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DOE OSTI2024

Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Technology in Power System Applications

The primary purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the advancement in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) technologies and their applications in power systems. It offers a foundation for understanding the transformative role of AI/ML in power systems and aims to stimulate further research and development in this area. This report begins with a historical perspective of AI/ML technologies, then explores their advancement to today’s prominence. The document highlights key contributors to the success of AI/ML technologies, including increased computational power, greater data availability, innovative algorithms, and advanced tools. It further introduces various AI/ML techniques, including supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement learning, graph neural networks, and generative AI. It also emphasizes the critical importance of ensuring the safety, security, and trustworthiness of these AI/ML techniques within this sector. The report reviews the recent representative advancements in various power system applications enhanced by AI/ML techniques, underscoring key developments and their transformative impact as evidenced by numerous studies. It also explores both the opportunities and challenges associated with the application of AI/ML technologies to improve power system applications. While the report extensively covers AI/ML applications in power systems, focusing primarily on the technical and operational aspects, it may not thoroughly explore the sociopolitical, economic, and broader regulatory implications of AI/ML integration in power systems. AI/ML techniques hold significant potential for enhancing power system applications; however, they are not omnipotent. It is crucial to acknowledge their limitations and understand that they may not be able to address all challenges in the power system domain. Various factors must be considered that influence the implementation, adoption, and effectiveness of AI/ML solutions, including but not limited to safety, security, transparency, and trustworthiness. Additionally, the incorporation of advanced human–machine interfaces is essential, as it enables humans to validate the effectiveness of AI/ML solutions while remaining actively engaged, fostering trust in AI/ML deployment. Finally, the report summarizes AI/ML research activities supported by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) through the Advanced Grid Modeling (AGM) program. The work aligns with the interests and mission of DOE-OE AGM, with the report serving as a resource for identifying existing progress and for pinpointing future applications within AI/ML that need further exploration and support.

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DOE OSTI2026

Engaging with Utilities and Key Stakeholders [Slides]

The Energy to Communities (E2C) peer-learning cohort program provides technical assistance to groups of 15 community entities around a common energy topic over the course of 6 months. Every month, participants join a virtual meeting where they hear from experts and exchange strategies and best practices with their peers. This cohort, "Successful Energy Project Implementation" will explore common challenges in implementing energy projects and learn strategies to turn project plans into reality. Each participant will focus on a local energy project or priority as a cornerstone for their learning throughout the series. This presentation overviews the interconnection process for distributed energy resources and how to engage well with utilities. The workshop will be held on March 25, 2026.

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NASA NTRS1996

High Resolution UV Spectroscopy of H2 and N2 Applied to Observations of the Planets by Spacecraft

The next generation of high resolution UV imaging spacecraft are being prepared for studying the airglow and aurora of the Earth, the other terrestrial planets and the Jovian planets. To keep pace with these technological improvements we have developed a laboratory program to provide electron impact collision cross sections of the major molecular planetary gases (H2, N2, CO2, O2, and CO). Spectra under optically thin conditions have been measured with a high resolution (lambda/delta(lambda) = 50000) UV spectrometer in tandem with electron impact collision chamber. High resolution spectra of the Lyman and Wemer band systems of H2 have been obtained and modeled. Synthetic spectral intensities based on the J-dependent transition probabilities that include ro-vibronic perturbations are in very good agreement with experimental intensities. The kinetic energy distribution of H(2p,3p) atoms resulting from electron impact dissociation of H2 has been measured. The distribution is based on the first measurement of the H Lyman-alpha (H L(alpha)) and H Lyman-beta (H L(beta)) emission line Doppler profiles. Electron impact dissociation of H2 is believed to be one of the major mechanisms leading to the observed wide profile of H L-alpha from Jupiter aurora by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Analysis of the deconvolved line profile of H L-alpha reveals the existence of a narrow line peak (40 mA FWHM) and a broad pedestal base (240 mA FWHM). The band strengths of the electron excited N2 (C(sup 3) Pi(sub(upsilon) - B(sup 3)Pi(sub g)) second positive system have been measured in the middle ultraviolet. We report a quantitative measurement of the predissociation fraction 0.15 +/- 01(sup .045, sub .01) at 300 K in the N2 c'(sub )4 (1)sigma(sup +, sub g) - x(1)sigma(sup +, sub g)(00) band, with an experimental determination of rotational line strengths to be used to understand N2 EUV emission from Titan, Triton and the Earth.

