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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Crossing the Barriers: An Analysis of Land Access Barriers to Geothermal Development and Potential Improvement Scenarios

Developers have identified many non-technical barriers to geothermal power development, including access to land. Activities required for accessing land, such as environmental review and private and public leasing can take a considerable amount of time and can delay or prevent project development. This paper discusses the impacts to available geothermal resources and deployment caused by land access challenges, including tribal and cultural resources, environmentally sensitive areas, biological resources, land ownership, federal and state lease queues, and proximity to military installations. In this analysis, we identified challenges that have the potential to prevent development of identified and undiscovered hydrothermal geothermal resources. We found that an estimated 400 MW of identified geothermal resource potential and 4,000 MW of undiscovered geothermal resource potential were either unallowed for development or contained one or more significant barriers that could prevent development at the site. Potential improvement scenarios that could be employed to overcome these barriers include (1) providing continuous funding to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for processing geothermal leases and permit applications and (2) the creation of advanced environmental mitigation measures. The model results forecast that continuous funding to the USFS could result in deployment of an additional 80 MW of geothermal capacity by 2030 and 124 MW of geothermal capacity by 2050 when compared to the business-as-usual scenario. The creation of advanced environmental mitigation measures coupled with continuous funding to the USFS could result in deployment of an additional 97 MW of geothermal capacity by 2030 and 152 MW of geothermal capacity by 2050 when compared to the business-as-usual scenario. The small impact on potential deployment in these improvement scenarios suggests that these 4,400 MW have other barriers to development in addition to land access. In other words, simply making more resources available for development does not increase deployment; however, impacts to deployment could increase when coupled with other improvements (e.g., permitting, market and/or technology improvements).

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

DRILL Interface Makes Ion Soft Landing Broadly Accessible for Energy Science and Applications

Polyoxometalates (POM) have been deposited onto carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes using benchtop ion soft landing (SL) enabled by a vortex-confined electrohydrodynamic desolvation process. The device is based on the dry ion localization and locomotion (DRILL) mass spectrometry interface of Fedorov and co-workers. By adding electrospray emitters, heating the desolvation gas, and operating at high gas flow rates, it is possible to obtain stable ion currents up to -15 nA that are ideal for deposition. Coupled with ambient ion optics, this interface enables desolvated ions to be delivered to surfaces while excluding solvent and counterions. Electron microscopy of surfaces prepared using the device reveal discrete POM and no aggregation that degrades electrode performance. Characterization of POM-coated CNT electrodes in a supercapacitor showed an energy storage capacity similar to that achieved with SL in vacuum. For solutions that produce primarily a single ion by electrospray ionization, benchtop SL offers a simpler and less costly approach for surface modification with applications in catalysis, energy storage, and beyond.

Johnson, Grant E.↗
DOE OSTI2015

GeoVision - Barriers Taskforce

This submission includes papers, presentations, and data developed during the multi-year GeoVision Barriers Taskforce effort. Developers have identified many non-technical barriers to geothermal power development, including land access, permitting, and market barriers. Included in this submission are three papers submitted to the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) which detail how land access, permitting, and market barriers delay geothermal project development. Also included is the GeoVision Barriers Analysis Summary report, which projects and quantifies the future electric and nonelectric deployment potentials of geothermal technologies within a range of scenarios in addition to their impacts on U.S. jobs, the economy, and environment.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

GeoRePORT Protocol Volume V: International Socioeconomic Assessment Tool

The GeoRePORT International Socioeconomic Assessment Tool provides guidance on how to complete the GeoRePORT Excel-based input spreadsheet. The GeoRePORT Socioeconomic Assessment Tool is designed to report land access, permitting, market, and transmission favorability for geothermal projects.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unlocking nighttime mobility: Land use and accessibility in public transit for night commuters

Night commuters are integral to urban transportation systems. Essential services such as healthcare and manufacturing rely on workers who travel at night, and reliable mobility options are crucial for them. A gap exists in understanding how land use and accessibility influence public transportation use among night commuters. This study addresses this gap by using public data to explore land use and accessibility factors that affect night commuters' public transportation use in New York State. We investigated (1) the demographic characteristics of night commuters; (2) the influence of land use and accessibility on nighttime public transportation use; and (3) potential improvements to increase public transportation use and their impact. We combined data from the National Household Travel Survey with the Smart Location Database to link home locations with land use characteristics. Using logistic regression, we found that although females are generally less likely to be night commuters, they are more likely to use public transportation. Longer commute distances are associated with higher use of public transportation. Increasing job density along fixed-guideway transit routes and improving overall job accessibility via public transportation significantly enhances public transportation use among night commuters. In conclusion, this research provides actionable insights for public transportation agencies and urban planners to support night commuters, improving access and encouraging nighttime employment.

