Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “distributed energy management system”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 595 records · Page 33

Preparing Distribution Utilities for the Future - Unlocking Demand-Side Management Potential: A Novel Analytical Framework

The balance of supply and demand in the power systems has traditionally been served solely through generation and network capacity planning and operations. However, with increased requirements for flexibility due to the uptake in variable renewable generation sources such as wind and solar there is a need to increased demand-side flexibility. In addition, there are increased communications and flexibility capabilities emerging on the demand-side from the adoption of advanced metering infrastructures and smart meter deployment and intelligent loads such as smart thermostats and schedulable white goods (e.g. dishwashers and washing machines). Unlocking demand-side flexibility can bring system benefits from peak load reduction bringing about generation capacity and network upgrade deferral, to reducing demand and more efficient utilization of generation and network capacity. Unlocking demand-side flexibility is an evolving process for utilities and solutions must be tailored to each specific customer group. Demand-side management (DSM) is a broad set of tools that can include demand response (both dispatchable and non-dispatchable), energy efficiency and distributed energy resources and demand-side technologies. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in collaboration with BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd. (BRPL) and Deloitte, examined the potential of DSM in BRPL’s service territory, developing detailed information on customer classes and willingness to participate in DSM. The study developed modeling frameworks for load analysis and the analysis tools to assess the potential of time-of-use tariffs in motivating customers to reduce their peak period energy consumption. The study shows that BRPL customers, specifically their domestic customers, are willing to participate in DSM programs and that time-of-use pricing can help BRPL reduce their peak demand and help unlock demand-side flexibility.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Deep Cyber-Physical Situational Awareness for Energy Systems: A Secure Foundation for Next-Generation Energy Management

This document provides the final report for the CYPRES project. The purpose is (1) to highlight and summarize its major accomplishments and (2) to provide guidance on how its outcomes have informed and can inform important additional research and technology transfer. The goal of CYPRES was the research, development, and demonstration of a security-oriented next generation cyber-physical EMS for electric power systems that detects malicious and abnormal events through the fusion of cyber and physical data. To achieve this, the CYPRES project team researched, developed, and built a prototype of the solution, referred to as the CYPRES EMS. The CYPRES EMS is a proof-of-concept cyber-physical platform that demonstrates the management of the energy system, communications, security, and cyber-physical grid modeling and analytics. As part of the capabilities of the CYPRES EMS, the team designed and developed a suite of power system applications for monitoring, risk analyses, detection, and control that are inherently cyberaware. At its core, the project aimed to research, develop, and demonstrate a security-oriented next-generation cyber-physical Energy Management System (EMS) capable of detecting malicious and abnormal events through the innovative fusion of cyber and physical data. This approach represents a fundamental shift from traditional EMS, reimagining how critical infrastructure can be protected through unified cyber-aware and physics-aware secure data flow pipelines. The project’s cornerstone deliverable, the CYPRES EMS, serves as a proof-of-concept cyber-physical platform that revolutionizes the management of energy systems, communications, security, and cyber-physical grid modeling and analytics. This prototype implements a comprehensive suite of power system applications for monitoring, risk analyses, detection, and control, all designed with inherent cyber awareness. The system’s architecture extends from end-devices in the field through to control center applications, establishing a secure and resilient control framework that addresses the challenges posed by diverse devices of unknown trustworthiness connecting to modern power systems. Through this innovative approach to deep cyber-physical situational awareness, the CYPRES project not only advances the state-of-the-art in energy infrastructure protection but also establishes a new paradigm for how EMS can be designed, deployed, and operated in an increasingly complex threat landscape. The findings and developments from this project provide crucial insights for stakeholders across the energy sector, offering a blueprint for enhancing the reliability and resilience of our nation’s critical energy infrastructure in the face of evolving cyber threats.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Benefits of 20 kHz PMAD in a nuclear space station

Compared to existing systems, high frequency ac power provides higher efficiency, lower cost, and improved safety benefits. The 20 kHz power system has exceptional flexibility, is inherently user friendly, and is compatible with all types of energy sources; photovoltaic, solar dynamic, rotating machines and nuclear. A 25 kW, 20 kHz ac power distribution system testbed was recently (1986) developed. The testbed possesses maximum flexibility, versatility, and transparency to user technology while maintaining high efficiency, low mass, and reduced volume. Several aspects of the 20 kHz power management and distribution (PMAD) system that have particular benefits for a nuclear power Space Station are discussed.

