Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “PRICES”

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 847 records · Page 47
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

The Case for Natural Gas Fueled Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Power Systems for Distributed Generation

Natural-gas-fueled solid oxide fuel cell (NGSOFC) power systems yield electrical conversion efficiencies exceeding 60% and may become a viable alternative for distributed generation (DG) if stack life and manufacturing economies of scale can be realized. Currently, stacks last approximately 2 years and few systems are produced each year because of the relatively high cost of electricity from the systems. If mass manufacturing (10,000 units per year) and a stack life of 15 years can be reached, the cost of electricity from an NGSOFC system is estimated to be about 7.7 ¢/kWh, well within the price of commercial and residential retail prices at the national level (9.9-10¢/kWh and 11-12 ¢/kWh, respectively). With an additional 5 ¢/kWh in estimated additional benefits from DG, NGSOFC could be well positioned to replace the forecasted 59-77 gigawatts of capacity loss resulting from coal plant closures due to stricter emissions regulations and low natural gas prices.

distributed generation↗
DOE OSTI2021

Integrating Solar Energy, Desalination, and Electrolysis

Solar electricity enables the advancement and deployment of technologies that are strongly influenced by clean energy availability and cost. The economics of both desalination and hydrogen production from water electrolysis are dominated by the cost of energy, and the availability of inexpensive solar energy creates markets and offers incentives to the desalination and electrolyzer industries. In this report the production of high-purity water and hydrogen from seawater is focused on. Current electrolyzers require deionized water so they need to be coupled with desalination units. It is shown that such coupling is cost effective in hydrogen generation, and it also offers benefits to thermal desalination, which can utilize waste heat from electrolysis. Furthermore, such coupling can be optimized when electrolyzers operate at high current density, using low-cost solar and/or wind electricity, as such operation increases both hydrogen production and heat generation. Results of technoeconomic modeling of polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzers define thresholds of electricity pricing, current density, and operating temperature that make clean electrolytic hydrogen cost competitive with hydrogen from steam methane reforming (SMR). By using 2020 hourly electricity pricing in California and Texas, it is estimated that hydrogen can be produced from seawater in coupled desalination-electrolyzer systems at prices near $2 kg -1 H 2 , reaching cost parity with hydrogen produced from SMR.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Trade-offs of different land and bioenergy policies on the path to achieving climate targets

Many papers have shown that bioenergy and land-use are potentially important elements in a strategy to limit anthropogenic climate change. But, significant expansion of bioenergy production can have a large terrestrial footprint. In this paper, we test the implications for land use, the global energy system, carbon cycle, and carbon prices of meeting a specific climate target, using a single fossil fuel and industrial sector policy instrument—the carbon tax, but with five alternative bioenergy and land-use policy architectures. We find that the policies we examined have differing effects on the different segments of the economy. Comprehensive land policies can reduce land-use change emissions, increasing allowable emissions in the energy system, but have implications for the cost of food. Bioenergy taxes and constraints, on the other hand, have little effect on food prices, but can result in increased carbon and energy prices.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Food security under high bioenergy demand toward long-term climate goals

Bioenergy is expected to play an important role in the achievement of stringent climate-change mitigation targets requiring the application of negative emissions technology. Using a multi-model framework, we assess the effects of high bioenergy demand on global food production, food security, and competition for agricultural land. Various scenarios simulate global bioenergy demands of 100, 200, 300, and 400 exajoules (EJ) by 2100, with and without a carbon price. Six global energy-economy-agriculture models contribute to this study, with different methodologies and technologies used for bioenergy supply and greenhouse-gas mitigation options for agriculture. We find that the large-scale use of bioenergy, if not implemented properly, would raise food prices and increase the number of people at risk of hunger in many areas of the world. For example, an increase in global bioenergy demand from 200 to 300 EJ causes a -11% to +40% change in food crop prices and decreases food consumption from -45 to -2 kcal person -1 day -1 , leading to an additional 0 to 25 million people at risk of hunger compared with the case of no bioenergy demand (90th percentile range across models). This risk does not rule out the intensive use of bioenergy but shows the importance of its careful implementation, potentially including regulations that protect cropland for food production or for the use of bioenergy feedstock on land that is not competitive with food production.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluating the regional risks to food availability and access from land-based climate policies in an Integrated Assessment Model

Mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is necessary to reduce the overall negative climate change impacts on crop yields and agricultural production. However, certain mitigation measures may generate unintended consequences to food availability and food access due to both land use competition and economic burden of mitigation. Integrated assessment models (IAM) are generally used to evaluate these policies; however, currently these models may not capture the importance of income and food prices for hunger and overall economic wellbeing. Here, we implement a measure of food security that captures the nutritional and economic aspects as the total expenditures on staple foods divided by income and weighted by total caloric consumption in an IAM, the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM4.0). We then project consumer prices and our measure of food security along the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). Sustained economic growth underpins increases in caloric consumption and lowering expenditures on staple foods. Strict conservation policies affect food accessibility in a larger number of developing countries, whereas the negative effects of pricing terrestrial emissions is more concentrated on the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa, by substantially replacing their cropland with forests and affecting the production of key staples.

Cui, Ryna↗
DOE OSTI2021

Potential Early Markets for Fusion Energy

We examine potential early markets for fusion energy and their projected cost targets, based on analysis and synthesis of many relevant, recent studies and reports. Seeking to provide guidance to ambitious fusion developers aspiring to enable commercial deployment before 2040, we examine cost requirements for fusion-generated electricity, process heat, and hydrogen production based on today’s market prices but with various adjustments relating to possible scenarios in 2035, such as ‘‘business-as-usual,’’ high renewables penetration, and carbon pricing up to 100 $/tCO 2 . Key findings are that fusion developers should consider focusing initially on high-priced global electricity markets and consider including integrated thermal storage, depending on techno-economic factors, in order to maximize revenue and compete in markets with high renewables penetration. Process heat and hydrogen production will be tough early markets for fusion, but may open up to fusion as markets evolve and if fusion’s levelized cost of electricity falls below 50 $/MWh e . Finally, we discuss potential ways for a fusion plant to increase revenue via cogeneration (e.g., desalination, direct air capture, or district heating) and to lower capital costs (e.g., by minimizing construction times and interest or by retrofitting coal plants).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Economic assessment for recycling critical metals from hard disk drives using a comprehensive recovery process

Since the 2011 price spike of rare earth elements (REEs), research on permanent magnet recycling has blossomed globally to reduce future REE criticality. Hard disk drives (HDDs) have emerged as one feasible feedstock for recovering valuable REEs such as praseodymium, neodymium, and dysprosium. However, current processes for recycling e-waste only focus on certain metals due to feedstock and metal price uncertainties. In addition, some believe that recycling REEs is unprofitable. To shed some light on the economic viability of REE recycling from HDDs, this paper combines techno-economic information of a hydrometallurgical process with end-of-life HDD availability in a simulation model. Results showed that adding REEs to HDD recycling was profitable given current prices. As a result, recovered REEs could meet up to 5.1% rest of world (excluding China) magnet demand. Aluminum, gold, copper scrap and REEs were the primary main revenue streams from HDD recycling.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Techno-economic and life-cycle assessment of fuel production from mixotrophic Galdieria sulphuraria microalgae on hydrolysate

Outdoor photoautotrophic algal growth is limited by light attenuation and attendant respiratory CO 2 losses during dark periods, limiting its productivity potential and carbon use efficiency. Developing a system that leverages mixotrophic growth (combining the benefits of both heterotrophic and photoautotrophic growth) has the potential to dramatically improve the total productivity and economics of the system. However, it is unknown if the productivity gains offset the added costs of outdoor mixotrophic cultivation using cellulosic hydrolysate as the feedstock. In this study, corn stover-derived cellulosic sugars were evaluated as the mixotrophic organic carbon source for the cultivation of Galdieria sulphuraria, which can metabolize both glucose and xylose from corn stover hydrolysate. A techno-economic analysis (TEA) and a life-cycle assessment (LCA) were conducted based on a detailed engineering process model for both glass helical photobioreactor and covered pond cultivation platforms, coupled with downstream conversion and upgrading to renewable diesel through hydrothermal liquefaction. Results show the minimum biomass selling price for cultivation in the photobioreactor design assuming a productivity of 1.575 kg m -3 day -1 and a substrate yield of 0.57 g g -1 is $2869 per dry metric ton. The costs are dramatically reduced in the covered pond design which assumes a productivity of 0.8 kg m -3 day -1 and a substrate yield of 0.7 g g -1 , 921 dollars per dry metric ton. Expanding the system boundary to include downstream processing results in a minimum fuel selling price of 8.24 dollars and 3.32 dollars dm 3 GE -1 for the photobioreactor and covered pond systems, respectively. Finally, life-cycle results demonstrate a global warming potential of 339 and 9.1 gCO 2 -eq. MJ -1 on a well-to-wheels basis and a net energy ratio of 2.21 and 0.25 MJ MJ -1 for the photobioreactor and covered pond systems, respectively. Discussion focuses on a required co-product selling price as a function of biomass diversion to meet economic parity with conventional fuels.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Techno-economic analysis of bioplastic and biofuel production from a high-ash microalgae biofilm cultivated in effluent from a municipal anaerobic digester

