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At least 199 records · Page 11

Characterizing Current THD’s Dependency on Solar Irradiance and Supraharmonics Profiling for a Grid-Tied Photovoltaic Power Plant

The rapidly increasing distributed energy resources (DERs) in power systems are now getting interconnected to set community grid structures, where power quality will be a major concern. The grid-to-grid (G2G) bidirectional power transfer among the distribution microgrid will not be considered commercially feasible unless the upstream harmonics are under the limits. The aggregation of such harmonics, measured as total harmonic distortion (THD), is feared to be beyond tolerable limits with the progression of rooftop grid-tied PV-like installations. Hence, this THD needs to be characterized with DER generation end variables. In this work, the photovoltaic (PV) DERs’ dependency on environment variables such as irradiance was profiled in the context of generating and injecting harmonics into the grid. A mathematical model of a grid-tied three-phase PV DER was developed as part of this correlation characterization, matching the fundamental unit structure of a 1.4 MW solar canopy located on the Florida International University (FIU) Miami campus. To determine the qualitative association with produced THD patterns, the model was evaluated with various irradiance settings. A real-time digital simulation (RTDS) platform was used to verify it. Following this confirmation, sets of data from power quality meters at the point of common coupling and FIU field sensors were utilized to validate further the correlation model. The results showed that the grid current’s THD exhibited a high correlation with the irradiance profile and its variation over time. The early morning and late afternoon periods of the day, associated with a low irradiance, constantly had higher harmonics generated from the PV DER. The midday THD was rather rational with partial shadings, hence a geolocation-dependent factor. These findings were verified by an RTDS and validated by real field data. In quantifying the THD injected by a single DER at a high-frequency (2–150 kHz) supraharmonics (SH) level, a 3% peak increment in magnitude was observed from the high-fixed to the low-fixed irradiance profile. The correlation characteristics depicted that the hybrid microgrid suffered from a daytime-dependent harmonic insertion from the grid-tied DER. This is a global problem unless specific measures are taken to mitigate the harmonics. The electrically notorious higher-frequency SH was found to increase proportionally. The G2G power transfer can be limited because of the higher THD in the early morning and late afternoon, which will also worsen because the numbers of grid-tied PV DERs (i.e., rooftop solar and industrial solar) are likely to increase rapidly soon. The community grid structure can thus have a controlled harmonics filtration setup purposefully designed to address the findings of this work, which also fall within the scope of our future research.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Net-Zero Carbon Microgrids

The microgrid concept has been effective in creating aggregations of distributed energy resources—generation, storage and loads—for resiliency, in the form of energy security. The success of microgrids in bringing energy security to a wide range of customers—from individual residences to commercial and industrial installations to military bases—has been exemplified during power disruptions and extended outages due to extreme weather events, cybersecurity attacks, and equipment failures. Now microgrids have an opportunity to meet the challenges of climate change and contribute to a carbon-free power delivery system. The transition to net-zero starts within microgrids themselves. In fact, today’s microgrids are largely dominated by generators using fossil fuels, natural gas and diesel, with high greenhouse gas emissions. In short, the transition to net-zero means replacing fossil fueled generators with renewable generation in microgrids. This transition is extended by including new dispatchable generation technologies that are 100% carbon-free and that offer additional advantage of a more-dependable and sustainable source of energy and power. Basically, the decarbonization of microgrids requires three elements: 1) maximizing generation from renewable energy resources, 2) management of storage and flexible loads to balance the variability and intermittency of renewable energy resources, and 3) introducing new clean power sources, including hydrogen-based generation and small modular reactors. This report affirms a need for specific focus by governmental agencies at national, regional, and local levels to establish technology, policy, and investment in this area. The intention of the Net-Zero Microgrid (NZM) Program is to inform these constituencies with cross-cutting research and tools for the reduction of GHG in microgrids – to net-zero in the near term eventually to zero in the longer term. The NZM Program is committed to achieving decarbonization for resiliency and for providing clean energy at the local or distribution level, from remote communities to underserved communities, and large industrial and military facilities. The NZM Planning and Design Platform is a core tool to be developed as an early deliverable of the NZM Program because only a fully integrated microgrid-design approach will ensure maximum carbon reduction in energy production.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Valuing Resilience Benefits of Microgrids for an Interconnected Island Distribution System

