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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 469 records · Page 26
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

A Technical and Policy Toolkit for Cyber Deterrence and Stability

In the post-World War II era, nuclear deterrence and arms control established a strategic equilibrium between the superpowers that has come under increasing threat as cyber conflict becomes more prevalent. This study seeks to assist policymakers and scholars build a theoretical, policy, and technical framework to address cyber conflict. Based on an analysis of deterrence theory and application and prior arms control regimes, the study presents a toolkit of policies and actions for national governments based on elements of deterrence and arms control that is applicable to cyber conflict. The study illustrates how these could be prospectively applied in a treaty framework to facilitate attribution of hostile cyber actions.

Cyber Deterrence, Cyber Stability, Cyber Conflict,↗
DOE OSTI2021

Grid-Interactive Multi-Zone Building Control Using Reinforcement Learning with Global-Local Policy Search: Preprint

In this paper, we develop a grid-interactive multi-zone building controller based on a deep reinforcement learning (RL) approach. The controller is designed to facilitate building operation during normal conditions and demand response events, while ensuring occupants comfort and energy efficiency. We leverage a continuous action space RL formulation, and devise a two-stage global-local RL training framework. In the first stage, a global fast policy search is performed using a gradient-free RL algorithm. In the second stage, a local fine-tuning is conducted using a policy gradient method. In contrast to the state-of-the-art model predictive control (MPC) approach, the proposed RL controller does not require complex computation during real-time operation and can adapt to non-linear building models. We illustrate the controller performance numerically using a five-zone commercial building.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Retrofit-ability: A supplementary metric to inform energy efficiency policies and programs

Building Energy Use Intensity (EUI) has been commonly used to facilitate policy makers and utilities to design energy efficacy programs and help building managers prioritize investment in building upgrades. Buildings with higher EUIs are usually chosen as better candidates for retrofit. Our study of nearly one hundred buildings in Seattle’s Building Tune Up Accelerator program and thousands of buildings in the Asset Score database reveals that EUI (after weather/location/use type normalization) alone is not the best indicator of a building’s potential to save energy, especially for those buildings in the mid-range (30-70 percentile EUI). In this paper, we introduce the concept of “retrofit-ability” — a building’s real potential to reduce its energy use cost-effectively — as a supplementary metric to inform energy efficiency policy and investment. Currently, such potential analyses are predicted for a building stock using prototypical building models or statistical data. However, typical buildings or general historical data may not sufficiently represent building configurations in a portfolio and predict their saving potentials. We utilized machine learning to investigate how key building characteristics (such as envelope attributes, HVAC type, location, use type, etc.) affect a building’s improvement potentials and developed a low-cost method to quantify such potentials for a portfolio of buildings. The supplementary perspective provided by “retrofit-ability” highlights which building assets correlate most with a building’s energy savings potential across region, building use type and more.

Wang, Na↗
DOE OSTI2023

Global-Local Policy Search and its Application in Grid-Interactive Building Control

As the buildings sector represents over 70% of the total U.S. electricity consumption, it offers a great amount of untapped demand-side resources to tackle many critical grid-side problems and improve the overall energy system's efficiency. To help make buildings grid-interactive, this paper proposes a global-local policy search method to train a reinforcement learning (RL) based controller which optimizes building operation during both normal hours and demand response (DR) events. Experiments on a simulated five-zone commercial building demonstrate that by adding a local fine-tuning stage to the evolution strategy policy training process, the control costs can be further reduced by 7.55% in unseen testing scenarios. Baseline comparison also indicates that the learned RL controller outperforms a pragmatic linear model predictive controller (MPC), while not requiring intensive online computation.

demand response↗
DOE OSTI2015

Searching for science in the past and present discussion on commingling policy in the US - 15083

Since 1985, the policy in the United States for disposing of nuclear waste has included commingling defense and civilian spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in a mined geologic repository. Commingling policy is under discussion again because of developments over the last several years in the nuclear waste management and disposal program. The authors reviewed the extent to which scientific and technical information was involved in considerations of commingling from the 1950's to the present. Evaluations undertaken by the US Department of Energy (US DOE) in 1985 and April 2014 are compared and the technical issues of health and safety, transportation, and national security are addressed in both evaluations. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

The UK's National Policy and Programme for the Management of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste - 16574

