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DOE OSTI2021

Topical Report – Findings on Subtask 2.7 – Wet ESP and Aerosol Testing at Coal Creek Station

Growing concerns over the impact of CO 2 emissions from combustion sources on global climate change have prompted numerous research and development projects aimed at developing cost-effective technologies for CO 2 capture. One family of technologies being demonstrated at pilot and full scale globally is postcombustion carbon capture (PCCC) systems that employ amine-based solvents. The captured CO 2 can be compressed and permanently stored underground or used for enhanced oil recovery. The proximity of North Dakota’s lignite-fired fleet of power plants to potential CO 2 storage options creates a unique atmosphere for PCCC within the state. However, the unique components present in lignite flue gas present a challenge for large-scale PCCC at North Dakota power plants by contributing to aerosol formation. Aerosols can negatively impact the long-term performance of amine-based solvents for CO 2 capture. Amine-based solvents are volatile, and flue gas particulate provides nucleation sites where amine vapors can condense as aerosols. Because aerosols cannot be easily captured at the column outlet using conventional technologies, the amine-laden aerosols escape the system and lead to accelerated solvent losses. Moreover, particulate components can chemically react with amines to form degradation products that can permanently deactivate the amine, cause fouling, and lead to hazardous emissions. Many of the elements that have been shown to catalyze solvent degradation are present in lignite coals and can exacerbate solvent replacement economics. Understanding this issue is critical to the implementation of solvent-based CO 2 capture systems as applied to lignite-fired generation systems. The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) designed and carried out this project to fully characterize aerosol behavior with various control technologies installed to better optimize aerosol mitigation technology for CO 2 capture. To meet the goal of this project, the following objectives were identified: Determine the effectiveness of a wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP) on mitigating formation of problematic aerosols at Great River Energy’s Coal Creek Station, upstream of the PCCC system. Determine the effectiveness of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) proprietary amine emission reduction unit (AERU) as a postcapture solvent recovery system for reducing aerosol emissions and extending solvent life downstream of the PCCC system. Determine the impact of aerosols on the efficiency and degradation products of both commercial and advanced solvents within the PCCC system. Work was conducted at Coal Creek Station Unit 1 using a slipstream of flue gas from the outlet of the plant’s flue gas desulfurization (FGD) unit. Flue gas was routed through a pilot-scale FGD unit to remove SO 2 to very low levels (~1 ppm) and then through a direct contact cooler (DCC) to further cool the gas and to remove moisture. The gas exiting the DCC was then optionally routed through a WESP before passing to the CO 2 absorber columns. The MHI solvent was used to scrub CO 2 from the slipstream through a set of two absorber columns. The rich solvent was regenerated in a stripper column by heating to drive off captured CO 2 . Flue gas exiting the absorber column was routed to MHI’s proprietary AERU to recover entrained solvent. The system operated using a catch-and-release method where the CO 2 was separated to provide data on the process, but the captured CO 2 was released back into the host site stack. Particulate was measured, collected, and analyzed from multiple locations throughout the pilot-scale system. Unlike the performance observed in prior work, the inlet FGD and DCC did not remove significant particulate matter from the flue gas. This appears to be due to a difference in the nature of the particulate. The DCC seemed to increase particulate size and count, most likely owing to water condensing onto the surfaces of fly ash particles. When the WESP was operated, it achieved >95% particulate capture. Very little particulate matter or indications of solvent were detected at the AERU outlet. When operating with advanced KS 21 solvent, the particulate material at the AERU outlet was even further decreased. Solvent analysis showed that some species derived from flue gas and ash were slowly concentrating in the solvent over the duration of the test. The levels observed were reported to be within expected ranges and were not of concern to MHI. A high-level techno-economic assessment of installing CO 2 capture at Coal Creek Station suggested that, when using a standard monoethanolamine (MEA)-based solution with simple heat integration, the energy penalty to net generation would be 34%. The bulk of this was due to steam losses for regenerating solvent, followed by parasitic electrical demand for CO 2 compression and then by increased parasitic load for pushing flue gas through the absorber column. These demands could be decreased with a more advanced solvent that exhibits lower heat of regeneration and lower pressure drop than does a simple MEA solution. Further energy could be saved with more thorough heat integration to recover useful energy from the steam used for solvent regeneration. Installing a WESP was predicted to increase the cost of electricity by nearly $5/MWh. This would become cost-effective if solvent losses were roughly 10 times the baseline estimate when not using a WESP but could be returned to baseline by installing the WESP. Piping CO 2 for storage in more favorable geology could help with carbon capture and storage economics. Although storing off-site would necessitate construction of a CO 2 transport pipeline, the cost of this pipeline might be more than offset by reducing the number of wells required, the depths of the wells required, and the electrical demand for the CO 2 compressor. Additional factors that favor off-site storage costs include smaller expected CO 2 plume sizes, which translates to less monitoring and fewer landowner agreements. More detailed assessment of the specific geology in the region under and around Coal Creek Station would be needed to accurately assess the costs and benefits of different storage site options. This subtask was cofunded through the Energy & Environmental Research Center–U.S. Department of Energy Joint Program on Research and Development for Fossil Energy-Related Resources Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FE0024233. Nonfederal funding was provided by the North Dakota Industrial Commission.

