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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

InterGraph-CPS: A Graph-Theoretic Approach to Characterize Cross-Domain Cyber-Physical Interdependencies and Uncertainties in Electric Grid Systems for Improved Decision-Making in Operation and Response

Critical infrastructure systems such as the electric grid are increasingly cyber-physical; yet, despite the cyber-physical characteristics of critical infrastructure systems, the physical process system and communication/control network system are traditionally analyzed in siloes. As these systems become more cyber-physical, it is crucial that models and methods are available to assess the cyber physical system (CPS) interdependencies, characteristics, and event propagation for improved planning, operation, and response. Thus, we proposed an integrated structural and temporal CPS interdependency analysis framework, InterGraph-CPS, that provides insight into the CPS function during normal operation as well as disturbances. This integrated structural and temporal interdependency framework is uniquely designed for assessing CPSs by account for the challenges of analyzing cyber and physical data streams together due to data availability, data type, and time scale differences. By leveraging both structural (e.g., graph analysis) and temporal (e.g., data analytics) techniques, different CPS behaviors and configurations can be accounted for.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Potential Impact of Flexible CHP on the Future Electric Grid in California

This presentation summarizes results from the “Modeling the Impact of Flexible CHP on the Future Electric Grid In California” report (doi:10.2172/1649545). The analysis estimated the value of flexible CHP to the gird in a somewhat decarbonized grid in California. The analysis found that advanced, flexible CHP can more than double capacity with a 6 year payback period, save site owners up to $760 million, reduce CA-ISOs operating cost by over $700 million, and eliminate hours of grid stress in CA-ISO.

CHP↗
DOE OSTI2021

Economic Analysis of an Electric Thermal Energy Storage System Using Solid Particles for Grid Electricity Storage

As renewable power generation becomes the mainstream new-built energy source, energy storage will become an indispensable need to complement the uncertainty of renewable resources to firm the power supply. When phasing out fossil-fuel power plants to meet the carbon neutral utility target in the midcentury around the world, large capacity of energy storage will be needed to provide reliable grid power. The renewable power integration with storage can support future carbon-free utility and has several significant impacts including increasing the value of renewable generation to the grid, improving the peak-load response, and balancing the electricity supply and demand. Long-duration energy storage (10–100 hours duration) can potentially complement the reduction of fossil-fuel baseload generation that otherwise would risk grid security when a large portion of grid power comes from variable renewable sources. Current energy storage methods based on pumped storage hydropower or batteries have many limitations. Thermal energy storage (TES) has unique advantages in scale and siting flexibility to provide grid-scale storage capacity. A particle-based TES system has promising cost and performance for the future growing energy storage needs. This paper introduces the system and components required for the particle TES to be technically and economically competitive. A technoeconomic analysis based on preliminary component designs and performance shows that the particle TES integrated with an efficient air-Brayton combined cycle power system can provide power for several days by low-cost, high-performance storage cycles. It addresses grid storage needs by enabling large-scale grid integration of intermittent renewables like wind and solar, thereby increasing their grid value. The design specifications and cost estimations of major components in a commercial scale system are presented in this paper. The cost model provides insights for further development and cost comparison with competing technologies.

27 ARPA - Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy↗
DOE OSTI2024

Consequential Analysis of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Impacts of Actions That Influence the Electric Grid: The Theory and Practice of Using Marginal Emissions Rates

This paper discusses consequential greenhouse gas emissions analysis for actions that influence the electric grid that is, the analytical approach of estimating how such actions change greenhouse gas emissions, relative to what they otherwise would have been without the action. Although the paper starts with general considerations, it ultimately focuses on consequential analysis with marginal emissions rates as an option likely more scalable than others.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

The LSBmax algorithm for boosting resilience of electric grids post (N‐2) contingencies

Abstract A computationally improved algorithm is presented to find the best transmission switching (TS) candidate for boosting resilience of electricity grids subject to ( N ‐2) contingencies. Here, resilience is computed as the reduction in load shed after the above‐mentioned ( N‐ ) contingencies. TS is a planned line outage, and past research shows that changing the transmission system's topology changes the power flow and removes post contingency violations. Finding the best TS candidate in a computationally suitable time for effectively boosting resilience is a challenge. The best TS candidate is found using a novel heuristic method by decreasing the search space based on proximity to the bus with the maximum load shedding (LSB). The LSB algorithm is faster than existing algorithms in the literature; and, it is compatible with both the AC and DC optimal power flow formulations. To validate the authors' claims of speedup and accuracy, two metrics are used to analyze the results from the IEEE 39‐bus and 118‐bus systems. Finally, the inherent parallelism of the LSB algorithm is leveraged on a high‐performance computing platform and applied to the large‐scale Polish 2383‐bus test system to validate scalability in both size and speedup in computation time.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Near Term Reliability and Resilience: Revisiting Resilience Metrics for the Electric Grid

