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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 73 records · Page 4

Multifold Insights for Power System Dynamics From Data Assimilation: Meeting Current Challenges

The world’s electric power grids have evolved over the last 120 years from a single power line to today’s large networks. The evolution will continue at an accelerated rate with extensive smart grid development worldwide. Here for example, the U.S. government has set a goal of reaching 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, while the Department of Energy (DOE) shared a goal to deploy 30 GW and 110 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 2050, respectively. To meet such ambitious goals, in the years to come, a significant percentage of electricity will come from intermittent renewable sources, electric vehicles (EVs), and be supplied to a vast number of loads that will actively respond to grid conditions and incentive signals. This development is largely driven by environmental and economic factors, such as reducing carbon emissions and saving electricity cost for consumers. These energy resources lead to new uncertain behaviors and dynamics which the grid has never seen and were not considered in its design. Operating such a dynamic grid with sufficient reliability and efficiency is a monumental challenge.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

How many offshore wind turbines does New England need?

The proliferation of countries and regions with 100% clean or renewable energy targets necessitates an analysis to determine the number of generating units and storage needed to meet real-time electricity demand on the electric grid. The coastal areas of New England have the capacity to produce a large percentage of the region's energy needs with offshore wind turbines. Here we model offshore wind turbine power production data using MERRA-2 reanalysis and lidar wind speed data sets. We compare this power production to the New England hourly grid demand over the course of one year. 2,000 10 MW offshore wind turbines could satisfy New England's grid demand for about 37% of the year. When combined with 55 GWh of storage, 2,000 turbines could satisfy grid demand for about 72% of the year.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Grid Resiliency with a 100% Renewable Microgrid

San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) installed America’s first and largest utility-scale microgrid in Borrego Springs in 2013. The first generation Borrego Springs Microgrid utilized diesel generators to form and stabilize the microgrid island, with support from grid-scale batteries and local solar photovoltaic (PV) generation. In this project, SDG&E in partnership with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) demonstrated through modeling, simulation and utility field testing that blackstart and islanding of the microgrid can be led with 100% renewable, inverter based resources (IBRs), to help reduce community reliance on conventional generation resources. Through equipment upgrades, grid-forming island leader capability was transitioned to a battery IBR instead of the Borrego Springs Microgrid diesel generators. A new microgrid controller was integrated to the microgrid and programmed to control and manage multiple energy storage systems. Synchrophasor and other power quality data verified autonomous, high-speed response of the IBRs through blackstart, islanding, and load step testing. Results of project field evaluations provide distribution systems operators (DSO) with increased confidence that renewable, IBR can replace traditional generators to blackstart and island microgrids and rapidly establish stable island frequency with rapid changes in peak power demand. Importantly, the project validated the integration feasibility of a distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) controller that manages multiple grid-forming and grid-following IBRs, establishing a standard design interface to reduce the complexity of integrating new DERs in the future and supporting replication by the industry. As a result of learnings in this project, SDG&E has implemented the microgrid controller strategy at multiple other microgrid sites, thereby validating the replicability of the solution. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations including power and controller HIL hardware — along with electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations of Borrego Springs Microgrid —informed adjustments to inverter parameters and were important to characterize the performance of the IBRs in relevant operating conditions before deployment. The EMT and HIL simulations of islanding the entire community are important contributions in providing confidence in IBR performance prior to future islanding of the community in the field. High-fidelity EMT and/or HIL simulation of IBRs can de-risk field operations, and its relevance and importance as a tool is increasing as distribution grids and microgrids become more complex and dynamic with an increasing proportion of renewable generation, distributed energy storage, and two-way power and energy flows.

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Study of Inverter Control Strategies on the Stability of Microgrids Toward 100% Renewable Penetration: Preprint

This paper investigates microgrid transient stability with mixed generation - synchronous generator (SG), grid-forming (GFM) and grid-following (GFL) inverters - under increasing penetration levels toward a 100% renewable generation microgrid. Specifically, the dynamics of a microgrid with an SG and GFL inverter(s), an SG with GFM inverter(s), and an SG with GFM and GFL inverters under each penetration are evaluated with an electromagnetic transient study with two critical dynamic events: unplanned islanding and switching in a pumped induction motor load. Analysis and simulation results indicate that the microgrid with GFL inverters running in parallel with the SG can provide a faster power response than the GFM inverters to compensate for the deviations of the frequency and voltage. The scenario with the mixed SG, GFM, and GFL inverter has the best transient and steady-state stability toward 100% inverter-based resource (IBR) penetration. This comprehensive study provides helpful references for microgrid engineers to understand the microgrid stability when facing various choice of installing IBRs (GFL, GFM, or mixed).

