Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Electricity Grid”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Assessing Geospatial and Seasonal Influences on Energy and Cost-Efficiency of Drayage Trucks

The electrification of heavy-duty vehicles is a critical pathway toward improved energy efficiency in the freight sector. The current battery electric truck technology poses several challenges to commercial vehicle operations, such as limited driving range, sensitivity to climate conditions, and long recharging times. Estimating the energy consumption of heavy-duty electric trucks is crucial to assessing the feasibility of fleet electrification and its impact on the electric grid. This article focuses on developing a model-based simulation approach to predict and analyze the energy consumption of electric trucks by considering the impact of weather and geographical conditions on vehicle road load and auxiliary components power consumption, as well as the impact these factors have on driving range. Specifically, drayage trucks employed in logistics around maritime ports are used as a case study, with consideration of seasonal climate variations and geographical characteristics at different locations. The article includes results for three major container ports within the United States, providing region-specific insights into the energy requirements and driving range of the electric drayage trucks in these regions, which will inform decision-makers in integrating electric trucks into the existing drayage operations and plan investments for electric grid development.

Sujan, Vivek [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000269882342)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Understanding the Computing and Analysis Needs for Resiliency of Power Systems from Severe Weather Impacts

As the frequency and intensity of severe weather has increased, its effect on the electric grid has manifested in the form of significantly more and larger outages in the United States. This has become especially true for regions that were previously isolated from weather extremes. In this paper, we analyze the weather impacts on the electric power grid across a variety of weather conditions, draw correlations, and provide practical insights into the operational state of these systems. High resolution computational modeling of specific meteorological variables, computational approaches to solving power system models under these conditions, and the types of resiliency needs are highlighted as goal-oriented computing approaches are being built to address grid resiliency needs. An example analysis correlating outages to 1km day-ahead weather from two historical winter storms, calculated on a large cluster using a combination of interpolated and extrapolated inputs from multiple instrumented sites to workflows that produce primary meteorological outputs, is shown as initial proof of concept.

analysis↗
DOE OSTI2024

Review of Technical Requirements for Inverter-Based Resources in Chile

This document compares the technical requirements in the grid code of Chile (NTSyCS) against the EirGrid (Ireland transmission system operator) and National Grid Electricity System Operator (NESO) grid codes and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 2800-2022 standard for conventional inverter technology at the transmission and subtransmission levels in the process of being adopted by system operators in the U.S. The document is intended to be a guide and reference for future updates of the NTSyCS, considering the local system requirements and present improvements in inverter-based resource (IBR) technology. In light of the findings of the aforementioned comparative review, this document proposes and describes the requirements for conventional IBRs that could be incorporated and updated into the Chilean grid code. The document is structured around the main grid challenges posed by the transition to an IBR-dominated grid and conventional IBRs capabilities to help address them. This document does not provide guidance on how this specification should be implemented (e.g., through a mandate or market solution).

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Introduction to Microgrids

A microgrid is simply a typical power system that has distributed energy resources (DERs), like small diesel generators, with loads in the network. The resiliency offered by microgrids to retain service during system events makes them a suitable support for the electric grid during natural disasters. One key factor that differentiates microgrids from a typical distribution grid is its ability to disconnect itself in the event of a blackout and sustain its loads through DERs. Microgrid systems will reconnect to the main grid when the grid comes back up. The resiliency offered by microgrids to retain service during system events makes them a suitable support for the electric grid during natural disasters. This presentation discusses the typical key steps involved in microgrid planning, installation, operation in a interoperable and interconnectable fashion.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Grid-Constrained Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Sites: Battery-Buffered Options

This case study summarizes recent Joint Office of Energy and Transportation technical assistance work performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory which involved helping a state department of transportation analyze the feasibility of a battery energy storage system solution at a grid-constrained EV charging location.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Beyond Price Taker: Conceptual Design and Optimization of Integrated Energy Systems Using Machine Learning Market Surrogates

