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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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NASA NTRS1980

Military markets for solar thermal electric power systems

The Department of Defense maintains an inventory of over 1,800 MW of engine-generators 15 KW and larger, with an estimated procurement rate of over 140 MW/year. Nearly the entire requirement could be met by advanced heat engines of the types being developed as point-focussing, distributed receiver power plants. A conceptual system consisting of a heat engine which efficiently burns liquid fossil or synthetic fuels, with a 'solarization kit' for conversion to hybrid solar operation could meet existing DOD requirements for new systems which are quieter, lighter, and multi-fueled. An estimated 24 percent (33 MW/year) or more could operationally benefit from the solar option. Baseline cost projections indicate levelized energy cost goals of 210 to 120 mills/KWh (15 to 1000 KW systems). Fuel cost escalation is the major factor affecting the value of the solar option. A baseline calculation for fuel at $0.59/gal in spring, 1979, escalating at 8 percent above general inflation indicates a value of $2700/KWe for a solarization kit.

Hauger, J. S.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Opportunities for Hybrid Wind and Solar PV Plants in India

The share of variable renewable energy (VRE) on India's grid has surpassed 100 GW, and the government has ambitious plans reach 450 GW by 2030. One strategy to increase wind and solar PV deployment is through the co-location of wind and solar PV plants to form a single hybrid power plant. Hybrid plants have the potential to reduce transmission infrastructure costs and variability in the output power profile compared to a standalone plant with a single technology, and this resource analysis aims to take a first step towards quantifying the potential savings from hybridizing wind and solar PV plants in India and the size of this opportunity. We utilize a brute-force optimization to minimize the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for standalone wind, standalone solar PV, and hybrid wind/solar PV plants across all of India. By comparing these LCOEs, we determine that locations where hybrid plants exhibit potential cost savings and grid benefits exhibit both; a high interconnection cost and; a wind capacity factor between roughly 34% and 38%. However, because our work does not capture the value of the electricity generated by looking at energy prices, nor does it quantify the potential of hybrids to provide other value streams such as firm capacity and reserves. Further, because the work does not compare solar PV and wind hybrids to alternative generation technologies or storage systems, it cannot be considered a holistic cost-benefit analysis.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1977

Technical and economic feasibility study of solar/fossil hybrid power systems

Results show that new hybrid systems utilizing fossil fuel augmentation of solar energy can provide significant capital and energy cost benefits when compared with solar thermal systems requiring thermal storage. These benefits accrue from a reduction of solar collection area that results from both the use of highly efficient gas and combined cycle energy conversion subsystems and elimination of the requirement for long-term energy storage subsystems. Technical feasibility and fuel savings benefits of solar hybrid retrofit to existing fossil-fired, gas and vapor cycle powerplants was confirmed; however, economic viability of steam cycle retrofit was found to be dependent on the thermodynamic and operational characteristics of the existing powerplant.

Bloomfield, H. S.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Spectral Gap Filling Method Using the Spectral Information from CLARREO-Pathfinder Measured Earth-Reflected Solar Spectra to Support CPF-CERES Intercalibration

The high-accuracy Earth-reflected solar spectral radiances from CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) will serve as in-orbit benchmark measurements for intercalibrating other satellite imagers. The CPF team is developing a state-of-the-art intercalibration method to calibrate the shortwave channel (300-5000 nm) of the CERES instrument against the CPF reference with an uncertainty of 0.3%. Because the CPF instrument only covers spectral range from 350 nm to 2300 nm, the team has developed a spectral extension method to fill in the gaps between the spectral domains of CPF and the CERES shortwave channel. The method solely relies on using the hyperspectral information from the CPF wavelengths to predict the radiances below 350 nm and above 2300 nm. To quantify the relationship between the CPF spectrum and the non-overlapping portions of the spectrum between CPF and CERES, the team has simulated a large ensemble of spectra that cover the spectral range for both CPF and CERES. A hyperspectral bidirectional reflectance model for land surface based on thousands of measured land surface reflectance has been developed. This land surface model as well as the Cox-Munk model for ocean surface are used in the spectral gap filling. Various water/ice clouds, aerosols, atmosphere profiles and surfaces were used to simulate Earth-reflected radiances from 200 nm to 15 um under different solar and sensor geometries. The targeted uncertainty for the CPF-extended broadband CERES radiances is less than 0.1%. The previously derived training spectra were updated to replace the Kurucz solar irradiance model with the TSIS-1 Hybrid Solar Reference Spectrum. The influence of the scalar assumption in radiative transfer model equations on the uncertainty in estimating the broadband radiances was also investigated.

