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At least 73 records · Page 4

National Cost-Effectiveness of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2022

The purpose of this analysis is to examine the cost-effectiveness of the 2022 edition of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1, which is developed by the ASHRAE Standard Standing Project Committee (SSPC) 90.1 and is the model energy standard for all commercial buildings and multifamily residential buildings over three floors. PNNL analyzed the cost-effectiveness of changes in Standard 90.1-2022, compared to the previous 90.1-2019 edition, as applied in commercial buildings across the United States. In reviewing proposed changes to Standard 90.1, the SSPC considers the cost-effectiveness of individual changes (addenda). Due to the continuous nature of the development process, however, ASHRAE does not evaluate the entire package of addenda from one edition of the standard to the next, which is of particular interest to adopting state and local governments. Providing states with an analysis of cost-effectiveness facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of the impacts associated with updated model energy codes, informs the state decision-making process and its authorities, and ultimately encourages greater adoption of updated energy codes. This information also informs the development of future editions of Standard 90.1.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Driving Uptake for Energy Efficiency Financing Programs: Marketing and Outreach, Partnership Networks, and Program Design Considerations

Many energy efficiency financing programs could achieve greater uptake and impact by more effectively recruiting participants. This report examines some of the primary factors that have contributed to high participant uptake among successful financing programs. We review best practices in partnerships (Chapter 2), direct marketing (Chapter 3), and program design (Chapter 4) that facilitate robust participation. This report is primarily designed for state and local governments that have established energy efficiency financing programs or are considering doing so and are seeking insight into how they can ramp up program participation. In disseminating lessons learned from well-established programs that have experienced success in their target markets, the objective is to help scale up the large number of energy efficiency financing programs that seek to replicate these successes. This report can inform states, local governments, and other entities that will establish or expand clean energy financing programs with funding made available under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Direct local parametrization of nuclear state densities using the back-shifted Bethe formula

Level densities are often parametrized using the back-shifted Bethe formula (BBF) for nuclei that possess experimental data for s-wave neutron resonance average spacings and a complete discrete level sequence at low excitation energies. However, these parametrizations require the additional modeling of the dependence of the spin-cutoff parameter on excitation energy. Here, in this work, we avoid the need to model the spin distribution of level densities by using the experimental data to parametrize directly the state densities, for which the BBF does not depend on the spin-cutoff parameter. This approach allows for a local parameterization of state densities that is independent of the spin-cutoff parameter. We provide these parameters in a tabulated form for applications in nuclear reaction calculations and for testing microscopic approaches to state densities.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Spontaneous Localization at a Potential Saddle Point from Edge State Reconstruction in a Quantum Hall Point Contact

Quantum point contacts (QPCs) are an essential component in mesoscopic devices. Here, in this work, we study the transmission of quantum Hall edge modes through a gate-defined QPC in monolayer graphene. We observe resonant tunneling peaks and a nonlinear conductance pattern characteristic of Coulomb-blockaded localized states. The in-plane electric polarizability reveals the states are localized at a classically unstable electrostatic saddle point. We explain this unexpected finding within a self-consistent Thomas-Fermi model, finding that localization of a zero-dimensional state at the saddle point is favored whenever the applied confinement potential is sufficiently soft compared to the Coulomb energy. Our results provide a direct demonstration of Coulomb-driven reconstruction at the boundary of a quantum Hall system.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Interplay of Kondo physics with incommensurate charge density waves in CeTe 3

CeTe 3 is a 2-dimensional (2D) Van der Waals (VdW) material with incommensurate charge density waves (CDW), extremely high transition temperature (T CDW ), and a large momentum-dependent CDW gap that leaves a significant portion of the Fermi surface intact. It is also considered to be a weak Kondo system, a property unexpected for a material with incommensurate CDW, where each atomic site is slightly different. Here, we study the properties of the CDW state in several RTe3 (R is rare earth) materials and examine the hybridization of itinerant states with the localized Ce 4f multiplet in CeTe 3 by using angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We find that the renormalization of the itinerant states originating from the hybridization with the deeper localized 4f states at −260 meV is k−dependent and extends to the Fermi level. As these localized states are far from the Fermi level, the observed hybridization affects the effective masses only marginally and does not lead to heavy fermions. However, since the same renormalizing mechanism normally leads to the heavy fermion physics when the localized 4f states are near the Fermi level, our observation of its strong k−dependence suggests that this could be the reason for discrepancy between the heavy masses in specific heat and light ones in Shubnikov de Haas oscillations, often observed in heavy fermions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Hund’s flat band in a frustrated spinel oxide