Future electricity generation systems must be optimized to provide flexibility that counteracts the variability of non-dispatchable renewable energy sources and ensures the reliability and safety of critical infrastructure, including the electric grid. The current state-of-the-art is to co-optimize the design and operation of integrated energy systems (IES) treating historical or predicted time-series electricity prices as fixed parameters. Recent literature has shown the limitations of this price taker assumption, which neglects how IES optimization decisions influence market outcomes. As such, this paper proposes a new optimization formulation that uses machine learning surrogate models, trained from a library of annual market operation simulations, to embed IES market interactions into the co-optimization problem directly. Using a thermal generator example built in the open-source IDAES computational environment, we show that the price taker approach routinely over-predicts annual revenues by 8% or more compared to a validation simulation, where the proposed approach has a typical relative error of 1% or less.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electrical Substation Configuration Effect on Substation Reliability

It is crucial that the U.S. electrical grid be reliable, due to its critical role in the economy and our national defense/security. Many common tasks and industrial operations rely on proper electrical power distribution. In designing new bus systems or evaluating existing ones, the type of configuration employed affects the level of risk, reliability, maintenance, and cost involved. The present work utilizes Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) to perform a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA)-based sensitivity study on substation reliability in regard to different bus configurations. This study examines single bus, main and transfer, breaker and a half, double bus/double breaker, and ring bus configurations applied to busses with different numbers of lines. The case variances, methods, and rankings presented herein can help guide bus configurations for electrical grid design/analysis in the future.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Technical Impacts of Light-Duty and Heavy-Duty Transportation Electrification on a Coordinated Transmission and Distribution System

In this study, we propose a strategy to model the required spatiotemporal charging demand from light-duty (LD) and medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) electric vehicles (EVs) using actual transportation data by mapping the demand for the required EV charging to a realistic and coordinated distribution and transmission electric grid at the predicted times of the day to study their impact on the power system in a variety of load, weather, and EV penetration scenarios. This work is the first study that includes the actual weather data and transportation data with realistic and coordinated distribution and transmission grid data in a large industry-scale level study. The main goal of this study is to identify possible issues and required upgrades in the electric grid, caused by an increase in EV integration. The transmission case study is a large grid with 6717 buses over a Texas footprint, and the distribution grid is over Houston, a city in Texas, covering over three million customers. The resulting overloads and voltage violations experienced in the system are discussed, and required planning upgrades to avoid these issues are suggested.

AC optimal power flow (AC-OPF)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hydrogen Storage for Flexible Fossil Fuel Power Generation: Integration of Underground Hydrogen Storage with Gas Turbine (Final Report)

