Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “technical and economic potential”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1978

Solar Energy Economics Revisited: The Promise and Challenge of Orbiting Reflectors for World Energy Supply

A system of orbiting, large-area, low mass density reflector satellites which provide nearly continuous solar energy to a world-distributed set of conversion sites is examined under the criteria for any potential new energy system: technical feasibility, significant and renewable energy impact, economic feasibility and social/political acceptability. Although many technical issues need further study, reasonable advances in space technology appear sufficient to implement the system. The enhanced insolation is shown to greatly improve the economic competitiveness of solar-electric generation to circa 1995 fossil/nuclear alternatives. The system is shown to have the potential for supplying a significant fraction of future domestic and world energy needs. Finally, the environmental and social issues, including a means for financing such a large shift to a world solar energy dependence, is addressed.

Billman, Kenneth W.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Improved components for engine fuel savings

The Engine Component Improvement (ECI) Project formulated to address near term improvements for current engines is described with emphasis on the development of component technologies to reduce the fuel consumption of CF6, JT9D, and JT8D engines. The technical and economical acceptability and the fuel saving potential of nine concepts are demonstrated. Descriptions of these concepts, results of testing, and the status as to entering airline service are presented. Also presented is the status of the remaining concepts still under development.

Antl, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Observational Requirements and Measurement Systems Concepts

Six philosophical elements that a measurement strategy for dynamic qualities should contain are: systemic global observations; nested coverage; continuous upgrading of observational capability and testing of promising instrument concepts; orbit considerations; quality control: data validity and management; and data interpretation. The criteria for determining an observational program should include the following: significance of the primary scientific questions, technical readiness; potential of undeveloped techniques, engineering and economic feasibility; and data access and data systems.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

Oblique wing supersonic transport concepts

The economic and technical features of two SST concepts that offer the potential of reducing the impact of the environmental constraints on the aircraft design and performance are presented. The potential economic performance of these aircraft is referenced to equivalent passenger size subsonic designs employing consistent design guidelines and assumptions. Total operating cost and airline return on investment are utilized for the economic comparisons.

Galloway, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS1981

Fuel cells feasibility

The technical and economic status of fuel cells is assessed with emphasis on their potential benefits to the Deep Space Network. The fuel cell, what it is, how it operates, and what its outputs are, is reviewed. Major technical problems of the fuel cell and its components are highlighted. Due to these problems and economic considerations it is concluded that fuel cells will not become commercially viable until the early 1990s.

Schonfeld, D.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Benefits and Challenges of California Offshore Wind Electricity: An Updated Assessment

Offshore wind (OSW) technology has recently been included in California’s plans to achieve 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045. As an emerging technology, many features of OSW are changing more rapidly than established renewable options and are shaped by local circumstances in unique ways that limit transferrable experiences globally. This paper fills a gap in the literature by providing an updated technological assessment of OSW in California to determine its viability and competitiveness in the state’s electricity generation mix to achieve its near-term energy and environmental goals. Through a critical synthesis and extrapolation of technical, social, and economic analyses, we identify several major improvements in its potential. First, we note that while estimates of OSW’s costs per MWh of installed capacity have generally documented and projected a long-term decline, recent technical, microeconomic, and macroeconomic factors have caused significant backsliding of this momentum. Second, we project that the potential dollar value benefits of OSW’s greenhouse gas reduction capabilities have increased by one to two orders of magnitude, primarily due to major upward revisions of the social cost of carbon. Several co-benefits, including enhanced reliability, economic growth, and environmental justice, look to be increasingly promising due to a combination of technological advances and policy initiatives. Despite these advancements, OSW continues to face several engineering and broader challenges. We assess the current status of these challenges, as well as current and future strategies to address them. We conclude that OSW is now overall an even more attractive electricity-generating option than at the beginning of this decade.

