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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Incident Energy Systems Model: User Guide and Examples

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

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Optimal Power System Black start using Inverter-Based Generation

Power system black start readiness is part of the system planning. Utility planners perform periodic studies to assess if their power system is capable of total restoration following a black out. Hydro and diesel generators are the most commonly used black start capable resources by power utilities. However, with increasing penetration of solar generation, inverter-based resources can be considered to provide black start capability. Since the solar inverters can be located at multiple locations throughout the power system, and in view of their unique characteristics, an optimal real-time capable plan is helpful for system operators for faster black start. Black start optimization is a multi stage mixed-integer non-linear optimization which is extremely hard to solve. In this paper, we propose an optimal black start methodology that is easier to solve and scalable in real-time. We demonstrate the proposed methodology on two test systems and illustrate how inverter-based resources can contribute and improve power system restoration.

power system restoration, blackstart, Inverter-bas↗
DOE OSTI2024

Resilient Energy Transition Planning for Ouzinkie, Alaska

This report documents an energy system planning study for the village of Ouzinkie, Alaska, conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP). Ouzinkie is a small remote community located on Spruce Island, Alaska, in the Kodiak Archipelago. The Ouzinkie community is served by a local electrical system powered by a combination of diesel generators and a hydroelectric turbine. Due to aging assets, however, the power system reliability has declined in recent years, while the cost of operating the diesel generators has increased significantly. To address these problems, Ouzinkie asked ETIPP to provide technical assistance to develop an updated integrated plan for improvements to the Ouzinkie power system, in order to transition to a more reliable and resilient system powered by renewable energy resources.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

North Carolina Water Utility Builds Resilience with Distributed Energy Resources

As the frequency and duration of grid outages increase, backup power systems are becoming more important for ensuring that critical infrastructure continues to provide essential services. Most facilities rely on diesel generators, which may be ineffective during long outages owing to limited fuel supplies and high generator failure rates. Distributed energy resources such as solar, storage, and combined-heat-and-power systems, coupled with on-site biofuel production, offer an alternative source of on-site generation that can provide both cost savings and resilience (i.e., the ability to respond to catastrophic events with longer-term consequences). A mixed-integer linear program minimizes costs and maximizes resilience at a wastewater treatment plant in Wilmington, North Carolina. We find that the plant can reduce life-cycle energy costs by 3.1% through the installation of a hybrid combined-heat-and-power, photovoltaic, and storage system. When paired with existing diesel generators, this system can sustain full load for seven days while saving $664,000 over 25 years and reducing diesel fuel use by 48% compared with the diesel-only solution. This analysis informed a decision by the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority to allocate funds for the implementation of a combined-heat-and-power system at the wastewater treatment plant in fiscal year 2023. Finally, the benefits of deploying hybrid combined-heat-and-power technologies and the utilization of on-site biofuel production extend, on a national scale, to thousands of wastewater treatment facilities and other types of critical infrastructure.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Prefeasibility Analysis of Behind-the-Meter Distributed Energy Resources in Highland Park, MI: Highland Park Pathways to Power [Slides]

Through the Communities LEAP (Local Energy Action Program) Pilot, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) engaged the Highland Park Stakeholder Coalition to scope four technical assistance work areas to address their energy needs and goals. This slide deck addresses the highlighted tasks under work area "B" related to policy analysis, due diligence, and case studies for removing barriers and providing best practices for local clean energy development. NREL used the REopt platform to evaluate the techno-economic potential of adding solar PV, electric storage, and/or diesel generators at several locations in Highland Park, Michigan: a typical residential and commercial building in Highland Park, the Earnest T. Ford Recreation Center, and the Parker Village Microgrid. The analysis goals focused on the ability of solar PV, electric storage, and/or diesel generators to reduce electricity costs and improve site resilience.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Advanced Distributed Wind Turbine Controls Series: Part 2-Wind Energy in Isolated Grids – Microgrids, Infrastructure Resilience, and Advanced Controls Launchpad (MIRACL)

In an isolated grid, wind turbines are typically deployed to provide energy to maximize energy production, reduce diesel-fuel consumption, reduce carbon emissions, and reduce costs for energy and fuel transportation. However, in addition to solely providing energy to the power system, wind turbines contain rotating masses and inverter-based controls that can enable various reliability and resilience services through advance controls. As part of the Microgrids, Infrastructure Resilience, and Advanced Controls Launchpad (MIRACL) this paper demonstrates, through desktop simulations, advanced wind turbine controls that can be employed to support higher contributions of wind in isolated grids, and to demonstrate ways that wind can play a role in supporting stability of an isolated grid. This isolated grid used in these desktop simulations is comprised of a wind turbine (600 kW), solar PV (430 kW), battery energy storage system (1 MW/1MWh), a simulated diesel generator (2 MW) and various types of loads (critical, dynamic). We developed a model of the subsystems in MATLAB/Simulink and validated them with available data from real-world components on NREL's Flatirons Campus. These validated models are then configured for various case studies. We compare the output of the desktop simulation with a baseline case with the diesel generator. Active and reactive power control of the wind turbine can help improve frequency and voltage responses in the isolated grid, respectively. By utilizing a small integrated battery energy storage system in the DC-link of the wind turbine, we also demonstrate that wind turbines can help blackstart a critical load comparable to its rated power and support other renewables (e.g. solar PV) come online and pick up an additional load. This report illustrates some of these reliability and resilience services a wind turbine can provide in an isolated grid.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Design Considerations of a Coordinative Demand Charge Mitigation Strategy

