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At least 379 records · Page 21

Camp Lejeune Federal Fleet Tiger Team EVSE Site Assessment

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) was contracted by the Department of Defense (DOD) Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) and the Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to develop a web tool and complete pilot assessments for the installation of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE). NREL has deployed Tiger Teams comprising engineers and fleet experts to support DOD and DOE on several EVSE site assessments since 2015. However, the advancements developed in support of this report, including a cost-estimation tool and geospatial mapping tool, will enable a user-driven path to assess EVSE needs. This report details the site design recommendations for Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

Better Buildings Workforce Accelerator – Technical Assistance Project: Northwest Energy Efficiency Council – A Replicable Analysis for Building Operator Certification Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Objectives

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) requested technical assistance through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Buildings Workforce Accelerator (BBWA) program, with the objective of developing a replicable analytical approach to understanding Building Operator Certification (BOC) program participants and measure progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion objectives. The technical assistance advances NEEC’s progress towards their goal of recruiting more diverse students to the BOC training and certification program. This report develops a replicable geospatial analysis of BOC program participants based on DEI indicators that can be applied at a national level, provides a step-by-step guide on repeating and updating the analysis, and presents recommendations for future data collection and analysis.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Grey Zone Test Range Social Model

The Grey Zone Test Range (GZTR) social model operates as a piece of the overall GZTR modeling effort. It works in conjunction with supply models for resources, an electric grid model for power availability, and a traffic model for road congestion, as well as a general controller framework that allows external system effects. The social model functions as an aggregate model where the entire population of the city is divided into groups based on the Transportation Analysis Zones (TAZs), a common geospatial boundary present in all GZTR models. These groups will act as a singular community; each time step the state of the system around them will be assessed and then community will come up with a general plan of action that they will attempt to follow for the day. Additionally, they will track values for their general emotional state and memory about negative impacts in the near past.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

2022 Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program Report for the Rio Blanco, Colorado Site

This report presents the monitoring data collected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) during the 2022 sampling event at the Rio Blanco, Colorado, Site, where an underground nuclear test was conducted in 1973. The test resulted in residual radionuclide contamination at the detonation depth. The 2022 sampling event included the collection of samples from onsite groundwater wells to monitor for any potential contamination that might be attributed to the Rio Blanco nuclear tests. This report summarizes the laboratory results obtained from the sampling along with the historical results since monitoring began in the 1970s. This annual report and previous reports are available on the LM public website at https://www.energy.gov/lm/rio-blanco-colorado-site. Data collected during this and previous monitoring events are available on the Geospatial Environmental Mapping System (GEMS) website at https://gems.lm.doe.gov/#site=RBL.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Situational Awareness of Grid Anomalies (SAGA) for Visual Analytics—Near-Real-Time Cyber-Physical Resiliency Through Machine Learning

The Situational Awareness of Grid Anomalies (SAGA) project built upon foundational power system tools developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) integrated with an ever-increasing set of Gridmetrics data extracted from the cable television (CATV) broadband network infrastructure while assimilating other time-series geospatial data and information, such as weather and cyber-physical phenomena, to demonstrate a disruptive technology for power system data analytics relying on existing infrastructure. Three research thrusts supported (1) visual analytics, (2) cyber-physical power system simulation, and (3) anomaly detection. SAGA created technology that leverages, couples, and fortifies two vastly different realms - power and broadband - to increase the resiliency of the power grid in the face of increasing cyberattacks and operational challenges related to integrating DERs. The exploration of potential synergies of broadband-enabled grids resulted in identifying a mutually beneficial symbiosis that can increase the resiliency of both power and broadband services. Broadband networks perform better with reliable power and are good at providing real-time measurements that identify where the grid is under attack, is failing, or is weak. Likewise, sensor-starved distribution grids perform better and can be more reliable when their operation is buttressed with observations of broadband-detected anomalies. Future research can explore broadband's contribution to continuing to improve grid resiliency, reliability, and cost-effective operation.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Offshore Wind in the US Gulf of Mexico: Regional Economic Modeling and Site-Specific Analyses

The goal of this study is to assess offshore wind energy resources in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and to quantify its technical and economic potential in order to inform Federal and GOM state strategic energy planning over the next decade. The objectives are to: describe site-specific and regional benefits and challenges of deploying offshore wind in the GOM and discuss the current research to mitigate challenges; review and quantify the wind resource capacity and energy potential in the GOM region for each GOM state including state and federal waters, distance from shore, and water depth; perform geospatial regional economic assessments of levelized cost of energy (LCOE), levelized avoided cost of energy (LACE), and net value (Section 3.4.2); evaluate three representative hypothetical locations for site-specific analysis; perform a high-level assessment of local supporting infrastructure availability, including existing services (e.g., fabrication facilities, vessels, ports) and possible grid connection options; assess the regional economic impacts of a 600 megawatt (MW) offshore wind power plant installed at a representative site in the GOM.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Using Open Data to Characterize Building Stock Trends for Energy and Equity Evaluation

