides an overall optimized net present value (NPV) by maximizing low carbon power to grid while prices are highest using Storworks Power’s concrete TES technology. The team also capitalizes on decades of ION Clean Energy’s (ION) development in low cost and flexible pioneering solvent technology, which has proven reductions in energy consumption and overall cost of 28% and 38%, respectively, compared with state-of-the-art CCS.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2020

A review on the integration of probabilistic solar forecasting in power systems

As one of the fastest growing renewable energy sources, the integration of solar power poses great challenges to power systems due to its variable and uncertain nature. As an effective approach to promote the integration of solar power in power systems, the value of probabilistic forecasts is being increasingly recognized in the recent decade. While the current use of probabilistic forecasts in power systems is limited, enormous amount of research has been conducted to promote the adoption of probabilistic forecasts and many methods have been proposed. This paper gives a comprehensive review on how probabilistic solar forecasts are utilized in power systems to address the challenges. Potential methods to deal with uncertainties in power systems are summarized, such as probabilistic load flow models, stochastic optimization, robust optimization, and chance constraints. Additionally, specific areas where these methods can be applied are discussed and state-of-the-art studies are summarized.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hybrid Grid-Renewable Strategies for Green Steel Production under Electricity Market Uncertainty

Volatility in grid spot prices is expected to rise with climate change-driven demand pressures and the intermittency of renewable generation. This volatility poses financial risks for green hydrogen-based steel production. The Direct Reduced Iron− Electric Arc Furnace (H 2 -DRI-EAF) is a promising pathway to decarbonize steel, which accounts for ∼8% of global GHG emissions. This study assesses how increased grid spot price volatility influences the optimal sizing and operation of H2-DRIEAF plants under three operational scenarios: grid-connected, fully behind-the-meter (islanded), and mixed-mode (semi-islanded). Our analysis identifies the semi-islanded configuration as the most cost-effective solution, achieving a Levelized Cost of Steel (LCOS) 10−35% lower than sourcing energy solely from the grid. Modeling also shows hydrogen storage or selective electricity purchases at high prices (>$1000/MWh) generally outperform battery storage, except under extreme volatility. Additionally, the study explores cost reduction strategies to strengthen the economic viability and sustainability of green steel production.

Batteries↗
DOE OSTI2024

Economically Viable Intermediate to Long Duration Hydrogen Energy Storage Solutions for Fossil Fueled Assets

