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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.

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At least 973 records · Page 54

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NASA NTRS1992

An assessment of waste processing/resource recovery technologies for lunar/Mars life applications

NASA's future manned missions to explore the solar system are by nature of long duration, mandating extensive regeneration of life support consumables from wastes generated in space-based habitats. Long-duration exploration missions would otherwise be prohibitive due to the number and frequency of energy-intensive resupply missions from Earth. Resource recovery is therefore a critical component of the controlled ecological life support system (CELSS). In order to assess resource recovery technologies for CELSS applications, the Crew and Thermal Systems Division at NASA-Johnson Space Center convened a three-day workshop to assess potential resource recovery technologies for application in a space-based CELSS. This paper describes the methodology of assessing and ranking of these technologies. Recommendations and issues are identified. Evaluations focused on the processes for handling and treatment of inedible plant biomass, human waste, and human generated trash. Technologies were assessed on the basis of safety, reliability, technology readiness, and performance characteristics.

Verostko, Charles E.↗

DOE OSTI2018

Technical Potential Assessment for the Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) Process: A GIS-Based Approach

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based energy resource and technical potential assessments identify areas capable of supporting high levels of renewable energy (RE) development as part of a Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) Transmission Planning process. This document expands on the REZ Process to aid practitioners in conducting GIS-based RE resource and technical potential assessments. The REZ process is an approach to plan, approve, and build transmission infrastructure that connects REZs - geographic areas that have high-quality RE resources, suitable topography and land-use designations, and demonstrated developer interest - to the power system. The REZ process helps to increase the share of solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, and other resources while also maintaining reliability and economics.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2021

A review of tidal energy—Resource, feedbacks, and environmental interactions

The ocean contains a variety of renewable energy resources, little of which has been exploited. Here, we review both tidal range and tidal stream energy, with a focus on the resource, feedbacks, and environmental interactions. The review covers a wide range of timescales of relevance to tidal energy, from fortnightly (spring-neap) and semi-diurnal variability, down to array, and device-scale turbulence. When simulating the regional tidal energy resource, and to assess environmental impacts, it is necessary to account for feedbacks between the tidal array and the resource itself. We critically review various methods for simulating energy extraction, from insights gained through theoretical studies of “tidal fences” in idealized channels, to realistic three-dimensional model studies with complex geometry and arrays of turbines represented by momentum sinks and additional turbulence due to the presence of rotors and support structures. We discuss how variability can be reduced by developing multiple (aggregated) sites with a consideration of the enhanced phase diversity offered by exploiting less energetic tidal currents. This leads to future research questions that have not yet been explored in depth at first-generation tidal sites in relatively sheltered channels (e.g., the interaction of waves with currents). Such enhanced understanding of real sea conditions, including the effects of wind and waves, leads to our other identified primary future research direction—reduced uncertainties in turbulence predictions, including the development of realistic models that simulate the interaction between ambient turbulence and the turbulence resulting from multiple wakes, and changes to system-wide hydrodynamics, water quality, and sedimentation.

Environmental impacts↗

DOE OSTI2019

Evaluation of Geologic Carbon Storage Resource Estimates (SREs) of Cambrian Ordovician Units within the CarbonSAFE Prefeasibility Study Region Subtasks 4.2 and 4.3 – Topical Report

This report by the Indiana Geological & Water Survey (IGWS) assessed the storage resource estimate (SRE) of Cambrian-Ordovician stratigraphic units located within the CarbonSAFE prefeasibility area within the Illinois Basin. A comprehensive data set of wireline logs and petrophysical information was used. These data include core analysis for porosity and permeability, and existing well data including location and stratigraphic information. This report includes storage resource estimates (SREs) for four potential storage reservoirs (Upper Ordovician Trenton Limestone/Black River Group, Middle Ordovician St. Peter Sandstone, Lower Ordovician and Upper Cambrian Knox Supergroup, including a separate assessment for the lower Knox Potosi Dolomite. The resultant SREs volumes are displayed using georeferenced maps and boxplots. The latter allow for comparing data statistics (mean values and variability) between five methods employed for the SRE calculations. Differences observed in SRE results from the five methods are mainly attributable to differences in the data used for porosity in each method. ArcMap 10.5.1 software was used to portray SREs to help visualize spatial variance of estimates for each methodology, and more importantly, to highlight those areas having the greatest total storage potential estimates.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2021

