Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “district planning”

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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Building a functional, integrated GIS/remote sensing resource analysis and planning system

To be an effective tool for resource analysis and planning, a geographic information system (GIS) needs to be integrated with a digital remote sensing capability. To be truly functional, the paired system must be driven by grass roots local needs. A case study couched in a Soil Conservation District in northern Utah is presented. Agency representatives determined that the most fundamental data sets to be entered into the GIS system analysis system in the first round were: land use/land cover; geomorphic/soil unit data; hydrologic unit data; and digital terrain. The least expensive and best ways to obtain these data were determined. Data were acquired and formatted to enter the state's PRIME/ARC-INFO GIS, and are being interrogated for resource management decisions related to such issues as agricultural preservation, urban expansion, soil erosion control, and dam siting.

Ridd, M. K.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Calibration of urban building energy model using smart meter data for district peak load prediction

Urban building energy modeling (UBEM) is a powerful approach to assessing baseline building energy performance and retrofits with new technologies across building stocks in cities. However, the accuracy of UBEM is often constrained by the limited availability of reliable data about building characteristics and operations, such as envelope efficiency levels, HVAC system performance, and end-use load patterns. Existing research has performed UBEM calibration using annual or monthly energy consumption data, which falls short when higher-resolution time series applications are needed, such as peak load prediction for utility operation planning. This study presents a new framework for calibrating building energy models at urban scale using smart meter data, targeting the accurate prediction of summer peak electricity loads to support robust grid planning. The framework first integrates various data sources to enhance baseline input assumptions for building models, and then calibrates the baseline models through a pattern-matching approach. A case study using CityBES and two years of AMI data from over 9000 residential customers in Portland, Oregon, demonstrated the workflow and its effectiveness. The calibrated models achieved a daily peak load mean absolute percentage error of 2.6 % during the heatwave in the calibration year, and 2.0 % in the validation year using another year of AMI data. Using the calibrated models, we analyzed the demand flexibility potential of the district building stock as an application of UBEM calibration. The findings affirm the appropriate use of UBEM for peak electric load forecasting and demand side management at the utility distribution system level.

AMI data↗
DOE OSTI2023

An Architectural Survey of the Area 25 Nuclear Rocket Development Station, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada (Volume 1 of 3)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO), and the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Nevada Program (EM NV) plan to implement corrective action activities (under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, agreed to by the State of Nevada) and demolition of the Engine Maintenance, Assembly, and Disassembly (E-MAD) facility and the Test Cell C Historic District. These are major components of the unrecorded Nuclear Rocket Development Station (NRDS) Historic District, which is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP, National Register). The NRDS is in Area 25 of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), formerly known as the Nevada Test Site, in Nye County, Nevada. Demolition and removal of the buildings and accessories constitutes an undertaking subject to review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 United States Code [USC] § 306101) and its implementing regulations, 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 800.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