This report presents the metrics employed in the Near-Term Reliability and Resilience (NTRR) project to study the inter-dependencies between electric and natural gas infrastructures, particularly under challenging conditions. These metrics were developed and applied to evaluate the reliability and resilience of the electric grid and natural gas systems in near-term scenarios (within the next 10 years) involving extreme weather events and major supply disruptions. The report defines the metrics, explains how they are calculated, and describes the process by which they are used to evaluate reliability and resilience across simulated scenarios. It also demonstrates how the resilience metrics integrate with other project activities and summarizes the software tools deployed to calculate and visualize the results.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Resource Adequacy and Capital Cost Considerations Pertaining to Large Electric Grids Powered by Wind, Solar, Storage, Gas, and Nuclear

The capacity and generation of wind, solar, storage, nuclear, and gas are estimated for large, idealized copper-plate electric grids. Wind and solar penetrations of 30% to 80% are considered together with different storage systems such as vanadium and lithium-ion batteries, pumped hydroelectric, compressed air, and hydrogen. In addition to a baseline dispatchable fleet without wind/solar, two bounding cases with wind/solar are analyzed: one without storage and one where the whole wind/solar fleet is connected to the storage system, hence providing a buffer between the wind/solar fleet and the grid. The reality will likely be somewhere between these bounding cases. The viability of a power grid with a large wind/solar penetration and no storage is not guaranteed but was nonetheless considered to provide a lower-bound capital cost estimate. Overall, the options that rely strongly on wind, solar, and storage could be significantly more capital-intensive than those that rely strongly on nuclear, depending on the amount of storage necessary to ensure grid stability. This is especially true in the long run because wind, solar, and storage assets have shorter lifetimes than nuclear plants and, consequently, need to be replaced more frequently. More analyses (e.g., grid stability and public acceptance) are necessary to determine which option is most likely to provide the path of least resistance to powering a clean, affordable, and reliable grid in a timely manner. Depending on the priorities, the path of least resistance may not necessarily be the one that is less capital intensive.

adequacy↗
DOE OSTI2020

EMP-Resilient Electric Grid Transformer Analysis

The response of a high - voltage (HV) transformer to fast rise time voltages, such as that from a electromagnetic pulse (EMP) can result in interruption of power distribution and possibly system failure. To help identify these potential occurrences, it is necessary to develop a transformer model that not only captures the input/output response of the transformer but also the internal behavior. The model constructed should cover the frequency band of interest while capturing the internal physical and electrical characteristics. This broad-band, high-fidelity model would enable the prediction of unwanted effects through simulation. A proposed modeling scheme for a HV transformer is described in Part 1 of this report. Part 2 of this report details assessments of internal voltage and electrical field holdoff testing of transformer insulation dielectric breakdown, including comparison of low frequency (DC/60 Hz) holdoff to rise times characteristic of lightning (1 s) and EMP E1 transients (10 - 30 ns). This initial project is a path toward establishing electrical grid transformer failure criteria for EMP voltage transients. We developed modeling methods and measured breakdown electrical field statistical distributions for direct current, 60 Hz, lightning and EMP characteristic voltage rise times. Methods of nanosecond-scale capacitive discharge unit high voltage source development, suggestions for derating of 60 Hz insulation maximum electrical fields for EMP nanosecond pulse voltage withstand rating, and potential methods for increasing transformer resilience to such fast rise time pulses are described.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

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↗
DOE OSTI2026

TASTI-GRID: An Overview of Minnesota's County and Tribal Electric Grid Resilience

This document provides a concise overview of the analytical capabilities of the TASTI-GRID team. Utilizing additional data and resources, it synthesizes platform insights to present a distinct perspective on investing in grid resilience throughout Mississippi. This document is not intended to influence or direct state- level decisions related to investments in grid resilience and reliability. TASTI-GRID should not be used for real-time monitoring, supporting the ESF #12 emergency response functions, or predicting the restoration times for outages.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Emerging Trends and Systemic Issues Influencing Today’s U.S. Electric Grid

With increasing shifts from vertically integrated to horizontally structured operations and from centralized to distributed electric power delivery, today’s electric power grid (the “grid”) operators and designers face the challenge of creating an architecture that accommodates a host of diverse requirements. The grid’s modes of operation must address concerns of reliability and stability, new deployments of renewable energy sources, threats from cyber-attacks and natural disasters, and increasingly distributed system operations. Grid modernization calls for a reliable, affordable, sustainable, agile, secure, and resilient grid. However, the modernization of the U.S. power grid is hampered by mounting complexity and diverging objectives from owners and operators and is consequently risky and fraught with potential missteps. Flawed architecture, design, and implementation will lead to stranded investments and lost opportunities. A principled approach to minimize risk and develop a robust grid of the future is to begin with a sound architecture for the grid to inform the design process. Architecture development starts with the context of influencing factors that provide constraints as well as driving goals. This report provides the context of emerging trends and cross-cutting systemic issues in the U.S. electric power grid and serves as a vital input for grid architecture development.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Comparative life cycle assessment of woody biomass processing: air classification, drying, and size reduction powered by bioelectricity versus grid electricity

