Results for “electricity prices” — Page 30

DOE OSTI2026

Jijak Gises Project

The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, d.b.a. Gun Lake Tribe (Gun Lake Tribe/Tribe), installed a grid connected 68.87 kW solar photovoltaic array at the Tribe’s Jijak Property located in Hopkins, MI. The array generated 95,070 kWh its first year of operation, 7,014 kWh more than projected. The Jijak Gises solar array saved $\$$12,214 during the first year of production including $\$$6,022 in generation credit and $\$$6,192 in offset electrical cost. The array will save the Tribe more than $\$$312,000 with increasing electric rates during the normal life of the system reducing Gun Lake Tribe’s reliance on other energy resources. Competitive pricing allowed the Tribe to install a second smaller array to power the Jijak Garden. The 4.85kW Jijak Garden Array produced 6,643.96 kWh during its first year of production, 475.95 kwh more than projected saving $\$$1,126 during year one of production including invoice credits and offset energy consumption. Over the first 20 years of the array, it is expected to produce 132,879 kWh of electrical energy, saving over $26,000 over the life of the system.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Capacity Markets for Transactive Energy Systems

Capacity markets provide important incentives for resource adequacy in electricity markets and may become more important for providing sufficient revenue and generation capacity with changes to energy market prices driven by increasing levels of zero marginal cost resources. However, current capacity market designs also have important shortfalls that may limit the benefits they can provide to the future grid. Current capacity markets are primarily designed for participation from conventional thermal generators, but markets are evolving with increasing levels of variable renewable energy resources. However, further reforms may be necessary to enable more participation from DERs and demand-side resources. To understand the benefits and shortfalls of current capacity market design, we review the historical reasons electricity markets have needed capacity markets or capacity payments for resource adequacy, and how current capacity market designs may create challenges for incorporating increasing levels of DERs and demand-side resources. We then consider how transactive systems, which allow the coordination of bids and offers for DERs and demand-side resources through a market interaction approach, administered by a Distribution System Operator (DSO), can address traditional resource adequacy problems due to inelastic consumer demand. We also consider the need for a DSO-level capacity market in helping to meet resource adequacy, reliability, and other electricity market objectives. We find that because the missing money in electricity markets is largely driven by incentives to meet resource adequacy goals, and the bulk grid would always supply power to the DSO, that resource adequacy is unlikely to be a determining factor in the need for a DSO-level capacity market. Many current reliability problems could also be addressed by the incorporation of more flexible demand enabled with transactive energy systems. However, other DSO objectives, including resilience, reactive power, voltage control, environmental policies, and energy equity could lead to specific challenges that could be aided by a DSO-level capacity market. We consider the possibility of a DSO-level capacity market in addressing these challenges as well as its potential role in coordinating with the Independent System Operator (ISO) who operates the wholesale market. We conclude with suggestions for future research, including the need to develop analytical models of DSO-level capacity market designs to address these potential objectives and examine their implications for DSOs and consumers.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2022

The Distribution System Operator with Transactive (DSO+T) Study

The Distribution System Operator with Transactive (DSO+T) study investigates the engineering and economic performance of a transactive energy retail market coordinating a high penetration of customer-side flexible energy assets. The study seeks to answer whether such an implementation is cost effective for customers, recovers sufficient revenue for DSOs, and is equally applicable and beneficial to a range of flexible asset types, renewable generation scenarios, and market assumptions. Using a highly interdisciplinary co-simulation and valuation framework, this assessment encompasses the entire electrical delivery system from bulk system generation and transmission, through the distribution system, to the modeling of individual customer buildings and flexible assets (including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning [HVAC] units, water heaters, batteries, and electric vehicles). The study exercises a transactive energy retail market coordination scheme designed to integrate with an existing day-ahead and real-time competitive wholesale electricity market. Software decision-making agents are designed for the retail market operator as well as various price-responsive flexible assets. The engineering and economic performance of the transactive energy scheme is studied for two separate flexible asset deployments: flexible loads (HVAC units and residential water heaters) and behind-the-meter batteries. The results of each transactive case are compared to a business-as-usual case. These cases are subject to two different renewable generation scenarios, a moderate renewable generation scenario, representative of current levels of renewable generation deployment, and a future high renewables scenario, including the increased deployment of rooftop solar photovoltaic and electric vehicles. The transactive coordination scheme is shown to produce effective and stable control and decrease peak loads 9–15%. The resulting annual demand flexibility provides net economic savings of $3.3–5.0B per year for a region the size of Texas. Detailed analysis shows that net benefits were seen for a range of distribution system operator, customer, and flexible asset types. Both participating customer (with transactive flexible assets) and nonparticipating customers (with nonflexible assets) see reductions in annual utility bills and net annual energy expenses in the range of 10–16%.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Distribution System Operator with Transactive (DSO+T) Study: Volume 1 (Main Report)