An Architectural Survey of the U12G Tunnel Historic District, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in conjunction with the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO), proposes to demolish six buildings and three storage areas located at the U12g Tunnel portal area in Area 12 of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The buildings are 12-358 (Signal Vault); 12-201800 (Storage Quonset Hut); 12-202555 (Walker Shack); 12-868 (Pipe Assembly); 12-B100933 (Electrical Shop); 12-B100944 (Conference Room); and Storage Area 1; Storage Area 2; and Storage Area 3. The buildings and storage areas were selected for demolition as part of the DOE’s Real Property Efficiency Plan to reduce the footprint of unused and non-operational facilities on the NNSS. They are all vacant and have no proposed uses for current or upcoming NNSS missions. Demolition activities constitute an undertaking subject to review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 United States Code [USC] § 306101) and its implementing regulations, 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 800. Identification efforts began with resources proposed for demolition in federal Fiscal Year (FY) 23. Four buildings were proposed to be demolished in FY23 (12-358, 12-868, 12-201800, and 12-202555). These buildings and the U12g Tunnel Historic District (SHPO No. D444) were recorded in Identification, Evaluation, and Finding of Adverse Effect for the Proposed Demolition of Five Buildings in Area 12, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada (Menocal et al. 2023). Identification efforts indicated three buildings (12-358, 12-201800, and 12-868) supported nuclear testing in the U12g Tunnel. The fourth building post-dated the use of U12g Tunnel for nuclear testing activities. The report recommended that three of the four buildings (12-358, 12-201800, 12-868) and the U12g Tunnel Historic District may be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The report also found that the undertaking would have an adverse effect on the three buildings and on the historic district. The Nevada State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) concurred with the report’s findings (Reed 2023). The U12g Tunnel was determined eligible as a historic district under the Secretary of the Interior’s (SOI) Significance Criterion A, at the local level, in the context of the Cold War as an underground testing environment for the development of nuclear weapons and to assess the effects of a nuclear explosion on materials and equipment with a period of significance from 1959 to 1971. It was also determined eligible under Significance Criterion C for embodying the distinctive characters of a horizontal tunnel complex used for nuclear testing and as a significant and distinguishable entity. The three buildings were determined to be contributing elements of the district. The undertaking was expanded with the addition of two buildings and three storage areas proposed to be demolished and located within U12g Tunnel Historic District in FY24. These five resources (12-B100933, 12-B100944, and Storage Areas 1, 2, and 3) were recorded in Supplemental Identification, Evaluation, and Finding of Effect for Additional Proposed Demolition at U12g Tunnel, Area 12, Nevada national Security Site, Nye County, Nevada (Brannan et al. 2024). Identification efforts indicated that the two buildings and Storage Area 1 supported nuclear testing in the U12g Tunnel. Storage Area 1 and Storage Area 2 post-dated the nuclear testing activities at U12g Tunnel and were not recommended as contributing elements to the district. The report also found that the undertaking would have an adverse effect on the newly identified buildings and one storage area and on the historic district. The SHPO concurred that the expanded undertaking would result in adverse effects to historic properties (Reed 2025). To resolve these adverse effects, NNSA/NFO, in consultation with the SHPO, is following standard mitigation as stipulated in the 2024 Programmatic Agreement DE-GM58-22NA25554 Among the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Officer and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Concerning the Protection of Historic Properties on the Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada (hereafter referred to as the NNSS PA). The standard mitigation measures are outlined in Appendix D of the NNSS PA. As such, this architectural survey has been prepared in accordance with Appendix D of the NNSS PA and follows the report format outlined in Appendix F. It includes a historic context that describes the district’s origin, history, and support functions, its significance in the context of nuclear testing on the NNSS, and identifies contributing and non-contributing elements within the district. The report is accompanied by Architectural Resource Assessment (ARA) forms for individual resources and a Historic District Resource Assessment (HDRA) for the U12g Tunnel Historic District. In total, this architectural report identified 32 primary resources within the district boundary. Six of the primary resources were previously identified as contributing elements. An additional 17 resources are recommended as contributing elements to the district for a total of 23 contributing elements. The other nine resources identified are recommended as non-contributing elements to the district.

12-201800↗
DOE OSTI2022

Irrigation Modernization Task 4: Accelerating Energy Solutions (FY2022 Final Report)

