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At least 1,693 records · Page 94

Lahaina Energy Partnership: Technical Assistance Task Updates and Discussion Part 2

The Lahaina Energy Partnership (LEP) is an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) to support energy planning and rebuilding efforts in Hawaii's historic town of Lahaina on Maui as the community recovers from a devastating fire on August 8, 2023, with technical assistance provided by the National Laboratory of the Rockies. NLR has partnered with Hawaii-based community organizations to engage with Lahaina the community on energy priorities and inform the technical assistance scope. This virtual workshop presentation is the second in a two-part series to provide progress updates and request community input to guide next steps. Workshop 1 on November 18 focused on hydropower resource potential, building energy modeling, and workforce development. Workshop 2 on December 11 (this presentation) will focus on microgrids, electric grid hardening, policy and regulation.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Lahaina Energy Partnership: Technical Assistance Task Updates and Discussion Part 1 [Slides]

The Lahaina Energy Partnership (LEP) is an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) to support energy planning and rebuilding efforts in Hawaii's historic town of Lahaina on Maui as the community recovers from a devastating fire on August 8, 2023, with technical assistance provided by the National Laboratory of the Rockies. NLR has partnered with Hawaii-based community organizations to engage with Lahaina the community on energy priorities and inform the technical assistance scope. This virtual workshop presentation is the first in a two-part series to provide progress updates and request community input to guide next steps. Workshop 1 on November 18 (this presentation) will focus on Hydropower resource potential, building energy modeling, workforce development. Workshop 2 on December 11 (presentation forthcoming) will focus on microgrids, electric grid hardening, policy and regulation.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Increasing Power Generation at the Patua Nevada Geothermal Field through Targeted and Adaptive EGS

In 2020, Patua Acquisition Company LLC, submitted the proposal “Increasing Power Generation at the Patua Nevada Geothermal Field through Targeted and Adaptive EGS”, in response to the DOE’s Geothermal Wells of Opportunity Funding Opportunity Announcement. The primary goal of the project was to convert an idle well, Patua 16-29, to an active producer and generate at least an additional 5 MWe at the Patua plant. The project was intended to provide an example of a reproducible methodology for well stimulation in Enhanced Geothermal Systems The project was proposed to be performed in three phases over a period of performance of four years. A first project go/no-go decision was made at the end of Phase 1 based on feasibility of the wellbore, site, and ability to realize a 5 MWe benefit from the project. Several factors were recognized that led to a no-go decision at this phase: • Electrical needs for placing the stimulated well on production were not considered in the initial scoping. Costs of pipeline costs were also underestimated in the original cost share. Easements and rights-of-way to establish a geothermal pipeline underneath or across an interstate highway were also found to be intractable on the time scale of the project. • The plant is injection limited, and no design or cost estimate was in place to handle the additional production needed to realize a 5 Mwe benefit. A new injection well would need to be drilled in addition to the other facility improvements to bring in the stimulated well. Patau Acquisition Company attempted to locate additional wells of opportunity that could realize the SOPOs goals, but was unsuccessful. As a result, this project is being terminated at the end of Phase 1.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Techno-Economic Analysis of Photovoltaics and Battery Storage for Maine [Slides]

Maine GEO was interested in a small-scale pilot using REopt to expand on previous resilience efforts and better understand the most useful information to gather from facilities to maximize the efficacy of the analysis. The pilot began with identification of three pilot facilities from the existing Maine Community Resilience Partnership (MCRP) cohort, selection of the facilities prioritizing: social vulnerability, community led planning work and commitment to ongoing work. The technical assistance focused on working with identified facilities to help scope the project and identify their goals and then provide technical specifications on optimal energy generation and storage strategies for each community. At the conclusion of the project, participating facilities received a REopt analysis report, including optimal generation and storage strategies to address identified goals and next steps and considerations for implementation.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Development of local hybrid density functionals to treat self-interaction error and many-electron effects

The goal of this project was to improve density functional theory (DFT) for systems where conventional semilocal approximations are limited by self-interaction error (SIE) and by near-degeneracy or strong many-electron effects. While DFT remains the only broadly practical first-principles framework for large-scale materials simulations, its predictive accuracy is often challenged in situations involving stretched bonds, charge transfer, transition-metal chemistry, magnetic couplings, band gaps, and correlated electronic states. This project addressed these limitations by developing physically grounded and numerically robust exchange–correlation functionals that retain the efficiency of modern DFT while extending its predictive scope.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Temperature-Time Modeling of Spent Fuel Cladding in Dry Storage Casks