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management of U.S. Department of Energy under Funding Opportunity Announcement Number DE-FOA-0002332 “Energy Storage for Fossil Power Generation”. The work aimed to explore and advance an innovative hydrogen energy storage system – the synergistically integrated hydrogen energy storage system (SIHES) – that has the following characteristics: • Compatible with existing or new coal and gas fuel electricity generation units, • best suited for intermediate to long duration energy storage, from 12 hours to weeks even months, and • capable of storing energy at the utility scale – hundreds of MWh to GWh energy storage with power output level in tens to hundreds of MW. Preliminary front-end engineering design (Pre-FEED) studies was carried out to develop and refine a site-specific SIHES as peaking power generation units (so named as HyPeaker) as the first market entry point, to demonstrate both the technical feasibility and the economic viability to integrate the HyPeaker “within the fence” of a fossil power plant. This specific site was TVA’s Johnsonville Combustion Turbine Plant. The HyPeaker was designed and engineered to integrate with a 60MW aeroderivative gas turbine unit already available at TVA’s Johnsonville site. This site-specific HyPeaker consists of an alkaline electrolyzer to produce hydrogen from CO 2 free electricity sources, an innovative low-cost high-pressure hydrogen storage system (Big-Ton) and the aero gas turbine to generate electricity using blend of hydrogen and natural gas. A holistic system level technoeconomic analysis tool specific to HyPeaker was developed to optimize the engineering design of the Johnsonville site-specific HyPeaker for cost and performance. The optimal design and specification of the Johnsonville site-specific HyPeaker are the following: • Alkaline electrolyzer: 3MW • Big-Ton storage vessel: 11,000kg H 2 at 3000psi. • 4-stage diaphragm hydrogen compressor: 55kg-H 2 /hr from 150psi to 3000psi. The HyPeaker is designed to provide sufficient hydrogen for 90% continuous operation of the HyPeaker. All major components have design life of 30 years. The capex of HyPeaker is estimated at $\$$7.1M. This included $\$$1.5M for the electrolyzer, $\$$5.6M for the storage vessel and compressor. The cost of aero gas turbine was included as it is already available at the site. Key findings are: • HyPeaker can be designed, manufactured, installed and integrated with the fossil power plants, with sub-systems and components commercially available on the market today, even when it is scaled up to an order of magnitude larger than the one at the Johnsonville site. HyPeaker is a technologically viable solution to cover a wide range of energy storage duration needs, from daily peaking operation to seasonal shifting for fossil fueled assets. • The cost advantage of SCCV based Big-Ton H 2 storage vessel made it possible to “oversize” the H 2 storage subsystem to achieve overall system level cost optimization. The benefits are two-fold. First, it allows to significantly reduce the capacity and cost of electrolyzer by spreading H 2 production over a much longer period of time when the fuel cost for electricity production is low. Second, it allows to balance the hydrogen production and usage shift over weeks to months to meet the peak demands. As such, the capital cost of HyPeaker system using the Big-Ton was less than half of the cost of a system with today’s steel tube based H 2 storage system. The HyPeaker has even better cost advantage Li-ion battery based energy storage system. The estimated capital cost of Li-Ion battery system would be at $\$$38M, under the same projected 20-year electricity generation profile of the Johnsonville site. This is over 5 times more expensive than the HyPeaker system. • Since industry scale energy storage systems do not have 100% energy conversion and storage efficiency, energy storage systems using fossil fuel generated electricity would increase the CO 2 emission. This is particularly the case for HyPeaker due to its low round trip efficiency. Therefore, a more sensible solution would be to the excessive or curtailed electricity from CO 2 emission free sources such as solar farms, wind farms or nuclear power plants, to produce hydrogen, and integrate them with the HyPeaker. Electricity from TVA’s nuclear power plants was used for the Johnsonville HyPeaker. • The economic viability of HyPeaker is expected to be further improved when global supply chains are taken into consideration. For the same Johnsonville site specific HyPeaker, the capex would be reduced to ~$\$$3.6M from ~$\$$7.1M, and the added LCOE is reduced to ~$\$$85/MWh. With the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the cost of domestically produced HyPeaker sub-systems would be at the level of today’s global suppliers. Since the peaking units generally operate at peak usage period, thereby demanding higher price, the projected $\$$85/MWh LCOE would be within the realm of financial viability for utility operators.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Virtual Blast Furnace - An Integrated High Performance Computing Modeling, Simulation, and Visualization Capability for Steel Manufacturing (Final Report)

Many manufacturing industries require substantial capital and utilize energy intensive processes that involve complex phenomena. One example of such an industry is the steel industry, which is the fourth largest energy consuming industry in the U.S. By harnessing the power of High-Performance Computing (HPC) to enhance current simulation and visualization methods in the steel industry, it should be possible to increase resolution and/or decrease time of these methods by a factor of 1000. In this way, information can be obtained in a time frame that is useful for making business and engineering decisions, optimizing manufacturing processes and, ultimately, improving the completeness of U.S. industries. For example, if coke usage in blast furnaces were optimized such that the average coke rate was reduced from 797 lb/net tonne of hot metal (NTHM) to 604 lb/NTHM, costs could be reduced by $894 million/year. Additionally, members of the steel industry need the flexibility to efficiently operate blast furnaces at a range of production rates in order to meet fluctuating market demands. Large scale parameter studies can be utilized to discover workable operating parameters at a range of production rates.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Advanced Solar and Load Forecasting Incorporating HD Sky Imaging (Phase III)