Job accessibility↗
DOE OSTI2021

Oilwell Conversion (Well API 121913310501) to Geothermal Heat Storage Well for Flexible Electricity Storage

Geothermal growth is limited by a lack of geographically dispersed high-temperature thermal resources and high initial upfront investment in characterization and well construction. This project intended to address the challenges of energy supply intermittency and enhance grid resilience, reliability, and energy security by storing energy provided from currently available renewable resources in the subsurface to harvest it a later time during at-peak energy demand. This project intended to improve geothermal adoption, reduce initial project risk, and improve price competitiveness through utilizing existing oil and gas infrastructure such as non-productive wells, non-economic fields, dry holes, and orphaned wells. The project also intended to address the lack of geographically dispersed thermal resources and enhance grid resilience, reliability, and energy security by introducing an economical method for storing energy from currently available renewable resources in the subsurface for usage during at-peak energy demand. During this research, the project furthered the understanding of the feasibility of utilizing abandoned oil and gas wells as geothermal heat storage wells. The project team investigated the heat storage and hydrogeological characteristics of subsurface reservoirs in the Illinois Basin to evaluate their response to heat injection for determining the evolution of temperature profiles and heat losses over time using existing and available data sets. The project team then performed modeling and simulation to evaluate the heat losses of returning fluids during heat extraction. The outputs were used to select an optimal candidate reservoir and location in Southern Illinois. The team designed and performed a small-scale field test in an existing oil well to refine the model and to demonstrate the permitting and regulatory pathways necessary for the conversion of oil and gas assets to geothermal use. The field test also serves as a proof of concept and can guide the procedures for future research and implementation. Additionally, the project team, conducted initial market research and customer discovery to develop a go to market strategy for an Advanced Geothermal Energy Storage (AGES) system. The project team in this research also identified the parameters to be refined in future research, to improve the current go to market strategy economic model. To this end several subject matter experts were also identified to assist in future research with geothermal infrastructure setup, energy storage policy and law, energy storage market demand, potential siting based on demand etc. Future research will involve further sophistication of the site commercial modeling, implementing a larger-scale test, and further refinement of the thermodynamic modeling/simulation process. The output will be lifecycle costs and economics suitable for comparison to alternative approaches from a validated full-scale demonstration for venture capital investment into this technology. The project successfully demonstrated the ability to leverage existing oilfield infrastructure, permits, and land access and leasing agreements, to enable geothermal storage projects to come online faster and cheaper than a greenfield development could. This technology could allow for greater energy independence and security through long-term energy storage solutions. The longer duration allows for greater storage for renewables currently limited by hours-long storage durations of lithium-ion. The AGES system would support the growth of renewable energy farms, and provide greater opportunities for a cleaner energy infrastructure.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Dataset for report: Non-Technical Barriers to Geothermal Development in California and Nevada

In California and Nevada, geothermal projects are subject to non-technical barriers, which may create development delays leading to higher project costs and risks and decreased competitiveness with other electricity generation technologies. These non-technical barriers may include federal and state permits, authorizations, environmental reviews, and other regulatory requirements that are applicable throughout different phases of geothermal project development. The 2022 National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report, "Non-Technical Barriers to Geothermal Development in California and Nevada" presents findings of a study on non-technical barriers that may influence geothermal project development. The set of data resources relied upon for the report includes: 1) interviews conducted with relevant geothermal stakeholders including regulators and project developers, 2) federal and state environmental review documents developed for specific projects, 3) a techno-economic analysis conducted using the NREL Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) framework, and 4) an analysis of the impacts of site-specific land access and permitting considerations on project development readiness conducted using the Geothermal Resource Portfolio Optimization and Reporting Technique (GeoRePORT) Socioeconomic Assessment Tool (SEAT).