This report uses thermal and decay heat modeling to investigate spent fuel performance and the potential for cladding to anneal in dry storage conditions. Annealing is an important feature to investigate in SNF cladding because it has a direct relationship to cladding response in storage, transportation and disposal conditions. Annealed cladding may have lower strength than unannealed cladding, however its increased ductility would provide better protection against rupture in high strain rate situations such as severe accidents. These consequences are the driver for this work however are outside of the scope of this report. The modeling focused on three representative storage systems, the TN-32B, MAGNASTOR with TSC-37 canister, and NUHOMS AHSM with a 32PTH2 canister. This covers the vertical dual-purpose, vertical ventilated and horizontal ventilated casks respectively. Decay heat modeling using high and low enrichment assemblies was used to bound the decay heat curves that might be expected in dry storage. To bound the temperature relationship, the storage casks were modeled starting at the design basis heat loads with heat decaying through time. Although the results are bounding there is not an attempt to maximize conservatism, rather the intent to form a reasonable upper limit on temperature that will be broadly applicable to the U.S. cask fleet. This will allow materials testing to focus on relevant conditions for annealing that may affect the U.S. spent fuel inventory. The results show a clear dependence on heat load pattern in time in Figure S-1 and Figure S-2. This dependence is due to the different assembly decay heat curves for different assemblies in preferentially loaded casks. It shows the need for careful decay heat modeling when examining in service fuel temperatures that are less than the cask design basis heat load. The body of the report shows percent cladding cutoffs of 300°C and 350 °C as well. These results can be used to inform testing and conclusions about cladding performance through time and the potential for cladding annealing during dry storage.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

New approaches to Bayesian uncertainty quantification for Nuclear Science (Final Technical Report)

Inverse problems play a central role in experimentation and theory/data comparisons for many areas of modern Nuclear Physics (NP) and High-Energy Physics (HEP). Bayes’s Theorem is a powerful tool for solving Inverse Problems, providing conceptually transparent and unbiased constraints on theoretical parameters and their uncertainties (“Bayesian Inference”) and enabling the quantification of agreement or tension between models and data. However, analyses based on Bayesian Inference are often challenging for NP and HEP applications, either because of the large number of parameters in the problem, the high computational cost, or both. We propose a multi-institutional collaboration to develop and deploy novel Bayesian analysis tools that advance the scientific scope of a broad range of current and future NP experiments. This project brings together NP domain scientists working on several high-profile NP projects for which new, high-performance Bayesian Uncertainty Quantification (“Bayesian UQ”) methods are essential to carry out the science, and data scientists who are developing state-of-the-art methods applicable to these problems. The NP projects in this proposal comprise measurements of the mass and fundamental nature of the neutrino; study of the Quark-Gluon Plasma that filled the early universe; and mapping of natural and anthropogenic radiation environments. While these NP projects have very different scientific goals, with datasets and analysis approaches that differ significantly, they share common requirements for improving computationally intensive Bayesian analyses using advanced Machine Learning algorithms and will benefit strongly from a coherent effort to develop general solutions. This proposal brings together these projects and forefront ML-based data science algorithms to develop such general solutions. The methods developed in this project will also be more widely applicable, thereby advancing science in the larger Nuclear Physics portfolio.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Central Hanford Ecological Integrity Assessments: Final Report

The Hanford Site is comprised of an expanse of shrub-steppe habitats that provides exceptional ecological value to plants and animals located on the site and in the surrounding greater Columbia Basin. The U.S. Department of Energy, Hanford Field Office (HFO)-managed portion of the Hanford Site, referred to herein as Central Hanford, has been the focus of various ecological monitoring efforts, such as vegetation monitoring. The scope and goals of vegetation surveys have varied greatly since the Hanford Site was established, but studies have documented a rapidly changing landscape, making it clear that routine vegetation monitoring is integral to understanding ecological changes and preserving the ecological value of the Hanford Site. A new vegetation monitoring effort was initiated in calendar year (CY) 2023 and continued through CY 2025 using methods based on ecological integrity assessments (EIA) (NHR-2024-04, Field Manual for Applying Rapid Ecological Integrity Assessments in Upland Plant Communities of Washington State ) developed by the Washington Natural Heritage Program (WNHP), a division of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and NatureServe.® The methods were modified and supplemented to meet monitoring goals at the Hanford Site. The EIA monitoring effort consisted of field surveys to evaluate vegetation and soil conditions for upland habitats throughout Central Hanford. Vegetation cover estimates were used to score a variety of metrics for vegetation condition. This report summarizes monitoring methods, monitoring results, and provides management recommendations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Coal-Biomass Co-Firing Power Plants with Carbon Capture and Storage