Hyperspectral↗

DOE OSTI2022

Optimizing the physical design and layout of a resilient wind, solar, and storage hybrid power plant

We report as wind and solar technologies improve and their costs decrease, the share of power produced by these sources will increase. As the market penetration increases, these power sources will need to provide grid services, such as dispatchability, in addition to providing energy. One way to reduce variability, provide higher quality power to the grid, and address local grid stability issues is through colocating wind and solar power plants. In addition to operating reliably during normal operating conditions, in scenarios with high penetrations of renewable generation, it is important that these hybrid plants can withstand production disruptions and continue to supply power despite prolonged resource reduction, extreme weather events, or other disruptions. In this paper, we present a methodology to optimize a wind-solar-battery hybrid power plant down to the component level that is resilient against production disruptions and that can continually produce some minimum required power. We introduce the models and assumptions we used to simulate a hybrid power plant as well as the design variable parameterization and specific methods we used to optimize the plant. We demonstrate the performance of our method by comparing a plant optimized for different objectives, generation outage durations, minimum power requirements, and power purchase agreements. Although the plant design is sensitive to model parameters and various other assumptions, our results demonstrate some of the optimal designs that occur in different scenarios and what one should expect when designing a hybrid wind-solar-storage power plant.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Challenges and Roadmap for Solar-Thermal Desalination

Decarbonizing desalination systems requires combining renewable energy technologies with desalination systems. Solar thermal desalination, which combines a thermal desalination system (e.g., distillation, multistage flash, etc.) with a concentrated solar system is attractive in geographic regions with an abundance of saline water and solar energy. However, the high economic cost and low efficiency limits its adoption. This review provides an overview of the techno-economic, materials, and performance challenges that need to be overcome to realize solar-desalination. The review describes the four most prominent pathways for overcoming thermodynamic and cost limitations present in current systems. Specifically, methodologies and approaches such as direct solar evaporation structures, low-cost thermal energy storage, solar cogeneration schemes for power and desalination, and solar hybrid desalination are discussed. Furthermore, these strategies can enable solar thermal desalination technologies that are resilient to intermittent solar energy.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Implementing the Inflation Reduction Act: What We Expect and How We Might Get There

This presentation summarizes findings from three related studies: Evaluating Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law on the U.S. Power System; The Roles and Impacts of PV-Battery Hybrids in a Decarbonized U.S. Electricity Supply; and Optimal Design and Deployment of Wind-Solar Hybrids in Low-Carbon U.S. Power System. The compilation of results from these three studies indicate that the Inflation Reduction Act could drive significant deployment of variable renewable energy technologies, but the level of deployment depends on our ability to build new transmission projects (among other factors). Hybrid systems can help, to an extent, to facilitate greater shares of wind/solar with lesser amounts of transmission expansion.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law↗

NASA NTRS1981

Assessment of solar-assisted gas-fired heat pump systems

As a possible application for the Goldstone Energy Project, the performance of a 10 ton heat pump unit using a hybrid solar gas energy source was evaluated in an effort to optimize the solar collector size. The heat pump system is designed to provide all the cooling and/or heating requirements of a selected office building. The system performance is to be augmented in the heating mode by utilizing the waste heat from the power cycle. A simplified system analysis is described to assess and compute interrrelationships of the engine, heat pump, and solar and building performance parameters, and to optimize the solar concentrator/building area ratio for a minimum total system cost. In addition, four alternative heating cooling systems, commonly used for building comfort, are described; their costs are compared, and are found to be less competitive with the gas solar heat pump system at the projected solar equipment costs.

Lansing, F. L.↗

DOE OSTI2022

GIS-Based Graphical User Interface Tools for Analyzing Solar Thermal Desalination Systems & High-Potential Implementation

This project developed a user-friendly, open-source, software that enables a comparative evaluation of solar thermal desalination technology options and employs geospatial data layers to identify regions of high-potential for solar thermal desalination. This was accomplished by integrating solar models with desalination models and enhancing their utility by providing GIS-based data inputs. The developed Solar Energy Desalination Analysis Tool (SEDAT) enables techno-economical evaluation of desalination technologies and selection of regions with the highest potential for using solar energy to power desalination plants. It simplifies the planning, design, and valuation of solar thermal and solar hybrid desalination systems in the U.S. and worldwide. SEDAT uses Dash for integrating various layers of large volumes of GIS data with Python-based models of solar energy generation and desalination technologies. It derives time-series of energy generation and water production, with details of plant performance and suggestions for improving the solar-desalination coupling. It is a one of-a-kind tool of analysis representing a definitive advancement in the state-of-the-art. Of solar desalination modeling This report summarizes the various phases of the tool’s development, and presents examples of the results.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Nanoscale Confinement of Photo-Injected Electrons at Hybrid Interfaces