Strege, Joshua↗

DOE OSTI2012

Development of In-Can Melting Process Applied to Vitrification of High Activity Waste Solutions (HAWS): Glass characterizations and process tests results - 12442

The CEA has selected vitrification for specific High-Activity nuclear Waste Solutions (HAWS) containing large quantities of salts. This choice has led the CEA Marcoule to develop a compact 'in-can' batch melting process in which the melting pot is disposable and serves as the primary canister for the solidified glass. This process is particularly suitable for the treatment of small waste quantities (less than 10 m{sup 3} per year) and low flow rates (5 to 10 L/h) which do not justify the use of a Cold Crucible Induction Melter. The unit capacity is approximately one hundred kilograms of glass a week operating alternately between feeding during the day and surveillance at night. In order to be fully representative of the glove box to be implemented, a new nonradioactive pilot-scale unit in which the core process (furnace and dust scrubber) is completely enclosed with glove box simulation was built at CEA Marcoule in 2008. The equipment includes all the systems and components necessary to perform full-scale tests: feed system, furnace and complete off-gas treatment system. The nominal tests were performed in 2009 and 2010 to verify that no problems arose in vitrifying solutions under the specified conditions. Two different liquid feeds representatives of the current HAWS stored and future solutions were used. The transient runs were carried out in this facility in 2010. Their objectives were to validate the glass product with different operating conditions and to determine optimum parameters for transient phases such as decreased volatility during standby phases. Finally, all the material obtained under nominal conditions or different operating conditions (e.g. initial glass frit quantity, standby temperature or restart procedure of feeding after night surveillance) have been characterized and described. The impact of transient phases on the process is then discussed in terms of volatility, thermal balance, etc., and compared with nominal tests results. Off-gas treatment system (OGTS) assessments determined preliminary decontamination factors for the OGTS components and allowed comparison between the two types of solutions and for different operating parameters. Since 2005 CEA Marcoule has been developing an 'in-can melting' vitrification process for specific High Activity Nuclear Waste Solutions. The tests carried out to date have validated the feasibility of this process and confirmed the direct vitrification option in which the liquid and solid feed streams are supplied directly to a disposable melting pot. CEA Marcoule began process qualification testing in 2009 in a new facility using equipment representative of the devices that will be installed in a glove box. The nominal mode tests performed in 2009 and 2010 were used to determine nominal operating conditions for the process: - a nominal process temperature of 1100 deg. C; - a maximum glass production rate of 5 kg/h; - a liquid feed solution flow rate of 5 L/h or less if the glass production rate exceeds the preceding maximum value; - a liquid recycle rate of 0.5 L/h for a nominal solution feed rate 5 L/h. They also produced glass samples generally meeting our expectations, and allowed us to measure the characteristic properties (viscosity, density, thermal conductivity, chemical durability). The first test of transient operation in 2010 yielded glass consistent with expectations and showed that reducing the temperature had no significant effect on the volatility of the constituent elements. However, a significant impact on the release of elements at the beginning of the test was observed with a larger initial quantity of glass frit on startup. The process qualification program will now continue with tests of degraded operating modes. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2025