Rose, Adam (ORCID:0000000333477684)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Use of Operating Agreements and Energy Storage to Reduce Photovoltaic Interconnection Costs: Technical and Economic Analysis

This report presents an analytical methodology to identify alternative options to manage interconnection costs and streamline interconnection timelines for distribution system-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems not co-located with load. Specifically, the report details the methodology and results of an analysis that: 1. Identifies potential grid violations that would be induced by a PV system requesting interconnection to a distribution circuit; 2. Identifies multiple technically viable options for mitigating the potential violations, including infrastructure upgrades, downsizing the PV system size, curtailment of PV, and addition of battery energy storage; 3. Defines the required technical operating parameters of the system in order to mitigate all potential violations (the "Operating Envelope"); 4. Compares the economics of each option, from the PV developer's perspective. The analysis supports the ongoing evolution of interconnection standards for combined PV and energy storage systems by providing a methodology to define allowable maximum export limits during each hour. The methodology presented could be used by utilities as part of the interconnection study process, to inform negotiations with DER developers and the drafting of mutually acceptable interconnection agreements. The resulting technical operating parameters could be included as part of the interconnection service agreement (ISA) between the system owner and the utility company. The companion report to this analysis, Gill et al. (2022), details the envisioned framework for the implementation of the technical operating parameters.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Enhancing Building Energy Efficiency through Advanced Sizing and Dispatch Methods for Energy Storage

Energy storage and electrification of buildings hold great potential for future decarbonization. However, there are several technical and economic barriers that prevent large-scale adoption and integration of energy storage in buildings. These barriers include integration with building control systems, high capital costs, and the necessity to identify and quantify value streams for different stakeholders. To overcome these obstacles, it is crucial to develop advanced sizing and dispatch methods to assist planning and operational decision-making for integrating energy storage in buildings. This work develops simple and flexible optimal sizing and dispatch framework for thermal energy storage (TES) and battery energy storage (BES) systems in large-scale office building. The optimal sizes of TES, BES, as well as other building assets are determined in a joint manner instead of sequentially to avoid sub-optimal solutions. The interaction between the sizing at the planning stage and hourly or sub-hourly dispatch at the operating stage is explicitly modeled. The solution is determined considering both capital costs in optimal sizing and operational benefits in optimal dispatch. Comprehensive assessments are performed using simulation studies to quantify potential energy, economic, and emission benefits by different utility tariffs and climate locations, to improve our understanding of the techno-economic performance of different TES and BES systems, and to identify barriers for adopting energy storage for buildings. Finally, the proposed framework will provide guidance to a broad range of stakeholders to properly design energy storage in buildings and maximizes potential benefits, thereby advancing affordable building energy storage deployment and helping us accelerating the transition towards a cleaner and more equitable energy economy.

Yu, Mingyung↗
DOE OSTI2024

Developing socially and economically generative, resilient PV-energy systems for low- and moderate-income communities: Applications for Puerto Rico (Final Technical Report)

The nexus of energy and poverty is one of the most significant long-term challenges facing the energy and electricity sectors, with negative feedback loops between energy-related costs, risks, and insecurities, on the one hand, and diverse other social and economic insecurities, on the other, helping to undermine health, wellbeing, and resilience in low- and moderate-income communities around the US and the world (Biswas et al. 2022). The transition of energy systems to clean energy alternatives offers a potential opportunity to redesign future energy arrangements in ways that, instead, create beneficial social value for communities, reverses the energy-poverty nexus, and enhances community wellbeing (Biswas et al. 2020; Miller et al. 2018). The promise of clean energy transitions to address the energy-poverty nexus is especially significant when designed using principles of just energy transitions. To leverage just clean energy transitions to accomplish a reversal of the energy-poverty nexus requires improvement in three capabilities: (1) Understanding and mapping the community-scale dynamics and variability of the energy-poverty nexus, which vary considerably from community to community; (2) Evaluating the technical, social, and economic potential for different clean energy system designs to deliver social value to specific communities; and (3) Working collaboratively with communities to imagine and design clean energy systems solutions that meet their needs, fit their capabilities and contexts, and deliver multiple forms of community-desired social value/benefits that help reverse key facets of the energy-poverty nexus. This project developed a portfolio of novel tools, methodological approaches, and collaborative partnerships with four communities in Puerto Rico that further the objective of building these three capabilities.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1988

Communications satellite systems operations with the space station. Volume 3: Supplementary technical report

The NASA space station has the potential to provide significant economic benefits to commercial communications satellite operators. The initial reports qunatified the benefits of space-based activities and assessed the impacts on the satellite design and the space station. Results are given for the following additional tasks: quantify the value of satellite retrievability operations and define its operational aspects; evaluate the use of expendable launch vehicles for transportation of satellites from the Earth to the space station; and quantify the economic value of modular satellites that are assembled and serviced in space.

