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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Resilient Electric Grid: Defining, Measuring, and Integrating Resilience into Electricity Sector Policy and Planning

Traditionally, electric grid planning seeks to maintain safe, reliable, efficient, and affordable service for current and future customers. As policies, expectations of the energy system, and the threat landscape evolve, additional objectives for power system planners are emerging, including decarbonization, resilience, and equity. Renewable and clean energy goals, especially in the context of deep decarbonization strategies, are changing the mix of resources on the electric grid and prompting new considerations for grid architecture. The increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events over the last two decades, coupled with cybersecurity concerns, have elevated resilience as a key system need. More recently, there has been greater focus on equity and energy justice in grid planning to ensure that disadvantaged communities are not adversely affected by grid modernization and have equal access to its benefits. In response, new thinking around multi-objective decision planning is exploring improvements in grid planning processes to better integrate approaches to meet decarbonization, resilience, and equity objectives. To provide a foundation for this work, a series of white papers was produced to summarize these emerging objectives.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Equitable Electric Grid: Defining, Measuring, and Integrating Equity into Electricity Sector Policy and Planning

Traditionally, electric grid planning seeks to maintain safe, reliable, efficient, and affordable service for current and future customers. As policies, expectations of the energy system, and the threat landscape evolve, additional objectives for power system planners are emerging, including decarbonization, resilience, and equity. Renewable and clean energy goals, especially in the context of deep decarbonization strategies, are changing the mix of resources on the electric grid and prompting new considerations for grid architecture. The increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events over the last two decades, coupled with cybersecurity concerns, have elevated resilience as a key system need. More recently, there has been greater focus on equity and energy justice in grid planning to ensure that disadvantaged communities are not adversely affected by grid modernization and have equal access to its benefits. In response, new thinking around multi-objective decision planning is exploring improvements in grid planning processes to better integrate approaches to meet decarbonization, resilience, and equity objectives. To provide a foundation for this work, a series of white papers was produced to summarize these emerging objectives.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

LA100 Equity Strategies. Chapter 5: Low-Income Energy Bill Equity and Affordability

The LA100 Equity Strategies project synthesizes community guidance with robust research, modeling, and analysis to identify strategy options that can increase equitable outcomes in Los Angeles' clean energy transition. Grounded in the analysis of past and ongoing energy inequities and engagement with underserved communities, the project presents community-guided strategies that aim to operationalize recognition and procedural justice. Building on the community-identified problems and solutions, and the analysis of the 11 strategies described in Chapter 3, this chapter continues to focus on the solution space through the lens of recognition and procedural justice. It centers the role of community engagement in energy utility planning and project development with a specific focus on how the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) can engage and work equitably with Los Angeles communities to cocreate a clean and just energy future for LA. LA100 Equity Strategies is rooted in the crucial role community engagement plays in restructuring the energy systems of cities, states, and nations. Scholarship on wind, solar, and other transitional energy technologies and projects has documented that such engagement is commonly used as a top-down mechanism for adapting social practices to fit new technological innovations. Yet, understanding how the clean energy transition - with related changes in technologies, infrastructures, practices, and costs - will fit equitably into the existing socio-political context is a challenge that requires substantive collaboration with local communities. Any form of community engagement opens up government officials and utilities to opposition from their public. Meaningful engagement methods turn such dissent into a strength, embracing critical feedback - particularly from communities historically excluded from decision-making - as contributing to more grounded design and effective implementation. Leveraging this collaborative model to further rectify past and ongoing inequities in the social, cultural, and institutional scaffolding of LA, this chapter presents options and methods to support LADWP in launching a just and equitable clean energy transition. We approach community engagement as a critical process linking recognition, procedural, and distributional justice, outlining how LADWP could learn from past engagement, coordinate such knowledge organization-wide, and use engagement as a key tool for achieving energy justice and equity.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Principles for Equitable Transmission Planning

Energy justice is gaining traction in the planning processes that govern the generation and supply of electric power in the U.S., with a growing number of federal and state authorities applying it as a framework to ensure that the benefits of a clean energy future extend to all levels of society. However, the principles of energy justice have not yet been integrated into electric transmission planning processes, which are designed to meet established reliability criteria and have not historically considered externalities like social inequities. This paper presents a review of transmission planning requirements in the U.S. and existing literature on energy justice, then synthesizes them to propose a framework for incorporating energy justice principles into transmission planning processes to yield more equitable outcomes. By applying procedural and recognition justice principles to create more extensive, inclusive, and diverse public participation in the planning process, planners can gain insight into—and begin to correct—the inequities created by previous planning decisions. Equipped with this understanding and informed by affected communities, planners can improve the distributional outcomes of the planning process and identify opportunities for energy system investments that will restore communities and place them on more equitable footing.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Implementation of the HEP instrumentation R&D roadmap in the USA