This project provides a methodology for retrieving data from both existing public data and municipal open data sets to characterize changes in the building stock, socioeconomic, demographic, and climate indicators at a neighborhood scale. This methodology forms the basis for a geospatial dashboard to analyze and share the data. The developed methodology may be used to collect data for further energy equity analyses. Additional data sets, such as from other municipalities, may be incorporated in the future to expand the extents of the possible analysis.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Enabling Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FPV) Deployment: FPV Technical Potential Assessment for Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia (SE Asia) is a region with growing energy demand and increasing development of floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) systems, which can help meet countries' renewable energy and energy security goals. This study uses a high-level geospatial assessment methodology to estimate the technical potential for monofacial and bifacial FPV on reservoirs and natural waterbodies in the ten countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Technical potential consists of the suitable waterbody area for FPV development (km 2 ), the capacity of FPV that could be installed on this suitable area (MW), and the annual energy that could be generated from these installations (GWh/year). This first-of-its-kind FPV technical potential assessment for SE Asia can help policymakers and planners better understand the role that FPV could play in meeting regional energy demand and can ultimately guide investment decisions. Although this work focuses on SE Asia, the methodology may also be applicable for countries in other regions, with adaptations.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Initial Systems-Level Assessment of a Distributed Direct Air Capture System Concept at the Urban-scale (UrbanDAC)

Direct Air Capture (DAC) systems offer a promising solution for mitigating global carbon emissions by directly removing ambient carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere. While future DAC facilities are typically envisioned as being large and centralized, small-scale systems present an alternative approach with advantages such as adaptability and lower uptake costs. By harnessing waste heat from the built environment, such small-scale systems become distributed DAC at the urban scale (UrbanDAC) that benefit from existing urban infrastructure, while presenting challenges such as identifying eligible buildings and sustainable transportation and storage of captured CO 2 . Collaborating with engineering experts and developers of a DAC unit that can be co-located with cooling towers of existing commercial buildings, this study explores the systems-level implications of UrbanDAC using a geographically explicit multi-decision criteria analysis (MCDA) framework. By considering various infrastructure and environmental factors, network analysis and geospatial techniques are applied to identify optimal building candidates for distributed DAC units within Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, as a representative mid-size city. The selected outputs of the MCDA are used to explore a scenario that assumes a CO 2 collection and transport route for 20 high-ranking candidate buildings; total carbon emissions, EV energy consumption, and net carbon dioxide removal (CDR) are then calculated. Results suggest that the spatial variation of optimal candidates between thriving commercial areas is an important planning consideration. Examining the feasibility of UrbanDAC at an urban planning level provides valuable insights into the barriers and enabling conditions for CDR in cities, where the vast majority of CO 2 emissions are produced, and supports decision-making processes for the implementation of decarbonization initiatives. Through this initial assessment, this research acts as a pilot study for an emerging technology that highlights the importance of distributed DAC technologies in addressing climate change and emphasizes the need for further research and exploration in this domain.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Assessing Low-Temperature Geothermal Play Types: Relevant Data and Play Fairway Analysis Methods

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) is supporting the Geothermal Heating and Cooling Geospatial Datasets and Analysis project conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as part of a broader effort to demonstrate the multi-faceted value of integrating geothermal power and geothermal heating and cooling (GHC) technologies into national decarbonization plans and community energy plans. Currently, there is a need to establish baseline low-temperature geothermal resource datasets and evaluate methods for deploying these technologies to provide the basis for supporting private sector investment. This project is focused on collecting baseline datasets, updating conceptual models, and creating Play Fairway Analysis (PFA) workflows for low-temperature (<150 degrees Celsius) geothermal resources of different geothermal play types (i.e., sedimentary basin, orogenic belts, and radiogenic geothermal play types) that could be used for geothermal heating and cooling (GHC), combined heat and power (CHP), and other geothermal direct uses (GDU) applications. Low-temperature geothermal resources are defined as reservoirs - natural or engineered - with temperatures <150 degrees Celsius. While the focus in the NREL effort is on GHC, resources at the upper end of this temperature range can also be used for small-scale power generation. This project does not include Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) technologies because they can be effectively developed almost anywhere. Low-temperature geothermal resources have not been studied as extensively as higher- to medium-temperature geothermal resources, but there is recent interest in improving understanding of these types of resources with an uptick of interest in geothermal technologies for decarbonizing heating and cooling systems. In addition, Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) and other emerging technologies for exploiting petrothermal resources have opened the possibility of utilizing deep sedimentary basin systems, where porous media provide permeability and high temperatures can be reached at great depths. This project takes the approach of classifying low- temperature geothermal resources by geothermal play type (GPT). We defined and characterized three major classes of low-temperature GPT: sedimentary basins, orogenic systems, and radiogenic systems. We develop methodologies for evaluating and analyzing the potential for these resources building off the PFA approach to de-risking geothermal exploration and characterization. The proposed PFA approach for low-temperature geothermal resources includes: 1) identifying relevant data (e.g., datasets such bottom-hole temperatures from oil and gas wells, heat flow data, Quaternary faults and stress field data, geophysical data, etc.); 2) grouping and weighting of relevant datasets into PFA criteria (e.g., geological, risk, and economic criteria); 3) uncertainty quantification; 4) developing favorability or common risk maps for low-temperature geothermal resources to identify potential locations for more focused data collection; and 5) estimating electric power generation and heating potential at those locations using the GeoRePORT Resource Size Assessment Tool (RSAT). This project should facilitate future deployment of GHC, CHP, and GDU by providing data, tools, and a workflow applicable to low-temperature geothermal resources. Increased deployment of GHC and GDU will help achieve national and local decarbonization goals.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Using National-Scale Data to Inform Coal Power Plant Redevelopment and Coal Community Revitalization Planning