As the nation continues to encourage, through market structures and financial incentives, the proliferation of intermittent renewable electricity, how to optimize the ever-changing electric grid and identify means to retain and improve resilience, while ensuring continued reductions in GHG emissions, will be critical. According to Bloomberg, wind & solar generated 10.5% of US electricity in 2020 and that percentage continues to grow. In support of expanding renewable energy use, and to address its intermittent nature, this project will develop the Hydrogen Storage for Flexible Fossil Fuel Power Generation platform that is dispatchable, reliable, repeatable and have the ability to produce zero or negative carbon power while interfacing with geology capable of CO2 and hydrogen storage. GTI Energy (GTIE) and team members Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA), Ameren Illinois, Hexagon Purus, and the Low Carbon Resources Initiative (LCRI) completed a Phase I Conceptual Study under contract DE-FE0032012 for Hydrogen Storage for Flexible Fossil Fuel Power Generation: Integration of Underground Hydrogen Storage with Gas Turbine. The Hydrogen Storage for Flexible Fossil Fuel Power Generation platform addresses the intermittent nature of the expanding use of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) generation. The low cost of the electricity (COE) generated results in greater dispatch and more operation at higher power levels (higher efficiency), fewer short intervals, and fewer start/stop cycles. The reliable, resilient system can produce zero carbon power and store hydrogen. It will demonstrate hydrogen storage in geologic formations like those used in natural gas underground storage thus enabling large scale storage of hydrogen in sedimentary strata across the United States rather than in geographically restricted salt caverns. The Phase I study confirmed the system is feasible and generates power at lower cost than other low carbon approaches. The demonstration defines the pathway for broad commercial application and will accelerate the development of larger systems suitable for centralized utility scale electricity production. The study advanced the maturity of the H 2 storage-based system with flexible power generation by completing a Pre-FEED study (Phase II). The Pre-FEED focused on the selected Energy Farm on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) site that includes above ground and underground hydrogen storage, low-carbon hydrogen production (GTI’s Compact Hydrogen Generator, CHG) with underground CO2 sequestration, and a 40-MW class gas turbine. The Pre-FEED addressed the entire system and its interconnection to the natural gas and electric grid and mitigation of key risks, such as storage behavior, load-following, and system operation. During Phase 1 of the project, the team completed key tasks, which moved the entire demonstration project, specific components and approaches closer to commercialization. These Phase I Accomplishments include: Completing System Requirements Review; Completing System Layout and Modeling - Heat & Mass Balance and Process Flow Diagram; Completing modelling of 9 turbine performance cases; Evaluating rock strata for underground storage of hydrogen and sequestration of carbon dioxide; Completing initial modelling of underground storage of hydrogen and withdrawal with evaluation of loss and water production; Identifying roadable storage for above ground hydrogen storage; Identifying existing electrical infrastructure for receiving/delivering electricity; Identifying existing gas supply infrastructure for receiving natural gas; Document concept design/development plans in required reports. Conclusions: The 12-month Feasibility study in Phase I study was completed and confirmed the system is feasible and generates power at lower cost than other low carbon approaches and even lower cost than the reference NGCC plant without carbon capture when taking advantage of 45Q carbon credits. The study enabled the fidelity of the concept to be improved and allowed identification of the requirements for the system. Defining the individual system and component requirements was performed via the system requirements review with the whole team. These requirements were then incorporated into and iterated with our Heat & Mass Balance process model and process flow diagrams were generated to reflect the overall system. This information was then used to complete the TEA and show economic feasibility. Large scale non-salt geologic storage of hydrogen is an enabling technology for a hydrogen-fired turbine that can be retrofitted into large-scale electric generating units (EGU). Our demonstration will include 428 MWh or ~4 hours full load of hydrogen storage (above and underground). Carbon capture inherent to the CHG process can capture 90% CO 2 (with upgrades to >98%). This system provides a COE of 23% savings relative to an NGCC with a post combustion amine system. Our proposed storage system decouples carbon capture and hydrogen production from power production; therefore, we expect our proposed system’s efficiency and variable COE to be superior resulting in overall higher dispatch and reduced deep cycling. Our demonstration will be full to multi-day hydrogen storage and has the potential for longer (seasonal) duration commercially. The demonstration defines the pathway for broad commercial application and will accelerate the development of larger systems suitable for centralized utility scale electricity production.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electrical Substation Configuration Effect on Substation Reliability

The nation’s electrical grid must be reliable because of its critical role in the economy, defense, and security of the nation. Many common tasks and industrial operations rely on proper electrical power distribution. In the design of new bus systems or evaluation of existing bus systems, the type of bus configuration affects the risk, reliability, maintenance, and cost of the system. This work utilizes Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) to perform a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) based sensitivity study on the reliability of substations with differing bus configurations. This study examines single bus, main and transfer, breaker and a half, double bus/double breaker, and ring bus configurations applied to busses of varying number of lines. The case variances, methods, and rankings presented can provide a guide for bus configuration for future electrical grid design and analysis.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Energy Transition: Advanced Nuclear Needed but Address Climate Vulnerabilities Now

The term “Energy Transition” is an attempt to capture an elaborate set of activities related to the modernization and decarbonization of energy grids. Performed concurrently and often in an ad hoc manner across local, state, regional and national boundaries, it is bringing chaos to what should arguably be one of the most conservatively managed of all critical infrastructure sectors. What’s more, with climate change producing an increasing tempo of extreme events, confidence in the intended resilient and redundant structure of the electric grids is likely to ebb. Even without these climate induced stressors, the nation’s electric grid was built for an earlier century. In addition to a drive towards greater efficiency via digitization and a continuing price decline in distributed energy resources (DERs), one could argue that climate change concerns are the primary driver of the energy transition. Non-CO2 emitting generation sources like wind and solar have become an important part of the overall generation fleet, albeit ones that cannot be counted upon to provide dispatchable power. Current projections indicate deployment of even larger percentages of DERs in coming years. Until far better storage capabilities arrive, the variability of wind and solar, inconsistent performance of traditional thermal generation plants, and energy delivery failures associated with natural gas pipelines will reinforce mounting reliability concerns. This pertains to both electric transmission and distribution. The recent shuttering of nuclear power plants in Germany, Japan, the US and elsewhere are also putting more downward pressure on dispatchable generation. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has roiled energy markets worldwide and forced some countries to return to coal as a primary fuel. In view circumstances such as these, it is essential that significant changes be made to policies and planning criteria, and to the standards and code on which they are based. Given the accelerating pace of extreme weather events, this needs to occur as soon as possible.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Scalable Quantum Cryptography Network for Protected Automation Communication (Final Report)