A prerequisite for advancing hybrid solar light harvesting systems is a comprehensive understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics of photoinduced interfacial charge separation. Here, we demonstrate access to this transient charge redistribution for a model hybrid system of nanoporous zinc oxide (ZnO) and ruthenium bipyridyl chromophores. The site-selective probing of the molecular electron donor and semiconductor acceptor by time-resolved X-ray photoemission provides direct insight into the depth distribution of the photoinjected electrons and their interaction with the local band structure on a nanometer length scale. Our results show that these electrons remain localized within less than 6 nm from the interface, due to enhanced downward band bending by the photoinjected charge carriers. This spatial confinement suggests that light-induced charge generation and transport in nanoscale ZnO photocatalytic devices proceeds predominantly within the defect-rich surface region, which may lead to enhanced surface recombination and explain their lower performance compared to titanium dioxide (TiO 2 )-based systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NASA NTRS2015

Solar Electric Propulsion Concepts for Human Space Exploration

Advances in solar array and electric thruster technologies now offer the promise of new, very capable space transportation systems that will allow us to cost effectively explore the solar system. NASA has developed numerous solar electric propulsion spacecraft concepts with power levels ranging from tens to hundreds of kilowatts for robotic and piloted missions to asteroids and Mars. This paper describes nine electric and hybrid solar electric/chemical propulsion concepts developed over the last 5 years and discusses how they might be used for human exploration of the inner solar system.

solar arrays↗

NASA NTRS2016

Solar Electric Propulsion Concepts for Human Space Exploration

solar electric propulsion↗

DOE OSTI2020

Opportunities for Research and Development of Hybrid Power Plants

Hybrid power plants show promise to provide significant value to the electric grid system especially as shares of renewable energy in systems increase from 10% to 20% or more. Many manufacturers and developers are proactively developing hybrid power plant strategies to ensure plant profitability in markets where it’s important to provide energy that is more predictable and controllable, with higher capacity values, as well as various ancillary services to the grid system. However, there still are many questions around if and when hybrid power plants make sense versus leaving it to the larger grid system to ensure low cost and reliable supply by engaging directly with all individual assets. This report summarizes literature on the state-of-the-art in research concerning hybrid power plants from multiple perspectives including: 1) resource and market opportunities, 2) technology selection and sizing, 3) physical design, and 4) operation and control. The emphasis was placed on wind and solar hybrid power plants (with or without storage) but additional technologies were briefly considered and merit further investigation.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

A Dual-Mode Hybrid System Combining Solar Thermal With Pumped Thermal Energy Storage

A hybrid system that delivers renewable electricity generation and electricity storage capabilities is introduced. This dual-mode hybrid system is based on Pumped Thermal Energy Storage (PTES) which uses a heat pump to convert electricity into thermal energy that is trans-ferred to silica particles which are stored in concrete silos. The stored heat is later converted back to electricity in a heat engine. The heat pump and heat engine use a closed Joule-Brayton cycle and fluidized bed heat exchangers. If the PTES system is co-located with an array of concentrating solar mirrors and a particle receiver, then the silica particles may also be heated up by the concentrating solar power (CSP) system. The PTES heat engine may also be used to convert the stored solar heat into electricity, thereby sharing this system between the PTES and CSP systems and reducing costs. However, this requires careful management of the heat engine off-design parameters. A thermodynamic model is used to evaluate the performance of the dual mode PTES-CSP hybrid system. The model accounts for turbomachinery effi-ciency, and approach temperature and pressure loss in heat exchangers, as well as other sources of inefficiency, such as motor-generator losses, and air fan power. The hybrid system also requires the evaluation of the turbomachinery efficiency and pressure ratio at off-design conditions since the CSP system operates over different temperature ratios than the Carnot Battery. Several design variables and design modifications are investigated, such as pressure ratios and maximum temperatures.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Potential Infrastructure Cost Savings at Hybrid Wind Plus Solar PV Plants

This report documents the creation of NREL's Balance of System model for Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HybridBOSSE). Balance of System (BOS) costs account for approximately 30% of the capital expenditure required to install a land-based wind plant, and as much as 40% of the cost of installing a solar PV plant. Hybrid Renewable Energy systems present an opportunity to combine balance of system components to achieve cost savings, and HybridBOSSE aims to provide a component-level model to determine the associated BOS costs in a hybrid renewable energy system. Prior BOS models for hybrid systems (at NREL and elsewhere) have relied on empirical curve fits of legacy industry data, limiting their utility and their predictive ability for new technology combinations and configurations, such as those found in Hybrid Plants. Hybrid plants at the utility scale have considerably more interest in the last number of years, with ever-growing capacities in the interconnection queues, and many large developers pivoting to only consider hybrid plants going forward. As these plants become a commercial reality, the need for a detailed analysis of costs in a hybrid plant to fully exploit the available cost savings grows. The tool developed and documented in this work, HybridBOSSE, provides an open-source, python-based method of assessing the costs in hybrid plants. This analysis capability unlocks greater certainty in hybrid plant costs, as well as the ability to examine scenarios of hybridization and glean combinations that offer the greatest flexibility and cost reduction.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Assessing geothermal/solar hybridization – Integrating a solar thermal topping cycle into a geothermal bottoming cycle with energy storage

