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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Wyandotte Integrated Renewable Energy Strategy (WIRES 2) (Final Technical Report)

Wyandotte Municipal Services (WMS), a Michigan Municipal Utility offering electric generation, transmission & distribution, water filtration & distribution and Broadband/Video sought to deploy a set of renewable energy projects for their Electric Utility that contributed to reducing the City’s environmental and energy impact, provided examples that would encourage businesses and citizens to adopt cleaner energy practices and help WMS meet the required renewable energy standards of the State of Michigan (10% in 2015, 15% in 2021). WMS generates and delivers roughly 280,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity annually to more than 10,000 homes and 1,000 businesses within the City of Wyandotte. The Wyandotte Integrated Renewable Energy Strategy – WIRES 2 resulted in deployment of a set of community-scale micro-wind turbines, evaluation and installation of energy-efficient and low-maintenance light-emitting diode (LED) street lights and park lights in highly visible locations in the City and expansion of the geothermal heating and cooling district that already included residential geothermal systems, to include larger scale business/institutional systems at the Utility’s largest electric customer and at the City Library. Finally, WMS identified the need for job training in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies to further develop a local skilled workforce in these areas. Partially funded by the grant, the wind turbine project provides a benchmark for WMS, local businesses and residents in the evaluation of utility-scale wind v. micro-wind in an urban environment as a renewable energy strategy. Also partially funded by the grant, the LED project benefited the City of Wyandotte by reducing load on the electric system for the public utility but also reduced City costs for streetlighting, parking lot lighting and park lighting without a compromise in security. The project also resulted in a visual success that has led to additional approvals for non-Grant related LED lighting installations resulting in further reduction in the electric load in the City. Commercial Geothermal installations resulted in the Utility being able to eliminate steam customers who formerly utilized the byproduct of steam from WMS electric production. Due to the reduction in natural gas prices and the overall reduction in market purchased power, it was no longer feasible for WMS to operate its Power Plant as a base load plant and to only operate on a market dispatch philosophy when market prices dictated that WMS could produce electricity cheaper than the market purchase price. This has resulted in fewer operating days for the WMS Power Plant, resulting in less environmental impact. WMS has now completely exited the steam business and the ability to offer a geothermal option to two (2) former steam customers (BASF-Wyandotte and the Bacon Memorial Library) allowed for that. In addition, peak loads have been shaved for these two (2) large customers due to the consistent temperature offered by geothermal heating and cooling, reducing the swings associated with thermostat changes caused by outside temperature changes during extreme high and low temperatures. Finally, energy efficiency and renewable energy college-level classes at Wayne County Community College allowed a group of interested students to pursue studies in those technologies through grant provided tuition, books and course materials. This effort provided a foundation of potential future employees not only for WMS but other energy efficiency/renewable energy employers such as Franklin Energy, a partner with WMS in energy optimization efforts with Wyandotte businesses.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2011

Analysis of the Dryden Wet Bulb GLobe Temperature Algorithm for White Sands Missile Range

In locations where workforce is exposed to high relative humidity and light winds, heat stress is a significant concern. Such is the case at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Heat stress is depicted by the wet bulb globe temperature, which is the official measurement used by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. The wet bulb globe temperature is measured by an instrument which was designed to be portable and needing routine maintenance. As an alternative form for measuring the wet bulb globe temperature, algorithms have been created to calculate the wet bulb globe temperature from basic meteorological observations. The algorithms are location dependent; therefore a specific algorithm is usually not suitable for multiple locations. Due to climatology similarities, the algorithm developed for use at the Dryden Flight Research Center was applied to data from the White Sands Missile Range. A study was performed that compared a wet bulb globe instrument to data from two Surface Atmospheric Measurement Systems that was applied to the Dryden wet bulb globe temperature algorithm. The period of study was from June to September of2009, with focus being applied from 0900 to 1800, local time. Analysis showed that the algorithm worked well, with a few exceptions. The algorithm becomes less accurate to the measurement when the dew point temperature is over 10 Celsius. Cloud cover also has a significant effect on the measured wet bulb globe temperature. The algorithm does not show red and black heat stress flags well due to shorter time scales of such events. The results of this study show that it is plausible that the Dryden Flight Research wet bulb globe temperature algorithm is compatible with the White Sands Missile Range, except for when there are increased dew point temperatures and cloud cover or precipitation. During such occasions, the wet bulb globe temperature instrument would be the preferred method of measurement. Out of the 30 dates examined, 23 fell under the category of having good accuracy.