This report offers insights on energy solutions for irrigation modernization that serve the needs of farmers as well as residents and industry in the local community. Solutions are found in the irrigation districts where local generation from renewable energy sources – solar, hydro, and wind – can be combined with energy storage and customer loads. These combined resources configured in microgrids can lower costs during peak loads and provide resiliency by maintaining electricity supply during outages. The goal of this project, as stated in the FY2022 AOP, is to promote realization of energy solutions that are tailored to physical location, community, infrastructure, and energy value streams. Further, it is to develop examples of how to increase value of, and overcome barriers to, energy solutions in the context of irrigation modernization. In pursuit of that goal, the project looked at options for: 1) Reducing the cost of energy consumed in irrigation systems, 2) Increasing the revenue from surplus power generation, and 3) Deploying new power generation configured as part of a local microgrid. Potential solutions to reducing energy costs and increasing surplus power revenue revolve around addressing regulatory and legal constraints tied to how power is purchased by and sold to the irrigator or irrigation district. Some headway was made in identifying barriers and ways to push utilities to be more accommodating to distributed energy sources; however, for the most part, real progress hinges on changes at the regulatory and legislative level. Deployment of local, renewable generation systems can be implemented provided the economics of the project and the location are favorable. In concert with Famers Conservation Alliance and Energy Trust of Oregon, a number of approaches were studied in the past year, including off-grid solar powered pumps, grid-tied community solar projects, and in-conduit canal hydropower systems. Ultimately three viable projects were identified: 1) North Unit Irrigation District/City of Redmond, Oregon Critical Facility Microgrid – offers combined in-conduit hydro and solar power generation. 2) Wallowa County/Joseph, Oregon Irrigation System Upgrades – centered on upgrades to a non-powered dam that will add a turbine as well as in-conduit power in canal feeders downstream. 3) Medford, Oregon Wastewater Treatment Plant Biogas Cogeneration System – centered on building out biogas storage and grid upgrades to power the plant, sell excess power, and provide emergency backup power (supplanting a diesel generator). Each of these projects has characteristics that broaden the understanding of the value of microgrids employing renewable energy to achieve resiliency and net-zero carbon goals. The first two projects are centered on new hydropower systems. Although the Medford project is only tangentially tied to an irrigation district, it was selected for study analysis as it was the only one mature enough (with sufficient data) to complete an analysis within this project year. Thus, we chose to move forward developing a case study, in concert with the Community Water-Power Resilience project, to demonstrate a method for evaluating such projects. Essentially, this case study serves as a template for studies to be carried out next year that more directly involve irrigation system hydropower, e.g., the project at the Wallowa County/Joseph, Oregon Irrigation System. Lastly, it is recognized that the locations and case studies in this report are all located in Oregon. We recognize this as a limitation. While the intent is not to ignore other states or regions, this result is driven by the fact that we have cultivated a collaboration with non-profit entities in Oregon that focus on these topics – Farmers Conservation Alliance and Energy Trust of Oregon. These partners were central to identifying projects that may be good fits for this program. A goal in the coming year is to establish collaboration with entities in other states/regions that, similarly, can connect us to potential projects in their geographic area. The potential benefits from the WPTO’s support for demonstration projects as energy solutions in irrigation districts include: (1) Alternative power supplies for communities and farms using renewable, carbon-free energy resources, (2) Cost savings for electricity for communities and farms, (3) Resiliency of power supplies for critical loads when electricity from the grid is not available, (4) Resiliency of power supplies for critical infrastructure in the event of catastrophic events, and (5) Demonstration of irrigation modernization projects that provide resilience and a reduced carbon footprint to irrigation districts and nearby communities. These deployments can serve as vanguards/archetypes spurring similar projects in other districts and states.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2022

Embedding Climate Change in Urban Planning and Urban Design in New York City

Confronting the challenges of a rapidly urbanizing world threatened by climate change requires expanding the traditional influence and capabilities of urban planning and urban design, integrating climate science, natural systems and compact urban form to configure dynamic, desirable and healthy communities. Cost-effective planning and design measures that help mitigate emissions while bringing adaptive benefits should be prioritized. The chapter draws from the publication Climate Change and Cities (Cambridge University Press 2018) by the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN). The two-phase New York City case study by the Urban Design Climate Lab at the New York Institute of Technology and a team of international urban design climate experts illustrates how this emerging expertise can be replicated and implemented worldwide. Its focus on configuring people-centered public spaces that enhance energy efficiency and improve public health draws from four urban climate factors: improving efficiency of urban systems, both in energy and transportation; optimizing the form and layout of urban districts to enhance ventilation; promoting appropriate building materials with high reflectivity; and increasing green and blue urban infrastructure. The chapter highlights a set of tools and methods to measure success.

Resiliency↗
DOE OSTI2025

Craig Energy Center Feasibility Study

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. (“Tri-State”) provides wholesale electric power to its member cooperatives and public power districts that collectively deliver electricity to more than a million consumers in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. The Craig Power Station has been an integral part of Tri-State’s dispatchable generation fleet that ensures an affordable, reliable and resilient energy supply for its members. The ownership of the Craig Station Unit 1&2 is a collaborative between Tri-State, Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, Platte River Power Authority, PacifiCorp, and Public Service Company of Colorado and is known as the Yampa Project. Tri-State owns all of Craig Unit 3 and is the operator of all three units. All three of the Craig units have planned retirement dates that will not extend beyond 2028 and Tri-State Generation wanted to evaluate carbon-neutral emitting technologies that could provide approximately 300 megawatts (“MWs) of capacity and energy that will be lost after Unit 3 ceases operation, as well as provide a similar level of economic benefits to the Craig community. This report is to serve as a technology feasibility study constrained to the current land area available at the Craig site and was conducted based on the limitations of the region.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Future of Oaks in the Santa Monica Mountains: A Case Study in Using Remote Sensing Data for Species Distributions Models