This is the final report for a CEDS-funded project aimed at developing a new quantum technology for securing utility communication networks used to control and monitor electrical grid equipment. Securing these control networks represents a unique challenge as the performance of the security solution has a direct impact on the stability and reliability of the electrical grid. Traditional, software-based solutions - developed for information networks - are not suitable for utility control networks because they introduce latency, require burdensome maintenance and upgrades, are often incompatible with legacy equipment, and introduce operational complexity that reduces grid reliability. Consequently, many U.S. utilities do not use existing solutions and, instead, protect their critical control networks through the careful isolation and obscuration of their networked equipment. With more utilities embracing grid automation, the attack surface that utilities must defend from hackers has grown to an unmanageable size. To address this situation, Qubitekk and its partners proposed and developed a hardware-based solution that can secure critical control networks without negatively impacting grid performance. This new solution is based on quantum key distribution (QKD) techniques that guarantee secure key generation and distribution across a utility control network. Through deployment and field testing of a prototype QKD system, we have shown that this solution delivers long-term network security, is technically feasible to implement and maintain on a utility’s distribution substation network and does not negatively impact grid operations. In addition, the project has identified and solved key challenges associated with generating, transmitting, and measuring coherent photonic quantum states on a real-world fiber optic network. These additional findings are playing a critical role in advancing quantum networks for quantum computing applications. An overview of the QKD prototype development effort, field testing activities and results, and additional findings relevant to emerging quantum networks are presented in this report.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Impact assessment of geomagnetic induced current neutral blocking devices with power electronics sources on distance relay for 230 kV transmission lines

Electrical grids increased the integration of power electronics sources onto transmission lines. In addition, recent reports show a significant rise in geomagnetic storms occurring in 2024. These geomagnetic storms can affect transmission lines by inducing electrical currents within them, potentially causing power outages due to overloaded power transformers. Geomagnetic induced current neutral blocking devices (GIC-NBDs) are capacitors on the ground of wye power transformers, to avoid damage caused by geomagnetic storms. The integration of distance relays and transmission lines with power electronics sources and GIC-NBDs needs to be studied to observe if GIC-NBDs and power electronics sources could adversely affect operation of the electrical grid. In this analysis, the effect of 2 MW power electronics sources and GIC-NBDs on distance relays is assessed for different 230 kV transmission line lengths in radial and nonradial power systems. The simulations measured the apparent impedances, with different electrical faults. Results for a typical 2,650 μF GIC-NBD application were presented on impedance plots, and the distance relay model operations were assessed. In conclusion, the tests for radial and nonradial power systems showed the behavior of the distance elements and source impedance ratios, assessing the effect of power electronics sources and GIC-NBDs on 230 kV transmission lines.

Distance relays↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Role of Fuels in Transforming Energy End-Use in Buildings and Industrial Processes

This book examines what role fuels have in the transformation of end-use in buildings and industrial processes. Energy efficient technologies are necessary to lower the carbon footprint for a transition towards clean energy in a sustainable manner. Efficient utilization of primary energy resources including renewables to support the current and future energy needs while targeting grid resiliency, energy and environmental security, at an affordable cost is of significant value. Analysis of configurations consisting of heat pumps, fuel driven thermal providers and power systems is presented. Sensitivity of electrical grid's carbon intensity towards carbon footprint in comparison with fuel driven technologies is necessary to recognize the true value proposition of currently available energy solutions for different end consumers. Similarly, the role of low carbon, zero carbon, and carbon negative fuels such as power to gas, power to liquid, hydrogen, biogas, etc. in conjunction with polygeneration technologies are discussed. Transformation of the primary energy resources from conventional fossil fuels to renewable fuels or electricity will have a significant impact on the overall carbon footprint of various end use sectors, including buildings. Hence, this book also examines two different scenarios focused on sensitivity of the pace of decarbonization of electrical grid and fuel supply on operational energy related carbon emissions.