droop control↗

Study of Inverter Control Strategies on the Stability of Microgrids Toward 100% Renewable Penetration

This paper investigates microgrid transient stability with mixed generation - synchronous generator (SG), grid-forming (GFM) and grid-following (GFL) inverters - under increasing penetration levels toward a 100% renewable generation microgrid. Specifically, the dynamics of a microgrid with an SG and GFL inverter(s), an SG with GFM inverter(s), and an SG with GFM and GFL inverters under each penetration are evaluated with an electromagnetic transient study with two critical dynamic events: unplanned islanding and switching in a pumped induction motor load. Analysis and simulation results indicate that the microgrid with GFL inverters running in parallel with the SG can provide a faster power response than the GFM inverters to compensate for the deviations of the frequency and voltage. The scenario with the mixed SG, GFM, and GFL inverter has the best transient and steady-state stability toward 100% inverter-based resource (IBR) penetration. This comprehensive study provides helpful references for microgrid engineers to understand the microgrid stability when facing various choice of installing IBRs (GFL, GFM, or mixed).

droop control↗

Los Angeles 100% Clean Energy Equity Strategies

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power set out to identify strategies to improve equity in LA's transition to 100% clean energy. Through social science research, NREL summarized underserved community member challenges and solutions from listening sessions and community-based organizations. NREL modeled future scenarios for solar, transportation electrification, rates, building technologies, and the distribution grid to identify strategies that improved community-prioritized equity metrics. Findings provide specific strategies relevant for LA and elsewhere to improve equity and affordability in achieving 100% clean energy.

100% clean energy↗

Impedance Scan of Inverter-Based Resources and Diesel Generator for Stability Analysis

Impedance-based methods are widely used for power system stability analysis with inverter-based resources (IBRs), e.g., assessing dynamic interactions between the power grid and an IBR, control interactions between multiple IBRs, and the sub-synchronous oscillation and damping phenomenon. Since it is difficult to get a numerical model 100% matching with the hardware IBR, using the hardware inverter directly to obtain its output impedance has become a prominent approach nowadays. Therefore, this article presents the impedance scan using hardware IBRs, and also a hardware diesel generator as it still stays with the grid before the grid completely goes to renewable. The devices under test (DuTs) for the impedance scan includes two 3-..phi.., 480 V, 60 Hz commercial grid-forming IBRs (one of 250 kVA and another of 125 kVA rating) in series with ..delta..-Y transformers, one 3-..phi.., 480 V, 60 Hz commercial grid-following IBR (of 125 kVA rating), and a 3-..phi.., 480 V, 60 Hz commercial diesel generator (of 187.5 kVA rating). Using voltage signals perturbed with sub-, inter-, and higher harmonic components, and measuring the current response, the positive-sequence impedances are computed via an offline-based post-analysis. Moreover, best-fit transfer functions are estimated that closely resemble the measured data points of the positive-sequence impedances. Based on the observations from various outcomes of the hardware experiments, this article also provides some fundamental insights on the equivalent positive-sequence impedance of a combination of multiple hardware components by comparing the estimated and the empirically computed impedances. A comparative insight on the damping capability of the DuTs using the positive-sequence impedances of the hardware is also discussed.

current measurement↗

Impedance Scan of Inverter-Based Resources and Diesel Generator for Stability Analysis: Preprint

Impedance-based methods are widely used for power system stability analysis with inverter-based resources (IBRs), e.g., assessing dynamic interactions between the power grid and an IBR, control interactions between multiple IBRs, and the sub-synchronous oscillation and damping phenomenon. Since it is difficult to get a numerical model 100% matching with the hardware IBR, using the hardware inverter directly to obtain its output impedance has become a prominent approach nowadays. Therefore, this article presents the impedance scan using hardware IBRs, and also a hardware diesel generator as it still stays with the grid before the grid completely goes to renewable. The devices under test (DuTs) for the impedance scan includes two 3-..phi.., 480 V, 60 Hz commercial grid-forming IBRs (one of 250 kVA and another of 125 kVA rating) in series with ..delta..-Y transformers, one 3-..phi.., 480 V, 60 Hz commercial grid-following IBR (of 125 kVA rating), and a 3-..phi.., 480 V, 60 Hz commercial diesel generator (of 187.5 kVA rating). Using voltage signals perturbed with sub-, inter-, and higher harmonic components, and measuring the current response, the positive-sequence impedances are computed via an offline- based post-analysis. Moreover, best-fit transfer functions are estimated that closely resemble the measured data points of the positive-sequence impedances. Based on the observations from various outcomes of the hardware experiments, this article also provides some fundamental insights on the equivalent positive- sequence impedance of a combination of multiple hardware components by comparing the estimated and the empirically computed impedances. A comparative insight on the damping capability of the DuTs using the positive-sequence impedances of the hardware is also discussed.

grid following inverter↗

Analysis and Technology Needs for Getting to 100% Renewable Energy: Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100) Example

The presentation outlines the energy sector impacts of Hurricane's Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico, followed by the analysis and technology needs for getting to 100% renewable energy with an overview of the Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (i.e., PR 100 Study).

