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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 37 records · Page 2

The Effect of Clean Energy Generation Targets on the Portfolio of Electric Grid Generation Technologies

A least-cost generation and transmission expansion planning model is used to optimize the U.S. generation portfolio in 2030 under a range of Clean Energy Generation Target (CEGT) policy goals. As reference cases for comparison, the model is used to optimize the generation portfolio for the future electric grid with and without the Investment and Production Tax Credits (ITC and PTC). Next, the model is used to optimize the generation portfolio with a CEGT ranging from 10% to 70%. The results show that due to the ITC and PTC extensions by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, there is little additional investment in renewable energy generation assets at low CEGT levels. Significant additional installations of both renewable energy generation and energy storage systems – both batteries and pumped storage hydro – become important at CEGT levels above approximately 30%.

Aldeman, Matthew↗

Energy Storage Financing: Project and Portfolio Valuation

This study investigates the issues and challenges surrounding energy storage project and portfolio valuation and provide insights in to improving visibility into the process for developers, capital providers, and customers so they can make more informed choices. Energy storage project valuation methodology is typical of power sector projects through evaluating various revenue and cost assumptions in a project economic model. The difference is that energy storage projects have many more design and operational variables to incorporate, and the governing market rules that control these variables are still evolving. This makes project valuation for energy storage more difficult. As the number of operating projects grow, portfolios of these projects are being developed, garnering the interest of larger investors. Valuation challenges of these portfolios can be even more challenging as market role and geographical diversity can actually exacerbate the variability, not mitigate it. By proposing additional visibility of key factors and drivers for industry participants, the US DOE can reduce investment risk, expanding both the number and types of investors, plus helping emerging energy storage technology into sustained commercialization.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Using a Portfolio of Algorithms for Planning and Scheduling

The Automated Scheduling and Planning Environment (ASPEN) software system, aspects of which have been reported in several previous NASA Tech Briefs articles, includes a subsystem that utilizes a portfolio of heuristic algorithms that work synergistically to solve problems. The nature of the synergy of the specific algorithms is that their likelihoods of success are negatively correlated: that is, when a combination of them is used to solve a problem, the probability that at least one of them will succeed is greater than the sum of probabilities of success of the individual algorithms operating independently of each other. In ASPEN, the portfolio of algorithms is used in a planning process of the iterative repair type, in which conflicts are detected and addressed one at a time until either no conflicts exist or a user-defined time limit has been exceeded. At each choice point (e.g., selection of conflict; selection of method of resolution of conflict; or choice of move, addition, or deletion) ASPEN makes a stochastic choice of a combination of algorithms from the portfolio. This approach makes it possible for the search to escape from looping and from solutions that are locally but not globally optimum.

Sherwood, Robert↗

Flightdeck Automation Problems (FLAP) Model for Safety Technology Portfolio Assessment

NASA's Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) develops and advances methodologies and technologies to improve air transportation safety. The Safety Analysis and Integration Team (SAIT) conducts a safety technology portfolio assessment (PA) to analyze the program content, to examine the benefits and risks of products with respect to program goals, and to support programmatic decision making. The PA process includes systematic identification of current and future safety risks as well as tracking several quantitative and qualitative metrics to ensure the program goals are addressing prominent safety risks accurately and effectively. One of the metrics within the PA process involves using quantitative aviation safety models to gauge the impact of the safety products. This paper demonstrates the role of aviation safety modeling by providing model outputs and evaluating a sample of portfolio elements using the Flightdeck Automation Problems (FLAP) model. The model enables not only ranking of the quantitative relative risk reduction impact of all portfolio elements, but also highlighting the areas with high potential impact via sensitivity and gap analyses in support of the program office. Although the model outputs are preliminary and products are notional, the process shown in this paper is essential to a comprehensive PA of NASA's safety products in the current program and future programs/projects.