Extreme climate-driven events such as hurricanes, floods, and wildfires are becoming more intense in areas exposed to these threats, requiring approaches to improve the resilience of the electrical infrastructure serving these communities. Long-duration outages caused by such high impact events propagate to economic, health, and social consequences for communities. As essential service providers, electric utilities are mandated to provide safe, economical and reliable electricity to their customers. The public is becoming less tolerant to these more frequent disruptions, especially in view of technological advances that are intended to improve power quality, reliability and resilience. One promising solution is state-of-the-art microgrids and the advanced controls employed therein. This paper presents and demonstrates an approach to technoeconomic analysis that can be used to value the avoided economic consequences of grid resilience investments, as applied to the islands of Vieques and Culebra in Puerto Rico. This valuation methodology can support policies to incorporate resilience value into any investment decision-making process, especially those which serve the public interest.

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Regulatory Mechanisms to Enable Investments in Electric Utility Resilience

In 2019, Sandia National Laboratories contracted Synapse Energy Economics (Synapse) to research the integration of community and electric utility resilience investment planning as part of the Designing Resilient Communities: A Consequence-Based Approach for Grid Investment (DRC) project. Synapse produced a series of reports to explore the challenges and opportunities in several key areas, including benefit-cost analysis, performance metrics, microgrids, and regulatory mechanisms to promote investments in electric system resilience. This report focuses on regulatory mechanisms to improve resilience. Regulatory mechanisms that improve resilience are approaches that electric utility regulators can use to align utility, customer, and third-party investments with regulatory, ratepayer, community, and other important stakeholder interests and priorities for resilience. Cost-of-service regulation may fail to provide utilities with adequate guidance or incentives regarding community priorities for infrastructure hardening and disaster recovery. The application of other types of regulatory mechanisms to resilience investments can help. This report: characterizes regulatory objective as they apply to resilience; identifies several regulatory mechanisms that are used or can be adapted to improve the resilience of the electric system--including performance-based regulation, integrated planning, tariffs and programs to leverage private investment, alternative lines of business for utilities, enhanced cost recovery, and securitization; provides a case study of each regulatory mechanism; summarizes findings across the case studies; and suggests how these regulatory mechanisms might be improved and applied to resilience moving forward. In this report, we assess the effectiveness of a range of utility regulatory mechanisms at evaluating and prioritizing utility investments in grid resilience. First, we characterize regulatory objectives which underly all regulatory mechanisms. We then describe seven types of regulatory mechanisms that can be used to improve resilience--including performance-based regulation, integrated planning, tariffs and programs to leverage private investment, alternative lines of business for utilities, enhanced cost recovery, and securitization--and provide a case study for each one. We summarize our findings on the extent to which these regulatory mechanisms have supported resilience to date. We conclude with suggestions on how these regulatory mechanisms might be improved and applied to resilience moving forward.

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Photovoltaic Analysis and Response Support (PARS) Platform for Solar Situational Awareness and Resiliency Services