In the United States, individual coal plants have high variation in their construction and operation. Coal plants commonly have multiple units, with different commissioning ages, operational position, and maintenance conditions – even multiple fuels. These units may be in changing states of utilization, with variation in productivity depending on economic contexts. Coal plants themselves may be temporarily offline, mothballed, retired, or decommissioned due to owner/operator portfolios or market conditions, and the current posture of the plant may be difficult to ascertain without local news sources (Tarekegne et al. 2021). Anticipated dates of plant closures are prospectively represented to regulators and to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), but may also experience uncertainty due to the engineering, environmental, economic and social complexity of closing a very large power plant. As noted in this report, closure of the first unit to the last within a single plant may span more than 20 years. Yet tracking and predicting the position of our nation’s coal fleets on a national scale is deeply important. In developing a case for federal datasets and an approach to building and curating these data, this report identified that data must have high fidelity at the plant-level to be meaningful in aggregate. Plant-scale detail is also a match for its application: national priorities in federal investment range from economic revitalization for coal plant communities to maintaining reliable electric grid operations. This document is organized into a statistical review of coal plant retirements, past and prospective, in the United States; trends in the relationship between closures and existing federal investment programs for community revitalization; and potential methods for accelerating site redevelopment through advanced geospatial analysis based on federal data.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

PR100: Estimated Medium- and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Adoption and Load Estimation in Puerto Rico through 2050

The 2-year Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transition to 100% Renewable Energy Study analyzed stakeholder-driven pathways to Puerto Rico’s clean energy future. Outputs relating to electricity demand modeling were partially informed by estimates of electric vehicle adoption across all classes of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs), and the ensuing charging loads. To create these estimates, the team developed a transportation model for MHDVs in Puerto Rico to estimate the amount and geospatial distribution of energy used. Charging schedules for the different end uses of MHDVs were then used to construct electric load shapes assuming a portion of those vehicles would be replaced by battery electric counterparts. Study results showed that, by 2050, electric vehicles may constitute roughly 50% of the MHDV population in Puerto Rico. The resulting electrical demand curve attributable to MHDV charging showed that, for solar energy-based electrical systems with limited energy storage, this demand may create challenges unless appropriately managed either on the demand or supply side.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Evaluating Neural Radiance Fields for Commercial Satellite Video

We evaluate neural radiance fields (NeRFs) as a method for reconstructing 3D volumetric scenes from low Earth orbit satellite imagery. We leverage commercial satellite data to reconstruct a scene using existing software tools. In doing so, we identify difficulties in these mapping datasets for NeRF generation. We propose potential applications in geospatial intelligence for context and improved image interpretation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

The Integration and Mapping of an Open-Source National Well Resource to Inform Geologic Carbon Storage Site Selection and Risk Prevention: The CO2-Locate Database

Geologic carbon storage (GCS) offers a way to capture and permanently store CO₂ from fossil fuel operations in underground geologic structures, aiding in the transition to a carbon-neutral energy economy. However, CO₂ injection sites can experience gas leakage through existing wells that penetrate storage reservoirs, making knowledge of well locations and characteristics crucial for permitting, infrastructure reusability, and risk assessment in GCS. Currently, public wellbore data from state, federal, and tribal entities are inconsistent and fragmented, with gaps and redundancies. To address this, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) developed CO2-Locate, an open-source, geospatial database and online application. CO2-Locate integrates over 50 data sources from federal, state, and tribal entities, creating a standardized national well database. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the database is publicly available through the Energy Data eXchange (EDX) and viewable via the CO2-Locate web mapping application. This tool allows users to query, filter, and visualize well data to support GCS planning, permitting, and risk assessments. This presentation covers the methods used to create CO2-Locate, including data acquisition, processing, attribute mapping, and integration, much of which is automated for future updates. The web mapping application and its role in GCS site selection will also be discussed.