This paper presents a coordinative demand charge mitigation (DCM) strategy for reducing electricity consumption during system peak periods. Available DCM resources include batteries, diesel generators, controllable loads, and conservation voltage reduction. All resources are directly controlled by load serving entities. A mixed integer linear programming based energy management algorithm is developed to optimally coordinate of DCM resources considering the load payback effect. To better capture system peak periods, two different kinds of load forecast are used: the day-ahead load forecast and the peak-hour probability forecast. Five DCM strategies are compared for reconciling the discrepancy between the two forecasting results. The DCM strategies are tested using actual utility data. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively mitigate the demand charge while preventing the system peak from being shifted to the payback hours. We also identify the diminishing return effect, which can help load serving entities optimize the size of their DCM resources.

Hu, Rongxing↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Secondary Control Framework for Microgrid Interoperability With Vendor-Agnostic Grid-Forming Units: Design, Implementation, and Demonstration via Large-Scale Hardware Setup

The reliable operation of islanded microgrids increasingly depends on secondary controls that restore voltage and frequency to nominal values and ensure accurate active and reactive power sharing. Centralized secondary control architectures achieve high accuracy through global coordination at the cost of single-point failures and limited scalability compared with decentralized/distributed approaches. But a critical gap remains in addressing the interoperability and vendor-agnostic operation of secondary controls in real-world microgrids where heterogeneous diesel generator(s) and grid-forming (GFM) inverter(s) from multiple manufacturers always coexist. Practical and vendor-agnostic interoperability guidelines for the secondary control architecture of microgrids with multiple GFM units have not yet been developed; therefore, this paper proposes an interoperable and vendor-agnostic secondary control framework that operates seamlessly across GFM units from different vendors without relying on proprietary controls and protocols, hardware, or lock-ins. The framework leverages existing communication infrastructures (e.g., Modbus TCP/IP) to enable cost-effective deployment while addressing practical challenges, such as packet loss and quantization errors. Mitigation strategies-including data averaging, situational event-triggered control, and finite-iteration execution-are introduced to enhance reliability under real-world conditions. A generalized modeling and design framework is also presented, supported by robustness analysis to demonstrate independence from vendor-specific implementations. The proposed framework is validated through a large-scale hardware demonstration using a 3-$\phi$, 480-V, 60-Hz, 713-kVA laboratory hardware microgrid involving a heterogeneous diesel generator and multiple GFM inverters, showcasing its effectiveness in achieving stable voltage and frequency restoration and accurate power sharing under practical constraints. The results highlight the framework's potential as a scalable and practical solution for next-generation microgrids requiring openness, standard framework, and interoperability.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Risk Analysis for Remote Operation of Microreactors

Microreactors are a subset of advanced nuclear reactors that can be factory fabricated, transportable, and self-regulating. They have the potential to be used in microgrids, rural and remote areas, or emergency response applications, replacing fossil fuel sources like diesel generators and enabling sustainable energy generation. In order to make microreactor operation cost-effective, it is likely that remote communications will be needed to reduce the number of personnel required to be on site. While remote operation of energy generation and other industrial control systems is common in other industries, it is not yet adopted in the nuclear community and has many perceived and actual risks. In this paper, the severity of the risks introduced by remote operations for microreactors are explored. The primary changes in the operations involve the addition of a remote communications network and a certification system for data and controls. These changes lend themselves to considerations of cyber risks, whether unintentional or adversarial, but the assessment considers not just cyber risks introduced, but also how physical and human factors-based risks will impact the remote operations system and change the overall risk profile. This initial assessment indicates that there are standard cyber and mitigation measures that can be put in place so the risk of doing remote operations does not dramatically increase compared to local operations. This evaluation is a critical step in the process of evaluating if remote operations of microreactors is a suitable solution to meet future sustainable grid needs

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Power Supply Options for the Marpi Landfill, Saipan: Feasibility Study