Ajello, J.↗

DOE OSTI2019

Coupled‐cluster singles, doubles and perturbative triples with density fitting approximation for massively parallel heterogeneous platforms

Abstract A high‐performance implementation of the coupled‐cluster singles, doubles, and perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] is developed in the Massively Parallel Quantum Chemistry program. Novel features include: (1) reduced memory requirements via a density‐fitting (DF) CCSD implementation utilizing distributed lazy evaluation for tensors with more than two unoccupied indices and (2) the ability to utilize efficiently many‐core nodes (Intel Xeon Phi) and heterogeneous nodes with multiple NVIDIA GPUs on each node. All data that are greater than quadratic in the system size are distributed among processes. Excellent strong scaling is observed on distributed‐memory computers equipped with conventional CPUs, Intel Xeon Phi processors, and heterogeneous nodes with multiple NVIDIA GPUs Canonical CCSD(T) energies can be evaluated for systems containing 200 electrons and 1000 basis functions in a few days using a small size commodity cluster, with even larger computations possible on leadership‐class computing resources.

Peng, Chong↗

DOE OSTI2017

Adsorption and Photodesorption of CO from Charged Point Defects on TiO 2 (110)

Adsorption and photodesorption of weakly-bound carbon monoxide, CO, from reduced and hydroxylated rutile TiO2(110) (r- and h- TiO2(110)) at sub-monolayer coverages is studied with atomically-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) along with ensemble-averaged temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and angle-resolved photon-stimulated desorption (PSD) at low temperatures ( 50 K). STM data weighted by the concentration of each kind of adsorption sites on r-TiO2(110) give an adsorption probability which is the highest for the bridging oxygen vacancies (VO) and very low for the Ti5c sites closest to VO. Occupancy of the remaining Ti5c sites with CO is significant, but smaller than for VO. The probability distribution for the different adsorption sites corresponds to a very small difference in CO adsorption energies: < 0.02 eV. We also find that UV irradiation stimulates both diffusion and desorption of CO at low temperature. CO photodesorbs primarily from the vacancies with a bi-modal angular distribution. In addition to a major, normal to the surface component, there is a broader cosine component indicating scattering from the surface which likely also leads to photo-stimulated diffusion. Hydroxylation of VO’s does not significantly change the CO PSD yield and angular distribution, indicating that not atomic but rather electronic surface defects are involved in the site-specific PSD process. We suggest that photodesorption can be initiated by recombination of photo-generated holes with excess unpaired electrons localized near the surface point-defect (either VO or bridging hydroxyl), leading to the surface atoms rearrangement and ejection of the weakly-bound CO molecules.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