Sundberg, Gale R.↗

torc (Torc Workflow Management System) [SWR-24-127]

This software package orchestrates execution of a workflow of jobs on distributed computing resources. It is optimized for use on HPCs with Slurm, but also can be used in the cloud and on local computers. Please refer to the documentation at https://nrel.github.io/torc

Thom, Daniel [National Renewable Energy Laboratory↗

Design of a power management and distribution system for a thermionic-diode powered spacecraft

The Electrical Systems Development Branch of the Power Technology Division at the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio is designing a Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) System for the Air Force's Integrated Solar Upper Stage (ISUS) Engine Ground Test Demonstration (EGD). The ISUS program uses solar-thermal propulsion to perform orbit transfers from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) and from LEO to Molnya. The ISUS uses the same energy conversion receiver to perform the LEO to High Earth Orbit (HEO) transfer and to generate on-orbit electric power for the payloads. On-orbit power generation is accomplished via two solar concentrators heating a dual-cavity graphite-core which has Thermionic Diodes (TMD's) encircling each cavity. The graphite core and concentrators together are called the Receiver and Concentrator (RAC). The TDM-emitters reach peak temperatures of approximately 2200K, and the TID-collectors are run at approximately 1000K. Because of the high Specific Impulse (I(sup sp)) of solar thermal propulsion relative to chemical propulsion, and because a common bus is used for communications, GN&C, power, etc., a substantial increase in payload weight is possible. This potentially allows for a stepdown in the required launch vehicle size or class for similar payload weight using conventional chemical propulsion and a separate spacecraft bus. The ISUS power system is to provide 1000W(sub e) at 28+/-6V(sub dc) to the payload/spacecraft from a maximum TID generation capability of 1070W(sub e) at 2200K. Producing power with this quality, protecting the spacecraft from electrical faults and accommodating operational constraints of the TID's are the responsibilities of the PMAD system. The design strategy and system options examined along with the proposed designs for the Flight and EGD configurations are discussed herein.

Kimnach, Greg L.↗

Distributed Resources for the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) Advanced Management (DREAM). Final Report

Distributed Resources for the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) Advanced Management (DREAM) is a proposed system that will enable data from an infinite number of diverse sources to be organized and accessed from anywhere using any handheld or other computer device. The approach offers a powerful roadmap for the creation and integration of a unified knowledge base of an entire ecosystem, including its many geophysical, geographical, social, political, agricultural, energy, transportation, and cyber aspects. The resulting aggregation of data has the potential to generate an informational universe of unprecedented size that has never before been possible due to the prohibitive costs, managerial complexity, and technical barriers associated with ever-changing exponential-growth data flows. We envision that DREAM will accelerate discovery by enabling climate researchers, among other types of researchers, to manage, analyze, and visualize data from earth-scale measurements and simulations. DREAM’s success will be built on proven components that leverage existing services and resources. A key building block for DREAM will be the ESGF, chaired by Dean N. Williams. Expanding on the existing ESGF, the project will ensure that the access, storage, movement, and analysis of the large quantities of data that are processed and produced by diverse science projects can be dynamically distributed with proper resource management. Much of the Office of Science data is currently generated by multiple stand-alone facilities. DREAM can collect data accumulated from these facilities and incorporate it into a fully integrated network accessible from anywhere in the world. The result is a completely new paradigm shift for data management, analysis, and visualization enabling researchers to: Manage their calculations, data, tools, and research results; Ensure that all data are sharable, reproducible and (re)usable—accompanied by appropriate metadata describing its provenance, syntax, and semantics at creation; Advance application performance by selectively adapting APIs and services in response to scientific requirements and architectural complexities; and Provide scalable interactive resource management—navigate data and metadata at multiple levels, provide architecture-aware data integration, analysis and visualization tools. We will engage closely with DOE, NASA, and NOAA science groups working at the leading edge of computing. These engagements—in domains such as biology, climate, and hydrology—will allow us to advance disciplinary science goals and inform our development of technologies that can accelerate discovery across DOE more broadly. We will advertise and promote our technologies via dedicated workshops, tutorials, and sessions at conferences, stand-alone events with broad inter-disciplinary invitation, and engagements with leadership facilities.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Artificial Intelligence-Driven Management of Sustainable Energy Resources: Visibility, Operation, and Control