LaQuay, Ryan Matthew↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Costs and Feasibility of Floating Offshore Wind Energy in the O'ahu Region

The State of Hawai'i has set a target to achieve a 100% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by 2045, and is well suited to become the first state to achieve this goal due to its relatively small load, high electricity prices, heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels, and favorable conditions for wind and solar. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management contracted NREL to conduct a cost and feasibility study to provide information to decision makers on Hawai'i about the viability of floating offshore wind to be a part of the 100% RPS. We used NREL's Offshore Regional Cost Analyzer (ORCA) spatial cost model to evaluate the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) in the region surrounding O'ahu as this is the island with the highest energy demand. The ORCA results showed that LCOE could range from around $\$$83 MWh to $\$$194 MWh for commercial operation dates in 2019 but has the potential to decrease to $\$$48 MWh - $\$$109 MWh by 2032 due to maturing global supply chains, increasing turbine rating, and new technological innovations. These costs are expected to be competitive with global floating wind costs in the early 2030s. The strong wind resource, proximity to infrastructure on land, and benign metocean conditions can potentially compensate for the logistical complexities of installing projects in Hawai'i far from mainland supply chains if sufficient investments are made to develop ports, grid infrastructure, and workforce on O'ahu to support the construction and operation of offshore wind projects. In addition to the cost results, this report also discusses the likely technologies that would comprise floating wind projects near O'ahu, the existing infrastructure available to projects, unique conditions facing offshore wind in the region such as exposure to hurricanes and limits on allowable export cable capacity, newly developed wind resource data sets for the region, and local stakeholder perspectives on offshore wind.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2010

Structured Transition of Wind Tunnel Operations Skills from Government-to Contractor-Managed

In 2004, NASA awarded the Research, Operations, Maintenance, and Engineering (ROME) contract at NASA Langley Research Center to a team led by Jacobs Technology, Inc. A key component of the contract was the transitioning of the five large wind tunnel facilities from NASA managed and NASA or NASA/contractor workforces to fully contractor operated. The contractor would manage daily operations while NASA would continue to develop long-term strategies, make decisions regarding commitment of funds and commitment of facilities, and provide oversight of the contractor's performance. A major challenge would be the transition of knowledge of facility operations and maintenance from the incumbent civil servant workforce to the contractor workforce. While the contract has since been modified multiple times, resulting in a blended NASA/ROME workforce across the facilities, the processes developed and implemented to capture and document facility knowledge from the incumbent subject matter experts, build training and certification programs, and grow individual skills across subject areas and across facilities, are worthy of documentation. This is the purpose of this paper.

Dunn, Steven C.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Young Leaders Workforce Training Program Overview and Impact

To support the Government of Colombia's plans to transform its power sector, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has assembled a cross-organizational team to develop and deliver a comprehensive workforce training program for young energy sector leaders in Colombia designed to enhance the efficient integration of growing volumes of variable renewable energy (VRE) to the energy sector. The team - which includes USAID's Colombia Mission, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), USAID's Scaling Up Renewable Energy (SURE) program implemented by Tetra Tech, and the U.S. Energy Association (USEA) - collaboratively developed a series of seven capacity building modules designed to ready Colombia's energy sector workforce to participate in the construction, operation, and grid integration of VRE projects, such as wind and solar. This brochure highlights the program's objectives, results, and impacts to date.