Ancel, Ersin↗

Outcomes of a NASA Workshop to Develop a Portfolio of Low Latency Datasets for Time-Sensitive Applications

It is widely accepted that time-sensitive remote sensing data serve the needs of decision makers in the applications communities and yet to date, a comprehensive portfolio of NASA low latency datasets has not been available. This paper will describe the NASA low latency, or Near-Real Time (NRT), portfolio, how it was developed and plans to make it available online through a portal that leverages the existing EOSDIS capabilities such as the Earthdata Search Client (https:search.earthdata.nasa.gov), the Common Metadata Repository (CMR) and the Global Imagery Browse Service (GIBS). This paper will report on the outcomes of a NASA Workshop to Develop a Portfolio of Low Latency Datasets for Time-Sensitive Applications (27-29 September 2016 at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton VA). The paper will also summarize findings and recommendations from the meeting outlining perceived shortfalls and opportunities for low latency research and application science.

remote sensing↗

NREL Marine Energy Desalination Research and Development Portfolio: Preprint

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), has developed a unique R&D approach to advance marine energy desalination. Desalination is a foundational investment within WPTO's Powering the Blue Economy portfolio, and was the first investment within this portfolio. NREL's marine energy desalination spans techno-economic feasibility studies, numerical modeling, and laboratory testing at the component and subsystem level, as well as development of the Hydraulic and Electric Reverse Osmosis Wave Energy Converter (HERO WEC). This multilayered approach enables an innovative feedback loop where the data and lessons learned from laboratory and field experiments are used to refine modeling tools and analysis techniques, prioritize out-year activities, and refine strategic directions within NREL and across the WPTO portfolio. The primary objective of the NREL-led research is to identify key barriers associated with the commercialization of wave-powered desalination and develop solutions that can be adopted by the marine energy industry. In parallel, these R&D activities can help inform technical assistance and support of industry and academic technologies. These two tracks help build a common solver community approach, while also identifying key stakeholders, government agencies, and other organizations outside of the marine sector that will be necessary for developing a robust industry. For the Spanish version of this report, see NREL/CP-5700-88483 (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy24osti/88483.pdf).

analysis↗

Energy sector portfolio analysis with uncertainty

Governments are dealing with the challenge of how to efficiently invest in research and development portfolios related to energy technologies. Research and development investment decisions in the energy space are especially difficult due to numerous risks and uncertainties, and due to the complexity of energy's interactions with the broad economy. Historically, much of the U.S. Department of Energy's in-depth research and development analyses focused on assessing the impact of a research and development activity in isolation from other available opportunities and did not substantially consider risk and uncertainty. Endeavoring to combine integrated energy-economy modeling with uncertainty analysis and technology-specific research and development activities, the U.S. Department of Energy commissioned the development of the Stochastic Energy Deployment System to support and improve public energy research and development decision-making. The Stochastic Energy Deployment System draws from expert-elicited probability distributions for research and development-driven improvements in technology cost and performance, and it uses Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the likelihood of outcomes within a system dynamics energy-economy model. The framework estimates the uncertain benefits and costs of various research and development portfolios and provides insight into the probability of meeting national technology goals, while accounting for interactions with the larger economy and for interactions among research and development investments spanning many energy sectors.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Portfolio Management

Enterprise Business Information Services Division (EBIS) supports the Laboratory and its functions through the implementation and support of business information systems on behalf of its business community. EBIS Five Strategic Focus Areas: (1) Improve project estimating, planning and delivery capability (2) Improve maintainability and sustainability of EBIS Application Portfolio (3) Leap forward in IT Leadership (4) Comprehensive Talent Management (5) Continuous IT Security Program. Portfolio Management is a strategy in which software applications are managed as assets

Information Technology Applications↗

Framework for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Planning: Industrial Portfolios

The Framework for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Planning: Industrial Portfolios articulates a process to help industrial organizations develop a specific, actionable plan to achieve Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction – an Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP). An ERP covers an entire portfolio of facilities, yet contains enough detail to be practically useful at the facility level.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Developing a Coal to Products Technology Portfolio