The Distribution System Operator with Transactive (DSO+T) study investigates the engineering and economic performance of a transactive energy retail market coordinating a high penetration of customer-side flexible energy assets. The study seeks to answer whether such an implementation is cost effective for customers, recovers sufficient revenue for DSOs, and is equally applicable and beneficial to a range of flexible asset types, renewable generation scenarios, and market assumptions. Using a highly interdisciplinary co-simulation and valuation framework, this assessment encompasses the entire electrical delivery system from bulk system generation and transmission, through the distribution system, to the modeling of individual customer buildings and flexible assets (including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning [HVAC] units, water heaters, batteries, and electric vehicles). The study exercises a transactive energy retail market coordination scheme designed to integrate with an existing day-ahead and real-time competitive wholesale electricity market. Software decision-making agents are designed for the retail market operator as well as various price-responsive flexible assets. The engineering and economic performance of the transactive energy scheme is studied for two separate flexible asset deployments: flexible loads (HVAC units and residential water heaters) and behind-the-meter batteries. The results of each transactive case are compared to a business-as-usual case. These cases are subject to two different renewable generation scenarios, a moderate renewable generation scenario, representative of current levels of renewable generation deployment, and a future high renewables scenario, including the increased deployment of rooftop solar photovoltaic and electric vehicles. The transactive coordination scheme is shown to produce effective and stable control and decrease peak loads 9–15%. The resulting annual demand flexibility provides net economic savings of $3.3–5.0B per year for a region the size of Texas. Detailed analysis shows that net benefits were seen for a range of distribution system operator, customer, and flexible asset types. Both participating customer (with transactive flexible assets) and nonparticipating customers (with nonflexible assets) see reductions in annual utility bills and net annual energy expenses in the range of 10–16%.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Modeling investment decisions from heterogeneous firms under imperfect information and risk in wholesale electricity markets

Not Available

Anwar, Muhammad Bashar (ORCID:0000000291846700)↗

DOE OSTI2022

Electric Vehicle Managed Charging: Forward-Looking Estimates of Bulk Power System Value

When and where electric vehicle charging occurs has significant implications for power systems supporting widespread electric vehicle deployment with high shares of wind and solar generation. Numerous studies have estimated the value of scheduling or otherwise managing electric vehicle charging in such power systems. This study improves on those earlier works by leveraging detailed simulation models for electric vehicle adoption, electric vehicle use, electric vehicle charging, and bulk power system operations; and linking them with methods for describing charging flexibility at both the individual vehicle and aggregate levels. This study closely analyzes electric vehicle managed charging (EVMC) performance along the dimensions of flexibility type (within-charging session or within-week scheduling), dispatch mechanism (direct load control or one of several price-based mechanisms), and participation rate, under the assumptions of ubiquitous chargers and all trips completed on time. The study is located in a passenger light-duty vehicle adoption scenario with 100% electric vehicle sales by 2035, and in an envisioned 2038 New England power system for which within-region generation is 84% clean.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Lithium Iron Aluminum Nickelate, LiNi x Fe y Al z O 2 —New Sustainable Cathodes for Next–Generation Cobalt–Free Li–Ion Batteries