Bias Characterization, Vertical Interpolation, and Horizontal Interpolation for Distributed Wind Siting Using Mesoscale Wind Resource Estimates

Much like their counterparts in utility-scale wind energy, developers of industrial, small-scale and distributed wind turbine deployments need to understand and accurately characterize the wind resource to properly assess the power generation and financial ramifications during siting and planning. National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s WIND (Wind Integration National Dataset) Toolkit (WTK) provides a best-in-class wind resource dataset generated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. This dataset includes parameters such as the wind speed, wind direction, and temperature at various heights, plus atmospheric stability near the surface. This data is available at 2-km spatial resolution and five-minute temporal resolution across 7 years, from 2007 to 2013 through a publicly accessible API interface. The Tools Assessing Performance (TAP) project seeks to extend this dataset to allow long term resource estimates and leverage it to better equip distributed wind equipment manufacturers, owner-operators, and installation professionals with better tools for practical siting applications. In this report, we present the results from our investigation within the TAP project focused on characterization of bias in WTK-based wind speed estimates and evaluation of vertical and horizontal interpolation techniques. We discuss the tradeoffs between different techniques and their combinations, as well as describe the lower bounds we determine for the studied validation errors. While the specific estimates we present are specific to WTK and the validation dataset we have chosen for this investigation (NREL's Wind Resource Meteorological Database), the overall analysis and the studied techniques are general enough to be applied to a broader set of wind datasets, both simulation-based and observational.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Simple Wins: Driving Effective Implementation of Energy Efficiency Projects

Small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) in the United States, making up over 98% of manufacturing firms, account for 48.3% of the sector’s energy consumption. Despite access to energy assessments and technical resources, such as those from the US Department of Energy’s Better Plants program and Industrial Training and Assessment Centers, implementation rates for identified energy-saving measures remain lower than expectations, averaging 47%. Some barriers were identified by other researchers as limited workforce capacity, inadequate training, and time constraints hinder progress. This article studied the development of customized checklists together with the energy assessment report as a practical solution to improve implementation rates for energy efficiency projects among SMMs. The framework for the checklists was grounded in five principles: short, precise, actionable, relevant, and codeveloped (SPARC). A case study of a 500,000-squarefoot SMM demonstrates how tailored checklists targeting significant energy users—such as heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, and compressed air systems for this facility—can simplify the process for staff to do facility walkthroughs to monitor best practices and track the progress of energy efficiency project implementation.

Guo, Wei [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oa↗

DOE OSTI2015

Winnebago Resource Study. Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-09-329

Since 2005 the NREL Native American Tall Tower Loan program has assisted Native American tribes to assess their wind resource by lending tall (30m - 50m) anemometer. This program has allowed tribes a lower risk way to gather financeable wind data for potential utility scale wind energy projects. These projects offer Tribes a significant economic development opportunity.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1975

Surveys of the earth's resources and environment by satellites

The potential and promise of observing the earth from the vantage point of space is discussed. The systematic surveying of processes and phenomena occurring on the surface of the earth by Landsat 1 and Nimbus 5 is considered to be useful in the following areas: assessment of water resources; mineral and petroleum exploration; land use planning; crop, forest, and rangeland inventory; assessment of flood, earthquake, and other environmental hazards; monitoring coastal processes; environmental effects of industrial effluents and of air pollution; mapping the distribution and types of ice covering the earth's polar caps and global soil moisture distributions.

Nordberg, W.↗

DOE OSTI2016

An Estimate of Shallow, Low-Temperature Geothermal Resources of the United States: Preprint

Low-temperature geothermal resources in the United States potentially hold an enormous quantity of thermal energy, useful for direct use in residential, commercial and industrial applications such as space and water heating, greenhouse warming, pool heating, aquaculture, and low-temperature manufacturing processes. Several studies published over the past 40 years have provided assessments of the resource potential for multiple types of low-temperature geothermal systems (e.g. hydrothermal convection, hydrothermal conduction, and enhanced geothermal systems) with varying temperature ranges and depths. This paper provides a summary and additional analysis of these assessments of shallow (= 3 km), low-temperature (30-150 degrees C) geothermal resources in the United States, suitable for use in direct-use applications. This analysis considers six types of geothermal systems, spanning both hydrothermal and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). We outline the primary data sources and quantitative parameters used to describe resources in each of these categories, and present summary statistics of the total resources available. In sum, we find that low-temperature hydrothermal resources and EGS resources contain approximately 8 million and 800 million TWh of heat-in-place, respectively. In future work, these resource potential estimates will be used for modeling of the technical and market potential for direct-use geothermal applications for the U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Vision Study.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2017