The rapid global transition toward sustainable energy resources (SERs) is reshaping how modern power systems are observed, optimized, and controlled. While SERs have significantly advanced decarbonization, their weather dependence, variability, and inverter-dominated characteristics challenge traditional, centralized, and deterministic grid operation. At the same time, the proliferation of high-resolution data from inverters, smart meters, and sensors offers unprecedented visibility into system dynamics. Yet, it also exceeds the analytical capability of conventional model-based approaches. Artificial intelligence (AI) provides a new foundation for addressing these challenges by bridging physical laws with data-driven learning, enabling accurate state awareness, adaptive operation, and coordinated control across distributed assets. This article examines how AI transforms the management of SER-rich power systems along three critical dimensions: 1) enhancing visibility by inferring behind-the-meter (BTM) activities, assessing SER flexibility, and reconstructing system states from sparse or noisy measurements; 2) improving operation through AI-enhanced SER service provision, volt/var control (VVC), and dynamic operating envelopes (DOE) for efficiency and security; and 3) advancing control by embedding learning-based intelligence into inverter coordination, voltage and frequency regulation, and long-term dispatch. Together, these developments reveal how AI can convert the variability of SERs from an operational challenge into a source of flexibility, resilience, and intelligence, paving the way toward sustainable, adaptive, and self-optimizing power systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Cybersecurity Technical Assistance Capabilities Overview [Slides]

Electric grids around the world are undergoing rapid structural and operational change, making it more important than ever to understand evolving risks and improve grid resilience and security against natural and human disruptions. Through tailored technical assistance, NREL is working with partners to support the secure and resilient deployment of energy systems and address grid integration challenges.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Enabling Fairness in Distributed PV Curtailment for Voltage Regulation: A Comparative Analysis

The growing adoption of photovoltaic systems in power distribution networks has yielded numerous advantages, but it has also introduced challenges, particularly in managing overvoltage issues. Uncoordinated photovoltaic integration can lead to voltage rise beyond acceptable levels. Curtailing active power is an effective method for addressing overvoltage issues in power distribution systems. Nevertheless, it is essential to distribute the curtailment fairly among the resources to maintain fairness and achieve a well-balanced utilization of renewable energy. This paper presents a comparative study of different fairness schemes for active power curtailment in photovoltaic integration systems. Three different curtailment methods are selected for demonstration: i) proportional, ii) egalitarian, and iii) financial. The study involves evaluating the curtailment schemes based on their ability to distribute the curtailed power among the photovoltaic systems in a justifiable manner, focusing on their formulation and distributed solution. A detailed performance comparison is carried out to highlight the cost of catering for fairness schemes in photovoltaic curtailment using relevant metrics, where simulations are carried out using a modified IEEE 123-bus test case.