Plutonium Oxidation State Distribution in the Presence of WIPP-Relevant Organics and Iron Corrosion Products

The oxidation state and solubility of plutonium (Pu) in high ionic strength synthetic WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant) brines as a function of pC H+ in the presence and absence of WIPP-relevant organic ligands (EDTA [Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid], oxalate, citrate, acetate) and iron corrosion products (magnetite and metallic iron) at 𝑇 = 23 ± 2 ∘C was thoroughly studied by long-term batch solubility experiments (between approximately 800-1,100 days) from an undersaturation approach. The oxidation state of Pu in the WIPP environment has been a topic of interest since the initial Compliance Certification Application (CCA). This study aims to investigate the solubility of Pu under the expected WIPP conditions and to determine the oxidation state of the solid phase that will control the solubility. One of the most important results of this study is that the Pu oxidation state was analyzed both from the surface area of the corrosion products and in the precipitated solid. The analysis of the Pu oxidation state on the surface of the iron mineral from the ongoing undersaturated experiments is more relevant to the performance assessment of nuclear waste disposal than short term batch (plutonium-iron phase) experiments. The X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) analysis showed that Pu oxidation state is different on the metal surface and in the precipitated solid. Pu(III) is the dominant oxidation state in the metallic iron (Fe 0 ) system in the presence and absence of organics. Pu(IV) is the dominant oxidation state in the magnetite system in the presence and absence of organics. Also, organics stabilize Pu(IV) in the magnetite system. Analysis of Pu in the precipitated solid by Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) analysis showed that Pu formed an inner-sphere complex with iron with minor amounts of PuO 2 present. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicate that metallic iron and magnetite did not oxidize in three years in the alkaline and high ionic strength system. Under these conditions (8 < pC H+ < 10 at T = (22 ± 2) °C under nitrogen atmosphere, the solubility of Pu changes by up to three orders of magnitude (10 -5 and 10 -8 M). The spread in solubility is highest at pC H+ = 9. Pu(III) and Pu(IV) showed different solubility behavior in the synthetic WIPP brine. A summary of the data collected in this report will be submitted to Sandia National Laboratories as part of a parameter update report which will outline the changes to the OXSTAT parameter for the 2026 Compliance Recertification Application (CRA-2026). The experiments performed were done according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approved Test Plan entitled “Effects of Radiolysis, Organic Complexation, and Redox Conditions on the Speciation and Oxidation State Distribution of Pu(III/IV)” (LCO-ACP-25). All data reported were obtained under the Los Alamos National Laboratory-Carlsbad Office (LANL-CO) Quality Assurance Program, which is compliant with the DOE Carlsbad Field Office, Quality Assurance Program Document (CBFO/QAPD).