An Estimate of Shallow, Low-Temperature Geothermal Resources of the United States

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2016

Low Temperature Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis For The Appalachian Basin: Phase 1 Revised Report November 18, 2016

Geothermal energy is an attractive sustainable energy source. Yet project developers need confirmation of the resource base to warrant their time and financial resources. The Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis of the Appalachian Basin evaluated risk metrics that communicate the favorability of potential low-temperature geothermal energy resources in reservoirs more than 1000 m below the surface. This analysis is focused on the direct use of the heat, rather than on electricity production. Four risk factors of concern for direct-use geothermal plays in the Appalachian Basin portions of New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are examined individually, and then in combination: 1) thermal resource quality, 2) natural reservoir quality, 3) induced seismicity, and 4) utilization opportunities. Uncertainty in the risk estimation is quantified. Based on these metrics, geothermal plays in the Appalachian Basin were identified as potentially viable for a variety of direct-use-heat applications. The methodologies developed in this project may be applied in other sedimentary basins as a foundation for low temperature (50-150 °C), direct use geothermal resource, risk, and uncertainty assessment. Three methods with which to combine the four risk factors were used. Among these, the averaging of the individual risk factors indicates the most favorable counties within the study area are the West Virginia counties of Monongalia, Harrison, Lewis (dubbed the Morgantown–Clarksburg play fairway), Putnam, and Kanawha (Charleston play fairway), the New York counties of Chemung and Steuben plus adjacent Bradford county in Pennsylvania (Corning–Ithaca play fairway), and the Pennsylvania counties of Mercer, Crawford, Erie, and Warren, and adjacent Chautauqua county in New York (together, the Meadville–Jamestown play fairway). These higher priority regions are surrounded by broader medium priority zones. Also worthy of additional exploration is a broad region near Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, for which the available geological data are insufficient to fully analyze the geological risks but yet the population is high. First, to assess the spatial variation in the depth to which one would need to drill to obtain geothermal temperatures that are useful to a future project, the project used bottom-hole temperature data from Appalachian Basin oil and gas exploration. These bottom hole temperature data are abundant but of low quality. Second, the project examined the potential for sufficient water flow rates through rocks to harvest heat from a geothermal well field, considering only natural reservoirs. This analysis provides a very incomplete picture of spatial variability of natural reservoirs because the oil and gas reservoir data lack key properties and are spatially biased toward those locations with profitable amounts of hydrocarbons in the rock pore spaces. Third, in light of the fact that earthquake activity has been induced in several states by subsurface work related to the oil and gas industry, this project examined the potential for similar activity in the Appalachian Basin. Acknowledging that data for such a task are insufficient, we utilized what was available: records of seismic activity, regional estimates of the orientations of stress in the rocks, and locations and orientations of zones of lateral change in rock properties at depths down to several kilometers below Earth’s surface. With these data, we created a first approximation of spatially variable risks for induced earthquakes. Because no data existed with which to test the reliability of these methods, the results have a high degree of uncertainty. Fourth, we examined the spatial variability of the above-the-ground factors that contribute to the economical viability of projects to tap low-temperature geothermal resources for direct-use. We worked principally with population density as a regionally known variable that would impact the cost of district heating. The resulting maps omit the costs of producing the hot water from the ground, because the below-ground costs are directly coupled to the thermal resource risk factor and natural reservoir risk factor – later analyses of those costs will be needed. The result of the district heating analysis is highly skewed: few census locations yielded a low estimated surface cost. The team also identified more than 165 prospects for high value direct-use geothermal energy opportunities such as industrial sites, university campuses, and federal facilities, among others. At the closure of this regional analysis, the most significant technical uncertainties are 1) reservoir distribution and capacities; 2) validity of thermal resource maps, and 3) the holistic estimation of Levelized Cost of Heat for favorable geological situations.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Carbon Transport and Storage Planning and Viability Support Tools