At Ramaco Carbon we are working to bring into existence a new carbon economy with the mottos “coal is too valuable to burn” and “no molecule left behind.” Our research focus is using coal (carbon ore) as a feedstock for a variety of high-value carbon products. We have developed a process and manufacturing technology portfolio including carbon fiber, porous carbons, nano-structured carbons (bulk graphene), building products, monolayer graphene, and rare earth elements (REEs). A review of these product lines, the associated processes, and economics will provide insight into the value of carbon ore as a feedstock for high-value and specialty products. We will present our current progress in manufacturing and tailoring the properties of porous carbons and nano-structured carbon to enhance existing products and produce novel products. Included is a discussion of the properties of carbon fiber derived from direct liquefaction of sub-bituminous coal, and from pitches produced by pyrolysis and solvation by supercritical CO2. New processes for converting carbon ore into structural building materials and monolayer graphene and the evaluation of REE deposits in a Powder River Basin thermal coal reserve will also be described. The presentation will provide a review of our carbon ore to products technology portfolio and the economic advantages of using carbon ore as a feedstock for advanced carbon products and several associated end use applications.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Developing a Coal to Products Technology Portfolio

At Ramaco Carbon we are working to bring into existence a new carbon economy with the mottos “coal is too valuable to burn” and “no molecule left behind.” Our research focus is using coal (carbon ore) as a feedstock for a variety of high-value carbon products. We have developed a process and manufacturing technology portfolio including carbon fiber, porous carbons, nano-structured carbons (bulk graphene), building products, monolayer graphene, and rare earth elements (REEs). A review of these product lines, the associated processes, and economics will provide insight into the value of carbon ore as a feedstock for high-value and specialty products. We will present our current progress in manufacturing and tailoring the properties of porous carbons and nano-structured carbon to enhance existing products and produce novel products. Included is a discussion of the properties of carbon fiber derived from direct liquefaction of sub-bituminous coal, and from pitches produced by pyrolysis and solvation by supercritical CO2. New processes for converting carbon ore into structural building materials and monolayer graphene and the evaluation of REE deposits in a Powder River Basin thermal coal reserve will also be described. The presentation will provide a review of our carbon ore to products technology portfolio and the economic advantages of using carbon ore as a feedstock for advanced carbon products and several associated end use applications.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

A Time Series Sustainability Assessment of a Partial Energy Portfolio Transition

Energy portfolios are overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuel resources that perpetuate the consequences associated with climate change. Therefore, it is imperative to transition to more renewable alternatives to limit further harm to the environment. This study presents a univariate time series prediction model that evaluates sustainability outcomes of partial energy transitions. Future electricity generation at the state-level is predicted using exponential smoothing and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA). The best prediction results are then used as an input for a sustainability assessment of a proposed transition by calculating carbon, water, land, and cost footprints. Missouri, USA was selected as a model testbed due to its dependence on coal. Of the time series methods, ARIMA exhibited the best performance and was used to predict annual electricity generation over a 10-year period. The proposed transition consisted of a one-percent annual decrease of coal’s portfolio share to be replaced with an equal share of solar and wind supply. The sustainability outcomes of the transition demonstrate decreases in carbon and water footprints but increases in land and cost footprints. Decision makers can use the results presented here to better inform strategic provisioning of critical resources in the context of proposed energy transitions.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

A Hybrid Energy System Workflow for Energy Portfolio Optimization

This manuscript develops a workflow, driven by data analytics algorithms, to support the optimization of the economic performance of an Integrated Energy System. The goal is to determine the optimum mix of capacities from a set of different energy producers (e.g., nuclear, gas, wind and solar). A stochastic-based optimizer is employed, based on Gaussian Process Modeling, which requires numerous samples for its training. Each sample represents a time series describing the demand, load, or other operational and economic profiles for various types of energy producers. These samples are synthetically generated using a reduced order modeling algorithm that reads a limited set of historical data, such as demand and load data from past years. Numerous data analysis methods are employed to construct the reduced order models, including, for example, the Auto Regressive Moving Average, Fourier series decomposition, and the peak detection algorithm. All these algorithms are designed to detrend the data and extract features that can be employed to generate synthetic time histories that preserve the statistical properties of the original limited historical data. The optimization cost function is based on an economic model that assesses the effective cost of energy based on two figures of merit: the specific cash flow stream for each energy producer and the total Net Present Value. An initial guess for the optimal capacities is obtained using the screening curve method. The results of the Gaussian Process model-based optimization are assessed using an exhaustive Monte Carlo search, with the results indicating reasonable optimization results. The workflow has been implemented inside the Idaho National Laboratory’s Risk Analysis and Virtual Environment (RAVEN) framework. The main contribution of this study addresses several challenges in the current optimization methods of the energy portfolios in IES: First, the feasibility of generating the synthetic time series of the periodic peak data; Second, the computational burden of the conventional stochastic optimization of the energy portfolio, associated with the need for repeated executions of system models; Third, the inadequacies of previous studies in terms of the comparisons of the impact of the economic parameters. The proposed workflow can provide a scientifically defendable strategy to support decision-making in the electricity market and to help energy distributors develop a better understanding of the performance of integrated energy systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Community Solar Policy Screening Workbook for Multifamily Affordable Housing Building Portfolios