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

GeoRePORT Protocol Volume IV: Socioeconomic Assessment Tool

The GeoRePORT Socioeconomic Assessment Tool provides guidance on how to complete the GeoRePORT Excel-based input spreadsheet. The GeoRePORT Socioeconomic Assessment Tool is designed to report land access, permitting, market, and transmission favorability for geothermal projects.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Technical Feasibility Aspects of the Geothermal Resource Reporting Methodology (GRRM)

This paper reviews the technical assessment of the Geothermal Research Reporting Methodology (GRRM, http://en.openei.org/wiki/GRRM) being developed for reporting geothermal resources and project progress. The goal of the methodology is to provide the U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) with a consistent and comprehensible means of evaluating the impacts of its funding programs. The GRRM is designed to provide uniform assessment criteria for geothermal resource grades and developmental phases of geothermal resource exploration and development. This resource grade system provides information on twelve attributes of geothermal resource locations (e.g., temperature, permeability, land access) to indicate potential for geothermal development. The GTO plans to use these Protocols to help quantitatively identify the greatest barriers to geothermal development, develop measureable program goals that will have the greatest impact to geothermal deployment, objectively evaluate proposals based (in part) on a project's ability to contribute to program goals, monitor project progress, and report on GTO portfolio performance. The GRRM assesses three areas of geothermal potential: geological, socio-economic, and technical. Previous work and publications have discussed the work done on the geological aspects of this methodology (Young et al. 2015c); this paper details the development of the technical assessment of the GRRM. Technical development attributes considered include: reservoir management, drilling, logistics, and power conversion.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Deep Learning for Modeling Enhanced Geothermal Systems

Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) offer a vast potential to expand the use of geothermal energy. Heat is extracted from this engineered system by injecting cold water into a subsurface fractures, which are in contact with the hot dry rock, and pulled through the production wells. Creating EGS requires improving the natural permeability of hot crystalline rocks. To develop economically viable EGS reservoirs, significant technical barriers (e.g., better stimulation technologies without adequate water and/or permeability) and non-technical barriers (e.g., land access and permitting) must be overcome. In this short conference paper, we present a workflow to address a part of this challenge – “How to develop economically viable EGS using existing technologies?”. Our workflow called the GeoThermalCloud (GTC) for EGS, leverages recent advances in machine learning, deep learning, and cloud computing. This GTC framework is open-source and available at https://github.com/SmartTensors/GeoThermalCloud.jl. The GTC framework provides trained deep learning (DL) models to estimate the net present value of a given EGS design scenario. The Geothermal Design Tool (https://github.com/GeoDesignTool/GeoDT.git), a fast and simplified multi-physics solver, is used to develop a database for training DL models. The database consists of EGS design parameters (inputs to DL model) and their net present value (output of DL model) in uncertain geologic systems. The EGS design parameters for constructing this training database are based on Utah FORGE but include the options of more wells and deeper depths. The DL models are trained by ingesting the EGS design parameters and estimating the corresponding net present value. Such an emulation allows us to screen various EGS designs quickly and identify good development strategies by coupling them with optimization techniques. Our preliminary results show promise in DL emulation of net present value. However, a lot more work is needed to improve the predictive capability of DL models (i.e., extensive hyperparameter tuning is necessary). This will be the primary focus of our future work.

artificial neural networks, geothermal↗
DOE OSTI2015

Post-closure program streamlining at the Nevada national security site - 15290

More than 200 sites on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), and Tonopah Test Range (TTR) have been closed in place. At these sites, contamination has been left in place, and protection of human health, safety, and the environment is ensured through the establishment of use restrictions (URs). Post-closure requirements were initially established in the Closure Report (CR) for each site and include a variety of inspection, monitoring, maintenance, and reporting commitments. Post-closure requirements and site controls (fences, monuments, soil covers, and postings) may vary depending on site location, accessibility, land use scenario, and the nature of contaminants left in place. Corrective Action Sites (CASs) on the NNSS, NTTR, and TTR have been identified for closure under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO), which was signed in 1996. Over 1,900 CASs have been closed under the framework of the FFACO, and more than 200 of those have URs. Many post-closure requirements have been modified over time. In addition, because the scope of the program has spanned almost 20 years, the post-closure requirements have varied due to changing strategies and expectations. Because of the number of sites closed over the course of the program, post-closure requirements are found in hundreds of closure documents, addendums, errata sheets, Records of Technical Change, inspection reports, permit modifications, and correspondence. Furthermore, resources such as personnel and funding necessary to conduct the post-closure program have diminished, while computer capabilities and configuration control principles have improved since closure activities under the FFACO began. Because of these factors, to effectively manage the post-closure program, ensure that all commitments are being met, and improve the ease of identifying the most current post-closure requirements for each UR, the current requirements for every use-restricted site under the purview of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office will be consolidated into a single Post-Closure Plan. The Consolidated Post-Closure Plan will also outline a strategy and present possible criteria that may be used for future evaluation of post-closure requirements. Continual assessment of the post-closure program will ensure that the post-closure requirements for URs across the NNSS, NTTR, and TTR are consistently justifiable and sufficient to protect site workers, the public, and the environment while increasing efficiency. Future changes to post-closure requirements and justification for those changes will be recorded in revisions to the Consolidated Post-Closure Plan. This process will provide a comprehensive, consistent, and streamlined method for evaluation of post-closure requirements and implementation of changes. (authors)