The EDX disCO2ver Carbon Transport and Storage Planning and Viability Support Tools are made up of the Carbon Storage Planning Inquiry Tool (CS PlanIT, Justman et al. 2024) and the Carbon Storage Technical Viability Approach Support Tool (CS TVA). Together, these tools support data access to support understanding data availability to support planning efforts for carbon transport and storage. The Carbon Storage Planning Inquiry Tool (CS PlanIT) is an online web mapping application designed to help users explore, query, and evaluate multiple data layers to support and accelerate carbon storage resource and feasibility assessments and planning efforts. CS PlanIT currently contains a range of datasets associated with geologic, technical, and infrastructure factors. The data sets can be filtered geographically for an area of interest to update statistics and charts within the dashboard. The dashboard is divided into different sections called widgets, relating to different steps in the carbon storage planning process. The resources in this submission include a link to PlanIT, as well as a data catalog and link to user documentation. The original citation for the CS PlanIT tool, which has now been integrated into the toolset here, was: - Devin Justman, Scott Pantaleone, Maneesh Sharma, Lucy Romeo, Paige Morkner, CS PlanIT (Carbon Storage Planning Inquiry Tool) , 6/28/2024, https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/cs-planit-carbon-storage-planning-inquiry-tool, DOI: 10.18141/2377953 The Carbon Storage Technical Viability Approach Support (CS TVA) Tool displays spatial data availability for the many components of Geologic Carbon Storage (GCS) technical viability assessment (Creason al 2025). Identifying sites suitable for GCS requires evaluating the intersection of myriad factors, including reservoir conditions, subsurface and surface hazards, infrastructure requirements, and energy community metrics. The technical viability of a site can only be confirmed for instances where all these factors have data available, and where those data support viability. Additional Resources related to the Technical Viability Assessment Tool: - Julia Mulhern, Casey White, Araceli Lara, Neyda Cordero Rodriguez, Zachary Jackson, Jacob Shay, Gabriel Creason, MacKenzie Mark-Moser, Paige Morkner, Kelly Rose, Carbon Storage Technical Viability Approach (CS TVA) Database, 3/26/2025, https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/edx4ccs-carbon-storage-technical-viability-approach-database , DOI:10.18141/1984655 - Julia Mulhern, MacKenzie Mark-Moser, Gabriel Creason, Casey White, Araceli Lara, Neyda Cordero Rodriguez, Zach Jackson, Paige Morkner, Kelly Rose, Carbon Storage Technical Viability Approach (CS TVA) Matrix, 3/27/2025, https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/carbon-storage-technical-viability-approach-cs-tva-matrix , DOI: 10.18141/2539979 - Gabriel Creason, Zach Jackson, Neyda Cordero Rodriguez, Julia Mulhern, Casey White, Araceli Lara, MacKenzie Mark-Moser, Paige Morkner, Kelly Rose, Carbon Storage Technical Viability Approach (CS TVA) Data Availability Results Database, 3/27/2025, https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/carbon-storage-technical-viability-approach-cs-tva-data-availability-results-database, DOI:10.18141/2538557

Carbon storage↗

DOE OSTI2020

Water and Wastewater Systems as Potential Distributed Energy Resources for California - High-level Feasibility Assessment

Water systems in California are a major electricity user, and electricity costs represent a significant portion of water utilities’ operating costs. Water and wastewater utilities have the capacity to shift demand in response to grid needs or price signals and can generate power through biogas, hydropower or onsite renewable energy systems like solar panels and wind turbines. This report points to some of the most promising opportunity areas for water and wastewater utilities to implement distributed energy resources while also carefully laying out practical considerations.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NASA NTRS1982

Geographic Information Systems for Assessing Existing and Potential Bio-energy Resources: Their Use in Determining Land Use and Management Options which Minimize Ecological and Landscape Impacts in Rural Areas

A management construct is described which forms part of an overall landscape ecological planning model which has as a principal objective the extension of the traditional descriptive land use mapping capabilities of geographic information systems into land management realms. It is noted that geographic information systems appear to be moving to more comprehensive methods of data handling and storage, such as relational and hierarchical data management systems, and a clear need has simultaneously arisen therefore for planning assessment techniques and methodologies which can actually use such complex levels of data in a systematic, yet flexible and scenario dependent way. The descriptive of mapping method proposed broaches such issues and utilizes a current New England bioenergy scenario, stimulated by the use of hardwoods for household heating purposes established in the post oil crisis era and the increased awareness of the possible landscape and ecological ramifications of the continued increasing use of the resource.