This workbook provides a framework to help Multifamily Affordable Housing (MFAH) housing providers evaluate state-level policy landscapes as they relate to MFAH community solar development. By exploring which programs and policies aid in the technical and economic feasibility of MFAH solar projects, building owners can gain an understanding of where in their portfolios to begin developing solar. This workbook also walks through the steps necessary for MFAH building owners to assess their portfolios using this framework. It was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) Multifamily Affordable Housing Collaborative. Learn more about the NCSP and the Collaborative at https://www.energy.gov/communitysolar/community-solar.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Object-Oriented Bayesian Networks (OOBN) for Aviation Accident Modeling and Technology Portfolio Impact Assessment

The concern for reducing aviation safety risk is rising as the National Airspace System in the United States transforms to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The NASA Aviation Safety Program is committed to developing an effective aviation safety technology portfolio to meet the challenges of this transformation and to mitigate relevant safety risks. The paper focuses on the reasoning of selecting Object-Oriented Bayesian Networks (OOBN) as the technique and commercial software for the accident modeling and portfolio assessment. To illustrate the benefits of OOBN in a large and complex aviation accident model, the in-flight Loss-of-Control Accident Framework (LOCAF) constructed as an influence diagram is presented. An OOBN approach not only simplifies construction and maintenance of complex causal networks for the modelers, but also offers a well-organized hierarchical network that is easier for decision makers to exploit the model examining the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies through technology insertions.

Shih, Ann T.↗

Safety Risk Knowledge Elicitation in Support of Aeronautical R and D Portfolio Management: A Case Study

Aviation is a problem domain characterized by a high level of system complexity and uncertainty. Safety risk analysis in such a domain is especially challenging given the multitude of operations and diverse stakeholders. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) projects that by 2025 air traffic will increase by more than 50 percent with 1.1 billion passengers a year and more than 85,000 flights every 24 hours contributing to further delays and congestion in the sky (Circelli, 2011). This increased system complexity necessitates the application of structured safety risk analysis methods to understand and eliminate where possible, reduce, and/or mitigate risk factors. The use of expert judgments for probabilistic safety analysis in such a complex domain is necessary especially when evaluating the projected impact of future technologies, capabilities, and procedures for which current operational data may be scarce. Management of an R&D product portfolio in such a dynamic domain needs a systematic process to elicit these expert judgments, process modeling results, perform sensitivity analyses, and efficiently communicate the modeling results to decision makers. In this paper a case study focusing on the application of an R&D portfolio of aeronautical products intended to mitigate aircraft Loss of Control (LOC) accidents is presented. In particular, the knowledge elicitation process with three subject matter experts who contributed to the safety risk model is emphasized. The application and refinement of a verbal-numerical scale for conditional probability elicitation in a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) is discussed. The preliminary findings from this initial step of a three-part elicitation are important to project management practitioners as they illustrate the vital contribution of systematic knowledge elicitation in complex domains.

Shih, Ann T.↗

A Framework for Assessment of Aviation Safety Technology Portfolios

The programs within NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) conduct research and development to improve the national air transportation system so that Americans can travel as safely as possible. NASA aviation safety systems analysis personnel support various levels of ARMD management in their fulfillment of system analysis and technology prioritization as defined in the agency's program and project requirements. This paper provides a framework for the assessment of aviation safety research and technology portfolios that includes metrics such as projected impact on current and future safety, technical development risk and implementation risk. The paper also contains methods for presenting portfolio analysis and aviation safety Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) output results to management using bubble charts and quantitative decision analysis techniques.

Jones, Sharon M.↗