This paper provides a broad overview of the United Kingdom's (UK's) national policies and national programme for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. The aim of the paper is to ensure a clear understanding of the approach taken in the UK so that opportunities for learning lessons and joint working, where they exist, can be identified and to ensure a general understanding of the interdependencies between the various approaches taken in the UK. With a legacy that dates back to the late 1940's/early 1950's the UK have a range of complex and difficult issues to resolve that have evolved over time. What was considered to be acceptable in the past is not thought of in the same way today. We therefore need to be forward thinking, innovative and above all ready to adapt our practices and policies to address previously unknown issues and complications. Due to the wide range of types of radioactive wastes and materials to be managed in the UK we have needed to establish a set of high level principles to cover all radioactive waste types while at the same time ensure that specific approaches for specific issues are developed within that framework. In the UK we have also had to consider the issue of integration to ensure that an approach that addresses one issue does not inadvertently cause a problem elsewhere - for example: in disposing of the high volumes of very low level waste we needed an approach to ensure that other low level waste has a disposal route. Financing of decommissioning and future waste management is clearly one of the biggest challenges to be addressed. As mentioned above ensuring that the legacy left for future generation is not one of a burden - we need to ensure that measures are in place to fund and manage long lived radioactive wastes. Finally, it is clear that not all radioactive wastes are the same and therefore different approaches are needed for managing the different types of material. This requires a proportionate and prioritised approach so while the same ultimate goal is applied (i.e.: the safe and responsible management of radioactive waste) some radioactive wastes are more equal than others and need to be treated accordingly. In the UK we believe that we have a broad programme in place that allows the right balance to be struck in managing all our radioactive waste and spent fuel in a proportionate, safe and responsible manner.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2018

An Evidence-Based Critique of U.S. Nuclear Waste Policy Using Data from Reactor and Cyclotron Sites - 18568

Concrete at nuclear facilities becomes radioactive when it is exposed to a neutron flux, and when such facilities are vacated, decommissioning activities are enacted to make the site safe for reuse. These activities generate wastes that the public expects to be managed in their best interest. This paper provides side-by-side comparisons of concrete bio-shielding encountered at typical reactor and cyclotron decommissioning projects. Three sites are considered, and results from characterization samples are used to demonstrate that the wastes generated by such sites are similar in terms of content and risk. First, the dose potential represented by each waste is determined from mass-based radioactivity concentration with the RESRAD-BUILD computer code. The resulting doses are translated into population-risk estimates by applying dose-response predictions from the National Academy of Sciences' 2006 BEIR VII report. In terms of possible adverse health outcomes, the risk of solid cancer or leukemia associated with the wastes this paper examines is 8 to 50 extra cases per 100,000 persons. The regulatory framework applicable to each site is also reviewed, and the waste management strategies used at each site are contrasted. This paper demonstrates that the wastes it examines are virtually indistinguishable. Contrary to this finding, the wastes are regulated, managed, and disposed in very different manners according to current U.S. nuclear waste policy. The value of this paper is that the side-by-side comparisons it presents provides an opportunity to examine the risk-benefit of existing policies in terms of the benefits or disparities they represent. (author)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

The Zero-Discharge Policy and its Implications for Tritium Inventory at Columbia Generating Station

Columbia Generating Station, a boiling water reactor (BWR), has not made a discharge of radioactive liquids to the Columbia River since 1998. A concern raised when this zero-discharge policy was first considered was that radioactive tritium produced during plant operation would be concentrated in reactor plant water due to the reduced rate at which tritiated water is replaced with makeup water. Elevated concentration of tritium in plant systems could result in internal exposure, especially during refueling outages when personnel are working in the vicinity of the reactor cavity. Tritium data before and after implementation of the zero-discharge policy demonstrate that there has been no significant effect on tritium concentration in plant systems. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Beyond PID Controllers: PPO with Neuralized PID Policy for Proton Beam Intensity Control in Mu2e

We introduce a novel Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) algorithm aimed at addressing the challenge of maintaining a uniform proton beam intensity delivery in the Muon to Electron Conversion Experiment (Mu2e) at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). Our primary objective is to regulate the spill process to ensure a consistent intensity profile, with the ultimate goal of creating an automated controller capable of providing real-time feedback and calibration of the Spill Regulation System (SRS) parameters on a millisecond timescale. We treat the Mu2e accelerator system as a Markov Decision Process suitable for Reinforcement Learning (RL), utilizing PPO to reduce bias and enhance training stability. A key innovation in our approach is the integration of a neuralized Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller into the policy function, resulting in a significant improvement in the Spill Duty Factor (SDF) by 13.6%, surpassing the performance of the current PID controller baseline by an additional 1.6%. This paper presents the preliminary offline results based on a differentiable simulator of the Mu2e accelerator. It paves the groundwork for real-time implementations and applications, representing a crucial step towards automated proton beam intensity control for the Mu2e experiment.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Snowmass '21 Community Engagement Frontier 6: Public Policy and Government Engagement: Non-Congressional Government Engagement

