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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Utility-Scale Solar, 2021 Edition

Berkeley Labs "Utility-Scale Solar", 2021 Edition presents analysis of empirical plant-level data from the U.S. fleet of ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV), PV+battery, and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plants with capacities exceeding 5 MWAC. While focused on key developments in 2020, this report explores trends in deployment, technology, capital and operating costs, capacity factors, the levelized cost of solar energy (LCOE), power purchase agreement (PPA) prices, wholesale market value, and interconnection queue data.

2021↗
DOE OSTI2024

Hybrid power plants: An effective way of decreasing loss-of-load expectation

Diversifying variable renewable resources by combining wind, solar photovoltaic, and battery assets in a hybrid power plant can increase renewable energy usage efficiency and improve system flexibility, particularly in distributed energy systems. However, the resilience impact of these systems, particularly outage mitigation, can be difficult to quantify due to uncertainty in resource, energy demand, and outage occurrence. Here, this study outlines a framework to quantify the incremental benefit of hybrid power plant assets for reducing loss-of-load expectation during random outage events. Hybrid power plant performance during outages (considering varying duration and severity) is simulated using a Monte Carlo methodology to reflect uncertainty associated with renewable resource, load demand, and outage timing. Results demonstrate the additional incremental value from increasingly hybrid designs, in which relative capacities of wind, solar photovoltaic, and storage assets contribute to lower loss-of-load expectation than the constituent technologies would alone. The value of added wind or solar capacity increases as the plant composition approaches an equal split. The value of added battery capacity depends on the outage duration and severity, but the first 50 MWh of added storage capacity is the most valuable for reducing the loss-of-load expectation for all plant designs.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Africa Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Capacity Building Li-Ion Battery Degradation and Performance [Slides]

This presentation is intended for power system engineers, operators, and planners who work on isolated power systems that have (or may soon have) high levels of power generation coming from wind turbines, solar farms, and battery energy storage, which are collectively referred to as inverter-based resources. It describes the basics of lithium-ion battery energy storage systems and lithium-ion battery degradation. Battery degradation at the cell-level is explained, and then the structure and degradation of battery energy storage systems is also explained. This is intended to help power system engineers, operators, and planners to understand and effectively utilize battery energy storage systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Prefeasibility Assessment for Solar PV and Storage for Critical Community Facilities in Chernihiv, Ukraine [Slides]

A prefeasibility analysis is performed for integrating solar photovoltaics and battery energy storage at four critical facilities in Chernihiv, Ukraine. The facilities were identified by Chernihiv city officials and include Hospital No. 2, the Maternity Hospital, Secondary School No. 11, and Preschool No. 4. The analyses were performed using NREL's REopt decision-support software tool. The analysis identifies potential capacities for PV and battery energy storage to provide both economic and resilience benefits. The conceptual architecture and estimates of key summary financial and performance metrics are presented.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Techno-economic and environmental assessment of solar-based electrical vehicles charging stations integrated with hydrogen production

With the growing interest in adopting both commercial and residential electric vehicles (EVs) utilizing green renewable energy, the techno-economic assessment of EV charging stations with solar energy is a critical aspect of the transition to sustainable transportation. However, battery storage capacity for variable solar energy production is becoming increasingly less cost-effective due to the higher Lithium price. Complementing solar energy production and battery storage, the potential of combining green hydrogen fuel energy integration with solar energy for EV charging stations can provide a sustainable alternative to reach carbon-free transportation. This research aims to assess the technical and economic viability of grid-connected Photovoltaic (PV)-based EV charging stations across Kentucky based on existing EV load profiles. The study considers different PV system sizes, locations, orientations, and the impact of net metering policies and electricity tariffs on the profitability of the PV systems. Further, using excess PV energy, Lithium-Ion batteries will be charged, which will be assessed considering the techno-economic and environmental impacts of green EV charging stations. To further enhance green renewable energy production, we also investigated the feasibility of on-grid PV-based EV charging stations with Lithium-Ion batteries charged during low tariff periods. In comparison with these scenarios, we studied the potential benefits of integrating green hydrogen energy production using excess solar energy with and without governmental incentives. Furthermore, we assess the environmental impact of these green EV charging stations across Kentucky. Our study indicates that EV stations across Kentucky have similar techno-economic feasibility with insignificant deviation in the levelized cost of electricity, payback period, and PV energy fraction with/without Li-Ion batteries. However, with green hydrogen production, the marginal H 2 production cost indicates the first scenario (on-grid PV energy charging) is the most significant, roughly 10 USD/Kg, which is similar to 1.5 times higher than the second (charging during low-tariff periods) and the third scenarios (power grid to satisfy the demand deficit - approximately 6.5 USD/Kg). From the environmental perspective, the second scenario would be a good option for either hybrid EV/H 2 or EV charging stations in Kentucky, factoring in the hydrogen production cost and the carbon footprint.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Q1 2023 U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmarks With Minimum Sustainable Price Analysis Data File