Rotating Algae Biofilm Reactors (RABRs) are a promising technology for efficient treatment of wastewater and production of algae-based bioproducts. However, RABR-grown algae can contain a high content of ash (30–60 wt%, dry basis), which influences the technical and economic feasibility of bioproduct conversion processes. In this report, experimental studies and economic analysis were conducted to compare different processes for bioproduct conversion of a high-ash microalgae biofilm grown using a RABR treating 0.6 million gallons per day of anaerobic digestion centrate at the Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility in Salt Lake City, UT. Process and economic models were developed and compared for three conversion processes: 1) the production of bioplastics, 2) the production of bioplastics with a lipid-extraction pretreatment, and 3) the production of biocrude via hydrothermal liquefaction. Techno-economic analysis was performed for each conversion process, including three cases for algae productivity: 231, 391, and 577 metric tons per year (dry basis). The calculated value for the minimum plastic selling price (MPSP) of bioplastics produced from algae ranges from $\$4050$ to $\$3520$ per metric ton based on the baseline and final productivity cases of the RABR, respectively. The extraction of lipids in addition to bioplastic production results in an MPSP of $\$4570$ to $\$4000$ per metric ton for the same productivity cases. The relatively small production scale and complex processing for hydrothermal liquefaction results in a minimum fuel selling price of the biocrude of $\$5.32$ per gallon of gasoline equivalent. In conclusion, the conversion process for bioplastic production from whole algae has the highest income:expense ratio and the most cost-competitive pricing of the three modeled processes.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Process design and economics for production of advanced biofuels from genetically modified lipid-producing sorghum

This study evaluates the potential for making advanced biofuels from genetically modified (GM) lipid–producing sorghum. A biodiesel coproduction process is developed to extract, purify, and upgrade lipids to diesel fuel while carbohydrates are utilized for making ethanol through acid thermal pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation. To assess the advantages of coproducing biodiesel from GM–sorghum, process economics are compared to a cellulosic ethanol biorefinery receiving non-GM sorghum. Minimum ethanol selling prices (MESP) that reach a breakeven point after 30 years of service life are calculated as an economic index to compare the two processes. Results indicate that biodiesel coproduction improves the economics by lowering the MESP from 3.08/gal for the ethanol-only process to 2.46/gal. Sensitivity analyses reveal that increasing sorghum’s lipid content, increasing the lipid extraction efficiency, and reducing the solvent-to-solids ratio in lipid extraction columns are the most important process parameters to further enhance technoeconomics. Analyses indicate that a lipid content above 13 wt% (dry basis) or a biomass price less than 65/Mg (dry basis) will result in a 2014 ethanol wholesale price of 2.25/gal for the coproduction process.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2019

High-Octane Gasoline from Biomass: Experimental, Economic, and Environmental Assessment

Five economically-advantaged biomass feedstocks identified in the United States Department of Energy's 2016 Billion Ton Study were gasified and the syngas was reformed at the bench scale to study the feedstock price-performance relationship. The distribution of reformed syngas compositions, heating values, and yields were similar across the different feedstocks and blends thereof, which ranged from inexpensive residual wastes to more expensive and higher quality biomass, revealing that feedstock performance was mostly insensitive to its price. Custom blended feedstocks produced syngas with characteristics resembling linear combinations of syngas from single-component feedstocks, supporting the ability to customize and predict blended properties based on single-feedstock data. The experimental gasification data informed a techno-economic analysis of specific feedstock costs for producing high-octane gasoline, and the results showed that miscanthus and forest residues were the most cost-effective. A field-to-wheels life-cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions showed that forest residues was the most environmentally benign feedstock of those studied. from inexpensive residual wastes to more expensive and higher quality biomass, revealing that feedstock performance was mostly insensitive to its price. Custom blended feedstocks produced syngas with characteristics resembling linear combinations of syngas from single-component feedstocks, supporting the ability to customize and predict blended properties based on single-feedstock data. The experimental gasification data informed a techno-economic analysis of specific feedstock costs for producing high-octane gasoline, and the results showed that miscanthus and forest residues were the most cost-effective. A field-to-wheels life-cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions showed that forest residues was the most environmentally benign feedstock of those studied.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Economy analysis of second-life battery in wind power systems considering battery degradation in dynamic processes: Real case scenarios

