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DOE OSTI2024

A Program Design Combining Community Solar and Weatherization for Manufactured Homes in Michigan

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is interested in combining community solar with weatherization programs for manufactured homes. To collect program strategies, EGLE made a request for technical assistance from the US Department of Energy’s National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP). Lawrence Berkeley National Lab developed this study in response. It briefly reviews issues relevant to the question, attempts to lay out a methodology for more in-depth analysis, and provides some recommendations for program design and implementation. While the research is specific to Michigan, the recommendations and methodologies could serve as an example for other states and regions. The paper first provides an overview of manufactured home communities in Michigan, with a discussion of demographics and energy issues they face. It then discusses weatherization opportunities for manufactured homes, opportunities for community solar, and opportunities for combining the two. The methodology proposed is intended to help EGLE: -Identify priority locations, -Set eligibility criteria for communities and households, and -Make the most of federal and other funding sources The paper concludes with recommendations for a program that combines community solar with efficient electrification of manufactured homes to reduce the burden of the largest source of energy expenditure in Michigan, winter heating bills. Specifically, it envisions community solar subscriptions for occupants of manufactured homes that have been converted to high-efficiency cold weather heat pumps. The combination can be managed to alleviate seasonal variations in both solar and heating bills, such as through an annualized “budget billing” program.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Pumped Storage Hydropower FAST Commissioning Technical Analysis

This report is designed to address barriers and solutions to modern pumped storage hydropower (PSH) development by establishing baseline project development knowledge, defining key aspects of project development, and identifying opportunities to reduce project timelines, costs, and risks. This report’s scope includes post-licensing activities and excludes factors related to permitting or licensing. The U.S. PSH fleet is composed of 43 projects providing the majority (95%) of utility-scale electricity storage in the US. However, only one new PSH facility has become operational in the past 20 years. Several factors contribute to diminishing PSH growth in the US, including the magnitude of project costs and financing interest during development and construction; the length of time from project investment until project revenue; permitting challenges and construction risks; competition from other storage technologies; and unrecognized energy storage valuation. Although innovative PSH concepts (including underground, small, and modular systems) have been investigated, widespread application has yet to occur. In short, the time, cost, and risk associated with modern PSH development has resulted in limited recent growth in the United States, despite the rising energy storage demand from increased deployment of variable renewable technologies. To address these challenges, the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office initiated the PSH Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time to (FAST) Commissioning project, aimed at catalyzing new solutions, designs, and strategies to accelerate PSH development. This report uses available data from previous license applications, ongoing project cost data, and other global PSH project information based on a typical closed-loop PSH project.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Multi-Variable Parametric Analysis of Prototype Building Energy Performance Using Current and Future Weather Scenarios For Data-Driven Market Transformation Support

This project aimed to develop a public building simulation data set that may be used to inform building code development and guidelines for building innovation. The data set consists of several common building types and many representative locations across the United States. A parametric design of building properties was developed to create a range of building energy models that represent common building design decisions with a particular focus on fenestration options. The US Department of Energy prototype building energy models were altered according to a parametric building design and simulated using both current weather data and future weather estimates derived from global climate models. The resulting data set allows for pertinent exploration of building design parameters, including fenestration, within different environments across the United States in the broader context of climate change.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

The Energy Exascale Earth System Model Version 3: 1. Overview of the Atmospheric Component

This paper describes the atmospheric component of the US Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) version 3. Significant updates have been made to the atmospheric physics compared to earlier versions. Specifically, interactive gas chemistry has been implemented, along with improved representations of aerosols and dust emissions. A new stratiform cloud microphysics scheme more physically treats ice processes and aerosol‐cloud interactions. The deep convection parameterization has been largely improved with sophisticated microphysics for convective clouds, making model convection sensitive to large‐scale dynamics, and incorporating the dynamical and physical effects of organized mesoscale convection. Improvements in aerosol wet removal processes and parameter re‐tuning of key aerosol and cloud processes have improved model aerosol radiative forcing. The model's vertical resolution has increased from 72 to 80 layers with the extra eight layers added in the lower stratosphere to better simulate the Quasi‐Biennial Oscillation. These improvements have enhanced E3SM's capability to couple aerosol, chemistry, and biogeochemistry and reduced some long‐standing biases in simulating tropical variability. Compared to its predecessors, the model shows a much stronger signal for the Madden‐Julian Oscillation, Kelvin waves, mixed Rossby‐gravity waves, and eastward inertia‐gravity waves. Aerosol radiative forcing has been considerably reduced and is now better aligned with community best estimates, leading to significantly improved skill in simulating historical temperature records. Its simulated mean‐state climate is largely comparable to E3SMv2, but with some notable degradation in shortwave cloud radiative effect, precipitable water, and surface wind stress, which will be addressed in future updates.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Computational Requirements in Clean Energy and Manufacturing: Summary report of the virtual workshop held on June 28-29, 2021

