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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Reliability for Backup Electric Power Systems

Hospitals, emergency services, military bases, ports, airports, industries, commercial facilities, and others rely on backup power systems to provide electricity for their critical loads during grid outages. The purpose of this report it to provide accurate reliability information on commonly deployed distributed energy resources (DERs) to improve quantitative estimates for the reliability of these backup power systems during a grid outage. A backup power system consists of DERs, an electric distribution system with its associated switches and other devices, and mechanisms to control and manage the flow of electricity. Too often, facilities and campuses fail to properly quantify the reliability of their backup power systems. DERs are assumed to be 100% reliable, with the only concern being the availability of fuel. Such assumptions can lead to gross errors in the backup system's reliability estimates, particularly for long-duration outages. This report provides a set of estimates for reliability of emergency diesel generators (EDGs), natural gas prime generators and combined heat and power (CHP) prime movers, solar photovoltaics (PV), wind turbines, and Li-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS). The estimates are derived from empirical data when available and supplemented by modeling results when needed. These reliability estimates are for the DERs ability to provide power during a grid outage, ranging from an hour to 2 weeks.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Plan It Together: Optimizing Across Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Distributed Energy Resources

Integrated planning holds the promise of unlocking lower total system cost solutions by connecting previously siloed planning processes. This article summarizes the state of bulk and local grid planning today and details multiple new analytical approaches that can enable more holistic planning methods to develop comprehensive solutions to generation, transmission, distribution, and distributed energy resource needs. These include both iterative approaches as well as cooptimization techniques. In addition to the benefits of these methods, the technical and institutional challenges and associated solutions are also discussed.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Market-based Co-optimization of Energy and Ancillary Services with Distributed Energy Resource Flexibilities

Energy storage systems and flexible loads have attracted significant interests due to their capabilities to provide various grid services. In this paper, the flexibilities are optimally allocated among multiple distributed energy resource aggregators with energy storage systems and flexible buildings by the utility coordinator through market-based co-optimization. An iterative market clearing algorithm is developed to determine the optimal energy and ancillary service prices, with consideration of both local dynamics and network constraints. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and the benefits of co-optimizing the energy and ancillary service markets.

Ma, Ke↗
DOE OSTI2023

USAID Colombia Young Leaders Workforce Training Program Action Plans: Regulatory Road Map for Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Interconnection and Interoperability

As part of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Young Leaders Workforce Training Program in Colombia, participants from Colombia's Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission (CREG) leveraged their training and professional experience to develop a regulatory roadmap for the interconnection and interoperability of increasing integration of distributed energy resources (DERs). CREG was one of four teams selected by the training program development team to receive continued technical assistance and strategic advisory support from the USAID-NREL Partnership for action plan development and implementation. This case study provides an overview of the key activities and outcomes of the technical assistance provided by NREL on the CREG Action Plan, and key next steps for implementation of Colombia's DER Integration Regulatory Roadmap.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Privacy-Preserving Strategy for the Trust Layer of the Energy Grid of Things Distributed Energy Resource Management System

Emergent from the shadows of the traditional grid flaws, the Smart Grid (SG) idea was born and led by government mandates toward cleaner energy production. The SG represents the next generation of electricity distribution systems that subsume recent technological innovations. It uses digital communication between its components and entities to attain more automation, self-sufficiency, and reliability. Unfortunately, this relatively new concept is not flawless; the intrinsic reliance on increased digital communication spreads open attack paths for adversaries. Therefore, finding solutions that address information exchange vulnerabilities has become imperative. The Energy Grid of Things (EGoT) is Portland State University’s (PSU’s) implementation of a Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS). The EGoT DERMS requires access to customers’ information to achieve operational objectives. The system’s access to customers’ information needs to be restricted such that it does not violate customers’ privacy. Applying privacy protection models such as K-anonymity to EGoT DERMS sub-components safeguards that privacy. This thesis work proposes a strategy to ensure communication in the EGoT DERMS is privacy-preserving and secure. Specifically, it provides an approach to applying the Mondrian Algorithm to ensure data within the system excludes Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and provides means for securing the communication according to industry standards (IEEE 2030.5). Results suggest that the generalization hierarchy derived for the EGoT DERMS exhibits an Identical Generalization Hierarchy structure. Guarantees of sameness manifested in the test feeder topology would not hold in real-world scenarios. This thesis work proposes a strategy to ensure communication in the EGoT DERMS is privacy-preserving and secure. Specifically, it provides an approach to applying the Mondrian Algorithm to ensure data within the system excludes Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and provides means for securing the communication according to industry standards (IEEE 2030.5). Results suggest that the generalization hierarchy derived for the EGoT DERMS exhibits an Identical Generalization Hierarchy structure. Guarantees of sameness manifested in the test feeder topology would not hold in real-world scenarios.