Due to rapidly changing sky conditions, the available solar irradiance for energy generation is subject to wide swings in amplitude. As the market penetration of solar energy continues to increase rapidly, these variations in solar power generation are beginning to have an impact on grid stability and increased wear on power switches. Solar power forecasting plays a critical role in operations for Independent System Operators (ISOs) and utilities. Accurate forecasts help maintain grid reliability, optimize generation from renewables, and reduce operating costs. Of particular interest to the ISOs and utilities are sudden changes in solar irradiance, termed “ramp events,” due to the movement of clouds. One significant impact of ramp events on the grid is additional ancillary service requirements necessary to manage such variability. Ramp events can also cause voltage fluctuations in the distribution grids and trigger actions of automated line equipment (e.g., tap changers), leading to additional maintenance costs. In high penetration solar regions, forecasts must be made for both transmission-connected and distribution-connected resources – either behind the meter or in front of it. Particularly for distributed solar energy resources, forecasting can be a challenge due to the lack of visibility of the energy resource. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has been working towards nowcasting Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) using low-cost technologies for several years now. The Solar NowCasting technology being developed by BNL is a 0 – 30 min solar “nowcasting” technology applicable to a scale covering both large generating facilities and residential, distributed solar installations that relies on a network of ground-based high-definition (HD) cameras and surface pyranometers. GHI forecasts are being produced for both regions using 8 ground-based HD cameras and at least 2 surface pyranometers. When stitched together, the camera images can be used to forecast the impact of clouds on available solar irradiance over a domain of ~50 km 2 . Phase I of the project was the engineering scale up conceptual design stage. Phase II was the initial field test and demonstration, in which the technology was scaled up by a factor of 20 times and successfully demonstrated in eastern Long Island. In Phase III, an additional forecasting network was added in upstate NY and both networks are currently being operated until at least a full year of data is gathered by the Albany network to allow for the collection of sufficient data to evaluate performance against the persistence and smart persistence models using the Solar Arbiter.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Voucher Opportunity 5-15: Independent Assessment of Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) Technologies and Practices for Enhanced Rock Weathering (CRADA 718) Abstract

Development of robust, transparent, and precise monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) technologies and practices is critical for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) project developers to comply with regulatory and permitting requirements, voluntary carbon market (VCM) protocols, and to ensure safety while reducing environmental impacts. Enhanced rock weathering (ERW)-based CDR technologies focus on removing atmospheric carbon through conversion into thermodynamically stable solid or aqueous carbonate forms for permanent storage (i.e., mineralization). This highly durable form of CDR enhances naturally occurring silicate rock weathering cycles by optimizing application of finely-ground silicate rock particles (i.e., from basalt) on terrestrial agricultural lands to accelerate natural silicate rock weathering and mineralization. Enhanced rock weathering may also provide improved crop yields and enhance soil health. A critical aspect for commercialization of these technologies is the development of MRV to quantify the net removal and durable storage of atmospheric CO 2 . For ERW systems, it is essential to accurately characterize the mineral feedstock selected for application to establish the baseline geochemical composition, mineral dissolution rates, and carbon removal potential of the feedstocks to estimate overall net removal. Given the difficulty with conducting MRV for ERW in diverse soil/environment types, over large application areas, and due to complex chemical reaction networks, this project will accelerate understanding towards consensus on best practices for MRV. The overall objectives of the proposed voucher project are to: 1) Characterize and analyze feedstock(s) intended for ERW field application by Lithos Carbon (“Voucher Recipient”/ “CRADA Participant”) to determine overall mineralization potential; 2) Facilitate knowledge transfer and documentation of experimental protocols, instrumentation, and other relevant best practices; and 3) Support the Voucher Recipient’s broader technology commercialization and ERW Research Facility development plans. This work will align with the Voucher Recipient’s MRV plans for field sites and build upon complementary efforts conducted by PNNL on mineralization MRV.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrating an Ensemble Reward System into an Off-Policy Reinforcement Learning Algorithm for the Economic Dispatch of Small Modular Reactor-Based Energy Systems

Nuclear Integrated Energy Systems (NIES) have emerged as a comprehensive solution for navigating the changing energy landscape. They combine nuclear power plants with renewable energy sources, storage systems, and smart grid technologies to optimize energy production, distribution, and consumption across sectors, improving efficiency, reliability, and sustainability while addressing challenges associated with variability. The integration of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in NIES offers significant benefits over traditional nuclear facilities, although transferring involves overcoming legal and operational barriers, particularly in economic dispatch. This study proposes a novel off-policy Reinforcement Learning (RL) approach with an ensemble reward system to optimize economic dispatch for nuclear-powered generation companies equipped with an SMR, demonstrating superior accuracy and efficiency when compared to conventional methods and emphasizing RL’s potential to improve NIES profitability and sustainability. Finally, the research attempts to demonstrate the viability of implementing the proposed integrated RL approach in spot energy markets to maximize profits for nuclear-driven generation companies, establishing NIES’ profitability over competitors that rely on fossil fuel-based generation units to meet baseload requirements.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Optimized allocation method of the VSC-MTDC system for frequency regulation reserves considering the cost