The United States has set a target to achieve the net-zero economy by 2050. Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Sequestration (BECCS) is one of the promising negative-emission routes in the mitigation portfolio to help meet this goal. Coal-biomass co-firing with carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a key BECCS technology to realize the carbon mitigation at fossil-fuel power plants. The mitigation potential of co-firing option is affected by numerous critical factors, such as biomass properties, co-firing level, and carbon capture rate. The objectives of the study are to characterize and estimate the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and performance of coal-biomass co-firing power plants with CCS, determine the breakeven co-firing level at power plants necessary to achieve net-zero life cycle emissions, and quantify the variabilities and uncertainties in life cycle emissions. The scope of the life cycle assessment includes the fuel supply, combustion-based power generation, and CO2 transport and storage. A fuel-based life cycle module is developed and embedded in the Integrated Environmental Control Model (IECM), a fossil-fuel power plant modeling tool. This study then applies the enhanced IECM to conduct the process-based life cycle assessment for an array of biomass co-firing scenarios. Deterministic analysis indicates that reaching net-zero life cycle emissions in a biomass co-firing plant without CCS deployment is challenging. Combining biomass co-firing and CCS deployment can significantly lower the overall life cycle emissions of power plants. Net-zero life cycle emissions can be achieved with a 20 wt.% co-firing level and 90% CCS when the Powder River Basin coal is co-fired with energy crops or forestry residues. However, the breakeven co-firing level for net-zero emissions depend on the selected fuel properties. Fuel supply and plant operation are the critical stages influencing the life cycle emissions of power plants with 90% CCS. Deployment of deep CCS beyond 90% CO2 capture can remarkably reduce operational emissions and the breakeven co-firing level. With 99% CCS, the breakeven co-firing rate can be reduced to 12% on average. These findings highlight the trade-offs between technical performance and environmental impact of biomass co-firing at coal-fired power plants and emphasize the role of deep CCS in achieving a net-zero emissions future.

Wu, Wanying↗

Systems Analysis of Biomass and Coal Co-firing Power Plants with Deep Carbon Capture Toward Net-zero Emissions