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DOE OSTI2019

AECOM Early Career Professional Technology Exchange - 19045

Starting in 2015, technical exchanges with early career professionals across different AECOM sites in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex have been held semi-annually. The host and location of each exchange alternate between the participating sites and involve rotating groups of early career professionals representing those sites. In the past, the participating sites have included AECOM Technical Services, Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, NM; Savannah River Remediation in Aiken, SC; URS/CH2M Oak Ridge LLC in Oak Ridge, TN; Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, NM; and Washington River Protection Solutions and the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project in Richland, WA. These exchanges are week-long events that involve presentations, poster sessions, tours and networking events. The main focus of the exchanges are the formal presentations given by early career professionals on site-specific topics which highlight challenges what is being done to address them. In addition to the presentations, early career professionals are also provided the opportunity to present a poster discussing a project on which they have worked. Both the formal presentations and the posters are presented to other early career professionals as well as to senior management. Each exchange also consists of host site tours to allow the early career professionals to not only hear about the work being done at the site, but see it firsthand. The purpose of these exchanges is to expose early career professionals to other sites and their technical issues, give them exposure to senior managers, help them build professional networks, provide them a forum and a motivation to improve their presentation skills, and increase their value to DOE by equipping them with knowledge and skills that can be used to develop better solutions to technical challenges. More often than not, the early career professionals who participate in the exchanges have little to no knowledge about the different sites or the work that is being done at each one. These exchanges serve to inform early career professionals about the different sites and to allow them to build their professional network. This helps promote a collaborative work environment where professionals across different sites can share ideas on how to solve problems that are being faced. Overall, AECOM has seen these exchanges help keep early career professionals enthusiastic about the work they are currently doing at their own site as well as gaining interest in what their peers are doing at other sites. (authors)

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

DOE OSTI2012

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Status and Plans - 2012 - 12049

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a deep geologic repository for safe disposal of long-lived transuranic radioactive waste related to the nation's defense, is completing its 12. year of operations. WIPP's mission includes coordination of all Department of Energy (DOE) sites to prepare, package and characterize transuranic (TRU) waste for final shipment and emplacement in WIPP. Five of the 10 disposal panels planned have been filled and sealed from ventilation. Additional small quantity sites have been de-inventoried by consolidating their waste through the certified characterization line at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). New emplacement methods for RH waste in shielded containers are being considered for disposal by WIPP's regulatory authorities. A new large Type B shipping package, was added to the WIPP transportation fleet, and facility modifications to the WIPP waste unloading and emplacement processes for large containers were completed in 2011. Shipments from the Savannah River site in these new large rectangular packages began in August 2011. Licensing efforts are proceeding for a new criticality control over-pack container that will allow almost twice the fissile content to be shipped than previously. This will reduce the number and cost of shipments of Special Nuclear Material (SNM) declared as waste. Modifications to WIPP regulatory requirements for the disposal footprint and disposal unit closure systems are in progress. These, and other developments, make for exciting times at WIPP. This paper provides an up-to-date look at the many aspects of America's only deep geologic long-lived radioactive waste repository, which is completing its 12. year of operations. A record year of safe and compliant shipments to WIPP tops the list of accomplishments in 2011. Four more small quantity sites were de-inventoried by consolidating their waste through the certified characterization line at INL in 2011. A new Type B shipping package, the TRUPACT-III has been added to the transportation fleet, and large waste boxes are being shipped from SRS without the need for repackaging. New emplacement methods for remote-handled waste in shielded containers are undergoing regulatory review. WIPP plans to license a new criticality control payload container that will allow almost twice the fissile content to be shipped than previously, thereby reducing the number and cost of shipments of SNM declared as waste. Other regulatory modifications planned in 2012 include approval of a design change that would replace the disposal concept for panels 9 and 10 from using the common access drifts (the 'mains') with a new footprint south of panels 4 and 5. DOE also plans to change the panel closure design set forth in its certification by EPA and the HWFP by the NMED. The panel closure design change will be a rule making under EPA's procedures and a class 3 permit modification request under NMED procedures. Plans for achieving 90% of legacy TRU waste retrieval and emplacement in WIPP by 2015 have been developed. Key to the success of this so-called 90/15 plan is adequate funding, both for WIPP operations, as well as for TRU retrieval programs at the generator sites. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2012

WIPP WAC Equivalence Support Measurements for Low-Level Sludge Waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory - 12242