The Woolsey Fire began on November 8, 2018, and lasted for almost two weeks, during which it burned almost 100,000 acres of valuable landscape and habitat, including a vast area of woodland. The persistence of key woodland species provides aesthetic, monetary, and ecological value to the landscape through carbon sequestration, air temperature moderation, and erosion mitigation, among other ecosystem services. This study investigated the impact of the Woolsey Fire on native woodland species distributions and identified areas suitable for restoration within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The team partnered with the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains; National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area; California Department of Parks and Recreation, Los Angeles County Division; County of Los Angeles Fire Department, Prevention Services Bureau, Forestry Division; County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning; and the University of Montana. The Earth observations used include data from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, NASA ER-2 Jet Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, and RapidEye. The team produced maps of burn severity from the Woolsey Fire, its impact on plant species distributions, and habitat suitability projections for 2050 and 2099 to assist partners in prioritizing areas for restoration. A plant community classification was successfully created using Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis (MESMA). Overall accuracy was assessed at 90.54% by comparing the classification to validation pixels derived from ground truth information provided by our partners.

Roger Ly↗
DOE OSTI2021

Potential Early Markets for Fusion Energy

We examine potential early markets for fusion energy and their projected cost targets, based on analysis and synthesis of many relevant, recent studies and reports. Seeking to provide guidance to ambitious fusion developers aspiring to enable commercial deployment before 2040, we examine cost requirements for fusion-generated electricity, process heat, and hydrogen production based on today’s market prices but with various adjustments relating to possible scenarios in 2035, such as ‘‘business-as-usual,’’ high renewables penetration, and carbon pricing up to 100 $/tCO 2 . Key findings are that fusion developers should consider focusing initially on high-priced global electricity markets and consider including integrated thermal storage, depending on techno-economic factors, in order to maximize revenue and compete in markets with high renewables penetration. Process heat and hydrogen production will be tough early markets for fusion, but may open up to fusion as markets evolve and if fusion’s levelized cost of electricity falls below 50 $/MWh e . Finally, we discuss potential ways for a fusion plant to increase revenue via cogeneration (e.g., desalination, direct air capture, or district heating) and to lower capital costs (e.g., by minimizing construction times and interest or by retrofitting coal plants).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Developing a Robust Market for CHP: A Plan for Fostering Economic Development, Business Competitiveness and Resiliency in the Mid-Atlantic Region

The Department of Energy’s Mid Atlantic Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnership (MA CHP TAP) was established to develop public-private partnerships to advance the technology, policies, and programmatic support for combined heat and power (CHP), including its application in microgrids, heat to power and district energy. The MA CHP TAP’s work includes education and outreach as well as technical assistance to a variety of stakeholders including end-users (commercial, industrial, institutional and more), state decision makers, electric and gas utilities, trade associations and non-profit organizations. This assistance includes evaluating the economic, energy, reliability and environmental value of proposed systems. The MA CHP TAP represents the multi-state Mid- Atlantic region and is the CHP expert in the region who provides fact-based, un-biased information on CHP, including technologies, project development, project financing, local electric and natural gas utility interfaces, and related state best practice policies.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

National Prevalence of Caprine Prion Protein Genetic Variability at Codons 146, 211, and 222 in Goat Herds in the United States