Electronic flat bands associated with quenched kinetic energy and heavy electron mass have attracted great interest for promoting strong electronic correlations and emergent phenomena such as high-temperature charge fractionalization and superconductivity. Intense experimental and theoretical research has been devoted to establishing the rich nontrivial metallic and heavy fermion phases intertwined with such localized electronic states. Here, in this study, we investigate the transition metal oxide spinel LiV 2 O 4 , an enigmatic heavy fermion compound lacking localized f orbital states. We use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and dynamical mean-field theory to reveal a kind of correlation-induced flat band with suppressed interatomic electron hopping arising from intra-atomic Hund’s coupling. The appearance of heavy quasiparticles is ascribed to a proximate orbital-selective Mott state characterized by fluctuating local moments as evidenced by complementary magnetotransport measurements. The spectroscopic fingerprints of long-lived quasiparticles and their disappearance with increasing temperature further support the emergence of a high-temperature “bad” metal state observed in transport data. This work resolves a long-standing puzzle on the origin of heavy fermion behavior and unconventional transport in LiV 2 O 4 . Simultaneously, it opens a path to achieving flat bands through electronic interactions in d-orbital systems with geometrical frustration, potentially enabling the realization of exotic phases of matter such as the fractionalized Fermi liquids.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Excitation and tunneling spectra of a fractional quantum Hall system in the thin-cylinder limit

Here, the excitations of fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) states have been largely inaccessible to experimental probes until recently. New electron scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) results from Hu et al. [Nat. Phys. 21, 716 (2025)] show promise in detecting and identifying these excited states via the local density of states (LDOS) spectrum. On a torus, there exists a mapping from the lowest Landau level states to a 1D lattice with a Hamiltonian that features dipole moment conservation. In this work, we apply perturbation theory starting from the thin-cylinder limit (𝐿 𝑥 → ∞, 𝐿 𝑦 < 𝑙 𝐵 for torus dimensions 𝐿 𝑥 and 𝐿 𝑦 and magnetic length 𝑙 𝐵 ) to obtain an analytical approach to the low-lying neutral and charged excitations of the 𝜈 = 1/3 FQHE state. Notably, in the thin cylinder, we can systematically enumerate all the low-lying excitations by the patterns of “dipoles” formed by the electron occupation pattern on the 1D lattice. We find that the thin-cylinder limit predicts a significant dispersion of the low-lying neutral excitations but sharpness of the LDOS spectra, which measure charged excitations. We also discuss connections between our work and several different approaches to the FQHE STM spectra, including those using the composite fermion theory. Numerical exact diagonalization beyond the thin-cylinder limit suggests that the energies of charged excitations remain largely confined to a narrow range of energies, which in experiments might appear as a single peak.

Adhidewata, Jyesta M. [University of California, B↗

Stabilizing Non-Abelian Topological Order Against Heralded Noise via Local Lindbladian Dynamics

An important open question for the current generation of highly controllable quantum devices is understanding which phases can be realized as stable steady states under local quantum dynamics. In this work, we show how robust steady-state phases with both Abelian and non-Abelian mixed-state topological order can be stabilized, in two spatial dimensions, against generic “heralded” noise using active dynamics that incorporate measurement and feedback, modeled as a fully local Lindblad master equation. These topologically ordered steady states are two-way connected to pure topologically ordered ground states using local quantum channels, and preserve quantum information for a time that is exponentially large in the system size. Specifically, we present explicit constructions of families of local Lindbladians for both Abelian (ℤ 2 ) and non-Abelian (𝐷 4 ) topological order whose steady states host mixed-state topological order when the noise is below a threshold strength. As the noise strength is increased, these models exhibit first-order transitions to intermediate mixed-state phases where they encode robust classical memories, followed by (first-order) transitions to a trivial steady state at high noise rates. When the noise is imperfectly heralded, steady-state order disappears but our active dynamics significantly enhances the lifetime of the encoded logical information. To carry out the numerical simulations for the non-Abelian 𝐷 4 case, we introduce a generalized stabilizer tableau formalism that permits efficient simulation of the non-Abelian Lindbladian dynamics.