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) uses the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) as an off-site disposal facility for low-level waste (LLW), including sludge waste. NNSS has issued a position paper that indicates that systems that are not certified by the Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) for Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) disposal of Transuranic (TRU) waste must demonstrate equivalent practices to the CBFO certified systems in order to assign activity concentration values to assayed items without adding in the Total Measurement Uncertainty (TMU) when certifying waste for NNSS disposal. Efforts have been made to meet NNSS requirements to accept sludge waste for disposal at their facility. The LANL LLW Characterization Team uses portable high purity germanium (HPGe) detector systems for the nondestructive assay (NDA) of both debris and sludge LLW. A number of performance studies have been conducted historically by LANL to support the efficacy and quality of assay results generated by the LANL HPGe systems, and, while these detector systems are supported by these performance studies and used with LANL approved procedures and processes, they are not certified by CBFO for TRU waste disposal. Beginning in 2009, the LANL LLW Characterization Team undertook additional NDA measurements of both debris and sludge simulated waste containers to supplement existing studies and procedures to demonstrate full compliance with the NNSS position paper. Where possible, Performance Demonstration Project (PDP) drums were used for the waste matrix and PDP sources were used for the radioactive sources. Sludge drums are an example of a matrix with a uniform distribution of contaminants. When attempting to perform a gamma assay of a sludge drum, it is very important to adequately simulate this uniform distribution of radionuclides in order to accurately model the assay results. This was accomplished by using a spiral radial source tube placement in a sludge drum rather than the standard three source tubes seen in debris PDP drums. Available line sources (Eu-152) were placed in the spiral tubes to further accomplish the desired uniform distribution of radionuclides. The standard PDP drum (PDP matrix drum 005) and PDP sources were used to determine the lower limits of detection (LLD) and TMU. Analysis results for the sludge drum matrix case for two HPGe detectors were tabulated and evaluated. NNSS has accepted the methodology and results of the measurements towards demonstrating equivalence to CBFO certified systems. In conclusion, the WES-WGS and CMR-OPS gamma spectroscopy teams at LANL have defined and performed measurements that serve to establish and demonstrate equivalency with the processes used by CBFO certified NDA systems. The supplemental measurements address four key areas in Appendix A of DOE/WIPP-02-3122: Annual Calibration Confirmation and Performance Check measurements; LLD determination; and TMU definition. For these measurements the containers, matrices and activity loadings are selected to represent items being assayed in real LLW cases. The LLD and the TMU bounding measurements are to be performed one time and will not be required to be repeated in future campaigns. The annual calibration and performance check measurements were performed initially and planned to repeat in annual campaigns in order to maintain NNSS certification. PDP sources and a PDP sludge drum as well as Eu-152 line sources and a spiral sludge drum were used for the measurements. In all cases, the results for accuracy and precision (%R and %RSD, respectively) were within allowable ranges as defined by the WIPP PDP program. LLD (or MDC) results were established for all the ten WIPP reportable radionuclides and U-235, and the MDC for Pu-239 was established in all cases to be well under 100 nCi/g. Useful results for reducing estimated uncertainties were established and an interesting unexpected case of high bias was observed and will be applied toward this end. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2023

Pressure Transient Analyses and Poroelastic Modeling of Hydraulic Fracture Dilation for Multiple Injections at the Devine Fracture Pilot Site