DOE OSTI2020

Nuclear Physics Network Requirements Review Report

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2019

Nuclear Physics Network Requirements Review Report

The Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) is the Office of Science’s high-performance network user facility, delivering highly reliable data transport capabilities optimized for the requirements of data-intensive science. In essence, ESnet is the circulatory system that enables the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) science mission by connecting each and every DOE lab and its user facilities. ESnet is funded and stewarded by the Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) Program, and managed and operated by the Scientific Networking Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). ESnet is widely regarded as a global leader in the research and education networking community. ESnet connects DOE national laboratories, user facilities, and major experiments so scientists can use remote instruments and computing resources as well as share data with collaborators, transfer large data sets, and access distributed data repositories. While ESnet provides network connectivity, it cannot be characterized as an internet service provider as it is specifically built to provide a range of network services that are tailored to meet the unique requirements of DOE’s data-intensive science. In short, ESnet’s mission is to enable and accelerate scientific discovery by delivering unparalleled network infrastructure, capabilities, and tools. ESnet’s vision is summarized by these three points. 1. Scientific progress will be completely unconstrained by the physical location of instruments, people, computational resources, or data. 2. Collaborations at every scale, in every domain, will have the information and tools they need to achieve maximum benefit from scientific facilities, global networks, and emerging network capabilities. 3. ESnet will foster the partnerships and pioneer the technologies necessary to ensure that these transformations occur. In May 2019, ESnet and the Office of Nuclear Physics (NP) of the DOE Office of Science organized an ESnet requirements review of NP-supported activities. Preparation for this event included identification of key stakeholders to the process: program and facility management, research groups, technology providers, and a number of external observers. These individuals were asked to prepare formal case study documents about their relationship to the NP program to build a complete understanding of the current, near-term, and long-term status, expectations, and processes that will support the science going forward. A series of pre-planning meetings better prepared case study authors for this task and facilitated a smooth transition to the in-person review.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Institutional and Policy Landscape for Solar-Plus-Storage Deployment by Electric Cooperatives

As co-location with battery storage has become a significant solar project-design trend across the United States, policies at all levels have started to adjust. Generally, these policies address battery storage development in major, urban markets, served by large investor-owned utilities (IOUs). Yet all kinds of utilities nationwide are seeking ways to tap into the fast-growing battery storage market, and they are all stakeholders in the federal, state, and local policies that impact the storage market's development. The electric cooperative sector, which includes some 830 distribution utilities and 63 generating and transmission (G&T) utilities across a mostly rural landscape, is no exception. It is impacted by federal, state, and local government policy requirements and incentives, as well as by policies that are controlled by the sector's own institutions. The objective of this paper is to identify and discuss the various policy and institutional factors that are relevant to the electric cooperative sector, and especially to local, distribution-level electric cooperatives (co-ops) that may be interested in procuring energy storage. Given this, the paper is largely written from the local co-op perspective. It also may be useful to wholesale G&T cooperatives. Other parties that may find the paper useful include storage developers, who are often unfamiliar with co-ops; local and state policymakers addressing policy options for this sector, and local renewable or storage stakeholders, who wish to understand the policy landscape affecting their local utility. Although co-op energy storage programs may tap customer-side batteries, this examination is focused on utility-side "front of the meter" projects and the policy issues they raise.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1985

Airborne atmospheric electricity experiments

During the 1984 U2 spring flight program, lightning spectra were measured in the wavelengths from 380 nm to 900 nm with a temporal resolution of 5 ms. With this capability, researchers simultaneously acquired both visible near-infrared lightning spectra on a pulse to pulse basis, so that the spectral variability within a flash, as well as flash to flash variations, can be studied. Preliminary results suggest that important variations do occur, particularly in the strengths of the hydrogen and singly ionized nitrogen emission lines. Also, the results have revealed significant differences in the integrated energy distributions between the lightning spectra measured above clouds and the spectral measurements of cloud-to-ground lightning made at the ground. In particular, the ratio of the energy in the near-IR to that in the visible is around 1 to 2 for cloud top spectra versus about 1/3 for surface observations. Detailed analyses of the 1984 lightning spectral data is being conducted. This data should provide improved understanding about the optical transmission properties of thunderclouds and the physics of the lightning discharge process. Efforts continue on developing and testing background signal removal algorithms using U2 spectometer and optical array sensor day-flight data sets. The goal of this research is to develop an algorithm satisfying Lightning Mapper Sensor requirements.