Energy storage system plays an important role in modern power systems for mitigating the variation and intermittency of renewable energy sources. The Lithium-ion battery is currently the most widely used solution for energy storage system. However, its high cost is considered as one of the major barriers hampering the integration of renewable energy and the adoption of electric vehicles. Reusing electric vehicle batteries seems a promising solution to the aforementioned problem. Based on a dynamic degradation model of Lithium-ion batteries, this paper first compares the profits that second-life and fresh batteries can bring to the wind farm. Model predictive control is adopted to solve an hourly optimal wind scheduling problem and maximize the profit of wind farm owner. Here, the optimal size of battery is determined and then the comparison of second-life and fresh batteries is conducted taking the battery degradation, the profit of the wind farm owner, and various remaining capacities of battery into account. Two case studies in USA and Denmark are conducted and the analysis shows that given the current prices of wind energy and Lithium-ion batteries, reusing batteries is not worthwhile for the studied wind farms, but it may outperform fresh batteries in the future if the wind energy price decreases much faster than the battery price.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evaluating the Feasibility of Transactive Approach for Voltage Management Using Inverters of a PV Plant

This article evaluates the feasibility of a double-auction-based Transactive Energy System (TES) for engaging the reactive power (Var) capability of inverters in a utility-scale pho¬tovoltaic (PV) plant for voltage management in distribution feed¬ers. In this approach, a PV plant owner (seller) provides Var supply curves in terms of price-quantity pairs consider¬ing the inverters’ P-Q capability, efficiency, opportunity cost for real power curtail¬ment, losses, etc. At the same time, the utility (buyer) proposes Var demand curves in price-quantity pairs exhibiting the marginal price of Var. Then, market clearing points are obtained from the intersection points of supply and demand curves which are then used to create Var dispatch sig-nals from the PV plant. To conduct a fea¬sibility study of this approach, an Australian distribution network with a utility-scale PV plant (capacity 3.275 MWP) is modeled in RSCAD and simu¬lated in real-time on MATLAB, RSCAD-RTDS co-simulation platform using real historical data. Consid¬ering a use case, namely, conservation voltage reduction (CVR), the operational feasibility along with cost-benefit analysis is demonstrated in software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) platform. Another use case, exploring the benefit from tap-change reduction of step-voltage-regulator, is investigated. These studies explore further use cases, e.g., PV hosting capacity, network reconfiguration, etc., to be incorporated in TES for experiencing substantial economic benefits.

Alam, Mollah Rezaul↗
DOE OSTI2021

Project developer options to enhance the value of solar electricity as solar and storage penetrations increase

Increasing the penetration of photovoltaics (PV) reduces the marginal grid value of PV electricity. The declining grid value of PV with higher penetration could limit the technology's economic attractiveness and future demand. Various strategies have been proposed for preserving this value. Using a consistent framework, we analyze the net value (accounting for both cost and grid value) of more than ten strategies in the United States. Here, grid value is estimated from coincident wholesale power market prices and PV generation using observed historical prices or modeled future prices with up to 30% PV penetration. We find that established and emerging strategies designed to shift the timing of standalone PV generation at the expense of total generation—including orienting monofacial PV modules west or bifacial modules vertically—result in minor net-value benefits or penalties. Adding energy storage to such systems magnifies the net-value loss, because configurations that change the timing of PV production become redundant when the energy-shifting capabilities of storage are added. The largest net-value gains come from strategies that maximize generation (solar tracking plus oversized PV arrays) in conjunction with storage, especially at high PV penetrations. PV systems are long-lived assets. Our results suggest that efforts to promote generation-maximizing strategies today may yield increasing net-value benefits as PV and storage deployments continue to accelerate in the United States over the coming decades.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Market analysis for the integration of new power technologies: A case study of the deployment of hybrid fossil-based generator plus energy storage (ES-FE)