Price, K. M.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Addressing Regulatory Challenges to Tribal Solar Deployment: Preprint

Although Tribal land represents more than 5% of the solar photovoltaic technical potential in the United States, this resource is largely untapped due to a range of barriers, including complex project economics, Tribal technical and human resource capacity, project funding and financing obstacles, and regulatory challenges. To identify and better understand the regulatory barriers, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association (MTERA) engaged Tribes, utilities, and regulators. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the 3-year effort seeks to address regulatory challenges or barriers that affect Tribal solar projects differently - specifically or disproportionately because they are located on Tribal lands. This paper, largely excerpted from a comprehensive (draft) guidebook released by NREL and MTERA, provides an overview of 13 key regulatory barriers identified through this research, as well as potential short- and long-term solutions. In addition, the paper points to potential pathways for addressing key barriers through case studies highlighting successful Tribal solar projects along with considerations for stakeholders working with Tribes. These resources can support stakeholders in creating meaningful relationships and pursuing workable solar projects.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

A review of thermal and thermocatalytic valorization of food waste

Food waste (FW) remains a global challenge due to the increasing demand for food production to support a growing global population and the lack of effective waste management technologies for recycling and upcycling. Unique compounds in FW – such as carbohydrates, proteins, lignin, fats, and extractives – can be repurposed to produce important biobased fuels, bulk chemicals, dietary supplements, adsorbents, and antibacterial products, among many others. We review the thermal and thermocatalytic FW valorization strategies and the fundamental pathways. We discuss the potential integration of various valorization processes, their economic viability, the technical and marketing challenges, and the need for further developments. By overcoming several technical hurdles, repurposing FW into modular plants can create exciting economic and environmental prospects.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1979

The Solar Power Satellite concept - Towards the future

An evolutionary program phasing with respect to the development of a Solar Power Satellite (SPS) is considered, taking into account concept identification, concept evaluation, exploratory research, space technology projects, system development, and commercial operations. At the present time the concept evaluation phase of the program is underway. This phase is scheduled for completion in 1980. It will result in a recommendation as to whether the concept should be explored further and if so, in what manner. The recommendation will be based on technical feasibility, economic and environmental considerations, and comparisons with other potential systems of the future. It is premature to speculate on the conclusions and recommendations from the evaluation program as to whether the program should proceed to the next phase.

Kraft, C. C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Group Task Force on Satellite Rescue and Repair

The Group Task Force was chartered by the Administrator of NASA to recommend 'a policy outlining the criteria, the design standards, and the pricing model to guide NASA in assessing the responsibilities for government and nongovernment Satellite Rescue and Repair Missions.' Criteria for accepting such missions, risks, and benefits to all sectors of our economy involved in satellite services, adequacy of planning and training, and the impact on NASA's primary mission were reviewed. The Group began by asking a more fundamental question; is satellite rescue and repair a logical element of NASA's mission? Factors considered were: (1) the probability of rescue or repair opportunities arising; (2) the economic justification for such attempts; (3) the benefits to NASA, both from such ad hoc learning experiences in space operations and the impact on the public perception of NASA; (4) the effect of such unanticipated missions on NASA's scheduled activities; (5) any potential effect on NASA's technical capability to work in space; and (6) any potential effect on U.S. economic competitiveness.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2020

Economic Extraction and Recovery of REEs and Production of Clean Value-Added Products from Low-Rank Coal Fly Ash