Monte Carlo methods↗

Unsupervised discovery of extreme weather events using universal representations of emergent organization

Spontaneous self-organization is ubiquitous in systems far from thermodynamic equilibrium. While organized structures that emerge dominate transport properties, universal representations that identify and describe these key objects remain elusive. Here, we introduce a theoretically grounded framework for describing emergent organization that, via data-driven algorithms, is constructive in practice. Its building blocks are spacetime lightcones that embody how information propagates across a system through local interactions. We show that predictive equivalence classes of lightcones—local causal states—capture organized behaviors in complex spatiotemporal systems. Employing an unsupervised physics-informed machine learning algorithm and a high-performance computing implementation, we demonstrate automatically discovering organized structures in two real-world domain science problems. We show that local causal states identify vortices and track their power-law decay behavior in two-dimensional fluid turbulence. We then show how to detect and track familiar extreme weather events—hurricanes and atmospheric rivers—and discover other novel structures associated with precipitation extremes in high-resolution climate data at the grid-cell level.

Rupe, Adam [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory ↗

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2023

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), one of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science’s 10 national laboratories, provides innovative science and technology development in the areas of energy and the environment, fundamental and computational science, and national security. There are three DOE offices within the Richland area. Two are responsible for the Hanford Site, whereas the Pacific Northwest Site Office oversees PNNL. PNNL prepares an Annual Site Environmental Report to meet the requirements of DOE Order 231.1B, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting, and DOE Order 458.1, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment, thus assuring that the public is informed of any PNNL-Richland campus or PNNL-Sequim campus event that could adversely affect the health and safety of the public, site staff, or the environment. The report provides a synopsis of ongoing environmental management performance and compliance activities for operations that occur at the PNNL-Richland campus in Richland, Washington, and at the PNNL-Sequim campus near Sequim, Washington. It describes the location of and background for each facility; addresses compliance with applicable DOE, federal, state, and local regulations, and site-specific permits; documents environmental monitoring efforts and their status; presents potential radiation doses to staff and the public in the surrounding areas; and describes DOE-required data quality assurance methods used for data verification. The ASER report describes Compliance with Federal, State, and Local Laws and Regulations in 2023, Environmental Sustainability, Environmental monitoring and dose assessment, Natural and Cultural Resource Management, and Quality Assurance activities that took place during Calendar Year 2023.

40 CFR 61 Subpart H↗

Spin qubit properties of the boron-vacancy/carbon defect in the two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride

Spin qubit defects in two-dimensional materials have a number of advantages over those in three-dimensional hosts including simpler technologies for defect creation and control, as well as qubit accessibility. In this work, we select the V B C B defect in the hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) as a possible optically controllable spin qubit and explain its triplet ground state and neutrality. In this defect a boron vacancy is combined with a carbon dopant substituting the closest boron atom to the vacancy. Our density-functional-theory calculations confirmed that the system has dynamically stable spin triplet and singlet ground states. As revealed from our linear response GW calculations, the spin-sensitive electronic states are localized around the three undercoordinated N atoms and make local peaks in the density of electronic states within the bandgap. Using the triplet and singlet ground state energies, as well as the energies of the optically excited states, obtained from solution to the Bethe–Salpeter equation, we construct the spin-polarization cycle, which is found to be favorable for the spin qubit initialization. The calculated zero-field splitting parameters ensure that the splitting energy between the spin projections in the triplet ground state is comparable to that of the known spin qubits. We thus propose the V B C B defect in hBN as a promising spin qubit.