The project's primary objective is to develop a digital-twin based Photovoltaic (PV) Analysis and Response Support (PARS) platform, which aims to provide real-time situational awareness and optimal response plans. This platform is designed to enhance the performance of hybrid PV systems, making them competitive with or even superior to conventional generation resources. The PARS platform enabled the project team to develop and evaluate an extensive suite of grid support functionalities for the hybrid PV systems to enhance grid performance, across key areas including visibility, dispatchability, security, resilience, and reliability. Given the global push toward achieving 100% clean energy by 2035, there is a significant increase in the integration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) throughout the energy grid. Effectively managing the inherent variability and uncertainty associated with IBRs is crucial for ensuring cost-effectiveness, reliability, and security in both the main grid and islanded microgrids. Constrained to a limited array of IEEE test systems or standard feeder models, traditional IBR modeling struggles to assimilate new field data, accurately reflect system dynamics, and adapt to the evolving energy landscape. In our project, we embraced a Digital Twin (DT) strategy for crafting the PARS platform. A digital twin acts as a precise virtual counterpart of a physical system, built on historical data and continuously honed with real-time insights. This enables the high-fidelity DT to accurately mirror current system operations and forecast future scenarios. Consequently, the PARS platform becomes an ideal environment for testing and refining monitoring, control, power, and energy management algorithms designed to boost hybrid PV system performance. The defining feature of the PARS platform, distinguishing it from other advanced simulation tools, is its exceptional adaptability. This is achieved by employing actual network topologies and utilizing real-time field data for fine-tuning and calibration, ensuring a close emulation of real-world conditions. The project deliverables include: 1) High-fidelity IBR models and tools for real-time parameterization, utilizing real-time field measurements to refine IBR models for enhanced accuracy and performance; 2) Grid-forming and Grid-following capabilities to deliver resilience services, including blackstart, voltage and frequency support, cold-load pick-up, power reserves, and three-phase load balancing across grid-connected and microgrid settings; 3) Machine learning-based forecasting tools and methods for generating synthetic data and topologies, creating diverse and realistic simulation environments for evaluating varied operational scenarios; 4) Advanced microgrid power and energy management algorithms for optimizing the integration and operation of PV, storage, and demand response resources within both feeder and community scales. The power grid data sets are provided by four utility companies in North Carolina and the New York Power Administration. Acting as industry advisors, our industry partners communicated stakeholder needs and regulatory standards to the research teams, aiding technology transfer by incorporating the developed methodologies into their daily operations. This collaboration ensures that the PARS platform, functioning as a power system digital twin, enhances our understanding of IBR dynamic behaviors and enables the development and evaluation of IBR control functions that match or exceed the capabilities of conventional synchronous generators.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Halau Uma: Kahikinui Community Cultural, Educational, and Resilience Center Preliminary Design Technical Assistance Summary Report

The Kahikinui Homestead Community in Maui faces energy resilience challenges due to its remote, off-grid location. This report summarizes preliminary technical assistance to design a microgrid for six modular homes using solar PV, wind, and battery storage. Results indicate that a hybrid PV and battery system, supplemented by small wind turbines, offers a cost-effective, resilient solution supporting energy independence and disaster preparedness.

Quiroz, Jimmy Edward [Sandia National Laboratories↗

Evaluation of Optimal Net Load Management in Microgrids Using Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation: Preprint

This paper presents the performance evaluation of a net load management (NLM) engine that balances load and generation in an isolated community to power a critical facility after a grid interruption event (e.g., lost a large generation unit). The NLM engine is a central dispatch control system that provides high-speed cost-optimal coordination of a set of net loads (combination of generation and deferrable loads) connected to the same electrical network. The NLM algorithm cost-optimally dispatches the grid-following inverters and deferrable loads based on the demanded power and load priorities, and the grid-forming inverters use droop control to form system voltages and share active and reactive power. A controller-hardware-in-the-loop platform is developed to evaluate the control performance of the NLM algorithm. The experimental results indicate that the NLM engine can achieve the targeted system voltage and frequency and balance load and generation to serve the critical facility.

droop control↗

SCRES Energy Quest Workshop (Technical Report)