In recent years, the High Energy Physics (HEP) community in the USA has evaluated the technological needs in detector instrumentation for future HEP experiments. Specific needs have been identified and an R&D program to reach them has been defined. This article will briefly summarize the planning process and will highlight the main findings and the road map to carry out the plan as defined by the community.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Developing Scenario‐Based Strategies for Health, Climate, and Environmental Preparedness: The One Health, One Earth Approach

Climate change amplifies many threats to human health. Despite advances in understanding climate change dynamics and impacts, there remains a critical gap in translating scientific knowledge into equitable, and community-driven health interventions. The inaugural One Earth, One Health workshop sought to explore this gap through human-centered design exercises involving interdisciplinary researchers from climate and Earth sciences, engineering, epidemiology, microbiology, and environmental health. Although participants did not co-develop solutions with affected communities, they used stakeholder role-playing to guide ideation and lay groundwork for actionable plans. Through these methods, participants identified community needs and proposed prototype solutions to alleviate health threats exacerbated by global environmental change. Prototypes were organized around infectious diseases, extreme weather, and air quality, as illustrative themes rather than an exhaustive set of risks. Key solutions included strategies for anticipatory systems and early warning (e.g., integrating environmental signals with health data), inclusive communication and infrastructure needs for responding to extreme weather events, and integrated platforms visualizing air quality trends to support tailored, context-aware guidance beyond one-size-fits-all alerts. The workshop highlighted opportunities such as leveraging machine learning, Earth observation, and real-time surveillance to protect communities, but also noted barriers including data quality, technological redundancy, privacy, and governance challenges. Additionally, participants emphasized the need for interdisciplinary teams capable of collaborating across sectors, breaking down silos and addressing gaps in training and education. Overall, the workshop illustrates how process-driven, human-centered approaches can help surface user needs and generate testable prototype concepts, while underscoring the importance of direct community partnership for implementation.

Abadi, Azar M. [University of Alabama, Birmingham,↗
DOE OSTI2024

Carbondale Community Geothermal Coalition – Replicable Models for Decarbonizing Mixed-Use Rural Communities

The Carbondale Community Geothermal Coalition (CCGC) set out to prove that a fifth-generation geothermal district heating & cooling (5G GDHC) network can be technically feasible, cost-effective, and socially equitable for a small, mixed-use rural community. During Budget Period 1 (Planning & Design) the team: ● Completed a 449 ft thermal-response test confirming excellent ground conductivity (k = 1.69 Btu ft -1 hr -1 °F -1 ) and a benign 56.3 °F undisturbed temperature. Page 1 Final Technical Report for Award Number: DE-EE0010663 ● Built a fully calibrated digital twin (URBANopt → Modelica) for 240 k ft 2 of existing + future buildings. ● Designed a 75-borehole ambient-temperature loop (ATL) augmented by 75 solar-thermal panels, supplying 44 % of district heating and 100 % cooling in Stage-1. ● Produced retrofit bid-ready drawings for the Third Street Center and Second Street Townhomes. ● Reached > 200 community stakeholders and exceeded equity targets (46 % Hispanic/Latinx participation). ● Drafted a multi-tiered workforce plan aligned with Colorado Mountain College (Hispanic Serving Institution) and IGSHPA certifications.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Pathways Toward Electric Mobility in Hennepin County, Minnesota