Sulfur accumulation during biofuel production is pollutive and toxic to conversion catalysts and causes the premature breakdown of processing equipment. Air classification is an effective preprocessing technology for ash and sulfur reduction from biomass feedstocks. Here, a life cycle assessment (LCA) sought to understand the environmental impact of implementing air classification as a sulfur-mitigation technique to improve feedstock quality for pine residues using a grid electricity scenario (GES) versus a bioelectricity scenario (BES). Global warming potential (GWP) for preprocessing was simulated using inventory databases embedded in SimaPro and the Argonne National Laboratory’s GREET model, specifically focusing on comparing the GWP of a GES versus a BES. Overall, the GES had a GWP impact over seven times that of the BES (136 versus 18 kg CO 2 equivalent per tonne of usable feedstock), with steam generation during rotary drying accounting for 57% of the GES’s GWP. Air classification represents 0.4% and 1.6% of the total GWP impact for the GES and BES, respectively. Therefore, air classification can facilitate a 30% reduction in feedstock sulfur content to improve feedstock quality for biofuel conversion and lessen corrosion of equipment while contributing minimal GWP impact during preprocessing.

Air classification↗
DOE OSTI2026

Responsible Adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Electric Grid Operations

The future of the grid will be powered by AI—or undermined by it. Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping grid operations, improving fault detection, forecasting accuracy, and real-time optimization. As AI systems move closer to operational decision loops, however, they introduce new consequence pathways: expanded attack surfaces, model integrity risks, regulatory exposure, and human-automation challenges. This talk presents a consequence-driven framework for deploying AI responsibly in the electric grid. Attendees will gain practical strategies to strengthen resilience, boost reliability, and deploy AI securely — ensuring the grid of the future is not only smarter but safer.

25 - ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluating the Impact of Tidal Energy in the Cook Inlet on Alaska's Railbelt Electrical Grid

This report presents the findings of a case study that evaluates the impact of integrating significant tidal energy generation in the Cook Inlet in Alaska. The case study is part of a series within the "Quantifying the Grid Value of MRE [Marine Renewable Energy] in Early U.S. Markets" project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. This study takes a scenario-based approach to evaluate the tidal energy potential in the Cook Inlet, in which 100-500 megawatts (MW) of tidal energy are integrated into the grid under different infrastructure scenarios. These scenarios include increased energy storage and transmission line upgrades, a "Basecase" scenario with no additional upgrades, and a reference case with no tidal energy. We concluded that tidal energy at an installed capacity of 200-300 MW has the potential to reduce fuel costs in Alaska while also reducing carbon emissions and increasing the energy independence of the state. This analysis and the key findings should be viewed as a starting point for additional research and used to inform investment and policy options.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2021

US building energy efficiency and flexibility as an electric grid resource

Buildings consume 75% of U.S. electricity; therefore, improving the efficiency and flexibility of building operations could increase the reliability and resilience of the rapidly-changing electricity system. We estimate the technical potential near- and long-term impacts of best available building efficiency and flexibility measures on annual electricity use and hourly demand across the contiguous U.S. Co-deployment of building efficiency and flexibility avoids up to 742 TWh of annual electricity use and 181 GW of daily net peak load in 2030, rising to 800 TWh and 208 GW by 2050; at least 59 GW and 69 GW of the peak reductions are dispatchable. Implementing efficiency measures alongside flexibility measures reduces the potential for off-peak load increases, underscoring limitations on load shifting in efficient buildings. Overall, however, we find a substantial building-grid resource that could reduce future fossil-fired generation needs while also reducing dependence on energy storage with increasing variable renewable energy penetration.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

How different power plant types contribute to electric grid reliability, resilience, and vulnerability: a comparative analytical framework

Abstract This work explores the dependability tradeoffs provided by the most common types of central power plants in the United States. Historically, the electricity sector has lacked consensus on how reliability , resilience , and vulnerability differ and how those metrics change depending on the power plant fleet composition. We propose distinct definitions for these metrics and an analytical framework to evaluate power plant fleet dependability. Using data analysis and literature review, we identify fifteen dependability attributes across which we rank eleven power plant types relative to natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) plants. We use NGCC as the benchmark because it is common to many locations and is of relatively recent vintage. The framework shows that each power plant type has unique dependability benefits and drawbacks. We provide examples of how researchers may use the framework to evaluate grid dependability qualitatively under different scenarios. We find that assuming all attributes that contribute to grid dependability are equally important and additive, electric grid dependability is best supported when power plant fleets include a mixture of power generation technologies. Then, we discuss scenario characteristics that could alter the prioritization and relationships of attributes. We also find that if current capacity installation trends continue to favor low- and zero-carbon power plants, US power grids may benefit from increased resilience and reduced vulnerability at the cost of decreased reliability. We conclude by recommending methods for adapting the framework and quantifying relationships between attributes in individual scenarios.

Ramirez-Meyers, K. (ORCID:0000000291216952)↗