In recent years, cobalt has become a critical constraint on the supply chain of the Li-ion battery industry. Here, with the ever-increasing projections for electric vehicles, the dependency of current Li-ion batteries on the ever-fluctuating cobalt prices poses serious environmental and sustainability issues. To address these challenges, a new class of cobalt-free materials with general formula of LiNi x Fe y Al z O 2 ( x + y + z = 1), termed as the lithium iron aluminum nickelate (NFA) class of cathodes, is introduced. These cobalt-free materials are synthesized using the sol–gel process to explore their compositional landscape by varying aluminum and iron. These NFA variants are characterized using electron microscopy, neutron and X-ray diffraction, and Mössbauer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate their morphological, physical, and crystal-structure properties. Operando experiments by X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and galvanostatic intermittent titration have been also used to study the crystallographic transitions, electrochemical activity, and Li-ion diffusivity upon lithium removal and uptake in the NFA cathodes. NFA compositions yield specific capacities of ≈200 mAh g -1 , demonstrating reasonable rate capability and cycling stability with ≈80% capacity retention after 100 charge/discharge cycles. While this is an early stage of research, the potential that these cathodes could have as viable candidates in next-generation cobalt-free lithium-ion batteries is highlighted here.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Phasor-Based Control for Scalable Solar PV Integration

This project demonstrated that solar PV can be recruited to stabilize the grid, smooth out disturbances, manage power flows, and assist circuit switching operations. It developed a radically new, layered control framework for Distributed Energy Resources (DER) to act in response to real-time, measured conditions on their local distribution circuit, rather than waiting for a price signal to indicate preferred behavior. By enabling resources to act as good citizens on the electric grid, Phasor-Based Control (PBC) facilitates arbitrarily high solar penetration levels.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

The Yucatan Peninsula Energy Assessment: Pathways for a Clean and Sustainable Power System

This report begins with an overview of the status of the power sector in Mexico's Yucatán peninsula, including key challenges, followed by policy and program solutions that pave the way for a cleaner, more sustainable power sector in the Yucatan. This work is intended to provide information to the states of the Yucatán peninsula - Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo - for prioritization and future technical assistance from the 21st Century Power Partnership (21CPP) program, in Mexico including data gathering, capacity building, modelling and analysis, program and policy setting to help the states and the region overall best utilize its resources to meet its electricity needs while implementing energy efficiency measures towards a more sustainable, clean, reliable system with lower prices. This report is also available in Spanish: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/81142.pdf.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Phasor-Based Control for Scalable Solar PV Integration (Final Technical Report)

This project demonstrated that solar PV can be recruited to stabilize the grid, smooth out disturbances, manage power flows, and assist circuit switching operations. It developed a radically new, layered control framework for Distributed Energy Resources (DER) to act in response to real-time, measured conditions on their local distribution circuit, rather than waiting for a price signal to indicate preferred behavior. By enabling resources to act as good citizens on the electric grid, Phasor-Based Control (PBC) facilitates arbitrarily high solar penetration levels.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2021

Energy Assessment of the Yucatan Peninsula: Pathways to a Clean and Sustainable Energy System; Evaluación Energética de la Península de Yucatán: Vías para un Sistema Energético Limpio y Sustentable

Quintana Roo - for prioritization and future technical assistance from the 21st Century Power Partnership (21CPP) program, in Mexico including data gathering, capacity building, modelling and analysis, program and policy setting to help the states and the region overall best utilize its resources to meet its electricity needs while implementing energy efficiency measures towards a more sustainable, clean, reliable system with lower prices.; Este trabajo tiene como objetivo brindar información a los estados de la península de Yucatán - Yucatán, Campeche y Quintana Roo - para priorizar y dar asistencia técnica futura del programa 21st Century Power Partnership (21CPP), en México, incluyendo recolección de datos, desarrollo de capacidades, modelación y análisis, y el establecimiento de programas y políticas para ayudar a los estados y la región en general a utilizar mejor sus recursos, para satisfacer sus necesidades de energía eléctrica, implementando también medidas de eficiencia energética para obtener un sistema más sustentable, limpio y confiable con precios más bajos. This report is also available in English: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/79680.pdf.

21CPP↗

DOE OSTI2022

Produced Water and Waste Heat-aided Blowdown Water Treatment: Using Chemical and Energy Synergisms for Value Creation