The Marpi Landfill, located on the northern end of the island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is powered by an on-site diesel generator that only operates when the landfill is open and staffed. The CNMI Office of Planning and Development (OPD) aspires to provide the Marpi Landfill with 24-hour power availability despite its remote location and to increase the use of sustainable energy within the CNMI. CNMI has a 20% target for renewable energy consumption, as documented in Sustainable Development Goal #7 in the Comprehensive Sustainable Development Plan (OPD 2021) and the renewable portfolio standard (GPO 2014). To accomplish these goals, the U.S. Department of Energy, through its Interagency Reimbursable Work Agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, funded this feasibility study to assess and prioritize power supply options for the landfill. The availability of solar and wind resources varies seasonally, as does the load. A BESS can help to balance mismatches between generation and load on short (hourly or daily) timescales, but not across seasons. The microgrid scenarios evaluated for Marpi consider options for technology combinations that will both meet the load and utilize available resources, despite the challenge presented by higher loads and lower solar and wind availability during the rainy season, depicted in Figure ES-2. The seven scenarios evaluated are summarized in Table ES-1. Each scenario’s configuration was optimized to include component capacities that reduce capital and operating costs, meet the load, and minimize carbon emissions, as feasible. The costs and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) shown do not assume the use of any grant funding or incentives, although these options were also evaluated. To assist with decision-making, a prioritization matrix (Table ES-3) was created to compare the microgrid scenarios evaluated in this feasibility study according to various stakeholder priorities. The prioritization metrics were chosen based on discussions with OPD and will be finalized through stakeholder feedback. The scenarios were given a score between 1 and 7 for each prioritization metric (the lower the score, the higher the priority), and total scores were calculated using assigned weights based on the relative priority of each metric. The total scores were then ranked to produce a prioritized list of microgrid scenarios based on the metrics most important to the project stakeholders. As shown, scenario 4 (100 kW of solar PV, a 75 kW/300 kWh BESS, and 160 kW of diesel generation) ranks highest.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Decomposing Loosely Coupled Mixed-Integer Programs for Optimal Microgrid Design

Microgrids are frequently employed in remote regions, in part because access to a larger electric grid is impossible, difficult, or compromises reliability and independence. Although small microgrids often employ spot generation, in which a diesel generator is attached directly to a load, microgrids that combine these individual loads and augment generators with photovoltaic cells and batteries as a distributed energy system are emerging as a safer, less costly alternative. In this work, we present a model that seeks the minimum-cost microgrid design and ideal dispatched power to support a small remote site for one year with hourly fidelity under a detailed battery model; this mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP) is intractable with commercial solvers but loosely coupled with respect to time. A mixed-integer linear program (MIP) approximates the model, and a partitioning scheme linearizes the bilinear terms. We introduce a novel policy for loosely coupled MIPs in which the system reverts to equivalent conditions at regular time intervals; this separates the problem into subproblems that we solve in parallel. We obtain solutions within 5% of optimality in at most six minutes across 14 MIP instances from the literature and solutions within 5% of optimality to the MINLP instances within 20 minutes.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Performance of Hybrid Renewable Energy Power System for a Residential Building

Using fossil fuels as the primary way to generate electricity causes a significant effect on the environment. In 2019, more than 64% of the electricity in the United States of America was generated using fossil-fuel resources, while renewable energy (RE) resources contributed to only 17% of the U.S. electricity generation for the same year. Additionally, due to the complex terrain distribution of many states in the U.S., a massive opportunity of utilizing RE resources in rural and remote areas can reduce the cost of electrical grid installation for such areas. In this study, a typical residential building with an average energy utilization of 30.25 kWh/day with a demand peak of 5.34 kW was considered a case study in each state to optimize a hybrid RE system and find the best alternative electrical grid system. This study presents the best configuration between solar and wind energy with different types of energy storage. It was discovered the photovoltaic (PV) solar panels—diesel generators with battery best services in all states. The daily radiation and diesel prices substantially affect the levelized cost of energy (COE) values in each state.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Enhancing Power Resilience for Remote Communities: A Comprehensive Renewable Energy Solution for Itbayat Island

The island of Itbayat, Philippines, faces significant challenges in maintaining a reliable and resilient power supply due to its current reliance on a vulnerable power distribution system managed by a local electric cooperative. The existing infrastructure, which includes diesel generators and a radial network configuration with some above-ground lines, is highly susceptible to frequent typhoons and adverse weather conditions. These factors, combined with inadequate staffing and high operational costs, result in frequent power outages that disrupt daily life and hinder economic development. This white paper proposes a comprehensive solution to enhance the resilience and reliability of Itbayat's power system by integrating renewable energy sources, specifically solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, battery storage, and a microgrid controller. The proposed solution aims to reduce dependency on diesel fuel, optimize energy use, and provide a sustainable and robust power supply for the island. Key components of the solution include: 1. Solar PV Installation: Deploying solar PV panels to harness abundant solar energy, reducing reliance on diesel fuel. 2. Battery Storage Systems: Installing battery storage to store excess solar energy and ensure a continuous power supply during low solar generation periods. 3. Microgrid Controller: Implementing a microgrid controller to manage and optimize the integration of solar PV, battery storage, and existing diesel generators. The proposed solution addresses several critical issues, including system vulnerability, generator dependency, and operational inefficiencies. By adopting this innovative approach, Itbayat Island can achieve a more resilient, efficient, and sustainable energy infrastructure, ensuring a stable power supply for its residents and enhancing overall energy security.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Understanding Line Losses and Transformer Losses in Rural Isolated Distribution Systems: Preprint

