Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Energy Education”

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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Playa de Ponce's Advancements in Energy Affordability and Reliability

Un Nuevo Amanecer Inc. (UNA), a community-based nonprofit organization, partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project (ETIPP) to develop a Strategic Energy Plan (SEP) for the community of Playa de Ponce on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The SEP provides a community-driven roadmap to improve local energy systems by identifying shared priorities, strategies, and actions that support a more reliable, affordable, and resilient energy future. Over a seven-month period, researchers from the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) worked with UNA, the Puerto Rico Hispanic Federation, community leaders, and residents to gather input through engagement workshops held in March and June 2025. These discussions helped define the community's energy vision and identify key challenges, including high electricity costs, unreliable service during extreme weather events, and risks to public health and safety - particularly for the community's aging population. This fact sheet summarizes the key elements of the Strategic Energy Plan, including four priority strategies organized around three focus areas identified by the community: energy reliability, safety and security, and stakeholder participation, education, and capacity building. Together, these strategies outline actionable pathways to strengthen Playa de Ponce's energy resilience and support long-term community goals. The plan serves as a shared reference for community members, local organizations, and government partners working to advance energy solutions in Playa de Ponce and complements broader municipal and island-wide planning efforts.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Playa de Ponce's Advancements in Energy Affordability and Reliability (Spanish Translation)

Un Nuevo Amanecer Inc. (UNA), a community-based nonprofit organization, partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project (ETIPP) to develop a Strategic Energy Plan (SEP) for the community of Playa de Ponce on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The SEP provides a community-driven roadmap to improve local energy systems by identifying shared priorities, strategies, and actions that support a more reliable, affordable, and resilient energy future. Over a seven-month period, researchers from the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) worked with UNA, the Puerto Rico Hispanic Federation, community leaders, and residents to gather input through engagement workshops held in March and June 2025. These discussions helped define the community's energy vision and identify key challenges, including high electricity costs, unreliable service during extreme weather events, and risks to public health and safety - particularly for the community's aging population. This fact sheet summarizes the key elements of the Strategic Energy Plan, including four priority strategies organized around three focus areas identified by the community: energy reliability, safety and security, and stakeholder participation, education, and capacity building. Together, these strategies outline actionable pathways to strengthen Playa de Ponce's energy resilience and support long-term community goals. The plan serves as a shared reference for community members, local organizations, and government partners working to advance energy solutions in Playa de Ponce and complements broader municipal and island-wide planning efforts. This is the Spanish translation of NLR/FS-7A40-99609.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Building Science Education for Solar Decathlon: Emissions and the Built Environment [Slides]

The Solar Decathlon Building Science Education series is designed to educate students and working professionals on building science principles that are paramount to the successful design of high-performance, energy-efficient buildings. Instructional content is presented in modules, covering specific topics. Altogether, this series aims to educate viewers on: 1) where/how energy is used in buildings; 2) how to define zero energy buildings; 3) how to apply the fundamentals of thermodynamics to building envelope design; 4) how to explain the science of how/why buildings use energy; 5) how to apply this knowledge to design comfortable energy efficient buildings. Students and working professionals can use this educational information at no cost to complement academic curriculum and continuing education activities. This is Module 7 which focuses on embodied environmental carbon.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Design and Modeling of an Open-Source Baseline Floating Marine Turbine: Preprint

Marine energy resources such as river, tidal, and ocean currents can provide abundant, predictable, and clean power to both densely populated and remote communities globally. However, marine turbine technologies are still in an early stage of development. Recently, features have been added to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's open-source wind turbine modeling tool OpenFAST to support the simulation of axial-flow marine turbines. These new features enable marine energy developers to predict the performance and safety of their turbines and allow researchers and students to advance the field through the exploration of novel designs. Developing and demonstrating the new capabilities of OpenFAST for marine turbines requires a baseline design that can be used as an example and test case. There are limited open-source turbine models suitable for this purpose. One existing baseline design is the Reference Model 1 (RM1), a fixed-bottom, dual-rotor marine turbine that was published in 2014 as part of the Department of Energy's Water Power Reference Model Project. To test and demonstrate OpenFAST's ability to model floating marine turbines, several modifications were made to the RM1. A floating platform and mooring system were designed to support a single RM1 rotor in a wide range of possible current and wave conditions. The system and model are intended to be a stable reference case and starting point for research efforts. The platform features all cylindrical members and familiar design elements from the offshore wind industry; the mooring system uses simple catenary chains. While not optimized for the lowest platform cost, the design is understandable and robust and can serve as a baseline for floating marine turbine technologies. This is a useful starting point for studies to explore new technologies or design methodologies. Additionally, the floating RM1 design enables cross-collaboration among industry, academia, and national lab researchers and serves as an educational platform for newcomers to marine energy. This short paper presents the specifications of the turbine, including its floating support structure and mooring system. The rationale behind the selection of certain design parameters is described. To enable adoption of this baseline case for research and educational efforts, an OpenFAST model of the full system has been made publicly available at https://github.com/OpenFAST/r-test/tree/main/glue-codes/openfast/MHK_RM1_Floating.