The project objective was to develop a cooling blowdown water (BDW) treatment process utilizing produced water (PW) and low-grade heat to maximize water reuse and saleable by-product generation while reducing chemical and energy footprints of the treatment. The proposed treatment process consists of mixing, softening, organics and suspended solids removal, reverse osmosis (RO), thermal desalination, and brine electrolysis. BDW samples collected from a local coal-fired power plant and PW samples from two shale gas production wells were used in this study. Each treatment unit was first designed and tested to quantify its treatment efficiency, and its chemical and energy requirements. In addition, a process model was developed and model simulations were conducted based on the experimental results and literature data to optimize the treatment process. A techno-economic analysis was conducted to quantify chemical and energy savings as well as production of 10-lb brine as a saleable product. With the field-collected BDW and PW samples, mixing experiments determined a volumetric mixing ratio 10:1 (BDW:PW) resulted in the best performance of multivalent ions removal and largest chemical savings for softening. Softening of the BDW/PW mixtures using alkaline chemicals (Na 2 CO 3 and NaOH) achieved 95%-100% removal of scaling-forming cations (Ca, Mg, Fe, Ba, Sr) and 60% of silicon, and 10% of total organic carbon (TOC). The mixing and softening treatments yielded an effluent with total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration of 23 g/L. Activated carbon (AC) filtration removed TOC to a low level (< 3 mg/L) and further removed remaining scale-forming divalent metals and silica from the softened water. The AC filtration resulted in a slight reduction of TDS from 23 g/L to 20 g/L, leaving behind only mostly monovalent ions (i.e., sodium and chloride) in the filtered water. These pretreatments yielded a feed water that met the criteria of the downstream reverse osmosis (RO) to prevent membrane fouling. A cross-flow RO system was used to further concentrate the TDS of the AC effluent. Various factors including TDS, pH, and applied pressure were examined and optimal conditions were determined for the co-treatment process. An integrated process consisting of mixing, softening, AC filtration and RO was used to treat a continuous flow (0.25 – 1.2 L/min, or 0.07 – 0.32 gpm) and successfully generated RO permeate as product water (TDS < 0.5 g/L) for reuse in cooling operation, and a concentrate (TDS ~ 45 g/L) to be further treated in a thermal desalination unit. These flow rates meet the FOA’s criterion of 0.01 – 1 gpm. Overall, the co-treatment of BDW/PW allowed shorter ramp-up time compared to treatment of BDW alone. It resulted in 40% and 55% savings of Na 2 CO 3(s) and NaOH, respectively, compared to treating the BDW and PW individually for the same level of softening. The co-treatment also resulted in a 29% energy saving compared to treatment of BDW only for the level of TDS concentration. A thermal desalination system was designed using CFD simulations and manufactured in the WVU Innovation Hub for further treatment of the RO concentrate to generate 10-lb brine. The system has a design flow rate of 2 gpm and has been successfully tested. A bench-scale brine electrolysis system was developed for on-site generation of chlorine/hypochlorite (Cl 2 /OCl - ) and caustic soda (NaOH) as useful chemicals for the co-treatment process. Using salt solutions (0.5 M and 1 M), the system achieved faradaic efficiencies of 93%-97% and 70%-77% for caustic soda and chlorine/hypochlorite generation, respectively. An economic analysis showed that the electricity costs for on-site generation of these chemicals were significantly lower than the chemical prices offered by suppliers. An industrial-scale process model consisting of mixing, softening, AC filtration, RO, thermal desalination, and brine electrolysis was developed using the Aspen Plus V9 in conjunction with Aspen Custom Modeler V9. The model serves as a solvable Aspen Plus model and as basis to form the costing infrastructure. In addition, techno-economic analysis considering capital, operating, and transportation costs was conducted. An optimization solution showed that produced water for mixing is still advantageous in low quantities. The optimum solution approaches a leveled cost of water (LCW) of 2 $/m 3 which becomes cost competitive with nominal water treatment prices.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Bid-in Price-Sensitive Load: A Comparison with Fixed Load in a Realistic Test System

Bulk power systems operations, in both simulation and practice, are often built on the principle of minimizing production costs, which assumes to first order that demand is fixed and that the only degrees of freedom for balancing generation and load are supply-side unit commitment and dispatch decisions. The purpose of this report is to interrogate the value of welfare-maximizing markets that not only physically balance demand and supply but also ensure that market outcomes provide consumer value by directly maximizing welfare, defined as the value of consumption minus production costs.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Techno-Economic Analysis of a Thermally Integrated Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and Compressed Air Energy Storage Hybrid System