This study examines the national landscape of hybridized fossil energy (FE) power plants with energy storage (ES) technologies (“ES-FE”) and presents the compilation of an ES-FE dataset, which includes over 65 ES-FE projects and concepts in the United States, comprising approximately 500 MWh of co-located ES capacity with FE power plants. This study also estimates the economic feasibility of adding ES to existing FE power plants by characterizing the potential revenues that can be generated by the ES component through flexibility and capacity value. The analysis focuses on ES technologies with 2- to 10-h. durations located in four U.S. independent system operators (ISOs): Midcontinent ISO (MISO), Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), PJM Interconnection (PJM), and California ISO (CAISO), which have +70,000 MW of combined FE power capacity that could add ES. Annual revenues are estimated for the ES component using a what-if-analysis approach, for capacity value, price arbitrage, or ancillary services provision. The results show that annual revenues depend on the end-use storage service, wholesale electricity and capacity market prices, and ES technology operation parameters such as discharging duration and cycling frequency. When performing a sensitivity analysis, ES accrues $7–178/kW-yr. via price arbitrage and ancillary services provision in the four ISOs, and $13–92/kW-yr. when providing capacity value only in MISO and PJM. A cash flow analysis is performed to estimate the net present value (NPV) of the ES addition using a range of ES costs. The study finds that for most ES technologies considered, these revenues alone are insufficient to achieve economic feasibility. In conclusion, of the 1645 total runs analyzed, 115 had positive NPVs (7%). Therefore, other revenue streams or monetizable benefits are necessary to achieve the break-even point.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Can Wholesale Electricity Markets Achieve Resource Adequacy and High Clean Energy Generation Targets in the Presence of Self-Interested Actors?

Wholesale electricity markets are intended to incentivize system generation investments and operations outcomes that meet evolving system needs. In this work, we evaluate the effectiveness of wholesale market structures, rules and policies in achieving system resource adequacy (RA) and clean energy targets in the presence of self-interested generation investors using the Electricity Markets and Investment Suite Agent-based Simulation (EMIS-AS) model. Results highlight that both capacity markets and operating reserve demand curves (ORDCs) can help achieve a reliable system but with different RA compliance timelines and distribution of generation technologies. Structures with capacity markets tend to favor more capital-intensive peaking technologies while reducing wind and solar build-outs due to suppressed energy and clean energy market prices, particularly in the absence of strong clean energy targets. Conversely, ORDCs improve the commitment of available generation units, but this comes at the expense of higher system costs and renewable generation curtailment. We also find that well-calibrated static capacity demand curves can yield similar reliability and total cost compared to capacity market demand curves informed dynamically by resource adequacy while also yielding stable annual capacity prices. Different approaches to formulating ORDC curves can also yield key trade-offs, namely that a more efficient treatment of storage chronology results in lower ORDC curves and prices, yielding less investment and cost but at the expense of reliability. Finally, the effectiveness of wholesale electricity markets in practically achieving very high clean energy generation targets highly depends on the cost-competitiveness of clean energy technologies that can support critical balancing needs across multiple timescales.

capacity expansion↗
DOE OSTI2017

Improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay using payments for ecosystem services for perennial biomass for bioenergy and biofuel production

Replacing row crops with perennial bioenergy crops may reduce nitrogen (N) loading to surface waters. We estimated the benefits, costs, and potential for replacing maize with switchgrass to meet required N loading reduction targets for the Chesapeake Bay (CB) of 26.9 Gg -1 . After subtracting the potential reduction in N loading due to improved N fertilizer practices for maize, a further 22.8 Gg reduction is required. Replacing maize with fertilized switchgrass could reduce N loading to the CB by 18 kg ha -1 y -1 , meeting 31% of the N reduction target. The break-even price of fertilized switchgrass to provide the same profit as maize in the CB is 111 $Mg -1 (oven-dry basis throughout). Growers replacing maize with switchgrass could receive an ecosystem service payment of 148 ha -1 based on the price paid in Maryland for planting a rye cover crop. For our estimated average switchgrass yield of 9.9 Mg ha -1 , and the greater N loading reduction of switchgrass compared to a cover crop, this equates to 24 dollars Mg -1 . The annual cost of this ecosystem service payment to induce switchgrass planting is 13.29 dollars kg -1 of N. Using the POLYSYS model to account for competition among food, feed, and biomass markets, we found that with the ecosystem service payment for switchgrass of 25 $ Mg -1 added to a farm-gate price of 111 dollars Mg -1 , 11% of the N loading reduction target could be met while also producing 1.3 Tg of switchgrass, potentially yielding 420 dam 3 y -1 of ethanol.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