floating↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hands-On PV Experience (HOPE) Workshop, Final Technical Report FY22-FY24

The Hands-On Photovoltaics Experience, or HOPE, is a one-week school held at NLR each summer to educate graduate student photovoltaic researchers in the fundamentals of photovoltaics (PV) as well as specific cell technologies and measurement & characterization techniques. The program brings students from universities across the U.S. and their faculty advisors to spend a week in an in-depth, intensive program, including hands-on lab experiences in solar cell fabrication and testing. This program is intended to educate the students and increase collaboration among the students, their advising faculty, and staff at NLR. Our survey results consistently indicate high satisfaction with this program and good student outcomes post-HOPE. HOPE is a selective program with a competitive application process and is limited to 12-20 students each year. Keeping the program small enables a high level of interaction among the students and individualized attention from the faculty and staff.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Clean Energy Employment Impacts and Occupational Analyses: Building Envelope & Electrification Upgrades

Under the Communities LEAP (Local Energy Action Program) Pilot, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is working with a group of LEAP communities to bolster workforce development initiatives and support the growth of local employment in the clean energy economy. Through this resource, DOE seeks to provide participating communities with an overview of the types of occupations that could be affected by investments in building envelope and building electrification upgrades in existing building stock - differentiating between the residential and commercial sectors. This occupational analysis is intended to be used by communities to inform workforce initiatives (e.g., local training and education programs) as they implement building energy efficiency and electrification projects at scale.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Portable Wave Tank and Wave Energy Converter for Engineering Dissemination and Outreach

Wave energy converters are a nascent energy generation technology that harnesses the power in ocean waves. To assist in communicating both fundamental and complex concepts of wave energy, a small-scale portable wave tank and wave energy converter have been developed. The system has been designed using commercial off-the-shelf components, and all design hardware and software are openly available for replication. This project builds on prior research conducted at Sandia National Laboratories, particularly in the areas of WEC device design and control systems. By showcasing the principles of causal feedback control and innovative device design, SIWEED not only serves as a practical demonstration tool but also enhances the educational experience for users. This paper presents the detailed system design of this tool. Furthermore, via testing and analysis, we demonstrate the basic functionality of the system.

educational↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Continuum from Energy Codes to Advanced Technologies: A New Approach to Training

In July of 2020, the unamended 2018 IECC became the statewide energy code for the state of Nebraska. This represented a significant energy code advancement over the previous code – the 2009 IECC. To support the implementation of the new code, the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA), along with in-state partners, including the Nebraska Energy Office and the Nebraska Code Officials Association, applied for and received a FOA award for an integrated and innovative training and education program.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Broadening the scope of Education, Career and Open Science in HEP

High Energy Particle Physics (HEP) faces challenges over the coming decades with a need to attract young people to the field and STEM careers, as well as a need to recognize, promote and sustain those in the field who are making important contributions to the research effort across the many specialties needed to deliver the science. Such skills can also serve as attractors for students who may not want to pursue a PhD in HEP but use them as a springboard to other STEM careers. This paper reviews the challenges and develops strategies to correct the disparities to help transform the particle physics field into a stronger and more diverse ecosystem of talent and expertise, with the expectation of long-lasting scientific and societal benefits.

Malik, Sudhir↗
DOE OSTI2025

EnergyPlus-MCP: A model-context-protocol server for ai-driven building energy modeling

Traditional building energy modeling with the EnergyPlus building performance simulation engine requires domain expertise, programming skills, and intensive manual efforts limiting its effective adoption. This paper introduces EnergyPlus-MCP, the first open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) server specifically designed for EnergyPlus simulation workflows, establishing a new foundational infrastructure for AI-driven building energy modeling. The MCP server implements a layered architecture with 35 specialized tools spanning model management, editing and analysis, HVAC and other systems configuration inspection, and simulation execution, enabling Large Language Models to interact with EnergyPlus through conversational interfaces. The server addresses critical workflow barriers by automating model validation, streamlining energy efficiency measures modification, and providing intelligent output management with interactive visualization. Through practical demonstrations using a multi-zone building retrofit analysis, we show how the EnergyPlus-MCP server significantly reduces manual efforts while maintaining full simulation rigor. By providing accessible natural language interfaces to sophisticated building energy analysis, this approach enables scalable deployment of simulation expertise across public and private organizations, educational institutions, and research teams, fundamentally transforming traditional building energy modeling practices.

AI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Low-Income Energy Affordability Data - LEAD Tool - 2022 Update

The Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool was created by the Better Building's Clean Energy for Low Income Communities Accelerator (CELICA) to help state and local partners understand housing and energy characteristics for the low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities they serve. The LEAD Tool provides estimated LMI household energy data based on income, energy expenditures, fuel type, housing type, and geography, which stakeholders can use to make data-driven decisions when planning for their energy goals. From the LEAD Tool website, users can also create and download customized heat-maps and charts for various geographies, housing, energy characteristics, and population demographics and educational attainment. Datasets are available for 50 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., along with their cities, counties, and census tracts, as well as tribal areas. The file below, "01. Description of Files," provides a list of all files included in this dataset. A description of the abbreviations and units used in the LEAD Tool data can be found in the file below titled "02. Data Dictionary 2022". A list of geographic regions used in the LEAD Tool can be found in files 04-11. The Low-Income Energy Affordability Data comes primarily from the 2022 U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-Year Public Use Microdata Samples and is calibrated to 2022 U.S. Energy Information Administration electric utility (Survey Form-861) and natural gas utility (Survey Form-176) data. The methodology for the LEAD Tool can viewed below (3. Methodology Document). For more information, and to access the interactive LEAD Tool platform, please visit the "10. LEAD Tool Platform" resource link below. For more information on the Better Building's Clean Energy for Low Income Communities Accelerator (CELICA), please visit the "11. CELICA Website" resource below.