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) aims to accelerate the advancement and deployment of solar technology in support of an equitable transition to a decarbonized economy no later than 2050, starting with a decarbonized power sector by 2035. Its approach to achieving this goal includes driving innovations in technology, hardware, and soft cost reductions to make solar affordable and accessible for all. As part of this effort, SETO must track solar cost trends so it can focus its research and development (R&D) on the highest-impact activities. The benchmarks in this report are bottom-up cost estimates of all major inputs to PV and energy storage system installations. Bottom-up costs are based on national averages and do not necessarily represent typical costs in all local markets. Like last year's report, this year's report includes two distinct sets of benchmarks: minimum sustainable price (MSP) benchmarks and modeled market price (MMP) benchmarks. MSP benchmarks can be interpreted as the minimum price a company needs to charge to remain financially solvent in the long term based on the minimum sustainable prices of all inputs including minimum sustainable profit margins. MMP benchmarks can be interpreted as the actual cash sales price a company charges in the given benchmark period. These simplified estimates are useful for tracking technological progress, but they do not reflect all experiences. In fact, no individual estimate under any approach can reflect the diversity of the PV and storage manufacturing and installation industries.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

A New Era for Solar and Storage: Partnering for Continued Success

Solar energy has grown faster than experts projected. Energy storage technologies are poised to repeat that success, enabling a partnership to keep the lights on even after the sun sets. As current impacts and growing threats of climate change become more visible and the world accelerates efforts to adopt new clean-energy technology, electricity generation from solar and wind is playing an increasing role in the energy system. However, it can be confusing - we hear that solar has great potential, but we also hear that solar and wind are too small to make a meaningful difference, providing just 3% and 6% of the world's electricity in 2020, respectively (1). What is the reality and what can we expect in the coming years? This article focuses on solar, but wind has an equally impressive and interesting story. This article reviews how prices for solar have dropped dramatically and deployment has increased correspondingly to the point where solar is almost half of the new electricity generating capacity being installed globally today. It shows how solar-generated electricity has grown to the point where we need to pair it with storage or other strategies for balancing electricity supply and demand. The article also explores how lithium-ion batteries are replicating solar technology's big success and discusses new storage technologies that are being developed.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hierarchical Resilience Planning for Networked Microgrids: A Case Study of Puerto Rico

Microgrids can be designed to enhance the energy resilience of communities and critical infrastructures, such as hospitals, data centers, and communication networks, which are vulnerable to frequent weather-related disruption. Coordinating multiple microgrids in a network can leverage the geographical diversity of load and generation resources while enabling resilient and cost-effective planning of the distribution system. Designing a networked microgrid is complex, involving intricate technical assessment, cost-benefit analysis, site-specific requirements, and the evaluation of existing resources. Therefore, this paper proposes a hierarchical resilience planning framework and performs an extensive techno-economic analysis for the design of a networked microgrid. Hierarchical resilience planning involves technology sizing at an individual community level to meet the critical load and satisfy resilience criteria, and resource optimization at networked microgrid level to provide a higher level of resilience and energy adequacy. A real-world case of Puerto Rico's cooperative microgrid “Microrred de la Montaña” is investigated considering localized electricity tariffs, site-specific demand profiles, solar generation, and existing hydro resources. Multiple optimization scenarios are developed based on the resiliency requirement to estimate the capacity of solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage (BES) to be installed at each substation. The results provide the optimal sizing for individual community and networked microgrid to withstand 1day and 3-day outages along with the criteria for critical load.

13 - HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Exploring the design space of PV-plus-battery system configurations under evolving grid conditions

In this study, we explore how the energy and capacity values of coupled systems comprising solar photovoltaic arrays and battery storage (PV-plus-battery systems) could evolve over time based on the evolution of the bulk power system. Using a price-taker model with simulated hourly energy and capacity prices projected from the present to 2050, we simulate the revenue-maximizing dispatch of a range of DC-coupled PV-plus-battery configurations in three locations in the United States. These configurations are defined by the inverter loading ratio (ILR, the ratio of the PV array capacity to the inverter capacity, which we vary from 1.4 to 2.6) and the battery-inverter ratio (BIR, the ratio of the battery power capacity to the inverter capacity, which we vary from 0.25 to 1.0). Based on each configuration's total value, we estimate the breakeven costs needed to justify each incremental increase in ILR (holding BIR constant) or BIR (holding ILR constant). We find that, in a future with low-cost renewable energy technologies, PV-plus-battery system ILRs can be economically increased to around 2.0-2.4 at a BIR of 1.0, depending on solar resource. Our results indicate that a likely evolution of PV-plus-battery system design will be increasingly greater battery power capacity to mitigate the declining PV capacity value, which will, in turn, enable increasingly higher ILRs to further increase energy value. The extent to which PV-plus-systems will be deployed with increasingly higher ILRs depends primarily on whether PV cost declines outpace declining value and increasing curtailment over time.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