Scrapie is a neurodegenerative disease that impacts sheep and goats, characterized by gradual and progressive changes in neurological function. Recent research shows that the scrapie incubation period is significantly influenced by specific variations in amino acids within the prion protein gene (PRNP). The objective of this study was to estimate the national prevalence of caprine PRNP genetic variability at codons 146, 211, and 222 in goat populations across the United States. A total of 3052 blood, ear tissue, and brain tissue samples were collected from goats from 50 states. The participating states were categorized into four Veterinary Service (VS) district regions. The samples underwent DNA extraction, and the PRNP variants corresponding to codons 146, 211, and 222 were amplified and sequenced. The analysis of PRNP variants, when compared to the PRNP reference sequence, revealed seven alleles in twelve genotypes. The homozygous 146NN, 211RR, and 222QQ alleles, which have been linked to an increased risk of scrapie, were found to be the most prevalent among all the goats. The heterozygous 222QK, 211RQ, 146SD, 146ND, and 146NS alleles and the homozygous 222KK, 146SS, and 146DD alleles, known to be associated with reduced scrapie susceptibility and a prolonged incubation period after experimental challenge, were found in 1.098% (222QK), 2.33% (211RQ), 0.58% (146SD), 3.13% (146ND), 20.68% (146NS), 0.005% (222KK), 3.31% (146SS), and 0.67% (146DD) of goats, respectively. The 222QK allele was found most frequently in goats tested from the east (VS District 1, 1.59%) and southwest (VS District 4, 1.08%) regions, whereas the 211RQ allele was found most often in goats tested from the Midwest (VS District 2, 8.03%) and east (VS District 1, 6.53%) regions. The 146NS allele was found most frequently in goats tested from the northwest (VS District 3, 29.02%) and southwest (VS District 4, 20.69%) regions. Our results showed that the prevalence of less susceptible genotypes at PRNP codon 146 may be sufficient to use genetic susceptibility testing in some herds. This may reduce the number of goats removed as part of a herd clean-up plan and may promote the selective breeding goats for less susceptible alleles in high-risk herds at the national level.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) Study for Vernon County, Wisconsin [Slides]

Viroqua is a town in Wisconsin with a population of approximately 4,500. The Vernon County Energy district is a local nonprofit in Viroqua that provides energy education, individualized energy consulting and coaching to residents and businesses. They have a very good relationship with our county government and wish to support their efforts. The Vernon County government is currently working on a comprehensive plan and would like to include planning for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the plan. They are seeking guidance on logical phases for implementation and identifying the best locations for Level 2 and Level 3 EV chargers. NREL provided technical input on strategic planning for electric vehicle (EV) adoption and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) expansion in Vernon County through the Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) Expert Match technical assistance program. NREL provided strategic planning support for EV expansion planning in Vernon County and siting considerations for locating EVSE.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Synopsis of NREL's Automated Mobility District (AMD) Research Program and Associated Publications

An automated mobility district (AMD) envisions a system of integrated mobility options that serves major activity centers such as campuses, central business districts, and large medical facilities. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been investigating the implementation prospects for fully automated passenger transport systems that are deployed to operate within dense urban settings. This document provides a synopsis of findings revealed over the last three phases of work, which have yielded insights into the creation and management of AMDs anticipated to use automated vehicle (AV) technology over the next decade. Phase I and Phase II tracked the deployment and lessons learned from 10 early-stage demonstrations of automated shuttle deployments, and their associated insights into the challenges for automated driving systems to achieve safe operations within district-scale deployments. Phase III began in-depth investigations of critical subsystem components, as automation, electrification, and on-demand service continue to converge within initial AMD operations. These directed studies focus on elements of electrification, curbfront/station management, the role of infrastructure sensing, and overall integration of AMD safety management in central, simultaneous coordination of multiple AMD fleets. Future research in AMDs includes systems engineering methodology (more frequently referred to as "digital twins") for planning, design, testing, and ongoing operation of AMDs; location (or co-location) of management functions; and human supervision and passenger communications for safety and security in unattended vehicles. The synopsis references the foundational research products (papers and presentations) that have been published through conference proceedings, journal articles, and NREL reports.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Large scale energy analysis and renovation strategies for social housing in the historic city of Venice

Social houses built after the Second World War to accommodate workers and low-income families represent one of the major energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters in the residential sector. Plans for their renovation are underway in all European countries, and the process is more complicated for Italian cities due to the lack of space and the large number of historical buildings. This study addresses this challenge by proposing a methodology to renovate a low-income district in the city of Venice using CityBES to model and evaluate energy conservation measures. CityBES is a web-based tool that allows users to employ urban building energy modeling for large-scale energy and retrofit analyses of building stocks. In the case study conducted for Venice's Santa Marta district, due to the particular context, four common energy conservation measures covering both the building envelope and heat generation boilers have been applied. The evaluation of energy-saving performances at the district level showed that the four measures together achieved 67% energy savings, an abatement in energy cost equal to 67%, and annual carbon dioxide emissions reduction of 1.1 MtCO 2 . Furthermore, the case study demonstrates a method and workflow replicable for energy retrofit analysis of building stocks in other historical districts.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Bay Area Regional Energy: Network Integrated Commercial Retrofits (BRICR) Project. Final Report