Colombia↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Supply Chain Road Map for Offshore Wind Energy in the United States

"A Supply Chain Road Map for Offshore Wind Energy in the United States" identifies pathways to developing a domestic offshore wind supply chain that can manufacture and deploy the major components needed to set the United States on a pathway to installing 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050. The report estimates that this supply chain could require an investment of at least $\$$22.7 billion this decade to meet an annual demand for components, ports, and vessels in 2030. Although this is a considerable investment, it could allow the industry to install around $\$$100 billion worth of offshore wind this decade by reducing risk of delays due to global supply chain bottlenecks and creating a robust network of assets that will continue to be effective well beyond 2030. The United States would need at least 34 manufacturing facilities employing 10,000 workers, 39,000 jobs in the supporting supply chain, 10 marshaling ports, 4-6 dedicated wind turbine installation vessels, 4-6 dedicated heavy-lift vessels, and 4-8 U.S.-flagged specialized feeder barges to come online this decade to support an average annual deployment of 4-6 gigawatts offshore wind capacity per year. This supply chain could be developed in 6-9 years, but would require near-term decision making and efficient permitting and planning to strategically develop these resources by 2030. Additional investment and expansion would be required in the 2030s as the sector expands into new regions (such as the Gulf of Mexico) and new technologies (such as larger wind turbines and floating wind energy projects). Furthermore, the planning process needs to meaningfully engage with communities that will be impacted by supply chain expansion to achieve just outcomes and maximize benefits to these stakeholders, which will result in a more equitable and sustainable supply chain. While U.S. offshore wind has made significant progress in recent years, remaining supply chain challenges include uncertainty surrounding deployment and procurement timelines; a lack of port and vessel infrastructure; and limitations in the available workforce, supporting supplier networks, and energy justice best practices. However, many of these problems can be addressed through improved communication between key stakeholder groups, support from federal and state governments, and forward-thinking designs of supply chain assets to accommodate future technology changes for fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind. Although it is a significant task, developing these domestic capabilities represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to contribute to a decarbonized energy future and also create massive economic benefits that are distributed throughout the country.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Large-scale offshore wind farm effects on weather and climate in Puerto Rico (Final Technical Report)

Puerto Rico’s current electricity generation heavily relies on imported fossil fuels. This results in an average cost of electricity higher than the U.S. mainland average in all sectors (residential, commercial, and industrial), despite abundant local offshore wind resources, which have the potential to provide secure, low-cost energy generation and consequent economic prosperity. However, effects on atmospheric and oceanic circulation resulting from large-scale deployments of offshore wind farms have not been previously studied at tropical latitude. This project addressed this knowledge gap through a computational modeling effort designed to capture the coupled dynamics of the atmosphere and the ocean in presence of offshore wind farms. Results indicate that wind farm wakes can alter wind stress, generate Ekman-driven vertical transport, and potentially affect nutrient distribution. While full model coupling remains challenging, progress in parameterization and large-eddy simulations provides a foundation for future research. The project contributes to DOE’s Earth System modeling efforts and supports STEM workforce development.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quantifying Socioeconomic Impacts of Electricity Generating Technologies

The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and other cost metrics used in energy planning do not account for out-of-market impacts of the technology choice. While a decision-maker at the utility or asset owner level may compare multiple forms of electricity generating technology using LCOE, a decision-maker over energy policy or community stakeholders may be interested in considering impacts beyond those that LCOE measures. This report quantifies economic impacts such as jobs and wage growth across electricity generation technologies then develops an approach to systematically compare socioeconomic metrics across technology choices. To address additional workforce related impacts, this report also compares the typical workforce education requirements and annual income levels for multiple types of electricity generating facilities. The grid scale electricity generating technologies analyzed in this report produce power using conventional hydroelectric dams, coal, natural gas, nuclear reactors, solar PV, land-based wind turbines, geothermal heat, and woody biomass combustion. Although it doesn’t generate electricity itself, the economic impacts associated with battery storage equipment manufacturing and installation were also analyzed.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2026

An Intermediate-Scale Version of the Volturnus + Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Platform Concept in a Real Ocean Environment with an Operating Turbine off the Coast of Maine (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