High Penetration Microgrids Providing Grid Stability Using Frequency-Watt Control Presentation

The U.S. grid is rapidly transitioning towards utilizing inverter-based renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, and batteries, reducing the carbon emission footprint.Inverter-based microgrid control architectures remain a critical focus to address power system stability issues in future high penetration markets lacking spinning generation assets. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is researching an active layered inverter based frequency-Watt control scheme that provides distribution level stability in high-penetration markets where grid inertia is lacking. Hardware in the loop case study was implemented using INL’s Microgrid Testbed to combat scalable frequency deviations ranging from 60 Hz down to 50 Hz initialized by a hydropower model implementing step loads using a 540-kW grid emulator. Our research findings demonstrate the importance of distribution level, inverter-based active frequency-Watt controls utilizing a battery energy storage system (BESS) to provide adequate frequency support at the point of common coupling without major power infrastructure upgrades.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Eastport Energy Resilience Opportunities [Slides]

This presentation offers a high-level overview of the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project's (ETIPP's) work in Eastport, Maine. It covers the project's work to explore microgrid options for the island community; opportunities for incorporating renewable energy technology such as tidal power, solar power, and battery storage; potential benefits and costs for the community; and an estimated timeline for implementing different options.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-Penetration Microgrids Providing Grid Stability Using Frequency Watt Control

The U.S. grid is rapidly transitioning towards utilizing inverter-based renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, and batteries, reducing the carbon emission footprint. Inverter-based microgrid control architectures remain a critical focus to address power system stability issues in future high penetration markets lacking spinning generation assets. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is researching an active layered inverter based frequency-Watt control scheme that provides distribution level stability in high-penetration markets where grid inertia is lacking. Hardware in the loop case study was implemented using INL’s Microgrid Testbed to combat scalable frequency deviations ranging from 60 Hz down to 50 Hz initialized by a hydropower model implementing step loads using a 540-kW grid emulator. Our research findings demonstrate the importance of distribution level, inverter-based active frequency-Watt controls utilizing a battery energy storage system (BESS) to provide adequate frequency support at the point of common coupling without major power infrastructure upgrades.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

OPALCO - Decatur Island Solar and Energy Storage Project: An Assessment of Battery Technical Performance

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is a member-owned, nonprofit cooperative utility that provides energy services to approximately 11,200 customers across 20 islands in San Juan County, Washington. OPALCO’s mostly hydroelectric power is generated by Bonneville Power Administration and delivered to the islands by submarine cables. In 2016, as part of the second round of funding from the Washington state Clean Energy Fund, OPALCO received a $1 million matching grant to support a project that deployed a 504-kW LG community photovoltaic (PV) system in combination with a 1 MW/2 MWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery energy storage system (BESS) on Decatur Island, Washington. The Decatur Island Substation is essential to ensuring reliable energy for the residents of the San Juan Islands as it is the point of interconnection with the mainland transmission system. The BESS, in combination with the community solar array, will deliver an innovative method to both defer the costly upgrade of the transmission system and allow for other high-value applications intended to benefit the utility and its customers. In 2018, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) completed a preliminary economic assessment for several identified use cases in collaboration with OPALCO. Between August 2021 and May 2022, extensive testing was conducted, and the results were used to assess the technical performance of the BESS subjected to actual field operations. Both reference performance and use case tests were performed: (a) Reference performance tests assess the general technical capabilities of the BESS, such as energy capacity, round-trip efficiency (RTE), ramp rate, and signal tracking capability. These are the first tests performed (baseline) and are repeated after use case tests (post cycle). A standardized U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy storage performance protocol was used to characterize the BESS, including representative duty cycle profiles, test procedure guidance, and calculation guidance for determining key characteristics. (b) Use case tests examine the performance of the BESS for specific use cases using duty cycles developed by PNNL in collaboration with OPALCO. Four use cases were selected for testing: 1) demand charge reduction, 2) load shaping, 3) outage mitigation, and 4) transmission deferral. The use case duty cycles were developed based on utility and site-specific characteristics in addition to the technical characteristics and physical capabilities of the BESS. Use case tests were performed between the baseline and post cycle tests. This report describes the BESS and its components, presents testing and performance analysis results, and shares key insights and lessons learned from this project. Outcomes of the tests and analyses will help OPALCO understand the performance of the Decatur Island BESS in its current state and design appropriate operational strategies for this and other BESSs over the long term.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Puerto Rico Demand Response Impact and Forecast Tool (PR-DRIFT) - Beta Version [Slides]