Mukherjee, Monish↗

Modeling Framework for Data Center

This chapter highlights the critical need for advanced modeling of data centers due to their rapidly increasing energy consumption and impact on grid reliability. Driven by the demand for AI applications, data centers are projected to consume a significant portion of US energy by 2028, putting stress on an already challenged power grid. The chapter emphasizes the importance of "fast" time-scale models to understand the dynamic interactions between data centers and the grid, especially given the rapid power fluctuations of AI workloads. It outlines a modeling framework that includes both offline and real-time EMT domain simulations, detailing the necessary representations for various components like utility interfaces, transformers, IT loads, UPS, cooling loads, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), generators, protection systems, and higher-level control systems. While standard simulation tools like PSCAD offer basic models, custom development is often required to accurately capture the unique and fast-changing behaviors of modern data centers. The chapter also discusses key metrics and test cases for validating these models, focusing on transient load responses, protection relay coordination, and demand flexibility. Finally, it addresses the challenges of modeling large-scale data centers, such as computational complexity and the trade-off between model fidelity and practicality, suggesting hybrid modeling approaches as a solution. The overarching goal is to create a robust framework that helps assess data center impacts on grid stability, identify vulnerabilities, and inform the development of standards for reliable integration of these large loads into the bulk power system.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

U.S. Department of Energy Competitiveness Improvement Project 2024 Technology Commercialization Awardee: Intelligent Energy Systems

This fact sheet describes the 2024 Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) award received by Intelligent Energy Systems for technology commercialization. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) CIP awards cost-shared subcontracts and technical support to manufacturers of small and medium-sized wind turbines. Managed by NLR on behalf of DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office, CIP helps advance wind energy as a cost-effective, distributed-generation technology option.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Calibration of urban building energy model using smart meter data for district peak load prediction

Urban building energy modeling (UBEM) is a powerful approach to assessing baseline building energy performance and retrofits with new technologies across building stocks in cities. However, the accuracy of UBEM is often constrained by the limited availability of reliable data about building characteristics and operations, such as envelope efficiency levels, HVAC system performance, and end-use load patterns. Existing research has performed UBEM calibration using annual or monthly energy consumption data, which falls short when higher-resolution time series applications are needed, such as peak load prediction for utility operation planning. This study presents a new framework for calibrating building energy models at urban scale using smart meter data, targeting the accurate prediction of summer peak electricity loads to support robust grid planning. The framework first integrates various data sources to enhance baseline input assumptions for building models, and then calibrates the baseline models through a pattern-matching approach. A case study using CityBES and two years of AMI data from over 9000 residential customers in Portland, Oregon, demonstrated the workflow and its effectiveness. The calibrated models achieved a daily peak load mean absolute percentage error of 2.6 % during the heatwave in the calibration year, and 2.0 % in the validation year using another year of AMI data. Using the calibrated models, we analyzed the demand flexibility potential of the district building stock as an application of UBEM calibration. The findings affirm the appropriate use of UBEM for peak electric load forecasting and demand side management at the utility distribution system level.

AMI data↗

Optimized V1G and V2G Electric Vehicle Fleet Management and Grid Transaction at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, CA

The overall technical goal of the project was to demonstrate an all-electric bi-directional non-tactical fleet at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar that was integrated and controlled with other distributed energy resources (DERs) (i.e., PV, stationary battery, and building loads) to provide resilience to critical electric loads in the event of grid outages, to minimize charging costs, and to provide economic energy resources to electricity markets. In this project, the specific, technical objectives were: 1. Demonstrate that bi-directional electric vehicles can provide critical complementary services to fixed storage batteries in microgrid applications while performing function as non-tactical vehicles. 2. Demonstrate participation of bi-directional (V2G) and unidirectional (V1G) PEVs for demand management and minimization of charging costs. 3. Demonstrate integration of multiple DERs for grid service participation. US Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar in San Diego was the site of this electric vehicle-to-microgrid-utility grid test and demonstration project. Existing microgrid assets in this study included (1) a public works building; (2) a 30-kW rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system and (3) a separate 250 kW carport PV system. In this project, six bi-directional V2G vans were located at the MCAS Miramar’s showcase building-scale microgrid to develop and test technical capabilities that V2G can provide in microgrid applications (e.g., cost reduction and resiliency). These resources provided aggregated demand management and simulated participation in current retail DR programs. The vehicles used in this demonstration were selected because they provided functionality that MCAS Miramar needed, 15 passenger transport and facilities work cargo carrying capacity, and bi-directional charging capability that the research project required. All vehicles in this study were manufactured and distributed by VIA Motors, Inc. There were six vehicles total and each was VIA’s VTRUX eREV V2G model, a modified General Motors Chevrolet 2500 2WD van. Three of the vans were configured as passenger vans and the other three were configured as cargo vans. Each van had an on-board bi-direcrtional inverter/charger, Bel Power Solutions model 350INVCHGT150-120-240-8G nominally rated at +/-15 kW. The VIA van’s charging connector follows the J1772 charging protocol. The bi-directional EVSEs demonstrated in this study were manufactured by Coritech, Inc. Each VGI-80-AC charging station enabled enhanced V2G charging capability to a Clipper Creek CS-100 charging module. The enhanced capabilities included ethernet communication following the SEP2.0 protocol with a distributed energy resource function set and an operator screen displaying real-time SOC, voltage, and current. The VGI-80-AC charging stations are classified as level 2 with a maximum current output of 80 A or effectively 19 kW. The VIA van’s onboard charger limited the charging and discharging power to 15 kW in each direction. A control computer was installed in the EWOC and connected to an existing monitor. The V2G control communication network was a completely stand-alone closed system that did not have any connection to any other networks on the base. A cybersecure remote communication connection was created with a cellular modem, firewall hardware, and a virtual private network configuration.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Development of a DC Distribution Testbed for High-Power EV Charging