Achieving a net-zero emission economy in the United States requires integrating diverse low-carbon and negative-emission technologies into the existing fossil fuel-dominant power fleet. Potential technologies from the low-carbon portfolio include renewable power, fossil power with carbon capture and storage (CCS), bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), and direct air capture (DAC). Renewable power is a clean energy source but has to pair with costly battery storage to provide dispatchable electricity. Fossil power with CCS offers dispatchable electricity yet still relies on DAC to offset residual emissions, even when deploying deep CCS with more than 90% CO2 capture. Coal-biomass co-firing with CCS, a subset of BECCS, is a reliable energy production technology that can be retrofitted from existing electricity generation units (EGUs). Power plant retrofit maximizes the use of the current U.S. coal power fleet without the need for large-scale deployment of new renewable power, battery storage, or DAC. Retrofitting coal-biomass co-firing with deep CCS in EGUs is a promising option, but not a universal solution. Biomass co-firing at a power plant introduces economic challenges and indirectly poses pressure on land and water resources. Meanwhile, retrofitting deep CCS affects plant efficiency and raises electricity generation costs. Overall, the technical feasibility and economic viability of plant retrofits vary across EGUs, as they are contingent upon the regional availability of biomass, unit-specific characteristics, site-specific fuel supply costs, and adjacent CO2 storage potential. Government incentives like 45Q can improve the retrofit viability, though the impact requires further quantification. A comprehensive analysis at the unit level is essential to address the question regarding the fate of the U.S. coal-fired electricity generation fleet toward the net-zero emission goal. This study conducts a systematic techno-economic-environmental assessment of EGUs to identify the viability of biomass co-firing and deep CCS retrofits in the U.S. coal-fired power fleet. Specifically, it characterizes the techno-economic performance of deep carbon capture, estimates life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and conducts a fleet-level assessment on retrofit viability. The key objectives are (1) to estimate the unit-specific performance and retrofitted cost under various biomass co-firing levels and CO2 capture rates; (2) to determine the possibility of reaching net-zero emission at the fleet level; (3) to quantify the cumulative capacities that are suitable for plant retrofits under current and future biomass supply scenarios; and (4) to improve the understanding of policy impacts on such retrofits to help the power sector’s transition to a net-zero economy. Techno-economic Model of Deep Carbon Capture. This study develops the performance and economic models for Monoethanolamine-based post-combustion CO2 capture at 95–99% capture rates. The process is simulated in Aspen Plus, analyzing the performance of carbon capture technology by varying the plant sizes, solvent lean loading, CO2 concentrations, and flue gas inlet temperature. Based on the key inputs and output parameters of CO2 capture, a reduced-order performance model of deep carbon capture is formulated. In addition, an engineering-economic model integrating the performance metrics is developed to estimate the capital as well as operation and maintenance (O&M) costs. Capital cost estimations follow the framework of the Integrated Environmental Control Model (IECM) and incorporate data regressions from three technical reports by IECM, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The O&M cost estimation utilizes the actual inventory consumption rate and labor requirements. Both performance and cost models are embedded into IECM v13.0-beta, a fossil-fuel power plant modeling tool. Life Cycle Assessment of Power Plants. This study estimates the GHG emissions of power plants through life cycle assessment (LCA). The LCA scope includes fuel supply, combustion-based power generation, and CO2 transport and storage. The fuel-based life cycle module is designed following the framework of the NETL Unit Process Library and CO2U LCA Guidance Toolkit. The module is then incorporated into IECM v13.0-beta. The process-based LCA is applied to estimate the GHG emissions of coal and biomass supply, coal- and coal-biomass co-firing power plant operation, as well as CO2 pipeline transport and geographical sequestration. An uncertainty analysis is conducted to quantify the variability and uncertainty associated with the LCA using the Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) method. Fleet-level Assessment. This study evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of selected coal-fired EGUs, examines the role of tax credits in retrofit viability, and assesses the competitiveness of retrofitted units against other low-carbon options. Unit screening identifies EGUs for the study, focusing on new, efficient baseload units with air pollution controls. The power plant databases are then established to organize unit-specific information on performance and operating conditions from the relevant public databases. Biomass for co-firing retrofits is selected based on home and neighboring county availability, ensuring sustained operation with at least a 5% co-firing level. The CO2 storage site is determined by state-level storage potential, with ArcGIS Pro and NETL CO2 Saline Storage Cost Model used to identify the optimal balance between the nearest transport distances and affordable storage costs. The latest IECM v13.0-beta is then employed to configure and evaluate the eligible EGUs with or without the deployment of deep CCS and biomass co-firing. A supply curve is established to illustrate the cumulative installed capacity suitable for retrofits at different cost levels. A sensitivity analysis on tax credits for carbon sequestration is performed. Finally, a unit-level cost comparison is conducted among retrofitted plants, renewable power with battery storage, and abated fossil fuels with DAC. Expected Results. This study evaluates the technical, economic, and environmental metrics of each EGU across an array of CO2 capture rates and biomass co-firing level scenarios. Unit-level comparisons will identify critical factors influencing technical performance. The supply curves with and without tax incentives will provide insights into the impact of tax credits on biomass co-firing and CCS deployment. The cost comparisons with renewables and DAC-retrofit will assess the competitiveness of the retrofitted units. Life cycle emissions from each unit will be assessed to identify the scenarios under which net-zero emissions can be achieved. These analyses are expected to determine the total coal-fired capacity suitable for serving as a low-carbon energy source with or without tax incentives. The study results are novel in identifying optimal unit-specific strategies for producing carbon-neutral power, whether through retrofitting EGUs with deep CCS, biomass co-firing, DAC, or installing renewable power with battery. The findings will provide insight into nationwide efforts to ensure reliable, affordable, and low-carbon electricity. It also will inform investment decisions and policies in the deployment of deep carbon capture and negative emission technologies for a net-zero energy future.