Due to high fossil fuel imports, high electricity rates, an unreliable electricity grid, and 100% renewable electricity goals, demand response can play a crucial role for the Puerto Rico electricity grid. The Puerto Rico Demand Response Impact and Forecast Tool (PR-DRIFT) is a spreadsheet-based tool in which users can estimate the potential impacts of demand response, energy efficiency, and VRE and storage adoption in Puerto Rico from 2021 through 2040. The tool includes projections for solar, wind, and battery adoption based on released RFPs and energy targets (including Act-17 2019) to generate a projected net load profile for each hour through 2040. Based on user inputs and default assumptions, the tool also projects load profile impacts of demand response and energy efficiency, and is specifically focused on highlighting projected demand response technical potential. This demand response technical potential can be used by local utilities, regulators, program administrators, or researchers to help design demand response programs for larger impact.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition: Empirical Trends in Deployment, Technology, Cost, Performance, PPA Pricing, and Value in the United States [Slides]

Berkeley Lab’s “Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition” presents analysis of empirical plant-level data from the U.S. fleet of ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV), PV+battery, and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plants with capacities exceeding 5 MWAC (PV plants of 5 MWAC or less, including residential rooftop systems, are covered separately in Berkeley Lab’s companion annual report, Tracking the Sun). Key findings from this year’s report include: -18.5 GWAC of new utility-scale PV capacity came online in 2023, bringing cumulative installed capacity to more than 80.2 GWAC across 47 states. Installed costs continued to fall in 2023. Relative to 2022, capacity-weighted averages decreased by 8% to -$\$1.43$/WAC (or $\$1.08$/WDC). Costs, based on a 7.1 GWAC sample of 76 plants completed in 2023, have fallen by 75% (averaging 10% annually) since 2010. Plant-level capacity factors vary widely, from 6% to 36% (on an AC basis), with a sample median of 24%. -Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of new 2023 projects increased slightly to $\$46$/MWh prior to the application of tax credits but continued to fall to $\$31$/MWh when accounting for federal incentives. PPA prices have largely followed the decline in solar’s LCOE over time, but newly signed longer-term PPA prices have increased since 2021, to an average of $\$35$/MWh (levelized, in 2023 dollars). -Solar’s average energy and capacity value (i.e., ability to offset costs of other power generation sources) across the U.S. was $\$45$/MWh in 2023. Solar’s average market value was lowest in CAISO ($\$27$/MWh), the market with the greatest solar generation share, and highest in ERCOT ($\$67$/MWh). -Newer solar projects had greater market value in 2023 than their generation costs, yielding $\$1.1$ billion in benefits. Projects built in 2022 delivered on average $\$15$/MWh more market value than their costs in 2023. -Solar’s combined value from wholesale electricity markets, public health and climate damage reduction were greater than generation costs and incentives, yielding $\$13.7$ billion in net benefits in 2023. We estimate U.S. health benefits of $\$24$/MWh and reduced global climate damages of $\$101$/MWh. -Adding battery storage is one way to increase the value of solar. Deployment of 52 new PV+battery hybrid plants set a record with 5.3 GW installed in 2023. Our public data file tracks metadata and PPA prices from more than 100 PV+battery hybrid projects that are already online or that have secured offtake arrangements. -Looking ahead, a massive pipeline of at least 1,085 GW of solar capacity dominates the nation’s interconnection queues at the end of 2023. Nearly 571 GW, or 53%, of that total was paired with a battery – in CAISO it was a staggering 98%. Historically only 10% of the requested solar capacity is built. -For more information, and to explore related interactive data visualizations, go to utilityscalesolar.lbl.gov.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Chapter 11: Renewable Microgrids as a Foundation of the Future Sustainable Electrical Energy System

Renewable microgrids are an integral part of the future sustainable energy system. This chapter focuses on the role of renewable energy-based microgrids in the electricity system transformation. It is seen as a foundation that complements large-scale generation plants and high-voltage transmission lines by providing additional flexibility and resilience. This flexibility and resilience are crucial for balancing the energy system and ensuring its long-term sustainability, given the changing supply and demand patterns due to rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV), battery storage, electric mobility, and heat pumps. It is also an opportunity for residential and commercial consumers to become active participants in the energy market. Innovation, new technologies and business models will act as the key enabler for this transformation. The regulatory restructuring of the energy market will be crucial for successful integration of prosumers and aggregated energy communities. The chapter presents the vision of a sustainable, decentralized, and digitized energy future including market potential, most innovative case study projects and start-up companies, and the shifts needed in the regulatory landscape.

battery storage↗