This fact sheet presents the findings from a comprehensive community engagement initiative focused on advancing equitable transportation electrification in Hennepin County. This initiative responds to the critical need for inclusive and sustainable mobility solutions in the face of rising environmental and financial challenges in the transportation sector. This project has two goals. First, to learn what each community's priorities are and share them with the city, county, and state government to inform transportation plans and projects. Second, to bridge divides between government and community, building pathways for community-guided decision making on future transportation plans.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Yesterday’s extremes, today’s new normal: flood risk in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Unplanned urban growth has left many cities increasingly vulnerable to extreme rainfall events, particularly in regions with inadequate drainage infrastructures and development encroaching on natural floodplains. Here, in this perspective paper, we examine the September 2024 floods that struck Central Nepal, triggered by a persistent low-pressure system and enhanced by converging moisture flows from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal which led to widespread catastrophic damage. In the Kathmandu Valley, floodwaters expanded to more than 2.5 times the bankfull water extent, causing significant damage to housing, transportation network, and critical infrastructure, displacing thousands of residents, and severely disrupting urban services. This event highlights the urgent need for improved flood management strategies that integrate both structural and non-structural measures into the infrastructure development. While early warning systems provided critical lead time, challenges remain in reducing forecasting uncertainties and improving communication across government agencies and with local communities. A forward-looking approach is essential, including probabilistic flood forecasting systems, sustainable floodplain management, risk-sensitive land use planning, climate- and disaster- resilient infrastructure development, and the integration of nature-based solutions like urban green and blue spaces to mitigate flood impacts. By involving local communities in planning and preparedness efforts, particularly through citizen science initiatives, and engagement with underserved and disadvantaged communities, Nepal can better adapt to the growing risks posed by extreme rainfall and urban flooding and enhance long-term disaster resilience in rapidly urbanizing areas like Kathmandu Valley.

Kathmandu Valley↗
DOE OSTI2024

Solar Finance and Ownership Options

Communities facing specific solar project development opportunities or proactively planning their solar development strategies will need to have a basic understanding of solar financing and ownership options. How solar is financed and owned has large implications on how the solar project impacts local economic benefits, risk, and capital needs. This fact sheet provides a brief introduction to these considerations for local officials and community constituents to familiarize them with how local benefits and risks contrast across the basic ownership structures available.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Illinois Storage Corridor CarbonSAFE Phase III: Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach Plan

The Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach Plan provides a comprehensive framework for engaging stakeholders of the Illinois Storage Corridor (ISC) project. The ISC project is a CarbonSAFE Phase III project designed to facilitate commercial deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in Illinois. The project aims to establish a multi-industry carbon storage corridor through development of storage sites near the One Earth Energy (OEE) ethanol production facility in north-central Illinois and the Prairie State Generating Company (PSGC) coal-fired power plant in south-central Illinois, with combined annual CO 2 capture ultimately exceeding 8.6 million tons per year. Stakeholder engagement is recognized as a critical component for successful CCUS deployment, alongside technical and economic considerations. As an emerging technology, CCUS may not be well understood by the general population, and lack of public awareness can lead to opposition that poses significant barriers to project development. This plan addresses this challenge through systematic stakeholder identification, analysis, planning, and implementation of engagement actions. The plan is structured around four main sections: Communication, Stakeholder Analysis, Stakeholder Engagement, and Environmental Justice. Activities will be conducted under Tasks 1 and 4 of the project's Statement of Project Objectives, with two key subtasks: (1) developing a stakeholder analysis and engagement plan through face-to-face meetings, facilitated discussions, and surveys; and (2) implementing stakeholder engagement and public outreach activities including meetings, open houses, and permit hearings. The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) will manage engagement activities following DOE-NETL best practices, focusing on providing objective, fact-based information about CCUS and the ISC project. A comprehensive Communication Plan establishes protocols for media contacts, site visits, and crisis communications. The stakeholder analysis follows a structured workflow process divided into Pre-feasibility and Feasibility phases, incorporating contextual understanding, assessment, data collection, and analysis. Key stakeholder groups include government bodies, educational organizations, conservation and environmental groups, agricultural communities, and religious organizations. The plan addresses common stakeholder questions regarding project risks, benefits, safety, property values, liability, and environmental impacts. Recommendations emphasize developing clear messaging, creating informational materials, and preparing to address both project-specific and broader environmental concerns to ensure transparent communication and build stakeholder support throughout project implementation.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Bering Strait Energy Planning Network

Kawerak will work with partners as a clearinghouse for energy information, provide training for remote and onsite technical assistance to communities on energy projects, work with communities to update their portions of the regional energy plan and contribute results to state energy planners, and host an annual regional energy summit to share information and provide training while networking with other regions to collaborate on energy issues and projects. These projects will look to leverage current and future DOE and other funding opportunities and to capture the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation funding for shovel ready energy projects.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Equity-Centered Engagement Through Climate Resilience Policy in Massachusetts