Energy Quest: Sitka’s Path to 2050 is a game based public engagement tool developed as part of the Sitka Community Renewable Energy Strategy and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project Cohort 3. Designed for Sitka’s isolated island microgrid, which is powered primarily by hydropower and depends on imported diesel for backup, the game translated complex long term energy planning questions into an interactive format. In facilitated workshops, residents built energy roadmaps to 2050, explored tradeoffs, and expressed priorities around four themes: affordability, reliability, self sufficiency, and innovation. Across sessions, participants showed strong support for increasing local self sufficiency and resilience, even when this required balancing near term affordability with long term investments. They emphasized reducing dependence on imported diesel, making better use of existing hydropower, and considering new renewable generation such as solar, wind, and additional hydropower. Survey and game responses also highlighted interest in using surplus hydropower to support new industries, expanding electrification of heating and transportation, and exploring emerging technologies and green fuels. The report organizes these findings into four scenario themes to guide Sitka’s 2050 energy planning. Affordability focuses on managing rate impacts, efficiency, and conservation. Reliability addresses diversified generation, backup power, and energy security. Self sufficiency emphasizes distributed generation and reduced reliance on imported fuels. Innovation explores new technologies, marine based energy solutions, and low carbon fuels. By grounding future planning in these community derived themes, Energy Quest shows how a game based approach can make technical energy planning more accessible and inclusive for remote communities. For questions about the game board and piece production email Dr. Sarah Troise (sarah.troise@pnnl.gov)

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Assessment of Technoeconomic Opportunities in Automation for Nuclear Microreactors

Achieving full decarbonization of all economic sectors remains a challenge, especially in niche markets. For example, remote communities and industrial or mining activities detached from the main electric grid heavily rely on fossil fuels, similar to urban and industrial microgrids with combined heat and power needs. A combination of renewables and energy storage is often not suitable due to cost, reliability, intermittency, and large storage requirements. Small nuclear reactors with a flexible purpose could serve these applications. Microreactors (MR) are a class of reactors that are compact, factory manufactured, transportable, and self-regulating. Typically, they generate much less power than their large reactor counterparts. The main advantages of microreactors include the versatile nature of the energy produced, the reliability of supply, and freedom from having to transport and store large quantities of fuels on-site, coupled with the absence of dependence on an electrical grid. A strong business case is needed to move from the microreactor prototype to the commercialization phase. In fact, fossil fuels are still relatively inexpensive, and in the near term, carbon credits will be available to virtually compensate for emissions. For microreactors, one of the main costs in operation and maintenance (O&M) is their staffing levels. In this study, we investigate how to optimize the number (and thus the cost) of workers, moving from a traditional, fully manned, on-site personnel approach to an unmanned, remote personnel approach. We examine four different staffing models that can be implemented as the technology matures and evolves. We estimate the staffing needs of each model and build a business case to justify the substitution of on-site personnel with adequate technologies. To do so, we propose a cost model to quantify potential cost reductions from automating O&M activities. The model accounts for both the reduction in cost derived from the reduced number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees and the increase in cost derived from the need to buy new control hardware as needed. Applying the cost model that we created to different scenarios, an on-site O&M cost reduction exceeding 80% can be expected. Additionally, we found that it is more impactful to focus on automating routine O&M tasks rather than attempting to automate transient management (shutdowns, restarts, monitoring condition deviations). In fact, transients typically account for less than 1% of the total FTE time spent on the reactors.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Reese Housing Power Project (Final Technical Report)

The Reese Housing Power Project is located on Tribal trust land in Colusa, CA and expands existing medium-voltage distribution to seven new households with the addition of medium-voltage cabling, step down transformers, smart meters, and street lighting for the new development. The Tribe utilized their existing Co-Generation power plant and micro grid to supply the new homes with highly reliable power with fewer interruptions and at a reduced rate compared with the local utility. The project gives the Tribe greater independence from traditional power sources and provides jobs for the community. The project reduces electric energy costs, increases Tribe self-reliance, and provides highly reliable electric power to seven tribal members’ homes. Construction of the project also provided jobs for the community.

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Development of a Smart MicroGrid Testbed

Demand for electricity is rapidly increasing thereby applying pressure to expand generation and distribution capacity worldwide. The expansion of traditional services not only imposes burdens on financial resources but also encounters many challenges from community residents who oppose the construction of new power generation plants or transmission facilities in their backyard. From the integrated resource planning point of view, a feasible and economical remedy is, therefore, to utilize existing dispersed generation capacity known as distributed generation (DG) and/or renewable energy resources that may exist in the vicinity of the load centers. The main criteria for selecting the type of fuel source for a DG is its local availability, conversion system technological advancement, impact on the environment, and operating cost. DG’s have existed in the market for many years. Large diesel or gas powered generation sets are used in stand-by mode to power up vital services such as hospitals, financial and commercial compounds, telecommunication centers and industrial premises. Wind turbines, photovoltaic energy sources, and fuel cells are new comers that are now competing in size and efficiency with many standard generating sets. With this in mind, they are being used in many places not only as stand-by units but as the prime source of power particularly when the $\$$/kWhr rate is high.