Natural-gas-fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems have the potential for high-efficiency conversion of carbon to power due to the underlying electrochemical conversion process while readily facilitating carbon capture through the separation of the fuel and oxidant sources. Compressed air energy storage (CAES) technology can potentially store significant quantities of energy for later use with a high round-trip efficiency and lower cost when compared with state-of-the-art battery technology. The base load generation capability of SOFC can be coupled with CAES technology to provide a potentially flexible, low-carbon solution to meet the fluctuating electricity demands imposed by the increasing share of intermittent variable renewable energy (VRE) production. SOFC and CAES can be hybridized through thermal integration to maximize power output during periods of high electrical demand and then store power when either demand is low or renewable generation reduces power prices. The techno-economics of a low-carbon hybrid SOFC and CAES system was developed and investigated in the present study. The proposed hybrid system was found to be cost-competitive with other power-generating base-load facilities when power availability was considered. The hybrid system shows increased resilience to changes in a high VRE grid market scenario.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

NASA NTRS1980

ac propulsion system for an electric vehicle

It is pointed out that dc drives will be the logical choice for current production electric vehicles (EV). However, by the mid-80's, there is a good chance that the price and reliability of suitable high-power semiconductors will allow for a competitive ac system. The driving force behind the ac approach is the induction motor, which has specific advantages relative to a dc shunt or series traction motor. These advantages would be an important factor in the case of a vehicle for which low maintenance characteristics are of primary importance. A description of an EV ac propulsion system is provided, taking into account the logic controller, the inverter, the motor, and a two-speed transmission-differential-axle assembly. The main barrier to the employment of the considered propulsion system in EV is not any technical problem, but inverter transistor cost.

Geppert, S.↗

NASA NTRS1983

A summary of EHV propulsion technology

While the battery used by an electric vehicle is the primary determinant of range, and to a lesser extent of performance, the design of the vehicle's propulsion system establishes its performance level and is the greatest contributor to its purchase price. Propulsion system weight, efficiency and cost are related to the specific combination of components used. Attention is given to the development status of the U.S. Department of Energy's Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Program, through which propulsion component and system design improvements have been made which promise weight savings of 35-50 percent, efficiency gains of 25 percent, and lower costs, when compared to the state of the art at the program's inception.

Schwartz, H. J.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Sustainable Coal Tar Pitch Carbon Fiber Manufacturing

Coal is a versatile resource that has historically propelled the Industrial Revolution, transportation, and energy generation, and continues to meet needs for power. The United States possesses the largest worldwide coal reserves (with a 2019 total production-to-recoverable-reserves ratio of 0.05) that are of high quality and are cost-effective to recover (i.e., $0.03/kg–$0.10/kg). However, the demand of coal for power generation has declined because of a shift to natural gas (because of lower natural gas prices) and to renewable energy sources. This decline has affected the economic viability US coal industry. Historically, domestic demand for coal was driven mostly by the electric power sector, which accounts for about 93% of the total demand, followed by industrial uses (primarily for cement and chemicals at a minimal level) and steel production (coke). The complex, dense carbon chemical structure of coal, abundant domestic supply, and stable, low price gives it great potential for use in a wide range of value-added non-fuel coal products (e.g., nanomaterials at $20,000/kg–$100,000/kg and commercial-grade carbon fiber at $22/kg–$33/kg), as well as in upgraded coal fuels.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2020

Recent Changes to U.S. Coal Plant Operations and Current Compensation Practices

Over the last decade, the U.S. electric power sector has gone through one of the most dramatic changes in its existence. The combination of low natural gas prices as a result of the shale gas revolution and significant reduction in construction and operating costs for renewable resources, in part due to federal tax credits such as the production tax credit and investment tax credit mainly benefitting wind and solar, respectively, has resulted in a significant shift away from coal-fired generation, and instead towards natural gas and renewable generation. Furthermore, the operating profile of existing coal-fired electric generating units has changed significantly. As new natural gas combined cycle plants have become increasingly more efficient and cheaper to operate than older existing coal-fired power plants, coal units continue to lose baseload generation share and more frequently operate as load-following, or cycling, resources. These trends are of particular importance to state public utility commissions. Functioning as economic regulators, commissions oversee investments in a reliable, efficient system while balancing emissions goals, customer demands, and other policy objectives. Changes to coal plant operations as a result of increased competition from other fuel sources may have a bearing on system reliability and economics, and therefore constitute an important area for commissions to monitor.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