Blakeslee, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS2022

Enhancement of a global lake and reservoir database to aid climate studies and resource monitoring utilizing satellite radar altimetry

Here, we describe the expansion and enhancement of a large (surface area ≥100 sq. km) lake and reservoir database (1.GREALD). These efforts have also resulted in the spin-off of two additional databases, one containing lakes and reservoirs (2.GREALD, area 10–99 sq. km), and the other containing ephemeral lakes (3.GELD, area ≥100 sq. km). These databases are unique sources for projects that utilize satellite radar altimeter data to monitor surface water levels. While 1.GREALD aims to be a complete catalog, 2.GREALD focuses on reservoirs in response to applied sciences programs that monitor water and energy resources. The creation of 3.GELD has climate change objectives as well as water resources and ecosystem conservation applications. The recording of information pertaining to the potential overpasses (waterbody crossings) of the current and archive satellite altimeters is a primary objective as is the need to highlight any form of controlled water level variation. The permanent water databases now contain 6282 entries, half experience some form of anthropogenic influence and ∼430 have been identified as potential climatically sensitive terminal lakes. The revised integral surface area distribution is a power law with exponent −1.016. Statistics reveal that with altimetric repeat visit times of 10-day to monthly, at least 80% of the permanent water bodies (≥10 sq. km) have been overflown at some period since the 1990s. Current information on water use and reservoir formation date show that the primary use of the reservoir class is hydroelectric power, and that China, Brazil, India, Turkey, and Vietnam dominate the dam building in recent decades.

Charon M. Birkett↗

NASA NTRS1980

Photovoltaics as a terrestrial energy source. Volume 1: An introduction

Photovoltaic (PV) systems were examined their potential for terrestrial application and future development. Photovoltaic technology, existing and potential photovoltaic applications, and the National Photovoltaics Program are reviewed. The competitive environment for this electrical source, affected by the presence or absence of utility supplied power is evaluated in term of systems prices. The roles of technological breakthroughs, directed research and technology development, learning curves, and commercial demonstrations in the National Program are discussed. The potential for photovoltaics to displace oil consumption is examined, as are the potential benefits of employing PV in either central-station or non-utility owned, small, distributed systems.

Smith, J. L.↗

DOE OSTI2017

Using simulators to assess knowledge and behavior of “novice” operators of critical infrastructure under cyberattack events

—The transition from the traditional power grid to the smart grid improves reliability, performance, and management, while simultaneously increasing its susceptibility to cyberattacks. One of the biggest weaknesses in grid security is the human agent responsible for its maintenance and operations. As such, it is crucial to embed hands-on understanding of grid operations and security, especially for students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) fields. This paper presents a case study where ECE students from Temple University used an interactive microgrid simulator, "Grid Game", a program developed by Idaho National Laboratory. This case study offers insights into the ECE students’ understanding of key engineering principles (microgrid stability, generation control system, generator inertia, energy storage, and grid security) gained by using the simulator program. Furthermore, the human behavior (strategies to prepare for and respond to cyberattacks, and cooperation and conflict in decision-making) of defenders/ECE students as they experience cyberattacks are also discussed. The paper then offers some limitations and possible suggestions for future research.

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DOE OSTI2020

Grid Code Essentials and Streamlining Process for Interconnections

This presentation was part of a webinar entitled "A Practitioner's Guide to Implementing Solar Rooftop Programs and Navigating Net-Metering Policies," hosted by USAID Clean Power Asia and included speakers the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute as well as NREL. This presentation outlines grid codes in general, and IEEE Std 1547-2018 specifically, and discusses their adoption into interconnection requirements. Key capabilities, now enabled by IEEE Std 1547-2018, such as voltage regulation and frequency ride-through are described.