Biomass Co-firing↗

FY26 Mid-Year Report

The goal of this project is to develop specific aspects of ultra-high-resolution microcalorimeter technologies that support IAEA Nuclear Material Laboratory needs and the goals of SP-1 19/NML-003 "Microcalorimetry Analysis Technique for NML" but are outside the scope of the SP-1. The focus is on commissioning, assembly, and testing of the microcalorimeter decay energy spectrometer with superconducting transition-edge sensors (TESs) and magnetic microcalorimeters (MMCs) in preparation for transfer to the IAEA Nuclear Material Laboratory.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Automatic Image Point Matching

Sparse Image Point Matching (SIPM) is a foundational technology for photo triangulation, structure from motion (SfM), Simultaneous Location and Mapping (SLAM), and data fusion. The goal of the matching is to automatically generate sets of image coordinates that identify the same feature across images. Ideally, the process should be robust to lighting, scale, perspective, and modality changes. The scope of the image matching topic in the field of remote sensing (RS) is enormous because of the variety of collection platforms, modalities, sensor types, applications, and subjects. In this work, we report the history of and assess the state of the art of visible-spectrum (panchromatic and color) image matching of the Earth’s surface. Work specific to large-format images (LFI) (e.g., metric aerial cameras and Earth-observing satellites) will be highlighted. However, the state of the art in this century will mostly be traced through machine vision research and benchmarks because research specific to LFI is rare.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Aniak Energy Efficiency Retrofit Project

The Native Village of Aniak (NVA), a federally recognized Yup'ik Tribe, undertook this energy efficiency initiative to enhance energy performance in key community buildings, including the Tribal Office, Community Center, Duplex, and Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) Office. Through energy audits and upgrades, the project focused on high-impact improvements like air sealing, LED lighting, and programmable thermostats, primarily in the Tribal Office due to funding constraints. The initiative aimed to reduce energy waste, lower heating and electricity costs, and improve facility comfort and longevity while achieving long-term savings for further improvements by decreasing reliance on imported fuel oil. Despite scope limitations exacerbated by budget constraints, this project achieved an approximately 52% reduction in EUI. Reducing operational costs emphasizes economic and environmental benefits, aligning closely with Aniak's broader energy sustainability objectives. This initiative aligned with the Tribe's vision for responsible energy use, addressing the challenges of high fuel prices in a remote community; it could serve as a model for similar efforts in Aniak and other Alaska Native villages pursuing energy self-reliance.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

RDPP: Accelerating Diversity in DOE Climate Science and Resilience Research (Final Report)

The scope of the project was set out to accelerate the inclusion of diversity into the Department of Energy (DOE) Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division (EESSD) relevant climate science and resilience research to inclusively advance solutions. The Project Objectives were to usher in equitable use-inspired climate-related research with underrepresented Minorities of which this project helped fund 7 HU graduate students work with the DOE (three of which will graduate in Spring 2025). The two key aims underpinning that core goal were AIM1: developing partnerships (18 organized engaged, see partners list) and AIM2: Developing capabilities (3 visits to DOE facilities, 5 DOE partners visits to HU, increased visiting faculty participation in BNL-DOE lab, secured 5 grants together totaling 1.2 million in funds for HU). The project objectives were highly successful as they were designed to ambitiously pull together DOE lab researchers with the long-standing and successful transdisciplinary climate science research programs of the PI and local DC groups. The major outcomes of this RDPP program will be in the new fundamentally inclusive partnerships with DOE and HU tasked to understand the urban-rural impacts due to climate change in the US, Eastern South Atlantic (ESA) Region, related to energy issues driven by heat stress and the water cycle. Overall, this project contributes to the DOE and science community vision for catalyze connections for project-ready underrepresented minorities (URMs) at a prominent HBCU to DOE projects supported by the Biological and Environmental research (BER) Program; particularly, the Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division (EESSD).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Unalakleet Microgrid Optimization for Tribal Community Resilience