In recent years, the interconnection of asynchronous power grids through the VSC-MTDC system has been proposed and extensively studied in light of the potential benefits of economical bulk power exchanges and frequency regulation reserves sharing. This paper proposed an optimized allocation method for sharing frequency regulation reserves among the interconnected power systems and the corresponding frequency regulation control of the VSC-MTDC system under emergency frequency deviation events. Firstly, the frequency regulation reserve classification is proposed. In the classification, the available frequency response capacity reserves of each interconnection are divided into commercial reserves and regular reserves. While the commercial reserves are procured through long-term contracts, the regular reserves are purchased based on market prices of frequency regulation services. Secondly, based on the proposed frequency regulation reserve classification, a novel frequency regulation control is then introduced for the VSC-MTDC system. This control method could minimize the costs of the disturbed power grid for the needed frequency response supports from the other power grids. Simulation verifications are performed on a modified IEEE 39 bus system and a highly reduced power system model representing the North American grids. The simulation verification indicates that the developed frequency regulation control significantly reduced ancillary service costs of the disturbed power grid.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Hybrid Resources: Challenges, Implications, Opportunities, and Innovation

The electric power system has historically been designed to provide reliable energy to loads by using a relatively small number of well-understood generators. The distinction between load, generation, and transmission resources has been quite clear. Most of the responsibility for planning and operating a system - building a highly reliable network from less reliable parts - has been with the system manager, whether that be a utility, a regional market operator, or some similar entity. Given this historical context, many experts were initially perplexed by the rapidly growing popularity of hybrid resources, which combine multiple technologies into a single entity. Rather than depending on a system operator to provide instructions to individual technologies, hybrid resources intentionally take on more operational responsibility by optimizing and scheduling their combined functions. Interconnection queues in many regions reveal a large and growing interest in hybrids, suggesting that project developers and investors see them as providing advantages.

generators↗
DOE OSTI2024

Realizing the Residential Electrification Opportunity: One Heat Pump at a Time

Space and water heating in residential buildings is a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. Advanced electric heat pumps (HP) and heat pump water heaters (HPWH) are poised to provide a low carbon alternative to traditional fossil-based space and water heating. Widespread deployment of heat pumps could help address the significant portion of building emissions and primary energy used in American households, however much work needs to be done to close the knowledge gap between like-for-like fossil equipment replacement and switching to HPs for the average contractor. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been working on closing this knowledge gap through the development of decision tools and resources targeted towards contractors and installers. Developed in coordination with stakeholders and experienced contractors from a variety of geographic regions, these tools help streamline the process of sizing and selecting residential HPs and HPWHs for key use cases. Along with the complementary Retrofit Decision Tool developed by PNNL, the decision tools will help contractors understand the importance of whole building considerations when choosing HPs including envelope upgrades, duct assessments, and electrical assessments to ensure optimal selection and performance of the HP or HPWH. They also provide direct links to resources and best practices developed by PNNL as well as external entities to further help contractor education and training. This paper describes the development of these tools, and their role in moving the existing space and water heating market towards HPs to help realize the country’s decarbonization goals.

heat pump, heat pump water heater, Residential bui↗
DOE OSTI2024

Incorporating Wind Turbine Choice in High-Resolution Geospatial Supply Curve and Capacity Expansion Models

To achieve national decarbonization goals, U.S. annual deployment of wind energy will need to increase by at least fivefold compared to the recent past. Modeling and analysis frameworks can help inform where and how wind energy deployment might occur and thereby help enable the achievement of decarbonization goals. However, most prior wind energy modeling and analysis studies rely on generalized representations of wind energy technologies. Since wind energy technology advancements are expected to increase the competitiveness of wind energy, it is important to incorporate more detailed representations of turbine technology into wind energy modeling. Here we present a new method that incorporates wind turbine choice into the technology representation of land-based wind energy in long-term planning models. Our method integrates three previously published modeling and analysis capabilities: 1) bottom-up cost modeling to estimate future technology costs, 2) geospatial modeling to represent siting decisions, and 3) power sector modeling to evaluate potential deployment. We refer to this approach as a "customized turbine choice" methodology because it creates a composite turbine scenario by choosing from multiple wind turbine technologies—using site-specific optimized turbine layout and selecting the least-cost technology at each location. We demonstrate the capabilities of this new modeling pipeline by examining how the selection of four different wind turbine configurations might evolve from 2021 through 2040. Our results show that using our customized turbine choice methodology could lead to higher estimates for wind future deployment, which indicates that more simplified modeling might underestimate the role that wind energy could play in meeting decarbonization goals. Future research is needed to further explore the implications of turbine choice and to better inform technology researchers, original equipment manufacturers, and other wind industry stakeholders about the market potential of different wind turbine technologies.

17 WIND ENERGY↗