Cheekatamarla, Praveen↗
DOE OSTI2025

Resource assessment of ocean thermal energy conversion in Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands

Island communities often struggle to establish and maintain traditional electric grids and are therefore heavily reliant on costly imported fossil fuels. In the case of Puerto Rico, these challenges are enhanced by extreme weather and other natural hazards that threaten the local electricity generation and transmission infrastructure. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) could play an important role in establishing a more resilient electrical grid in the region. Here, in this study, a detailed analysis is conducted to characterize the ocean thermal resource and power potential of OTEC in Puerto Rico based on a 14-year dataset of modeled ocean temperature. The assessment considers seasonal and interannual variability in the region's thermal resource and examines the operational limitations associated with minimal thermal gradients required to run a typical OTEC heat engine. Notably, the local thermal resource is found to be sensitive to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate patterns, with La Niña conditions linked to greater OTEC power availability. Seven areas of opportunity are identified based on their resource potential and proximity to existing electrical distribution lines, including two that could benefit the nearby U.S. Virgin Islands. The greatest OTEC power potential is observed to the south of the main island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea with an estimated capacity of 138 MW for a plant pumping cold water from a depth of 1,000 m, or the equivalent amount of electricity required to power 219,000 households.

OTEC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Chapter 3: Power Conversion Technologies: The Advent of Power-to-Gas, Power-to-Liquid, and Power-to-Heat

Decreasing levelized costs of renewable electricity coupled with expanding deployment are enabling a rapid reduction in the carbon intensity of the electrical grid. However, this transition is occurring more slowly in other sectors, including transportation and manufacturing. Power-to-X technologies provide a means to accelerate this transition in those sectors by converting renewable electricity into chemical energy and heat. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the existing and emerging Power-to-X technologies covering the production of methane (hydrogen is covered in Chapter 5) (i.e. Power-to-Gas), chemicals and fuels (e.g. ammonia, carbon monoxide, ethylene, methanol, ethanol, and formic acid), and heat (e.g. for industrial and building applications); discuss the overarching and technology-specific challenges and opportunities; and highlight the implications of deployment of Power-to-X technologies on power generation. We emphasize that Power-to-X technologies do exist today at various stages of development and commercialization and that a transition to lower carbon intensity for the transportation and manufacturing sectors is possible, but it requires immense growth of the electrical grid and appropriate systems design and operations.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advanced Sensor Deployment for Distribution System State Estimation and Fault Identification

Distribution systems are currently facing steep operational challenges as a result of the rapidly increasing integration of renewables and other distributed energy resources (DERs) at both the primary and secondary circuit levels. Distribution utilities and system operators have traditionally had some visibility of their primary circuits using low-frequency supervisory control and data acquisition systems, and they have had very poor if not zero visibility of the secondary circuits where the presence of DERs is constantly increasing. Therefore, this paper presents simulation studies to demonstrate the benefits of an advanced, high-fidelity sensor technology, called as the Meta-Alert System (MAS), developed by Electrical Grid Monitoring, Ltd. (EGM), on the distribution grid. First, a reliable model of the EGM sensors is developed, and then two use cases, distribution system state estimation (DSSE) and fault identification are simulated to evaluate the performance of the MAS technology. Simulation results on the Electric Power Research Institute J1 feeder demonstrate that the MAS can effectively participate in system-level DSSE programs and can detect and locate faults faster than traditional distribution protection schemes.

distribution system↗
DOE OSTI2022

Experimental performance analysis of a dual source heat pump integrated with thermal energy storage

To mitigate disturbances to the electric grid resulting from the growing penetration of intermittent and decentralized renewable generation, a dual-source (air source and ground source) heat pump (DSHP) integrated with thermal energy storage (TES) was developed. The DSHP can use either ambient air or the shallow subsurface of the ground to provide space heating or space cooling to the building as the conventional heat pump and produce hot/cold water for charging TES. Using dual sources (air and ground) can reduce the required size of the expensive ground heat exchangers while retaining high energy efficiency. During the off-peak period, the DSHP cools/heats the TES with low-cost electricity or overproduced renewable power. The stored cooling/heating energy in the TES is released during peak hours of the electric grid to meet the thermal demands of the building without consuming electricity to run the DSHP. A 2-ton (7 kW) prototype DSHP was developed and integrated with a 50-gallon (189 L) TES tank filled with a phase change material. Field tests were conducted to characterize the performance of the integrated system operating in various operation modes.

Wang, Lingshi↗