The BRICR project applied large-scale building energy modeling concepts with the aim of reducing the cost of energy efficiency targeting, design, and project development, and measurement of energy savings for energy efficiency programs implemented by local governments that serve small and medium commercial buildings (SMB). The project leveraged the services and resources of existing local government energy programs serving disadvantaged and hard-to-reach SMB customers. In contrast to programs run by utilities, local government programs generally do not have direct access to energy billing records for an entire class of customers in a geographic area, which prior research demonstrated useful for large-scale building energy model baseline development and calibration. , However, local governments are rich in public records that offer important clues about physical attributes and uses that, along with behavior, determine energy use. Relying only on public records, BRICR demonstrated development of credible baseline energy models for 3,792 office, retail, and hotel buildings. Publicly disclosed annual energy use data from a local energy benchmarking program and anonymized data from the Building Performance Database, the nation’s largest dataset about energy-related characteristics of buildings, were utilized to validate and calibrate energy models via an innovative method comparing distributions of energy intensity by fuel type for portfolios of buildings of similar size, vintage, and use. Portfolio calibration does not provide certainty that an energy model fits an individual building; the method is useful when billing data is not accessible – a common situation for researchers, energy service providers and ESCOs, local governments, and any party other than a utility. A software component was developed, the BRICR gem, which automates simulation when relevant data is added or edited by the user to a file saved in the standardized BuildingSync XML schema for energy audit data. The component was demonstrated as a simplified means to generate a mass of energy models corresponding to public records containing basic attributes such as building scale, location, use, year built, and aspect ratio in combination with building energy code prototype data corresponding to use and vintage. The component was also demonstrated as a simplified means to automate energy simulation when attributes are revised; the intention was to enable iterative improvement of the baseline model and energy savings estimates for common energy conservation measures as users revise relevant attributes based on their observations. In the context of institutional change and uncertainty for the participating local government energy programs, 13 whole building retrofits were completed. Impacts were measured by applying the CalTRACK2.0 methods to standardize measurement of normalized metered energy consumption. The GRIDMeter methods of stratified sampling and individual load shape analysis were applied to adjust for impacts of the effect of COVID-19 on retrofitted buildings in the context of all local buildings of similar size and use. Excluding impacts of the pandemic, retrofitted buildings demonstrated between 1.6% and 25.1% reduction in energy use. The project contributed use cases and feedback that helped inform evolution of the software tools and data formats that were combined for the first time in the BRICR project.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Current Status 2020

This report summarizes the progress of fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) development in the United States and discusses the achievements and challenges of introducing fuel cell propulsion in transit. The report provides a summary of results from evaluations performed by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The 2020 summary results primarily focus on the most recent data on these FCEBs, from January 2020 through July 2020. The primary results presented in the report are from 25 FCEBs deployed at three agencies: Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) in Oakland, California (10 FCEBs); Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) in Santa Ana, California (10 FCEBs); SunLine Transit Agency in Thousand Palms, California (5 FCEBs).

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Curb Allocation and Pick-Up Drop-Off Aggregation for a Shared Autonomous Vehicle Fleet

Advances in information technologies and vehicle automation have birthed new transportation services, including shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs). Shared autonomous vehicles are on-demand self-driving taxis, with flexible routes and schedules, able to replace personal vehicles for many trips in the near future. The siting and density of pick-up and drop-off (PUDO) points for SAVs, much like bus stops, can be key in planning SAV fleet operations, since PUDOs impact SAV demand, route choices, passenger wait times, and network congestion. Unlike traditional human-driven taxis and ride-hailing vehicles like Lyft and Uber, SAVs are unlikely to engage in quasi-legal procedures, like double parking or fire hydrant pick-ups. In congested settings, like central business districts (CBD) or airport curbs, SAVs and others will not be allowed to pick up and drop off passengers wherever they like. This paper uses an agent-based simulation to model the impact of different PUDO locations and densities in the Austin, Texas CBD, where land values are highest and curb spaces are coveted. In this paper 18 scenarios were tested, varying PUDO density, fleet size and fare price. The results show that for a given fare price and fleet size, PUDO spacing (e.g., one block vs. three blocks) has significant impact on ridership, vehicle-miles travelled, vehicle occupancy, and revenue. A good fleet size to serve the region’s 80 core square miles is 4000 SAVs, charging a $1 fare per mile of travel distance, and with PUDOs spaced three blocks of distance apart from each other in the CBD.

Hunter, Christian B.↗