DER↗

DOE OSTI2023

Develop and Connect TRISO Failure Analysis and Uncertainty Quantification to Fission Product Release Calculation Capability

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program aims to develop predictive capabilities by applying computational methods to the analysis and design of advanced reactor and fuel cycle systems. This program has been providing engineering-scale support for the development of BISON, a high-fidelity and high-resolution fuel performance tool. Stress-based failure probability has been developed and analyzed to assess the integrity of tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles during fuel life cycles. While simple, stress-based approaches to failure probability leveraging the Weibull statistical distribution entails a number of drawbacks when stress concentration occurs near crack tips, including finite element mesh size dependency. In this report, we use an interaction integral approach to the computation of stress intensity factors in functionally graded materials (FGM) for axisymmetric models. The inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC) cracking induced silicon carbide (SiC) failure is one of the dominated failure modes in TRISO failure analysis. In this study, we consider a crack in the IPyC layer perpendicular to the SiC layer. The interface between these two TRISO layers is considered to be porous, which we simulate considering a transition of mechanical properties over the porous length. These aspects are considered in the computation of stress intensity factor (SIF) from a fracture mechanics approach and compared with the known stress-based failure probability approach.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Optimal Transport as a Tool for Scientific Discovery in Radiation Biology

This report summarizes findings from research conducted for the “Exploration of the Poten tial for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Advance Low-Dose Radiation Biology Re search” (RadBio-AI) program, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, under Awards KP1601011/FWP CC121 and KP1601017/FWP CC121. The research reported here was undertaken in an effort to assess the potential of optimal measure transport methods as components within the larger scope of a com putational framework envisioned to support research in the radiation biology domain. Within this effort, our interest centered on enabling a unified generic framework where probabilistic modeling, inference, and statistical learning can be carried out for a wide range of data distributions. As described next in Section 1 (and in more detail in our original publication), optimal measure transport offers the possibility of such unified approach.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS2000

Temperature Distribution Within a Defect-Free Silicon Carbide Diode Predicted by a Computational Model

Most solid-state electronic devices diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits are based on silicon. Although this material works well for many applications, its properties limit its ability to function under extreme high-temperature or high-power operating conditions. Silicon carbide (SiC), with its desirable physical properties, could someday replace silicon for these types of applications. A major roadblock to realizing this potential is the quality of SiC material that can currently be produced. Semiconductors require very uniform, high-quality material, and commercially available SiC tends to suffer from defects in the crystalline structure that have largely been eliminated in silicon. In some power circuits, these defects can focus energy into an extremely small area, leading to overheating that can damage the device. In an effort to better understand the way that these defects affect the electrical performance and reliability of an SiC device in a power circuit, the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field began an in-house three-dimensional computational modeling effort. The goal is to predict the temperature distributions within a SiC diode structure subjected to the various transient overvoltage breakdown stresses that occur in power management circuits. A commercial computational fluid dynamics computer program (FLUENT-Fluent, Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire) was used to build a model of a defect-free SiC diode and generate a computational mesh. A typical breakdown power density was applied over 0.5 msec in a heated layer at the junction between the p-type SiC and n-type SiC, and the temperature distribution throughout the diode was then calculated. The peak temperature extracted from the computational model agreed well (within 6 percent) with previous first-order calculations of the maximum expected temperature at the end of the breakdown pulse. This level of agreement is excellent for a model of this type and indicates that three-dimensional computational modeling can provide useful predictions for this class of problem. The model is now being extended to include the effects of crystal defects. The model will provide unique insights into how high the temperature rises in the vicinity of the defects in a diode at various power densities and pulse durations. This information also will help researchers in understanding and designing SiC devices for safe and reliable operation in high-power circuits.

Kuczmarski, Maria A.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Thermo-Mechanical Modeling and Evaluation of the Cracking Response of Additively Manufactured Monolithic SiC Lattice Structures Subjected to Laser Heating