Communities who experience disproportionate climate change impacts tend to be excluded from resilience planning. Those efforts typically follow top-down processes within established governance practices that are inaccessible to marginalized folks and reinforce inequalities. Regenerating the commons includes creating opportunities for everyone to meaningfully shape community resilience decisions and experience related benefits. Resilience planning that shifts power into communities and focuses on social vulnerability can affect how people survive and thrive in a climate changed world. The Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) 2.0 program is an attempt to change the status quo in resilience planning by bringing new voices into decision-making power, recognizing their labor, addressing root causes of vulnerability, and investing in social infrastructure. It aspires to build capacity for equity-focused community engagement within teams of municipal staff and community liaisons, and ultimately build social capital and community cohesion. My research investigates implementation of this state grant program in several western Massachusetts towns. I am using document review, participant observation, and interviews to understand the MVP 2.0 process as written, how different towns navigate it, and how individuals make sense of their experiences in it. I seek to understand how those experiences explain relationships between engagement approaches, mediating factors, and process outcomes. I am interested in the conditions that allow for community empowerment and how a model like MVP 2.0 can shift conditions that hold systems in place. In a practical sense, our findings will help municipalities reflect on their work during MVP 2.0 and plan for future community engagement. They may be informative for designing future iterations of the MVP program and for other municipalities or offices of community engagement. The findings will also contribute to the participation, resilience, and climate justice literatures, by adding perspectives on equity-centered resilience and community engagement approaches in smaller towns and rural settings.

Callaham, Shannon↗
DOE OSTI2024

Clear Sky Toolkit: Decision Support User Guide

The Clear Sky Decision Support Template is a Microsoft Excel-based resource that enables users to screen and prioritize critical facilities for the addition of solar + storage. The Decision Support Template consolidates and streamlines the most relevant resources from the emergency management discipline, the electric utility sector, and national energy research institutions to assist in further site analysis and decision-making. The Decision Support Template is intended for use by local government and private sector decision-makers who aim to mitigate the effects of power outages on critical infrastructure, understand the potential for deploying photovoltaic (PV) and storage solutions on critical facilities, and align emergency management planning processes and utility needs with community resilience objectives. The Decision Support Template is divided into five modules that provide a structured, step-by-step approach users can follow and apply to unique circumstances. This process guides a more thorough and accurate assessment of a site's potential to accommodate a solar + storage system, provide grid benefits to utilities, and support community resilience and disaster mitigation for the broader region. After identifying potentially viable and preferred sites for solar + storage using the Decision Support Template, users should conduct a more detailed evaluation and consultation with a solar professional.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Pathways Toward Electric Mobility: Communities LEAP in Hennepin County, Minnesota

This report presents the findings from a comprehensive community engagement initiative focused on advancing equitable transportation electrification in Hennepin County. This initiative responds to the critical need for inclusive and sustainable mobility solutions in the face of rising environmental and financial challenges in the transportation sector. This project has two goals. First, to learn what each community's priorities are and share them with the city, county, and state government to inform transportation plans and projects. Second, to bridge divides between government and community, building pathways for community-guided decision making on future transportation plans.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Modeling and Simulation of Automated Mobility Districts

Increasing interest and investment in connected, automated, and electric vehicles (CAEVs), and mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) concepts are paving the way for the next major shift in transportation through automated and shared mobility. The initial excitement towards rapid deployment and adoption of automated vehicles has subsided, and low-speed automated shuttles are emerging as a more pragmatic pathway for introducing automated mobility in geo-fenced districts. Such shuttles hold the promise to provide a viable alternative for serving short trips in urban districts with high travel densities. As interest in low-speed automated shuttle systems (to improve urban mobility) increases, the need for tools that can inform communities regarding benefits or dis-benefits of automated shuttle deployments is imminent. However, most of the existing transportation planning and simulation tools are not capable of handling emerging shared automated mobility options. This presentation provide the details of a microscopic simulation toolkit that can be used by cities and communities to plan for the deployment of low-speed automated shuttles systems, as well as other shared mobility options. Labeled as Automated Mobility District (AMD) modeling and simulation toolkit, the proposed decision support tool intends to help cities evaluate the mobility and sustainability impacts of deploying shared automated vehicles in geofenced regions.The AMD modeling and simulation task is funded through DOE's SMART Mobility Consortium. This presentation outlines the progress of the AMD modeling and simulation task in FY19, including case studies conducted in Greenville, SC, and Austin, TX.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