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,POWER TRANSMI↗

Cyber100 Compass User Guide

This document provides an overview of the Cyber100 Compass tool and serves as a guide to users interested in understanding the cybersecurity risks facing their clean energy transition. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed the Cyber100 Compass tool for cyber risk assessment at the system-of-systems level for system planners trying to reach high levels of renewables. Two offices of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) - the Office of Electricity and the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response-funded NREL to develop this framework that will enable grid system planners to understand and mitigate cybersecurity risk for grids transitioning to high levels of renewable generation, including 100%. Cyber100 Compass can help systems planners apply the principle of security-by-design at scale. Investing in an upfront understanding of system-of-systems (where the constituent systems are operating entities of the different renewable resources) risks from high-renewable grids will result in a more resilient grid at a lower long-term cost.

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Guam100: Guam's 100% Renewable Energy Future

Guam100 is a comprehensive approach to providing analysis to support the transition to 100% renewable energy that considers future load growth, equity, and affordability as well as enhancing the reliability of Guam's electric grid. Guam community stakeholder input will inform the approach to analysis and modeling of future electricity needs, priorities (resilience, equity, and affordability), and resources to meet those needs.

energy burden↗

Energy Resilient Recovery in Puerto Rico: Hurricane Maria Recovery Support

This report covers microgrids as a special application of distributed energy resources (DERs) in Puerto Rico. This is one of a series of reports describing the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) multi-laboratory efforts undertaken. To ensure the sustainable, long-term recovery of Puerto Rico's electric power grid from hurricanes Maria and Irma and to build capacity to manage future potential natural disasters in the most secure and resilient way, DOE convened experts from multiple national laboratories to develop a comprehensive set of data, models, analytic tools, and studies, considering inputs from a wide variety of stakeholder groups, to support technically sound recommendations for Puerto Rico's energy investment decisions. In Phase 1 of the multi-laboratory effort to support Puerto Rico's recovery, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provided the utility company Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) recommendations for a new framework of interconnection standards to accelerate the integration of utility-scale, transmission-connected, renewable electrical generation and energy storage that ensure cross-technology compatibility and enable high deployment levels without compromising grid reliability, safety, or security (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/73848.pdf). In Phase 2, NREL published a report focused on the interconnection of distributed energy resources (DERs) to the electric distribution system in Puerto Rico (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77127.pdf). This report familiarized the reader with Puerto Rico's distribution infrastructure and operational practices and procedures that are relevant to DER interconnection. The report also provided considerations for streamlining the interconnection process given the expected increase in deployments resulting from Puerto Rico's renewable portfolio standard goal of 100% renewables by 2050. Accordingly, the report identifies considerations and concerns associated with the increase in intermittent generation, strategies for DER interconnection best practices, and the potential use of the latest technological solutions identified in the latest revision of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1547-2018 interconnection standard. Additionally, the report identified ways to improve the physical resiliency of installed DERs. This task describes how distributed energy systems may participate in and contribute to improving the resiliency of Puerto Rico's energy infrastructure in the future. This report presents an analysis of the Puerto Rico grid to illustrate the possible different microgrid and minigrid scenarios. The capability to form sustained microgrids and minigrids has the potential to provide a high level of resiliency during disturbances on the grid. DERs, on the other hand, have the capability to aid in the microgrid operation by providing grid support as well as grid-forming functionality. Other tasks in Phase 3 include voltage regulation in distribution networks using DERs and transmission-and-distribution co-simulation.