Increasing operating temperatures of solar receivers is paramount to the efficiency of concentrated solar thermal (CST) and solar power (CSP) systems. Owing to its high temperature stability combined with excellent thermal and optical properties, SiC has been the material of choice for application in high-temperature solar receivers. The state-of-the-art SiC volumetric concentrating solar air receivers such as honeycomb design have been demonstrated in field tests to achieve exit air temperatures approaching 800oC. However, successful application of CST systems for decarbonization requires significant increase in temperature capability of SiC receiver technology. Supported by an award from the Solar Technology Office (SETO), US Department of Energy (DOE), GE Research in collaboration with Heliogen Holdings Inc, is engaged in the development of ultra-High Operating Temperature SiC-matrix Solar Thermal Air Receiver (HOTSSTAR) enabled by additive manufacturing. The program objective is to design and to demonstrate a techno-economically viable SiC air receiver technology to achieve exit air temperature of 1100oC for CST applications. This report summarizes the learnings of a computational study on additively manufactured SiC lattice structures subjected to laser heating. The results from this study aim to help guide the design of a SiC receiver through a better understanding of lattice structure geometric parameters and their implications on the cracking response of the structure. In the study, a heat flux was applied to the surface of a 2”-diameter cylindrical lattice structure to simulate a 4kW CO2 laser. The resulting temperature distribution was applied to a structural model to approximate the stress distribution within the lattice structure and a Weibull analysis was performed to gain insight into the probability of failure and to evaluate the cracking response of the structure. With this approach, the influence of lattice density on temperature, stress, and probability of failure was explored for two different lattice beam spacings. A discussion on modeling assumptions, a comparison with experimental results, and an evaluation of the lattice cracking response is provided.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Introducing the 9500 Node Distribution Test System to Support Advanced Power Applications: An Operations-Focused Approach

The 9500 Node Test System is a representative section of distribution power system model developed as a part of the GridAPPS-D™ project, an effort funded by DOE as a part of the Grid Modernization Lab Consortium (GMLC) program. The test system was developed to fulfill a growing need to represent the rapidly evolving state of electric distribution systems by combining elements of legacy infrastructure systems, modern feeder topologies, and an anticipated future with smart grid technologies. It also provides a network model capable of supporting the simulation of operational scenarios such as the ones in a utility distribution control center. This test system allows the evaluation of the performance of advanced power applications in real-time, such as one that simulates the operations of an Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS), Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS), etc. in a Distribution control center. This model is an extension of the widely used IEEE 8500 Node Test Feeder and is currently being validated to become an IEEE test case to help increase adoption and widespread usage among both academia and industry. It is a full-size model representative of a section of a utility’s distribution system with multiple feeders fed from different substations. The model includes multiple distribution circuits, a sub-transmission system, multiple substations, behind the meter customer rooftop photovoltaics (PV), and multiple utility-scale distributed energy resources. To enable accurate simulations of operational scenarios, the 9500 Node Test System is designed to support procedure-based operations, with the ability to realistically demonstrate switching operations, feeder reconfiguration, adjustment of volt-var control equipment, dispatch of distributed generation, and response to planned and unplanned outages. The 9500 Node Test System includes three radial distribution feeders with 12.3 MVA of average load, consisting of both medium voltage and low voltage equipment each supplied by a different distribution substation. The three distribution feeders are connected to each other through Normally-Open switches which can be closed when needed to simulate restoration scenarios due to a fault. One feeder represents today’s grid with low penetration of customer-side renewables. The second represents a potential future grid with microgrids and 100% renewable penetration. The third has no customer generation resources, a district steam plant, and a utility-scale solar farm. The three diverse circuits were created to allow the simulation of both today’s situation as well as potential future scenarios. All three feeders have customers connected by low-voltage secondary triplex lines. This test system meets all requirements outlined in the report for creating a simulation environment that would enable discussion between key technical stakeholders as well as having the potential to accelerate operational application development and their subsequent testing and integration. The new model is a possible representation of what we believe the distribution grid may look like in the future: a high penetration of renewables, reconfigurable radial and mesh topology, numerous DERs, islanded microgrids, and significantly increased data and measurement density. The system supports both the solution of existing and newer algorithms but also enables the evaluation of applications in a realistic operational environment defined by task oriented procedural steps that represent the interaction between the control center operator and field personnel.

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