Geothermal and concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies typically use heat at different temperatures in their commercial deployments. This enables a technically viable hybridization of a solar topping cycle and a geothermal bottoming cycle at locations where both resources are available. In this article, an underperforming geothermal power system based at Burley, Idaho is used as a baseline to investigate the technical and economic potential of such a hybrid cycle. A direct thermal energy storage (TES) system is also integrated to overcome the intermittency of the solar resource. Design and off-design behavior of key components are modelled to simulate the annual performance of the hybrid system on an hourly basis. The sizing of the solar field and thermal storage is investigated and is seen to significantly impact the annual electricity generation and efficiency. Various cost scenarios for the solar field and thermal energy storage are investigated. An economic metric - levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) - is used to optimize the solar field sizing and TES capacity. The hybrid plant converts the additional solar heat input into additional work with an efficiency of 32.9%. Retrofitting a geothermal plant with solar and eight hours of energy storage can achieve an LCOE of 0.136 $/kWhe in current cost scenarios and 0.081 $/kWhe in a future cost reduction scenario. Although the hybrid system cannot directly compete with current PV systems without batteries, it has an LCOE 32% lower than that of a PV-battery system. This paper provides insights into the research and development of the future grid with a high renewable energy penetration and encourages further study of energy hybridization for improved efficiencies and economics.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS2023

Combined 1-MW Solar Electric and Chemical Propulsion for Crewed Mars Missions

The current Moon to Mars Architecture defines functional capabilities that are essential to achieving NASA’s specific exploration goals and objectives. The transportation system goals and objectives or functional capabilities do not prescribe a solution, leaving an open tradespace to be explored. NASA is working to identify power and propulsion technologies that enable feasible transportation options for crewed missions to Mars. During NASA’s Strategic Analysis Cycle 2021 (SAC21), nuclear enabled spacecraft concepts were analyzed for moderate duration 850-day Earth-Mars roundtrip mission2. During SAC22, the transportation tradespace was expanded to understand the feasibility of using different propulsion systems for crewed Mars missions using a moderate duration reference mission as a comparison point. This paper explores the mission analysis performed for a conceptual MW-class hybrid Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP)-chemical propulsion system (SEP-Chem) spacecraft optimized for an 850-day crewed Mars mission for the 2039 opportunity.

SEP-Chem↗

NASA NTRS1994

(abstract) MEASURE-Jupiter: Low Cost Missions to Explore Jupiter in the Post-Galileo Era

MEASURE-Jupiter is a new mission concept for the exploration of giant planets, with initial application to Jupiter. By flying sets of lightweight spacecraft with highly focused measurement objectives, it is designed to break the apparent impass in giant planet exploration beyond Cassini. The MEASURE-Jupiter concept is characterized by: 1) intensive exploration of a giant planet system, 2) multiple small missions flown in focused waves using spacecraft costing $100M to $200M, and 3) mission sets launched every 2 to 3 years. Why Jupiter? Jupiter is the most complex planetary system in the Solar System with many scientifically intriguing bodies and phenomena to explore. The Galileo mission will scratch the surface of the exploration of Jupiter, posing many questions for the MEASURE-Jupiter missions to address. Jupiter is also the easiest planet in the Outer Solar System to reach, making possible flight times of 2 years and total mission durations of 3 years or less. Concept design studies have uncovered a number of scientifically rewarding, simple, low-cost mission options. These options have the additional attraction of being able to launch on 2-year trajectories to Jupiter with low-cost Delta II expendable launch vehicles. A partial list of mission concepts studied to date include: Io Very Close Flyby, Jupiter Close Polar Pass, Mini-Orbiters, and Galilean Satellite Penetrators. Key to the realization of the MEASURE-Jupiter missions is the judicious use of the new low power consuming advanced technology and applicable systems from the Pluto Fast Flyby mission spacecraft design. Foremost of the new technologies planned for inclusion are the elements of hybrid solar array/battery power systems which make it possible to perform the identified missions without the need for Radioactive Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs). This relieves the mission design of the attendant programmatic complexities, cost, and constraints attendant with the use of RTGs.

MEASURE-Jupiter Jupiter Pluto Fast Flyby low cost ↗