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Modular High-Energy Systems for Solar Power Satellites

Modular High-Energy Systems are Stepping Stones to provide capabilities for energy-rich infrastructure located in space to support a variety of exploration scenarios as well as provide a supplemental source of energy during peak demands to ground grid systems. Abundant renewable energy at lunar or other locations could support propellant production and storage in refueling scenarios that enable affordable exploration. Renewable energy platforms in geosynchronous Earth orbits can collect and transmit power to satellites, or to Earth-surface locations. Energy-rich space technologies also enable the use of electric-powered propulsion systems that could efficiently deliver cargo and exploration facilities to remote locations. A first step to an energy-rich space infrastructure is a 100-kWe class solar-powered platform in Earth orbit. The platform would utilize advanced technologies in solar power collection and generation, power management and distribution, thermal management, electric propulsion, wireless avionics, autonomous in space rendezvous and docking, servicing, and robotic assembly. It would also provide an energy-rich free-flying platform to demonstrate in space a portfolio of technology flight experiments. This paper summary a preliminary design concept for a 100-kWe solar-powered satellite system to demonstrate in-flight a variety of advanced technologies, each as a separate payload. These technologies include, but are not limited to state-of-the-art solar concentrators, highly efficient multi-junction solar cells, integrated thermal management on the arrays, and innovative deployable structure design and packaging to enable the 100-kW satellite feasible to launch on one existing launch vehicle. Higher voltage arrays and power distribution systems (PDS) reduce or eliminate the need for massive power converters, and could enable direct-drive of high-voltage solar electric thrusters.

Howell, Joe T.↗

Analysis of AC-DC Converters for Grid-tied High Temperature Steam Electrolysis Systems

Grid-tied HTSE systems have the prospects to produce clean hydrogen enabling power and broad energy systems decarbonization. Most commercially available power electronic converter systems (PECS) are designed for batteries, solar PVs, wind, and other well-established renewable energy resources. Standards (such as IEEE 1547, UL 1741, CA Rule-21, HI Rule14) exist for PECS used for renewable energy systems such as battery storage and solar PVs. However, those that consider the dynamic behavior of HTSEs and that can be used for large-scale H2 systems are yet to be developed. This paper investigates the performance of these PECS for the HTSE application that are set up at the Idaho National Laboratory for hydrogen production testing, research and development. In particular, the performance analysis of two grid-tied PECS (A and B) is conducted for a 100 kW solid oxide HTSE system. System A consists of 6 units of 30kW MOSFET-switched bidirectional AC-DC rectifier while system B has a single unit of 150kW thyristor-switched AC-DC rectifier. Both systems are connected to the HTSE stacks via a DC-DC converter. Different operational conditions of the HTSE system are tested to analyze the dynamic response of the HTSE’s PECS. The experimental results show the need to develop advanced control strategies for PECS that incorporates the dynamics of HTSE systems for improved performance.

High temperature steam electrolysis↗

Renewable-battery hybrid power plants in congested electricity markets: Implications for plant configuration

Examining coupled renewable-battery power plants (“hybrids”) in congested areas provides insights into a future of increased wind and solar penetration. Our study focuses on two types of congested regions, Variable Renewable Energy (VRE)-rich Areas and Load Centers, and explores likely plant configuration choices for developers and transmission network planners. Here, this paper examines how hybrid value, comprising energy and capacity value, varies by plant configuration and congested region type considering factors such as storage duration, battery degradation, and ability to charge from the grid. We select plant locations from across the seven main U.S. independent system operators (ISOs). Hybrid value for each configuration is computed based on profit-maximizing plant operation given perfect foresight, according to observed wholesale power market real time prices from 2018 to 2021. In VRE-rich Areas, the median increase in energy value from extending storage duration from one to 4h is 29.4% for solar and 26.8% for wind, assuming low battery degradation costs and storage sized to 100% of the plant's nameplate generation capacity. Increasing storage duration beyond 4h does not substantially increase its value from energy markets, even in VRE-rich Areas. We find that solar hybrids reach a 90% capacity credit with 4h of storage, while wind hybrids require 8h of storage, based on the capacity factor of each hybrid during the top 100 net load hours.

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Guidelines for Phase Change Material Selection Based on a Holistic System Model

Concentrating solar power (CSP) has potential to increase the amount of renewable energy on electric grids and reduce global carbon emissions, in particular because of its capability to incorporate inexpensive thermal energy storage. To realize this potential, development of latent heat storage with phase change materials (PCMs) is attractive because of its high energy density and low material cost. Research in this area has identified many promising materials, and has developed effective storage system designs that could be used to deploy PCMs. However, the field has lacked a rigorous methodology to select the optimal material for a particular CSP system. To address this need, here we present a holistic model that evaluates all important influences of PCM properties on the performance and cost of an entire CSP plant. We apply this model to over 100 of the most widely considered candidate materials, including both salts and metals. We quantify the relative value of each PCM property, and identify leading materials for application in CSP systems. This method and our results may aid future efforts to develop latent heat storage by providing a more informed view of how material selection impacts an entire CSP system.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