Rural, isolated power systems in the mainland U.S. and in states like Alaska and Hawaii are powered by assets like diesel generators. These rural, isolated power systems also cannot operate at the higher band of medium voltage (like 69kV). They are primarily in the 12 to 14 kV range to keep the cost of the distribution investments lower. Because of this mid-band medium voltage range, the line losses and distribution transformers losses consume significant diesel consumption (almost 10 percent of the peak load). This work considers one such power system powering an isolated system and presents key findings online losses, and transformer losses. Understanding and documenting the impacts is critical for these communities operating their power systems and take actions to reduce expensive diesel consumption. In this paper, we will present one such typical grid and model it in electromagnetic transients (EMT) domain. We used the tower structure, under ground cabling installation to develop high fidelity models of lines. We also used high fidelity models of distribution transformers to present the no-load losses and full load loses. We will also present technical solutions available commercially off-the-shelf to reduce these losses and reduce diesel consumption. This work will be a primer for communities to understand the technical challenges and to understand the possible solution available to solve such challenges for rural, isolated power system operators.

blackstart↗
DOE OSTI2021

Battery Storage for Resilience

As the capital costs of battery storage systems are decreasing, new opportunities to cost-effectively deploy the technology, often paired with renewable energy technologies, are emerging. At the same time, the duration and frequency of natural disasters is increasing. As a result, a growing number of institutions are deploying battery storage systems as a resilient energy solution because traditional back-up power solutions, like diesel generators, are not always sufficient, especially during longer-duration and larger-scale disasters. This fact sheet describes how battery storage, along with additional generation sources, can be used both to provide cost savings while grid-connected and to provide backup power when the grid goes down.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Enabling the Electrification of Offshore Activities – Co-Demonstration of Next-Generation Autonomous Offshore Power System and Resident, Uncrewed Mobile and Static Assets at PacWave Wave Energy Test Site

Oceans cover two-thirds of the earth's surface and form the world's biggest and best – yet largely untapped – battery. Ocean waves have more energy density than other renewables, including wind, solar, and biomass, and have the potential to supply 4x the world's annual energy consumption (Masterson, 2022; Zic, 2020). In addition to the impact wave energy can have on decarbonizing and diversifying the electric grid, it offers a significant value proposition in the emerging blue economy sector (LiVecchi et al, 2019). The blue economy consists of industries operating offshore, including shipping, oil and gas, defense and security, aquaculture, and research. These industries require bringing people and energy on site to perform daily work, but current energy costs in the blue economy are extremely high. Here, the prevailing processes are complex, including shore dependencies and fuel transportation logistics. Few alternatives for reliable power generation exist, with the most prominent being high cost and high carbon emissions diesel generation. Because of this lack of affordable, reliable power, the trends of electrification, digitization, and automation that have led to substantial innovation and improvements in the terrestrial economy over the last two decades are slow to come to the blue economy.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2026

Unalakleet Microgrid Optimization for Tribal Community Resilience

The Unalakleet Microgrid Optimization Project aimed to strengthen the reliability and efficiency of the isolated electric power system that serves the Tribal community of Unalakleet, Alaska. The community relies entirely on a local wind-diesel microgrid, consisting of four 475 kW diesel generators and six 100 kW wind turbines, to provide electricity to approximately 745 residents and Tribal facilities. Because Unalakleet is not on a road system and is located nearly 400 miles from the nearest major power grid, maintaining a resilient and efficient local energy system is critical. The scope of this project included upgrading a portion of the transmission line between the wind farm and the power plant to increase voltage and reduce line losses, along with modernizing the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to improve monitoring, control, and data management of the power system. These upgrades were designed to increase wind energy utilization, reduce diesel fuel consumption by tens of thousands of gallons annually, and improve overall grid stability. By allowing more of the community’s electricity to be supplied by local renewable wind resources, the project was designed to lower operating costs, reduce dependence on imported fuel, and strengthen the long-term resilience of the power system. These improvements represent an important step toward the community’s long-term energy vision of expanding renewable generation, incorporating energy storage, and eventually achieving “diesels-off” operation, where essential Tribal loads are powered primarily by local renewable resources.

17 WIND ENERGY↗