Our team has conducted electromagnetic (EM) surveys for the past six years to monitor hydraulic-fracture behavior at the Devine Fracture Pilot Site (DFPS). The sub-horizontal orientation of a shallow hydraulic fracture at the DFPS provides uniform access to the fracture area for interrogation and data collection. Ahmadian et al. (2023) suggested a possible correlation between spatiotemporal changes in the flow rate, bottomhole pressure (BHP), and the observed surface recorded electric field at the DFPS. In this paper, we present the development of poroelastic forward models and pressure transient analyses (PTAs) to support the development of a multiphysics inverse model for these EM surveys. First, we conducted PTAs of the shut-in periods after six injections out of 10 to determine the fracture closure pressure (FCP) or the overburden pressure used in a poroelastic fracture reopening model. Second, we developed a finite-element poroelastic model throughout five injection cycles to include the effect of the cumulative injected volumes due to the previous injections on current fracture dilation in the presence of highly permeable unpropped and propped zones adjacent to the cohesive layer that models fracture reopening. Fracture reopening in this poroelastic model is based on a calibrated traction-separation response using the bottomhole pressure collected in two injection campaigns in 2020 and 2022. We used the outcomes of a previous simulation study of the primary hydraulic-fracturing stimulation to define the dimension of an unpropped fracture zone ahead of the propped fracture area. The PTAs led to FCPs consistent with those obtained using the injection data collected at the DFPS in 2020. Further, these analyses showed that at later injections, the fracture closure occurred at a later time with respect to the shut-in time, inferring the effect of cumulative injected volumes in previous injections. The simulation results show that considering the propped and unpropped fracture zones improves our poroelastic model in predicting the injection-well BHP. The numerical simulation results demonstrate a significant excess pore pressure near the fracture because of the preceding formation loadings by the previous injections. The obtained fracture dilation area and fluid pressure distribution provide a basis to improve the development of a multiphysics inverse model. Furthermore, in an iteratively coupled scheme, this pressure distribution can be introduced into EM models to render a holistic view of the causative mechanisms for the surface signal anomalies.

02 PETROLEUM↗

DOE OSTI2013

Repackaging of High Fissile TRU Waste at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center - 13240

Twenty-six drums of high fissile transuranic (TRU) waste from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) operations were declared waste in the mid-1980's and placed in storage with the legacy TRU waste inventory for future treatment and disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Repackaging and treatment of the waste at the TRU Waste Packaging Center (TWPC) will require the installation of additional equipment and capabilities to address the hazards for handling and repackaging the waste compared to typical Contact Handled (CH) TRU waste that is processed at the TWPC, including potential hydrogen accumulation in legacy 6M/2R packaging configurations, potential presence of reactive plutonium hydrides, and significant low energy gamma radiation dose rates. All of the waste is anticipated to be repackaged at the TWPC and certified for disposal at WIPP. The waste is currently packaged in multiple layers of containers which presents additional challenges for repackaging activities due to the potential for the accumulation of hydrogen gas in the container headspace in quantities than could exceed the Lower Flammability Limit (LFL). The outer container for each waste package is a stainless steel 0.21 m{sup 3} (55-gal) drum which contains either a 0.04 m{sup 3} or 0.06 m{sup 3} (10-gal or 15-gal) 6M drum. The inner 2R container in each 6M drum is ∼12 cm (5 in) outside diameter x 30-36 cm (12-14 in) long and is considered to be a > 4 liter sealed container relative to TRU waste packaging criteria. Inside the 2R containers are multiple configurations of food pack cans, pipe nipples, and welded capsules. The waste contains significant quantities of high burn-up plutonium oxides and metals with a heavy weight percentage of higher atomic mass isotopes and the subsequent in-growth of significant quantities of americium. Significant low energy gamma radiation is expected to be present due to the americium in-growth. Radiation dose rates on inner containers are estimated to be 1-3 mSv/hr (100-300 mrem/hr) with an unshielded dose rate on the waste itself of over 10 mSv/hr (1 rem/hr). Additional equipment to be installed at the TWPC will include a new perma-con enclosure and a shielded/inert glovebox in the process building to repackage and stabilize the waste. All of the waste will be repackaged into Standard Pipe Overpacks. Most of the waste (21 of the 26 drums) is expected to be repackaged at the food-pack can level (i.e. the food-pack cans will not be opened). Five of the incoming waste containers are expected to be repackaged at the primary waste level. Three of the containers exceed the 200 gram Pu-239 Fissile Gram Equivalent (FGE) limit for the Standard Pipe Overpack. These three containers will be repackaged down to the primary waste level and divided into eight Standard Pipe Overpacks for shipment to WIPP. Two containers must be stabilized to eliminate any reactive plutonium hydrides that may be present. These containers will be opened in the inert, shielded glovebox, and the remaining corroded plutonium metal converted to a stable oxide form by using a 600 deg. C tube furnace with controlled oxygen feed in a helium carrier gas. The stabilized waste will then be packaged into two Standard Pipe Overpacks. Design and build out activities for the additional repackaging capabilities at the TWPC are scheduled to begin in Fiscal Year 2013 with repackaging, stabilization, and certification activities scheduled to begin in Fiscal Year 2014. Following repackaging and stabilization activities, the Standard Pipe Overpacks will be certified for disposal at WIPP utilizing Non-Destructive Examination (NDE) to verify the absence of prohibited items and Non-Destructive Assay (NDA) to verify the isotopic content under the TWPC WIPP certification program implemented by the Central Characterization Project (CCP). (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2014