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Accelerating the Deployment of Advanced Energy Communities: The Oakland EcoBlock A Zero Net Energy, Low Water Use Retrofit Neighborhood Demonstration Project

This report describes the design development process and recommendations of a Community-Scale Zero Net Energy Master Plan for a residential block in Oakland, the Oakland EcoBlock. The recommended master plan includes an integrated system of energy efficiency retrofits, a direct current solar/storage/electric vehicle microgrid, alternating/direct current houses, and water efficiency retrofits with rainwater capture. The recommended master plan is projected to be close to zero-net energy (95 percent) for homes, reduce carbon emissions by 65 percent at the block scale (including transportation), and reduce water use 60–70 percent. The integrated system of energy efficiency and a direct current solar/storage/electric vehicle (EV) charging microgrid is the first of its kind at the residential block scale. This breakthrough because the deep energy efficiency retrofit savings free up enough capacity in the solar supply and storage to enable residents to switch from natural gas to electricity for heating and domestic hot water and to provide EV charging for 33 percent of vehicle miles traveled. The savings in household transportation costs are a game changer because when combined with savings in the electric and water utility bills, the total cash flow savings are projected to fund the capital improvements of the proposed systems. This project’s benefits include lower and more predictable utility bills; greater resiliency because the system can operate during outages, and vastly improved indoor air quality by reducing natural gas consumption. The local energy storage reduces peak demand for the utility. California benefits from a model that exceeds the targets for reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions and the reductions in water use address California’s severe water challenges. The Oakland EcoBlock is a transformative model for accelerating the rapid deployment of advanced energy communities.

decarbonization codes↗

Transactive Implementation of Decentralized Electricity Market for Grid-Edge Systems

The electricity landscape is evolving towards more decentralized approaches due to the proliferation of distributed energy resources and the participation of increasingly smart consumers and producers (prosumers). Recent advances in information and communication technologies and smart metering, provides strategic opportunities for “prosumers” to reform their conventional energy practices towards more consumer-centric economies. From an operational perspective, managing power distribution networks is becoming more difficult with such active grid-edge systems providing limited to no visibility or control. Transactive Energy (TE) has been emerging as a key enabler towards effectively and efficiently integrating prosumers into competitive electricity markets. This work presents a transactive implementation of community-centric markets. A co-simulation framework is developed for evaluating the proposed market structure with high-fidelity models. Case studies on the IEEE-123 node test system demonstrate that community-centric transactive markets can enable communities of prosumers to operate collaboratively as grid-edge systems. The potential benefits of implementing community-centric TE systems are also illustrated.

transactive, microgrids, centralized market operat↗

City of Hoboken Energy Surety Analysis: Preliminary Design Summary

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy devastated much of the U.S. northeast coastal areas. Among those hardest hit was the small community of Hoboken, New Jersey, located on the banks of the Hudson River across from Manhattan. This report describes a city-wide electrical infrastructure design that uses microgrids and other infrastructure to ensure the city retains functionality should such an event occur in the future. The designs ensure that up to 55 critical buildings will retain power during blackout or flooded conditions and include analysis for microgrid architectures, performance parameters, system control, renewable energy integration, and financial opportunities (while grid connected). The results presented here are not binding and are subject to change based on input from the Hoboken stakeholders, the integrator selected to manage and implement the microgrid, or other subject matter experts during the detailed (final) phase of the design effort.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Net-zero Microgrid Program Report: Microrred de la Montaña Feasibility Study (Executive Summary Extended)