This project was undertaken to advance the technical readiness and commercial viability of a next-generation, industrialized concrete floating foundation for offshore wind turbines called VolturnUS +. The design objective is to deliver a platform that is lower cost, faster to manufacture, simpler to deploy, and optimized for domestic supply chains and local workforce participation. To enable project financing and commercial adoption, an at-sea demonstration under representative operating conditions was required and therefore this project aimed to deploy a ¼-scale VolturnUS+ prototype offshore the Coast of Maine.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

State-Level Employment Projections for Four Clean Energy Technologies in 2025 and 2030

As states and local governments weigh how to spur economic growth, stimulate job creation, and simultaneously adapt to meet climate goals, modern energy codes, and energy demand, this report provides a simple and transparent method to estimate the size of the workforce needed to support modeled deployments for energy efficiency in buildings, stationary battery energy storage (BES), solar photovoltaics (PV), and land-based wind in 2025 and 2030. In addition to a straightforward estimation method, this report includes state-level job estimates for two different deployment scenarios: a business-as-usual scenario and a more accelerated deployment scenario. The scope of the technologies included in this report is limited to four key energy technologies within the power sector that have strong job growth prospects and widespread geographic deployment potential. Although the included technologies are not all-encompassing, they have generated specific interest from state energy offices across the nation.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Use of Systems Engineering in Repurposing Coal-Fired Power Plants with Malta Pumped Thermal Energy Storage System

he electric sector across North America is facing a transition. Both economics and policy decisions have pointed towards a broad retirement of fossil assets across markets. Owners are facing the problem of how to evolve the base of the electric sector from fossil asset to greener alternative. Coal-fired power plants built the modern electricity grid. Their rotating machinery are the beating heart of the grid, providing essential resiliency and reliability services. Power plant retirements are disruptive to plant workforces and cause outsized impacts on surrounding communities. The transition from thermal power plants that use rotating machinery to generate electricity (e.g., coal- and gas-fired plants) to variable, inverter-based generation (e.g., solar and wind) is affecting the reliability of the electric grid. Grid operators and national regulators have issued warnings about known and anticipated risk. In 2021, Malta Inc. was awarded a Department of Energy (DOE) grant to study how to integrate a Malta 100MW Pumped Heat Energy Storage (PHES) system with a retiring coal-fired power plant to meet emissions requirements, retain plant workforces, preserve communities, and maintain grid reliability. This presentation provides a summary of this study, focusing on how systems engineering approach was used to arrive at a proposed design concept that met multiple objectives and requirements. There will be three main parts for this presentation. The first part of the presentation will focus on how different systems engineering was applied for this work. In particular, the following areas: stakeholder engagement, site selection process, developing requirements and use cases for the integrated system, defining the system and its boundary, coming up with different system architecture/option, performing a techno-economic analysis to compare the different options and down selection of the preferred option, will be discusses. For these areas, discussion on the decisions on how much breadth and depth to go into each area will be provided. These discussions provide good insights into how to apply systems engineering. The second part of the presentation will provide a deeper dive into the two recommended integration options that repurpose coal-fired power plants with Malta PHES system. The comparison of the two options and general guidance of how to choose an option will be provided. This is particularly useful for utilities who are facing coal-plant retirements. The two options will be compared based on its performance (such as power output, efficiency), complexity, and cost. The social impact on local communities of the two options will also be discussed. The final part of the presentation will discuss the impact that this work has had, including Malta Inc. being invited to the White House to discuss progress and outcomes of this work with the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization. In summary, this presentation aims to provide a showcase of how sy

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Tonopah Test Range Air Monitoring: Meteorological, Radiological, and Wind Transported Particulate Observations (CY 2019)