This paper explores the design and implementation of a power hardware-in-the-loop (P-HIL) setup for DC distribution infrastructure integrated with high-power charging (HPC) of electric vehicles (EVs), DC loads, and sources. The utilization of DC distribution holds significant potential for enhancing the operation of a HPC station architecture. However, there are challenges establishing a DC charging hub including interoperability, commoditization, distributed energy resource integration, stability, DC protection, and lack of common system level controllers. To address these challenges, a testing setup is required that accommodates commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products to evaluate different use cases at rated power and voltage levels. The developed P-HIL setup features a dedicated DC charging hub, DC-coupled chargers, DC loads/sources, DC protection, and a communication architecture. The integrated P-HIL system provides a versatile testing environment to address technology and interoperability gaps and implements a smart energy management system (SEMS). This platform enables comprehensive and robust testing of COTS devices, charger prototypes, SEMS controllers and protection schemes, which together will accelerate transition to EVs at scale. The setup is tested for various use-cases at full-scale, integrating 950 V DC bus voltage, 660 kW grid-tied inverter, 150 kW COTS charger, and 100 kW energy storage system within an open-source SEMS platform.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,POWER TRANSMISSION AND↗

Accelerating Resilience of the Community through Holistic Engagement and use of Renewables (ARCHER) Planning Framework

The primary objective of the Accelerating Resilience of the Community through Holistic Engagement and Use of Renewables (ARCHER) initiative was to identify and incorporate the unique variations in energy burden, social vulnerability, living conditions, and access to essential services that differ across communities. By accounting for these localized factors—down to the neighborhood level—the project supports more targeted and effective investments in community resilience. The framework seeks to establish practical planning guidance, methods, and performance measures for community energy resilience, integrate community-level and electric utility system resilience planning, and assess its effectiveness through comparison with conventional and operational planning approaches. A key component of the project was its data exchange platform, which is used to evaluate and demonstrate the tools, methodologies, and planning approaches developed through ARCHER. This open-source platform enables developers and vendors of distribution and outage management systems to build upon the research by incorporating its concepts into their own tools and workflows. This capability is enabled by the transparent availability of data, functional requirements, and the underlying information model. The project yielded several important insights. First, meaningful engagement with communities is essential to achieving comprehensive resilience outcomes. Second, resilience planning is most effective when electric grid considerations and broader community needs are addressed in a coordinated manner. Third, the use of platforms that allow for real-time input from communities can enhance utility responsiveness during restoration activities. Fourth, a structured and systematic planning approach can successfully translate ARCHER concepts into practice. Fifth, the development of an integrated metric that reflects both grid performance and community impacts provides a more holistic basis for evaluating resilience. Finally, incorporating community engagement and equity considerations into grid operations is critical, particularly during severe weather events that result in extended outages.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Communications Reliability for Vehicle Grid Integration