This document has been prepared as a Snowmass contributed paper by the Public Policy & Government Engagement topical group (CEF06) within the Community Engagement Frontier. The charge of CEF06 is to review all aspects of how the High Energy Physics (HEP) community engages with government at all levels and how public policy impacts members of the community and the community at large, and to assess and raise awareness within the community of direct community-driven engagement of the US federal government (i.e. advocacy). The focus of this paper is HEP community engagement of government entities other than the U.S. federal legislature (i.e. Congress).

Diurba, Richie↗
DOE OSTI2022

Snowmass '21 Community Engagement Frontier 6: Public Policy and Government Engagement: Congressional Advocacy for HEP Funding (The "DC Trip'')

This document has been prepared as a Snowmass contributed paper by the Public Policy & Government Engagement topical group (CEF06) within the Community Engagement Frontier. The charge of CEF06 is to review all aspects of how the High Energy Physics (HEP) community engages with government at all levels and how public policy impacts members of the community and the community at large, and to assess and raise awareness within the community of direct community-driven engagement of the U.S. federal government (\textit{i.e.} advocacy). The focus of this paper is the advocacy undertaken by the HEP community that pertains directly to the funding of the field by the U.S. federal government.

Carneiro, Mateus↗
DOE OSTI2018

Policies to keep and expand the option of concentrating solar power for dispatchable renewable electricity

Concentrating solar power (CSP) is one of the few renewable electricity technologies that can offer dispatchable electricity at large scale. Thus, it may play an important role in the future, especially to balance fluctuating sources in increasingly renewables-based power systems. Today, its costs are higher than those of PV and wind power and, as most countries do not support CSP, deployment is slow. Unless the expansion gains pace and costs decrease, the industry may stagnate or collapse, and an important technology for climate change mitigation has been lost. Keeping CSP as a maturing technology for dispatchable renewable power thus requires measures to improve its short-term economic attractiveness and to continue reducing costs in the longer term. We suggest a set of three policy instruments - feed-in tariffs or auctions reflecting the value of dispatchable CSP, and not merely its cost; risk coverage support for innovative designs; and demonstration projects - to be deployed, in regions where CSP has a potentially large role to play. This could provide the CSP industry with a balance of attractive profits and competitive pressure, the incentive to expand CSP while also reducing its costs, making it ready for broad-scale deployment when it is needed.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

The long-term impacts of carbon and variable renewable energy policies on electricity markets

We present a computationally-efficient optimization model that finds the least-cost generation unit expansion, commitment, and dispatch plan to serve hourly electricity demand and ancillary service requirements. We apply the model to a case study based on data from the electricity market in Texas (ERCOT) to analyze the market and investment impacts of several incentive mechanisms that support variable renewable energy (VRE) investments and carbon emission reductions. In contrast to many previous studies, the model determines least-cost VRE investments under different cost and incentive assumptions rather than analyzing scenarios where VRE expansion is pre-determined. We find that electricity prices can vary significantly under different incentive mechanisms, even when comparable generation portfolios result. Therefore, the preferred incentive mechanism depends on stakeholder objectives as well as the prevailing electricity market framework. Our results indicate that a carbon tax is more system cost-efficient for reducing emissions, while production and investment tax credits are more system cost-efficient for increasing VRE investments. Similarly, incentive mechanisms that reduce electricity prices may increase the need for separate revenue sufficiency mechanisms (e.g. a capacity market) more than a policy that increases electricity prices. Moreover, the impacts on consumer payments are not always aligned with changes in system costs. Overall, the analysis illustrates the importance of considering electricity market impacts in assessing the economic efficiency of VRE and carbon incentive mechanisms.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Solar Power. Policy Overview and Good Practices

As global electricity demand increases, governments are designing and implementing policies to scale up and catalyze renewable energy, which now meets 22% of global electricity demand (REN21 2014). Solar technologies are a critical component of this expanded deployment, and they have experienced unprecedented growth in recent years. As presented in Figure 1, solar prices have decreased significantly over the last decade (REN21 2014) and in 2013, new capacity installation of solar electricity from photovoltaics (PV) 1 surpassed all other renewable energy technologies worldwide—excluding hydropower—with 39 gigawatts installed that year. Concentrating solar thermal power,2 although it still represents a fairly nascent market, also continues to expand as installed capacity increased by 36% in 2013 compared to 2012. In addition to meeting energy demand in an increasingly cost-effective manner, solar deployment can also support critical economic, social, and environmental development goals (Flavin and Hull Aeck, n.d.).