Jackman, A. E.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Duke Energy Carbon-Free Resource Integration Study

Duke Energy has partnered with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate pathways to achieving their carbon-free targets and to assess the operational impacts of the resulting system. This report details findings from Phase II of the Duke Low Carbon Resource Integration study, which consisted of three separate but interrelated analyses: (1) a resource assessment exploring the technical and economic potential and characteristics of wind and solar resources in the Carolinas; (2) capacity expansion modeling identifying the least-cost investment pathways for achieving 70% CO 2 emissions reductions in North Carolina by 2030 and a net-zero electricity system by 2050; and (3) detailed production cost modeling of power system operations at the higher shares of low- and zero-carbon emitting generation sources, informed by the capacity expansion modeling portion of the analysis. The analysis finds that Duke Energy can approach the 2030 and 2050 emissions target in North Carolina through investment in a combination of solar, wind, and storage along with maintaining its existing nuclear fleet. The average cost of CO 2 abatement in the Carolinas through 2021-2050 is on the order of $\$27-33$ per metric ton (range of $\$9-34$ per metric ton across key sensitivities).Duke Energy can expected increased interchange with neighbors to help balance higher levels of solar, although the ability to do this will depend on whether neighboring regions also move to integrate more carbon-free resources. As Duke Energy moves toward both the 2030 and 2050 targets, addressing energy needs during the winter peak period becomes particularly important, and the system relies on the availability of resources such as renewable or hydrogen combustion turbines, seasonal storage, or other similar technologies that are dispatchable but able to operate at low capacity factors.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2011

Renewable Energy Opportunities at Fort Hood, Texas

This report presents the results of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL) follow-on renewable energy (RE) assessment of Fort Hood. Fort Hood receives many solicitations from renewable energy vendors who are interested in doing projects on site. Based on specific requests from Fort Hood staff so they can better understand these proposals, and the results of PNNL's 2008 RE assessment of Fort Hood, the following resources were examined in this assessment: (1) Municipal solid waste (MSW) for waste-to-energy (WTE); (2) Wind; (3) Landfill gas; (4) Solar photovoltaics (PV); and (5) Shale gas. This report also examines the regulatory issues, development options, and environmental impacts for the promising RE resources, and includes a review of the RE market in Texas.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

DOE OSTI2024

A Refined Method to Translate Solar Data Quality Assessment Flags to Estimated Measurement Uncertainty

Integrating solar resource uncertainties due to radiometer measurement performance and operational data quality assessment can provide improved estimates of economic bankability, system design performance, and compliance of solar energy conversion systems. Estimating radiometer measurement uncertainty is an established procedure consistent with recognized best practices and international guidelines. SERI QC is a robust solar data quality assessment software tool that has been in continuous use for more than three decades. This report, the fourth of six for the Data Quality and Uncertainty Integration Project, presents a refined algorithm description for software to translate solar resource data quality assessment results into estimated uncertainty values in a Solar Resource Operational Uncertainty Integrator (SROUI) application. This algorithm requires three-component solar irradiance measurements - global horizontal irradiance, direct normal irradiance, and diffuse horizontal irradiance - collected at 1- to 60-minute intervals, as described in the previous deliverables. The development of this report as Deliverable 6.4 was an iterative process that included reviews and feedback from the project team on initial drafts designed to refine how the new software could best support determining solar resource data uncertainty. The results of this effort will contribute to the final software system development by National Renewable Energy Laboratory staff.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1972

Use of data from space for earth resources exploration and management in Alabama

The University of Alabama, the Geological Survey of Alabama, and the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center are involved in an interagency, interdisciplinary effort to use remotely sensed, multispectral observations to yield improved and timely assessment of earth resources and environmental quality in Alabama. It is the goal of this effort to interpret these data and provide them in a format which is meaningful to and readily usable by agencies, industries, and individuals who are potential users throughout the State.

Lamoreaux, P. E.↗