The Unalakleet Microgrid Optimization Project aimed to strengthen the reliability and efficiency of the isolated electric power system that serves the Tribal community of Unalakleet, Alaska. The community relies entirely on a local wind-diesel microgrid, consisting of four 475 kW diesel generators and six 100 kW wind turbines, to provide electricity to approximately 745 residents and Tribal facilities. Because Unalakleet is not on a road system and is located nearly 400 miles from the nearest major power grid, maintaining a resilient and efficient local energy system is critical. The scope of this project included upgrading a portion of the transmission line between the wind farm and the power plant to increase voltage and reduce line losses, along with modernizing the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to improve monitoring, control, and data management of the power system. These upgrades were designed to increase wind energy utilization, reduce diesel fuel consumption by tens of thousands of gallons annually, and improve overall grid stability. By allowing more of the community’s electricity to be supplied by local renewable wind resources, the project was designed to lower operating costs, reduce dependence on imported fuel, and strengthen the long-term resilience of the power system. These improvements represent an important step toward the community’s long-term energy vision of expanding renewable generation, incorporating energy storage, and eventually achieving “diesels-off” operation, where essential Tribal loads are powered primarily by local renewable resources.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Compositional Reasoning for Hierarchical State Machines

Harel statecharts and its derivatives are popular graphical languages for specifying discrete control systems via hierarchical state machines. Separately, there has been a long line of work on specifying concurrent systems with process calculi which come equipped with an algebraic theory, the ability reason compositionally about various temporal properties, and strong type systems. While these two approaches to modeling systems are tantalizingly similar, the integrated reasoning principles that exist for process calculi have not been demonstrated in hierarchical state machines. A key issue is that operational theories for process calculi do not behave like control systems, and thus, there is virtually no tool support for modeling control systems with such languages. For a control system designer, bringing the integrated, more scalable reasoning from the process calculi to state-machine languages would enable the specification of more complex systems and a more modular systems development process. Our insight is that we can recover many important results from the process calculi in hierarchical state machines with local scope. We employ a structural operational semantics, which is ubiquitous in process and 𝜆-calculi but uncommon in hierarchical statemachine formalizations, to enable inductive reasoning about behavior. Taking inspiration from the structure of process calculi metatheories, we define a calculus of refinement and equivalence that we prove sound with respect to local notion of (bi)simulation. Furthermore, we prove that the calculus preserves the behavioral properties of reactivity, observational determinism, traces, and linear temporal properties. Our results are mechanized in the Rocq proof assistant.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Soft X-ray/VUV diagnostic upgrades and installation on NSTX-U (Final Report)

Due to repeated delays in the schedule for the NSTX-U upgrade as well as the emergence of COVID and subsequent personnel loss during the granting period, the scope of the award was reduced to completing the refurbishment and upgrade of the JHU soft X-ray (SXR) and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) diagnostics for the NSTX-U experiment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Bat Acoustic Survey Data Collected June 2024 in and near Self Sufficiency Parcel-2 (SSP2) on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR)

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) is located in Anderson and Roane Counties, Tennessee. A portion of the ORR, known as Self-Sufficiency Parcel 2 (SSP2) is planned for transfer for private use. The SSP2 Site is approximately 670 acres (Figure 1-1), although the current plan is to only clear and develop a portion of this acreage. Any inquiries about the land transfer and future development should be directed to DOE Oak Ridge Environmental Management, as this is beyond the scope of the Natural Resources Management Team (NRMT). NRMT records bat data for the entire ORR, including acoustic monitoring, mist netting and cave surveys. A few surveys have previously been conducted for small land transfers adjacent to SSP2 (See Appendix A), but not for the entire SSP2 area. Since bats have a large range, it was decided that collecting data while SSP2 was still accessible would be beneficial for the NRMT dataset. Acoustic data was therefore collected within and near SSP2 during the summer of 2024. This write-up is not a Biological Assessment (BA). However, the data and information provided can be used during the creation of a BA and consultations with US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in order to comply with federal directives of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U. S. C. 153 et seq.). The SSP2 site was surveyed during summer roosting/maternity season of 2024 using ultrasonic acoustic monitors to record calls from all bat species whose home ranges include the ORR. Special note was taken for presence of Federally listed Endangered and Threatened (T&E) bat species, as well as bat species which are Proposed for Federal listing, Candidate for federal listing, and state listed. Summer roosting season, from May 15 to August 15, is crucial to forest-dwelling T&E bat species for rearing young and foraging. Results of these surveys indicate the presence of three Federally listed bat species: Gray bat (Myotis grisescens--Endangered), Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis--Endangered), and Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis--Endangered). Two additional bat species were present on the SSP2 Site: Tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus--Proposed for Federal listing) and Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus—Candidate for Federal listing).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