This feasibility study provides the technical and economic rationale for the Microrred de la Montaña as a viable solution for supplying reliable and resilient electricity to an underserved region in Puerto Rico – a region that is the first to be disconnected from the grid and the last to be restored, enduring months long outages. It begins the process of the development of the microgrid through conceptual design, engineering, detailed electrical design, implementation, and operation. The Microrred de la Montaña is organized under the governance of the Cooperativa Hidroeléctrica de la Montaña (Cooperativa) which has legal status as a cooperative and power provider under the laws of Puerto Rico. The members are the municipalities of Adjuntas, Jayuya, Lares and Utuado with a combined population of 90,000. These municipalities are in central Puerto Rico – a mountainous region that is extremely vulnerable to weather events and excessive, long-duration power outages and are among the poorest and most disadvantaged regions in Puerto Rico. Funding from external sources is necessary to acquire the resources for a resilient power delivery system. Regulatory support is necessary to establish operational relationships with the incumbent power providers. The Microrred de la Montaña is envisioned as a resilient microgrid that manages distributed energy resources – local solar, storage, and hydroelectricity over an upgraded distribution network within the boundaries of four municipalities. This feasibility study provides the results of an extensive techno-economic analysis to form a sound basis for decision-making by community leaders, their constituents, funding and investment agencies, and regulators to realize the benefits that are achievable by fully implementing the design and planning recommended for the Microrred de la Montaña.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Microgrid Hardening Design Toolkit: Puerto Rico Use Case

This document provides a comprehensive example of the microgrid hardening framework and the Sandia developed Microgrid Hardening Design Toolkit v0.27 using a census tract in a coastal area of southern Puerto Rico as a case study. The census tract (72123953100) is located in the municipality of Salinas. Currently, the La Margarita neighborhood within this census tract is part of the Department of Energy’s Cohort 5 of the Energy Technology Innovation and Partnership Program (ETIPP). The neighborhood’s local energy cooperative, Abeyno Coop, has been operating several residential solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) installations (with around 30 rooftop solar systems as of 2026). As part of the ETIPP project, Abeyno Coop is planning to integrate a larger microgrid into the existing distribution feeder in the area, including solar PV and BESS to supply energy for homes and critical loads such as the medical facilities and the community center that provides emergency shelter and backup power during outages.

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Quantitative approaches for including equity in risk and resilience infrastructure planning analyses

Risk and resilience assessments for critical infrastructure focus on myriad objectives, from natural hazard evaluations to optimizing investments. Although research has started to characterize externalities associated with current or possible future states, incorporation of equity priorities at project inception is increasingly being recognized as critical for planning related activities. However, there is no standard methodology that guides development of equity-informed quantitative approaches for infrastructure planning activities. Here, to address this gap, we introduce a logic model that can be tailored to capture nuances about specific geographies and community priorities, effectively incorporating them into different mathematical approaches for quantitative risk assessments. Specifically, the logic model uses a graded, iterative approach to clarify specific equity objectives as well as inform the development of equations being used to support analysis. We demonstrate the utility of this framework using case studies spanning aviation fuel, produced water, and microgrid electricity infrastructures. For each case study, the use of the logic model helps clarify the ways that local priorities and infrastructure needs are used to drive the types of data and quantitative methodologies used in the respective analyses. The explicit consideration of methodological limitations (e.g., data mismatches) and stakeholder engagements serves to increase the transparency of the associated findings as well as effectively integrate community nuances (e.g., ownership of assets) into infrastructure assessments. Such integration will become increasingly important to ensure that planning activities (which occur throughout the lifecycle of the infrastructure projects) lead to long-lasting solutions to meet both energy and sustainable development goals for communities.

community-based↗

Utility Managed Distributed Energy Resources Intelligent Community - UDERMS iCommunity (Final Technical Report)

The Utility Managed Distributed Energy Resources Intelligent Community (UDERMS iCommunity) project, led by PacifiCorp and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (Award No. DEEE0009782), aimed to demonstrate an integrated, utility-managed “behind-the-meter” distributed energy resource (DER) program connecting multifamily, commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings to deliver grid services and improve energy efficiency.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