2D BN↗

U.S. Solar Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances (2025)

A machine readable collection of documented solar siting ordinances at the state and local (e.g., county, township) level throughout the United States. The data were compiled using the Infrastructure Continuous Ordinance Mapping for Planning and Siting Systems (INFRA-COMPASS) tool, which leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate the collection of local codes and ordinances applicable to energy infrastructure. URLs for the ordinance source documents are included in the Solar Ordinances spreadsheet. The GeoPackage file included below contains the jurisdiction shapes for each ordinance. Note that the GeoPackage file is formatted for ingestion by NLR's reVX setbacks tool and therefore does not contain any of the state-level regulations. NOTE: This data was collected with the help of generative AI. The Large Language Models used for this effort make mistakes. Always validate the data for critical use cases. This data is an update to a previously developed database of wind ordinances found in OEDI Submission 5734: see the "U.S. Solar Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances 2022" link below. INFRA-COMPASS version used for collection: v0.11.3 LLMs used for collection: GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, GPT-4.1 nano

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

U.S. Wind Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances (2025)

A machine readable collection of documented wind siting ordinances at the state and local (e.g., county, township) level throughout the United States. The data were compiled using the Infrastructure Continuous Ordinance Mapping for Planning and Siting Systems (INFRA-COMPASS) tool, which leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate the collection of local codes and ordinances applicable to energy infrastructure. URLs for the ordinance source documents are included in the Wind Ordinances spreadsheet. The GeoPackage file included below contains the jurisdiction shapes for each ordinance. Note that the GeoPackage file is formatted for ingestion by NREL's reVX setbacks tool and therefore does not contain any of the state-level regulations. NOTE: This data was collected with the help of generative AI. The Large Language Models used for this effort make mistakes. Always validate the data for critical use cases. This data is an update to a previously developed database of wind ordinances found in OEDI Submission 5733: see the "U.S. Wind Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances 2022" link below. INFRA-COMPASS version used for collection: v0.8.2 LLMs used for collection: GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, GPT-4.1 nano, GPT-4o mini

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Soft costs and EVSE – Knowledge gaps as a barrier to successful projects

There has been a recent push to increase access to electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) has made significant funding available for major charging infrastructure projects along state thruways, and many state and local incentives exist for EV owners to install chargers in their homes. However, deployment of these chargers has not kept up with demand, primarily due to issues in project planning, permitting processes, and unforeseen delays. This paper serves as a review of the current understanding of these and other non-hardware costs in EV charging infrastructure projects (collectively known as “soft costs”). We found that soft costs in EV charging infrastructure projects are not well understood. Specifically, there is little agreement on how soft costs should be categorized and tracked, and less agreement still on best practices for controlling these costs and lowering barriers to infrastructure deployment. A broader review of EV charging infrastructure cost analyses shows that these costs can have significant impacts on project outcomes. EV charging infrastructure projects may be able to examine the success of the solar industry in lowering soft costs, and a similar effort may lower project costs significantly. Further work on standardizing and collecting data on EV charging infrastructure costs is required to begin addressing and controlling these costs.

32 - ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZA↗

Optical suppression of defect-related photoluminescence in GeSn

Reports of photoluminescence from GeSn grown on Ge substrates by molecular beam epitaxy have been limited. We find that one limiting factor to observing photoluminescence is due to localized defect states marked by photoluminescence at 2400 nm and originating from the Ge substrate and buffer layer. In this study, we report on an optical study utilizing doped Ge(001) substrates to effectively suppress defect-related photoluminescence in GeSn layers by filling localized defect trap states. For this experiment, a GeSn layer with Sn content up to 10.5 ± 0.5% was grown on a doped Ge(001) substrate. Analysis of the physics of the photoluminescence spectrum collected from the GeSn thin film shows an emission at the expected wavelength of 2300 nm for 10.5 ± 0.5% Sn content and the absence of the typically observed defect-related signal at 2400 nm. This understanding is further confirmed using short-pulse optical excitation of the GeSn grown on undoped Ge substrates.

Chemical vapor deposition↗