Alsiad, Mohammed↗
DOE OSTI2021

Automation for Distributed Energy Resources Risk Manager Using OSCAL

The risk management framework (RMF) provides a well-organized and thorough approach to diagnose information technology (IT) system threats, to gather required materials to comply with industry standards, and to document a plan for achieving authority to operate (ATO). ATO is given by the operating authority with the awareness of vulnerabilities that arise when operating the IT system. The primary goal of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) distributed energy resource (DER) RM application is to provide a user-friendly interface and in-depth guidance for generating the authorization package for the authorizing official to review. In other words, the application satisfies steps 1 through 7 of the RMF process with a focus on DERs.

cybersecurity↗
DOE OSTI2020

Metrics and Analytical Frameworks for Valuing Energy Efficiency and Distributed Energy Resources in the Built Environment: Preprint

This paper summarizes efforts to develop new—and enhance existing—analytical frameworks and metrics to quantify the value that grid-interactive efficient homes with solar (GEB-solar homes) can provide. Industry is working to characterize and understand these capabilities and benefits, but existing analytical frameworks for evaluating energy efficiency (EE) are often siloed from those that evaluate distributed energy resources (DERs). Five metrics were adapted from an extensive literature review and applied to case studies of a modeled home in Riverside, California: ramp up/down, cover factor demand/supply, and curtailable load. Eight different technology scenarios were analyzed using a more tightly connected suite of building-to-grid models (BEopt, REopt, ReEDS, and PLEXOS). Additionally, an initial version of the Cambium tool was developed, characterizing the marginal prices and emissions from NREL’s 2018 Standard Scenarios. These grid costs were extended to a time-varying proxy retail rate and applied as part of a new grid alignment metric. In the results, a more integrated combination of GEB-solar technologies led to a higher cover factor demand—the percentage of gross home load covered by on-site solar—however, a benchmark was required to determine what range of cover factor was “best” for given grid conditions. To that end, a grid alignment cost metric was applied to the case study scenarios. The average cost to serve the net load of the home decreased from a median of ~$0.24/kWh to ~$0.10/kWh when the most integrated technology scenario was optimized towards the grid pricing proxy versus the time-of-use (TOU) rate.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗
DOE OSTI2021

Service-Based, Segmented, 5G Network-Based Architecture for Securing Distributed Energy Resources: Preprint

As the number of connected devices in the energy grid increase exponentially, so too are the cybersecurity risks. With the development of modern communications standards such as 5G and beyond the extent to which devices will continue to connect will continue to increase exponentially along with the inherent risks. However, 5G also includes features to help address cybersecurity concerns and therefore helping to mitigate many of these risks. This paper proposes a new service-based network architecture implementing network-slicing capabilities for connected systems and devices to improve performance, availability, security, and reliability of the grid devices and services. This paper considers the quality of service requirements and criticality of services needed for securely monitoring, operating, and securing Distributed Energy Resource (DER) devices. From developed use cases, network slicing is implemented based on these requirements and resource allocations. This work then highlights examples of how slicing can help prevent standard existing attack methods such as a denial-of-service or similar attack which limits resource availability and network bandwidth to the service and thus limiting its ability to affect other services by misbehaving. The designed network architecture use case will be further tested on a local virtualized testbed to verify secure operation and availability of services. Using hardware-in-the-loop devices and systems on this local testbed, this fully segmented, secure network may be realized and evaluated. Finally, this paper presents the results of this testing.

5G↗
DOE OSTI2021

Economic risk analysis for the capture of a distributed energy resource using modular chemical process intensification

Recent advances in the chemical process industry have allowed for the intensification of reactors and unit operations, by enhancing heat and mass transfer or combining multiple unit operations. Process intensification can enable chemical plants to be constructed in a more compact, modular fashion, offering improvements over conventional on-site approaches to capital construction, operations and maintenance. This modular chemical process intensification (MCPI) offers several benefits over conventional stick-built (CSB) plant construction in terms of reduced footprint, reduced energy consumption, lower cost, less waste and improved safety and quality control. However, acceptance of MCPI over CSB construction practices within the chemical industry can be impeded by the uncertain risks associated with investing in new technology. Furthermore, the work here documents a case study during the development of a modular chemical plant for capturing distributed energy resources within chemical production. This MCPI approach to plant construction is contrasted with a CSB approach for producing the same chemical product. Data collection tools were developed, based on a literature review, and data was collected from the technology developer to understand the process technology. Sensitivity analysis was then conducted to analyze the business rationale for the application of MCPI over CSB across several market scenarios. It was found that MCPI would be better suited for capacities up to 150 000 metric tons per year, but that improvement in payback period was needed. Additionally, for MCPI approach to achieve acceptable payback periods, efforts are needed to reduce the cost of capital equipment and compress the schedule for ramping up modular production.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