Tetteh, Daniel A.↗

Updates to USA Structures (Phase 3 Prototype): 2023-2024 Technical Report

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) team has successfully innovated geospatial data feature mapping and postprocessing workflows to support the USA Structures project supported by FEMA. This technical report highlights significant updates, improvements, and innovations for the USA Structures dataset, focusing on nine priority states.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Hourly dynamic line ratings for existing transmission across the contiguous United States (preliminary results) [Slides]

The thermal rating of a transmission line depends on the rate at which heat generated by current flow through the line can be dissipated into the environment by convective and radiative cooling, keeping the conductor below a maximum operating temperature. Static or seasonal line ratings assume nearly-worst-case weather conditions (high ambient air temperature, high solar irradiance, and low wind speed), resulting in a low risk of "overrating" a line (i.e., allowing more current to flow than the line is designed for) but a high fraction of time when the line is "underrated" (i.e., able to flow more current while staying below the maximum temperature). Dynamic transmission line ratings (DLR) use real-time measurements of weather conditions, line sag, or line temperature to determine the thermal rating of transmission lines at hourly or higher time resolution, allowing for increased ratings during some (cold, windy, and/or dark) periods and correcting for overrating during other (hot, calm, and/or sunny) periods. Many studies have explored the benefits of DLR, but typically for small collections of transmission lines under a limited sample of weather conditions, leaving open the question of how widely applicable the benefits of DLR might be over diverse geographies and weather conditions. Here, we combine geospatial data on tens of thousands of transmission line routes across the contiguous United States with high-resolution hourly historical weather data for 2007-2013 to estimate the impact of DLR and other weather-adjusted rating systems. We compare static and dynamic line ratings to intermediate ratings adjusted by ambient temperature, day/night irradiance, clear-sky irradiance, and/or measured irradiance, illustrating the benefits of incorporating progressively more detailed weather data into the calculated line ratings. Moving from nighttime-adjusted ratings to clear-sky-adjusted ratings provides more benefit than moving from clear-sky-adjusted ratings to measured-irradiance-adjusted ratings. Depending on the assumed static windspeed for irradiance-adjusted-ratings, DLR either corrects for overrated hours or provides substantially increased ratings in the majority of hours on the majority of lines.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Developing Data-Driven Synthetic Infrastructure Models for Resilience Analysis

Research on infrastructure resilience has produced promising methods to simulate and optimize complex networks to improve performance. However, restrictions on sharing infrastructure models and the steep cost of developing and maintaining infrastructure models presents a roadblock to adoption. To overcome this limitation, this research focuses on methods to create data-driven infrastructure models that will help improve infrastructure resilience and security. The analysis couples incomplete utility data, geospatial data, machine learning, and synthetic network generation methods to rapidly develop and update infrastructure models. The methods are validated using realistic utility models and site-specific data, with a focus on Puerto Rico due to its unique infrastructure challenges and available data. This research highlights promising opportunities for the use of synthetic network generation and machine learning to create infrastructure models when very little data is available. Results demonstrate that hybrid methods, which combine sparse utility data with synthetic models, can enhance model accuracy, and machine learning can predict model attributes using training data from other models. However, the complexity of infrastructure systems means that even minor changes in network connectivity can significantly impact simulation results. Resilience analysis using synthetic infrastructure models shows that while some system behaviors are preserved, the magnitude of disruptions may not be accurately represented, indicating the need for more research and validation before using synthetic models for critical infrastructure investment decisions. The framework outlined in this report represents a significant advance to infrastructure model development and could be applied to additional domains and sites. Future research will continue to streamline and validate methods to help reduce roadblocks to resilience analysis.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

CO2-Locate: A Dynamic Database and Tool for Accessing National Oil and Gas Well Data to Inform Carbon Storage Projects

The CO2-Locate Database is a growing compilation of publicly available wellbore resources that have been merged based on common attributes across data sources with an attribute schema developed to be consistent across disparate resources, reduce data gaps, and eliminate record redundancy. The first version of CO2-Locate has been published to Energy Data eXchange (EDX) and includes the integrated public wells dataset as well as additional geospatial summary layers of key wellbore characteristics to protect proprietary resources. Additionally, the CO2-Locate database has been deployed into a web application, enabling easy access, data filtering capabilities, and visualization of U.S. wellbore infrastructure by stakeholders to inform injection site selection and risk assessments.

Dyer, Alec S. [NETL Site Support Contractor, Natio↗