The University of North Dakota (UND) Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) teamed with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) , the North Dakota Industrial Commission Lignite Research Program, and commercial partners Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Great River Energy, and Southern Company to execute a Cooperative Agreement funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) focused on identifying unique pathways and pretreatments to extract rare-earth elements (REEs) from low-rank coal (LRC) ash in a more economical and environmentally benign manner than current methods. The EERC drew upon the unique and deep knowledge of the team regarding LRC geochemistry, ash transformation mechanisms during combustion, and fly ash chemistry in the approach to understand the portioning of REEs in LRC ash. A comprehensive characterization effort was undertaken to fully establish the form, associations, and partitioning of the REEs and other elements/minerals of interest in fly ash, as well as the ash chemistry, mineralogy, and morphology. Using this information, the team tested methods of REE extraction to take advantage of the unique and advantageous properties of LRC ash. Multiple complementary approaches were evaluated that combined both novel and proven methods to develop an extractive process for REEs and other high-value metals from LRC ash that provide technological and economic progress on the current state of the art. Methodologies were also evaluated for the potential to synergistically remove toxic metals while extracting other high-value metals from the ash, generating a clean, safe ash material as a value-added product. This would eliminate waste and offer significant additional revenue potential. Based on laboratory-scale testing, an initial high-level technical and economic analysis to estimate operating expenses and product revenues to guide future phases of technology development was implemented. By focusing on minimizing process steps and consumptive use of extraction solutions, a tunable, economically viable process for REE extraction from LRC ash was developed. The tunable process has the ability to be adjusted to adapt to the differing ash chemical and physical properties that are characteristic of LRC ash. This is key to deployment as a commercial process. In demonstrating the process, the EERC was able to illustrate mixed REE concentration greater than the goal of 2 wt%. High-level economic analysis of the process with LRC ash of moderate REE levels demonstrated the potential of the process, but recovery of just the REEs was insufficient to cover operational costs. With the additional extraction of other high-value metals found in LRC ash, the process economics approach would break even, and it is anticipated that with process optimization, the developed process could potentially be economically sound. The same economic analysis performed utilizing LRC ash with high levels of REEs showed the recovery of the REEs alone would make the process economically viable even without further optimization.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tightest Mixed-Integer Programming Formulations for Quadratic SCUC Optimization

In this project, we developed new, tighter Mixed-Integer Programming (MIP) formulations for the combined Alternating Current (AC) Security-Constrained Unit Commitment (SCUC) and Security-Constrained Optimal Power Flow (SCOPF). The work addresses a critical challenge in power system operations: efficiently determining which generation units to commit and how to optimally dispatch them while maintaining network reliability constraints for both normal and contingency scenarios. Our efforts: 1. Advance the Understanding of SCUC/SCOPF Modeling: By introducing tighter MIP formulations and leveraging cutting-edge optimization tools (Julia/JuMP, PowerModels.jl), this project has pushed forward the state of the art in efficient power systems scheduling. 2. Enhance Technical and Economic Feasibility: The methods developed provide more accurate and potentially faster solutions to large-scale, realistic scheduling and dispatch problems in electric power systems, which can translate into improved reliability and potentially lower costs for grid operations. 3. Benefit to the Public: Greater efficiency in power system operations leads to cost savings for utilities and end-users. Improved reliability and integration of advanced modeling approaches can facilitate the adoption of clean energy resources and better accommodate uncertainties in renewable generation. Because this technology could impact bulk power markets and reliability, these innovations have far-reaching public benefits in terms of cost savings, reliability, and sustainability.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Preliminary Analysis of Nuclear-Powered Data Center Scenarios

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the potential for nuclear energy to meet the growing energy demands of data centers (DCs). It evaluates the technical, economic, and socio-environmental implications of coupling Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) with DCs, providing initial responses to several key research questions: What is the potential increased energy demand from DCs in the U.S., in the short, medium and long term? The U.S. is experiencing a rapid increase in energy demand from DCs, with projections indicating a total increase of 24-74 GWy(e) by 2028. Meeting this demand with nuclear energy would require 27–85 GWe of installed capacity. While this surge is expected to slow in the long term, the DC industry needs reliable, scalable, and clean energy sources. How much nuclear capacity can be deployed to meet DC demand and in which timeframe? Several pathways for increasing nuclear capacity were identified, including uprates, restarts of recently retired reactors, power purchase agreements with existing fleet, and new construction. Approximately 20‒28 GWe of nuclear capacity could be dedicated to DCs by the early 2030s. How much High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) would be needed to support some nuclear deployment scenarios for DCs? Meeting the deployment targets announced by Google and Amazon for the Kairos Power Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor or KP-FHR (~500 MWe by 2035) and the Xe-100 (~1 GWe by 2040), respectively, requires ramping up 19.75% enriched HALEU production to ~6 t/yr by 2040. What types of nuclear energy/DC coupling options exist, and what are the different benefits/challenges? Five coupling options were analyzed, ranging from grid-connected configurations to colocated, behind-the-meter setups. Key design considerations include the proximity to high- and/or medium-voltage transmission lines, the desired internal fault tolerance, and the sources of alternative/backup power during outages. Each coupling option offers unique benefits and challenges in terms of reliability, system costs, regulation, timeline, etc. A list of NPP/DC deployment scenarios was developed, considering existing or newly built NPP or DC projects. Colocated DCs with new small modular reactors or large reactors on greenfield and brownfield sites are the focus of this report. What types of reactors, especially what size, may be incentivized by DCs? Reactor sizing optimization revealed that the ideal reactor size and number of units depend on DC demand, coupling configurations defined in this report, and other economic factors. Larger reactors are preferred for high-demand DCs and grid-connected systems, while larger number of smaller reactors are better suited for DC configurations without grid backup. Which sites may be compatible with co-located nuclear-powered DCs? Siting those projects is a complicated evaluation factoring local water resources, grid connection availability and reliability, IT infrastructure, local work force, proximity to population zones, etc. For this effort greenfield and brownfield sites such as retired coal-fired plants were used to evaluate this question. This evaluation is not meant to recommend any particular site but it highlights key siting criteria and demonstrates large-scale site availability. What are the socio-economic impacts of co-located nuclear-powered DCs? Those projects generate substantial economic benefits to the local economy, particularly in urban settings. Hyperscale DCs colocated with nuclear power plants (sized around 1 GW of power) can create nearly 1,700 jobs for annual operations and more than 7,300 jobs among the supply chain and local businesses as a result of increased household spending. Rural projects also provide significant benefits, but at lower magnitudes compared to urban deployments.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Solar Steam on Demand