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Social Impact Management Plans: Innovation in corporate and public policy

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) has traditionally been practiced as a predictive study for the regulatory approval of major projects, however, in recent years the drivers and domain of focus for SIA have shifted. This paper details the emergence of Social Impact Management Plans (SIMPs) and undertakes an analysis of innovations in corporate and public policy that have put in place ongoing processes – assessment, management and monitoring – to better identify the nature and scope of the social impacts that might occur during implementation and to proactively respond to change across the lifecycle of developments. Four leading practice examples are analyzed. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards require the preparation of Environmental and Social Management Plans for all projects financed by the IFC identified as having significant environmental and social risks. Anglo American, a major resources company, has introduced a Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox, which requires mine sites to undertake regular assessments and link these assessments with their internal management systems, monitoring activities and a Social Management Plan. In South Africa, Social and Labour Plans are submitted with an application for a mining or production right. In Queensland, Australia, Social Impact Management Plans were developed as part of an Environmental Impact Statement, which included assessment of social impacts. Collectively these initiatives, and others, are a practical realization of theoretical conceptions of SIA that include management and monitoring as core components of SIA. The paper concludes with an analysis of the implications for the practice of impact assessment including a summary of key criteria for the design and implementation of effective SIMPs. -- Highlights: • Social impact management plans are effective strategies to manage social issues. • They are developed in partnership with regulatory agencies, investors and community. • SIMPs link assessment to ongoing management and address social and community issues. • SIMPs clarify responsibilities in the management of impacts, opportunities and risks. • SIMPs demonstrate a shift to include management as a core component of SIA practice.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Early nuclear retirements in deregulated U.S. markets: Causes, implications and policy options

Here, electricity prices have fallen significantly since 2008, putting commercial nuclear reactors in the United States under substantial financial pressure. In this market environment driven by persistently low natural gas prices and stagnant electricity demand, we estimate that about two thirds of the 100 GW nuclear capacity are uncompetitive over the next few years under the current trajectory. Among those, 18 GW are retiring or are merchant plants at high risk of retiring prematurely. The potential consequences of the hypothetical withdrawal of 20 GW of nuclear capacity include: 1) a ~3.2% increase in carbon emissions if replaced by gas-fired units or 2) a significant increase in cost if replaced by renewables. Without a carbon price, out-of-the-market payments would be needed to effectively maintain merchant nuclear capacity. Filling the revenue gap would come at a fleet-average cost of 3.5-5.5/ MWh for these plants, which is much lower than the cost of subsidizing wind power. The policy support could take the form of direct zero-emission credits, renewable portfolio standard expansion, or clean capacity market mechanisms. As a last resort, the exercise of a new mothballing status could prevent the irreversible retirement of nuclear power assets.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Policy choices and outcomes for offshore wind auctions globally

Offshore wind energy is rapidly expanding, facilitated largely through auctions run by governments. We provide a detailed quantified overview of utilised auction schemes, including geographical spread, volumes, results, and design specifications. Our comprehensive global dataset reveals heterogeneous designs. Although most auction designs provide some form of revenue stabilisation, their specific instrument choices vary and include feed-in tariffs, one-sided and two-sided contracts for difference, mandated power purchase agreements, and mandated renewable energy certificates. We review the schemes used in all eight major offshore wind jurisdictions across Europe, Asia, and North America and evaluate bids in their jurisdictional context. We analyse cost competitiveness, likelihood of timely construction, occurrence of strategic bidding, and identify jurisdictional aspects that might have influenced auction results. We find that auctions are embedded within their respective regulatory and market design context, and are remarkably diverse, though with regional similarities. Auctions in each jurisdiction have evolved and tend to become more exposed to market price risks over time. Less mature markets are more prone to make use of lower-risk designs. Still, some form of revenue stabilisation is employed for all auctioned offshore wind energy farms analysed here, regardless of the specific policy choices. Our data confirm a coincidence of declining costs and growing diffusion of auction regimes.

17 WIND ENERGY↗