The Integrated Basin-Scale Opportunity Assessment Initiative: Pilot Assessment for the Deschutes River Basin

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Wind and Water Power Technologies Office provided funding to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and Argonne National Laboratory to develop an approach for assessing a river basin as an integrated system within the context of existing uses and environmental conditions to identify opportunities for sustainable hydropower development and environmental improvements. Called the Integrated Basin-Scale Opportunity Assessment Initiative (BSOA Initiative), the project is one of seven action items of the March 24, 2010 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Sustainable Hydropower. Early efforts of the BSOA Initiative focused on forming a National Steering Committee, identifying potential basins for opportunity assessments, methodologies for stakeholder engagement, existing and needed analytical tools, barriers to the opportunity assessment process, and significant data gaps. One of the key outcomes was identifying a need for better collaborative decision-making tools that can be used by stakeholders. In response to this need, the Basin-Scale Project Team chose a scenario-based modeling approach for assessing hydropower, environmental, and other water-use opportunities. The approach involved the development of a daily hydrologic model for the Upper Deschutes River and Lower Crooked River subbasins to simulate alternative water management scenarios. Two example scenarios were constructed to demonstrate the use of the hydrologic model to explore three management goals in the Deschutes Basin: 1) increasing hydropower assets by adding new generation at existing dams or diversions and in existing irrigation canals or conduits, 2) increasing instream flows to benefit fish and aquatic ecosystems, and 3) maintaining existing water uses (primarily irrigation). Actions to achieve these goals were simulated by incrementally increasing minimum flow requirements during the storage season and reducing water demands during the irrigation season, while simulating hydropower generation at non-powered dams and in irrigation canals. As part of the effort to demonstrate scenario-based modeling, the project team also developed a web-based data-visualization interface for synthesizing modeling results. The interface allows users to view model results in raw form (daily flow) or in the form of value-based metrics that are based on specific information needs expressed by stakeholders (e.g., how often flow exceeds a conservation flow target at a certain location). In addition to the modeling efforts, 29 potential hydropower sites (14 non-powered dams, 15 canal/conduit sites) were evaluated for their technical and economic feasibility using ORNL’s Hydropower Energy and Economic Assessment tool. Results of the feasibility assessment indicated that eight of the sites (four non-powered dams, four canals/conduits) may be feasible and could add approximately 19 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric capacity in the basin and generate over 78 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy per year. The approach presented here is intended to encourage consideration of methods that emphasize exploration of a range of potential management actions that may achieve a better balance among multiple, and often conflicting, management goals. It is important to consider the approach as an iterative and collaborative process focused on moving debates beyond agreement about an exact target that is acceptable to all parties to a discussion of how stakeholders can better understand how achieving their goals interacts with the achievement of goals by other stakeholder groups. By exploring the results of the model in this way, stakeholders are more likely to narrow the bounds of interest so that more in-depth analysis can be completed.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