INTRODUCTION: This Report summarizes the research and development project performed by Sunvapor and the subrecipient National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) during the period of 10/01/2018-9/30/2021. The work was aimed at the economic integration of solar steam with an industrial process, and in particular, the advantages that a novel type of thermal energy storage and collector design could bring to the system. The completed work includes experimental research on the storage material, design of the collector, engineering of a complete solar steam plant, and economic analysis. The plant was, in the end, not constructed, due to COVID-19 impacts to the project host. PURPOSE: The purpose of the project was to test the hypothesis that a levelized cost of heat (LCOH) of 2¢/kWh delivered to a steam-consuming process, including energy discharged from storage, could be feasibly achieved. PROJECT OBJECTIVES: For Budget Period 1 our objectives were to engineer a prototype industrial solar steam generation system, and design and test a Latent Heat Energy Storage (LHES) lab-scale system. For Budget Period 2 our objectives were to construct and test the solar steam prototype plant, and to build and factory-test a full LHES module. For Budget Period 3 our objective was to integrate the storage module with the solar steam generator, show successful long duration energy tests of the combined system, and use the results to project the LCOH of delivered steam to a second-generation plant. PROJECT OUTCOMES: Various phase change materials (PCMs) for the LHES were tested for compatibility with industrial steam uses as measured by phase change temperature, stability of latent heat of fusion, and their corrosive effects on steel (the heat exchanger material). Two of these materials (sodium formate and sodium/ potassium) showed potential to meet the technical criteria. The estimated cost of a complete LHES module with these materials did not meet economic targets. The developmental collector design builds from previous work to exploit the potential cost advantages of a spaceframe of lumber construction. Design improvements were achieved in assembly efficiency and structural performance. A complete engineering package was completed for the solar steam system without storage that included the developmental as well as commercial arrays. The plant was permitted for construction. The storage CAPEX for a reference plant was estimate to be greater than $\$ 57$/kWh. The LCOH of the system without storage and with developmental collectors of lumber construction was projected to be 2¢/kWh, assuming a FCR of 8.2% over thirty years. PROJECT MILESTONES: The Milestones fully achieved in the first Budget Period includes obtaining a Letter of Intent from an industrial steam-consuming project host, issuance of a construction permit, and corrosion resistance. The Milestone that was partly achieved was the degradation in the latent heat of fusion. Milestones associated with Budget Periods 2 and 3, related to the construction and operation of the plant were not achieved as a result of the host shutting down the plant due to COVID-19 impacts. CONCLUSIONS: Sunvapor was able to secure an agreement with a host to build a fully engineered and permitted solar steam plant that met the host’s economic goals. As a basis for comparison, the solar field design was comprised of eight commercial collector arrays and one developmental Green Parabolic Trough Collector (GPTC) array. The projected LCOH with a solar field entirely populated with a second generation GPTC met the goal of 2¢/kWh. The experimental program concerning the PCM indicated the feasibility of meeting their technical requirements for industrial steam uses. The cost of the complete LHES exceeded its $\$ 14$/kWh target, and therefore the inclusion of LHES could not be economically justified. Due to COVID-19 impacts on the host, the solar steam plant was not constructed.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