REopt for Resilient Buildings: Leveraging Energy Efficiency and Distributed Energy Resources for Resilience Solutions

Community resilience hubs are locally identified and community-serving facilities that provide residents year-round access to support resources. During extreme weather, they can reduce the burden on emergency response teams by supplying power before, during, and after grid outages through onsite energy systems. This presentation analyzes how NREL's REopt tool can leverage energy efficiency, distributed generation, and storage resources to ensure critical community facilities are online when they are needed most. We showcase the tool's capabilities and application through a case study that focuses on achieving resilience for critical facilities in Manatee County.

better buildings↗
DOE OSTI2023

Data Privacy for the Grid: Toward a Data Privacy Standard for Inverter-Based and Distributed Energy Resources

The traditional approach to planning the distribution grid has focused on reliability in the context of gradual and reasonably predictable load growth. Forecasts of load growth, combined with asset management practices, were used by system planners to identify upgrades to the system to maintain or improve reliability. The decisions, typically based within load flow analysis tools, included considerations about contingency scenarios and corporate forecasts (i.e., top-down predictions at a summary level of what would happen in a particular area that could impact load growth and behavior). As a result, today, this traditional approach no longer fits all purposes.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Interoperable, Inverter-Based Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) Enable 100% Renewable and Resilient Utility Microgrids

Project overcomes frequency stability and system control issues when operating distribution microgrids in a low inertia, high PV penetration environment without fossil fuel generators. The team implemented a grid-forming inverter and advanced control features at SDG&E's Borrego Springs Microgrid to demonstrate islanding and blackstart using renewable resources. Simulation and emulation in advance of deployment de-risks field operations.

battery energy storage systems↗
DOE OSTI2023

Gap Analysis of Supply Chain Cybersecurity for Distributed Energy Resources

A supply chain is the combination of the ecosystem of resources needed to design, manufacture, and distribute a product. In the context of supply chain cybersecurity, the resources that directly influence this ecosystem include software, data, and/or other digital components. Compromised equipment or software in the supply chain may lead to attacks such as financial loss; denial of service; a breach of confidential or proprietary information from a company, its customers, or its suppliers; ransomware that denies operation of automated equipment for payment; and malicious control actions that could damage equipment and endanger personnel. Currently 60.8% of US energy comes from fossil fuels, 18.9% comes from nuclear energy, and the last 20.1% comes from renewable sources. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order FERC 2222 and Executive Order 14017 on America's Supply Chains are important milestones for safely expanding generation from renewable energy and achieving the goal of a decarbonized U.S. energy sector by 2035. This report analyzes gaps and opportunities in the supply chain currently available to the renewable energy sector, to help stakeholders formulate a coordinated response.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems: Preserving Customer Privacy through K-Anonymity

The smart grid represents the next generation of electricity distribution systems that utilizes recent technological innovations. It uses digital communication between its components and entities to attain more automation, self-sufficiency, and reliability. One of the many concerns in smart grid digital communication discussions is the possibility of violating customers’ privacy. Violating customers’ privacy imposes a significant barrier as smart grid desirable attributes are tightly tied to customers’ participation. Employing privacy models can address concerns regarding information privacy in smart grid digital communication. In this work, we provide an approach to utilizing K-anonymity to ensure data within the system excludes Personally Identifiable Information. Results suggest that a dynamically generated generalization hierarchy minimizes information loss incurred by the anonymization process.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Performance Evaluation of Distributed Energy Resources Management System via Advanced Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation: Preprint

This paper presents an advanced hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) platform to evaluate the performance of voltage regulation coordinated across advanced distribution management systems (ADMS), distributed energy management system (DERMS), and DERs. The HIL platform provides realistic laboratory testing, including accurate modeling of the real-world distribution system from a utility partner, real controller (ADMS and DERMs) and power (DERs) hardware, and standard communications protocols. The test results show proper functionalities of the integrated platform and performance of the peak load management of coordinated control systems. Based on the laboratory testing, the utility can set up the same grid automation system to manage DERs to achieve system-level control and operation objectives (e.g., peak load management), thus derisking potential issues (e.g., instability) for field deployment.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Locational Value of Distributed Energy Resources

This report focuses on potential DER benefits for distribution systems, primarily in their role as non-wires alternatives to defer, mitigate, or eliminate the need for some traditional system investments at locations where distribution capacity is insufficient to meet expected future needs. It describes approaches and tools to estimate the locational value of DERs. The report includes 24 case studies to illustrate how states and utilities are considering the locational value of DERs.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