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

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

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

Cui, Ryna↗
DOE OSTI2016

The impact of changing the land surface scheme in ACCESS(v1.0/1.1) on the surface climatology

The Community Atmosphere Biosphere Land Exchange (CABLE) model has been coupled to the UK Met Office Unified Model (UM) within the existing framework of the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (ACCESS), replacing the Met Office Surface Exchange Scheme (MOSES). Here we investigate how features of the CABLE model impact on present-day surface climate using ACCESS atmosphere-only simulations. The main differences attributed to CABLE include a warmer winter and a cooler summer in the Northern Hemisphere (NH), earlier NH spring runoff from snowmelt, and smaller seasonal and diurnal temperature ranges. The cooler NH summer temperatures in canopy-covered regions are more consistent with observations and are attributed to two factors. Firstly, CABLE accounts for aerodynamic and radiative interactions between the canopy and the ground below; this placement of the canopy above the ground eliminates the need for a separate bare ground tile in canopy-covered areas. Secondly, CABLE simulates larger evapotranspiration fluxes and a slightly larger daytime cloud cover fraction. Warmer NH winter temperatures result from the parameterization of cold climate processes in CABLE in snow-covered areas. In particular, prognostic snow density increases through the winter and lowers the diurnally resolved snow albedo; variable snow thermal conductivity prevents early winter heat loss but allows more heat to enter the ground as the snow season progresses; liquid precipitation freezing within the snowpack delays the building of the snowpack in autumn and accelerates snow melting in spring. Altogether we find that the ACCESS simulation of surface air temperature benefits from the specific representation of the turbulent transport within and just above the canopy in the roughness sublayer as well as the more complex snow scheme in CABLE relative to MOSES.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development of The PaR Tool: Modernization of the Planning and Routing Scripts

The placement of an efficient route for power lines is a poorly understood. Owners of the land are often divided about whether to allow their land to have a pole placed. A planning and routing toolkit allows for the people to allow and deny access to land then instantly see the route recalculate. The original planning and routing scripts were the original proof of concept, there was a series of problems that greatly hindered the functionality of the system. The PaR Tool a fully featured application replaced the proof of concept scripts and the speed of the system was increased by 254%. It is readily extensible and far easier to use.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Hanford Site Ecological Monitoring Report for Calendar Year 2017

The U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) conducts ecological monitoring on the Hanford Site to collect and track data needed to ensure compliance with an array of environmental laws, regulations, and policies governing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) activities. Ecological monitoring data provide baseline information about the plants, animals, and habitats under DOE-RL stewardship at the Hanford Site required for decision making under the National Environmental Policy Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. DOE/EIS-0222-FU, Final Hanford Comprehensive Land Use Plan Environmental Impact Statement, (CLUP) evaluates potential environmental impacts associated with implementing a comprehensive land use plan for the Hanford Site over the next 50 years. The vision for the DOE-RL-managed portion of the Hanford Site focuses not only on the cleanup of nuclear facilities and waste sites but on the protection of groundwater, the Columbia River, and the restoration of the land for access and use. To reach these goals DOE-RL is working closely with partners, such as the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Park Service, to enable use of the Hanford land consistent with the CLUP. As DOE-RL moves toward accomplishing this vision, monitoring the ecological resources present to determine whether there is a need for conservation and/or protection of any resources will be critical for making informed decisions for responsible site stewardship.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Resource Analysis for Deep Direct-Use Feasibility Study in East Texas, Part 2

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Southern Methodist University Geothermal Laboratory, Eastman Chemical, Turbine Air Systems, and the Electric Power Research Institute are evaluating the feasibility of using geothermal heat to improve the efficiency of natural gas power plants. The area of interest is the Eastman Chemical plant in Longview, Texas, which is on the northwestern margin of the Sabine Uplift. Part 2 focus on: 1) Permit report and spreadsheet on Federal, State, and Local agency requirements for a geothermal deep direct-use project in the vicinity of East Texas for Harrison, Gregg, Rusk, and Panola Counties. 2) Evaluation of the Geologic Variability of Travis Peak Formation as a reservoir. 3) Updated Heat Flow Memo with additional references.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