In 1963, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (formerly the Atomic Energy Commission [AEC]), implemented Operation Roller Coaster on the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) and an adjacent area of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) (formerly the Nellis Air Force Range). This operation resulted in radionuclide-contaminated soils at the Double Tracks site and Clean Slate I, II, and III sites. This report documents observations made during ongoing monitoring of radiological, meteorological, and dust conditions at stations installed adjacent to the Clean Slate sites and at the TTR Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Range Operations Center (ROC). The main objectives of the monitoring effort are to support the DOE Environmental Management Nevada Program (EM NV) in the safe remediation of the environmental legacy of nuclear device development and testing by determining if wind blowing across the Clean Slate sites is transporting particles of radionuclide-contaminated soil beyond the physical and administrative boundaries of the sites, and providing information for designing long-term monitoring of the sites. The monitoring program in 2019 included five stations. Station 400, located within TTR Area 3 and near the ROC, monitors conditions near the local workforce center. Stations 401 and 403 are located on the northern and southeastern perimeter fence lines, respectively, of the Clean Slate III site. Stations 404 and 405 are along the northern and eastern boundary fence, respectively, at Clean Slate II. The stations are generally downwind of the contaminated areas during either northwesterly or southerly winds, which are the predominant wind directions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Massachusetts's Clean Energy Jobs Potential Through 2030

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts had 4,614,016 people in its working population (15 to 64 years of age) in 2019. The graphs below show solar photovoltaic (PV), land-based wind, battery energy storage (BES), and energy efficiency job estimates in 2020, 2025, and 2030. These job estimates do not represent net job creation. Rather, they represent the size of the workforce required to achieve projected national deployment levels of each technology for 2025 and 2030 if the state captures the same proportion of jobs in the sector as it did in 2020.

clean energy↗
DOE OSTI2022

Alabama's Clean Energy Jobs Potential Through 2030

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Alabama had 3,150,156 people in its working population (15 to 64 years of age) in 2019. The graphs below show solar photovoltaic (PV), land-based wind, battery energy storage (BES), and energy efficiency job estimates in 2020, 2025, and 2030. These job estimates do not represent net job creation. Rather, they represent the size of the workforce required to achieve projected national deployment levels of each technology for 2025 and 2030 if the state captures the same proportion of jobs in the sector as it did in 2020.

clean energy↗
DOE OSTI2022

Arizona's Clean Energy Jobs Potential Through 2030

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Arizona had 4,611,844 people in its working population (15 to 64 years of age) in 2019. The graphs below show solar photovoltaic (PV), land-based wind, battery energy storage (BES), and energy efficiency job estimates in 2020, 2025, and 2030. These job estimates do not represent net job creation. Rather, they represent the size of the workforce required to achieve projected national deployment levels of each technology for 2025 and 2030 if the state captures the same proportion of jobs in the sector as it did in 2020.

clean energy↗
DOE OSTI2022

Arkansas's Clean Energy Jobs Potential Through 2030

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Arkansas had 1,915,575 people in its working population (15 to 64 years of age) in 2019. The graphs below show solar photovoltaic (PV), land-based wind, battery energy storage (BES), and energy efficiency job estimates in 2020, 2025, and 2030. These job estimates do not represent net job creation. Rather, they represent the size of the workforce required to achieve projected national deployment levels of each technology for 2025 and 2030 if the state captures the same proportion of jobs in the sector as it did in 2020.

clean energy↗
DOE OSTI2022

Alaska's Clean Energy Jobs Potential Through 2030

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Alaska had 487,637 people in its working population (15 to 64 years of age) in 2019. The graphs below show solar photovoltaic (PV), land-based wind, battery energy storage (BES), and energy efficiency job estimates in 2020, 2025, and 2030. These job estimates do not represent net job creation. Rather, they represent the size of the workforce required to achieve projected national deployment levels of each technology for 2025 and 2030 if the state captures the same proportion of jobs in the sector as it did in 2020.

clean energy↗
DOE OSTI2022

Connecticut's Clean Energy Jobs Potential Through 2030

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Connecticut had 2,345,997 people in its working population (15 to 64 years of age) in 2019. The graphs below show solar photovoltaic (PV), land-based wind, battery energy storage (BES), and energy efficiency job estimates in 2020, 2025, and 2030.1 These job estimates do not represent net job creation. Rather, they represent the size of the workforce required to achieve projected national deployment levels of each technology for 2025 and 2030 if the state captures the same proportion of jobs in the sector as it did in 2020.

clean energy↗