Electric Vehicles (EVs) adoption rate has been steadily increasing in the US leading to a growing number of charging stations including faster DC (Direct Current) chargers and slower Level 1 and Level 2 AC (Alternating Current) chargers. This increase in demand for electricity is further exacerbated by recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, advanced manufacturing, and digitization. These factors will require electric utilities to upgrade their infrastructure to keep up with the increasing electrical demand (especially during peak hours). An easy way to counteract the need for these upgrades is to shift a major chunk of active charge sessions (durations where there is energy transfer from charger to EV's propulsion battery) to off-peak hours thereby flattening the load curve and making the infrastructure more resilient. This concept is known as Smart Charge Management (SCM). EV owners also benefit from SCM since it lowers their charging costs and consequently their transportation costs by prioritizing charging during off-peak hours. SCM takes advantage of EV's capability to act as a controllable load or DER (Distributed Energy Resource). This report summarizes the reliability analysis performed on the communication required for two of these SCM use-cases. This analysis only focuses on SCM strategies for unidirectional charging (energy transfer from EVSE to EV or V1G) and not bidirectional charging.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

3D Photocatalytic Air Processor for Dramatic Reduction of Life Support Mass and Complexity

To dramatically reduce the cost and risk of CO2 management systems in future extended missions, we have conducted preliminary studies on the materials and device development for advanced "artificial photosynthesis" reaction systems termed the High Tortuosity PhotoElectroChemical (HTPEC) system. Our Phase I studies have demonstrated that HTPEC operates in much the same way a tree would function, namely directly contacting the cabin air with a photocatalyst in the presence of light and water (as humidity) to immediately conduct the process of CO2 reduction to O2 and useful, "tunable" carbon products. This eliminates many of the inefficiencies associated with current ISS CO2 management systems. We have laid the solid foundation for Phase II work to employ novel and efficient reactor geometries, lighting approaches, 3D manufacturing methods and in-house grown novel catalytic materials.The primary objective of the proposed work is to demonstrate the scientific and engineering foundation for light-activated, compact devices capable of converting CO2 to O2 and mission-relevant carbon compounds. The proposed HTPEC CO2 management system will demonstrate a novel pathway with high efficiency and reliability in a compact, lightweight reactor architecture. The proposed HTPEC air processing concept can be developed in multiple architectures, such as centralized processing as well as "artificial leaves" distributed throughout the cabin that utilize pre-existing cabin ventilation (wind). Additionally, HTPEC can be deployed with spectrally tunable collection channels for selectable product generation. HTPEC employs light as its only energy source to remove and convert waste CO2 using a non-toxic composite catalyst.We have demonstrated in the Phase I studies the production, tunability and robustness of the novel composite catalysts following the preliminary work in the Chen laboratory. Additionally, we have designed, fabricated and tested all components of HTPEC device with active materials, including flow modeling to optimize flow mixing and pressure drop as well as the production of ethylene and other larger hydrocarbons. To best determine how this technology could be implemented, we also performed system integration optimization and trade studies. This includes parameters such as mass, volume, power in relation to selected mission configurations, CO2 delivery methods and light source/delivery approaches.

Artificial Photosynthesis↗

Functional Assessment of Shell Recharge Solutions' SKY™ Platform OpenADR Capability

The project’s overall objective is to research, develop, and conduct a wide-scale demonstration of a utility smart charge management (SCM) system to develop optimal managed charging structures for grid value, evaluate the impact of EV charging on local distribution utility operations, and evaluate the utilities’ ability to control electronic vehicle (EV) charging load based on grid conditions. This report covers Argonne’s validation testing in the first period of the project, the objective of which was to determine the current managed charging functionality of the EVSE hardware, the network and the vehicle telematics software solution and understand gaps that need to be addressed prior to a large-scale demonstration.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