AMI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Characterizing Plug Load Energy Use and Savings Potential in Army Buildings

The Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy and Environment) tasked the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to examine plug loads in typical Army buildings. Plug loads (also known as miscellaneous electric loads (MELs)) represent the electricity used by appliances and devices that are plugged in or hardwired and serve functions outside of a building’s core end uses. Common plug loads include computers, printers, copiers, networking devices, refrigerators, and vending machines. They also include personal electronic devices such as televisions, smart phones, tablets, and gaming systems. Examples of hardwired MELs include elevators, air compressors, and fire and security systems. The findings from this study confirm that significant energy is consumed within Army buildings by plug load devices and hardwired MEL equipment. A number of opportunities are identified for reducing unnecessary energy use that could save the Army over $5 million per year when broadly applied. Army regulations clearly spell out expectations for the purchase and operation of information technology equipment (computers, laptops, monitors, printers, and multi-function devices). However, the policies regarding the shutdown or activation of sleep and other lower power modes after 30 minutes of inactivity (15 minutes for monitors) do not appear to be consistently followed. There are many effective approaches and pathways for impacting change as it relates to improving awareness, implementing measures, and adjusting behaviors to identify and reduce plug load energy use. The Army should prioritize and consider deploying all of these to better understand and manage plug load equipment to save energy and enhance resilience across their facilities. Engaging the building occupants who use these devices daily via outreach and education should be a strong component of the strategy. The focus should be on reducing waste without sacrificing productivity or the benefits that many of these devices provide. Continued evaluation of plug loads beyond that performed here is important to gather lessons from additional building and equipment types, and to stay aware of evolving device technology and management options. This will highlight additional needs for policies, best practices, control technologies, and education of personnel to achieve real reductions in energy waste from plug load equipment. It is recommended that this study may serve as the foundation for a broader and sustained focus on plug loads and MELs, towards simultaneously enhancing the productivity, readiness, and resilience of the Army while reducing energy use and demand, and freeing up resources to better support the mission.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Alabama Industrial Assessment Center: Training Students and Sustaining Industry (Final Report)

The overarching goal of this project is to educate and train engineering students in energy management protocols. The centerpiece of the program is achieved by delivering direct energy-management assistance to manufacturers through industrial assessments and workshops. Additional facets are achieved through report writing, formal curricular coursework, and on-line/self-directed training. This program delivered significant workforce development in the area of energy management practices. Participants in the program received hands-on experience in real-world industrial energy usage and management practices. Additionally, the industrial manufacturers received benefit of collective energy management skills of the research team towards reducing energy consumption at their sites. These activities are beneficial to the public in two ways. First, the trained participants from the program will move out into the manufacturing sector and propagate the energy management expertise they gathered during the program. This is a long-term benefit that will pay back to society over many years. Second, the manufacturers that receive energy assistance under the program realize a direct and immediate increase in their energy efficiency.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2026

Fall 2025 Solar Industry Update [Slides]

Each quarter, the National Laboratory of the Rockies conducts the Quarterly Solar Industry Update, a presentation of technical trends within the solar industry. Each presentation focuses on global and U.S. supply and demand, module and system price, investment trends and business models, and updates on U.S. government programs supporting the solar industry.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

CyberStrike STORMCLOUD

This presentation will be shared at the "Securing Solar for the Grid (S2G)" workshop at RE+ 2023. It provides an overview of the work INL and Sandia have done to develop CyberStrike STORMCLOUD, a training program was designed to enhance the ability of renewable energy and operators to prepare for a cyber incident impacting industrial control systems with specific considerations of the architectures and limitations of renewable energy.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Industrial Assessment Center for Energy Efficiency, Smart Manufacturing and Cyber Security of Illinois and Northwestern Indiana Small and Medium Sized Manufacturing Companies and Water Facilities (Final Technical Report)

The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) established and implemented a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) from September 1, 2016 through December 31, 2021. The established UIC IAC focused on providing 1) technical assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and water and wastewater facilities in Illinois and northwestern Indiana and 2) education and training university students developing the future energy workforce. The technical assessments incorporated energy efficiency, increasing productivity via smart manufacturing, energy management systems, enhancing on-site cyber security practices, and the promotion of DOE best practices and tools. The educational training enabled UIC faculty and staff to provide classroom education, exposure to industry research, multiple targeted training sessions, real world experience with industry professionals, and live training to implement professional grade audits and recommendations.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