On June 28–29, 2021, the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program in the Office of Science convened a workshop with the Energy Efficiency and Renew able Energy (EERE) program offices to assess the future need for advanced computing resources in the areas of clean energy and advanced manufacturing. In part, this discussion served as an update to earlier workshops and townhalls. ASCR is guided by DOE mission needs as it develops research programs, computers, and networks at the leading edge of technologies. As the exascale computing era dawns, technology changes are creating new opportunities for those who must use high-performance computing (HPC) and data systems effectively. The ASCR computing facilities are augmenting their strategy to adapt to changing science needs and emerging technologies and to leverage the utility of exascale computing across the federal government.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Energy Performance of Awnings in Residential Buildings

Residential buildings consume approximately 20% of the total primary energy in the United States. More than 50% of this energy is spent in heating, cooling, and lighting these buildings. Solar heat gain is one of the largest and most variable sources of cooling load in these buildings, while it can also provide passive heating during the heating season. Shading devices can be used to control the amount of solar heat gain in buildings. Various studies have considered how different shading devices and their applications affect energy and occupant comfort in buildings. However, most of these studies were limited to planar shading devices such as roller shades, cellular shades, and blinds. Although some theoretical studies have been performed for awnings, the energy performance of awnings has rarely been studied via either energy simulation or field measurement. In this study, the authors evaluated the energy performance of typical operable awnings by using field data, aided by simulation. Awnings were installed on a real house, and measurements were performed to evaluate the thermal performance of the awning. The measured data were then used to develop a calibrated energy model and evaluate the awning’s energy performance. The annual simulation of the building model used showed that awnings left in the closed position from April to September can reduce annual HVAC energy consumption by 15% compared with a building without any shades. The validated model was used in US Department of Energy prototype buildings to evaluate awning energy performance in climate zones 1A through 4B via energy simulation. For these prototype buildings, energy savings of up to 1,034 kWh were achieved for a building with a conditioned floor area of 2,377 ft 2 .

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2021

Dishwashers in the Residential Sector: A Survey of Product Characteristics, Usage, and Consumer Preferences

Data on consumer purchasing decisions, usage, and behaviors relating to residential appliances help to inform technical and economic analyses related to the energy and water used by those appliances, including dishwashers. Existing publicly available data for dishwashers include two regularly conducted national surveys that describe dishwasher ownership and usage. The United States (US) Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Information Administration’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) records the presence of a dishwasher in the home, the numbers of times per week the dishwasher is operated, and the dishwasher age, along with household demographic characteristics. The US Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey (AHS) also records the presence of a dishwasher in the home along with household demographic characteristics.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

Brochure on the 2024 ASCR Workshop on Energy-Efficient Computing for Science

Large-scale computing has enabled numerous scientific discoveries, including ground-breaking achievements facilitated by the US Department of Energy (DOE) supercomputers and advances in applied mathematics and computer science. While important advances were made in energy efficiency to enable exascale computing, continued efforts are needed to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of the next generation of high-performance computing (HPC) systems and, more broadly, AI data centers. Without substantial improvements in energy efficiency, the energy consumption associated with computing could become a limiting factor for future scientific discovery, national security, and technological advancement.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2021

Joint Work Plan for DPC Filler Testing

The US generates approximately 2,000 Metric Tons of Heavy Metal (MTHM) of commercial spent fuel (SNF) each year and currently stores ~ 85,000 MTHM of commercial SNF at 70+ reactor sites, the disposal of which is the responsibility of the US Department of Energy (DOE). SNF is initially stored in spent nuclear fueld pools (SFPs). SFPs were initially constructed by US utilities for temporary fuel storage, but with no final disposal pathway available, SFPs are reaching capacity. To allow continued operation of the nation's commercial nuclear reactor fleet, utilities started transferring SNF from SFPs (wet storage) to dry cask storage systems, typically using dual-purpose (storage and transportation) canisters (DPCs). And while DPCs were designed, licensed and loaded to meet Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements that preclude the possibility of a critical event during SNF storage and transport, they were not designed or loaded to preclude the possibility of a criticality event during the regulated post-closure period following disposal, which could be up to 1,000,000 years (Price, 2019). DPC filler option criteria are detailed and materials that exhibit these attributes are explored. This document is an update of the SNL Joint Workplan on Filler Investigations for DPCs.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Northwest Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnership: Final Scientific/Technical Report

During the years of 2018 through 2023, The Washington State University Energy Program (WSU EP) operated the Northwest Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnership under contract to the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), a part of DOE’s larger Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. This contract provided direction and funding for providing technical outreach, information and technical/economic analysis services in support of expanding development of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) over a four state region in the Pacific Northwest. The states served included Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. During the duration of this contract, the WSU EP delivered performed specific assigned tasks and provided services of various generally prescribed types, with the overall goal of increasing adoption of CHP as an efficient heat and power supply in the region. Indications – though not formally evaluated to our knowledge – are that this goal was achieved. Over many years, the WSU team has provided support for CHP developments in these states under similar previous Department of Energy contracts, and many such projects have been built. While the early-phase outreach, education and techno-economic assessments that the NW CHP TAP provides rarely immediately result in project construction, there is no doubt that the WSU EP team has had substantial influence in the construction of a number of important CHP projects in the region. Examples of projects implemented directly under the current team’s guidance and services during this contract cycle include an 875 kilowatt biomass fueled CHP system installed at the University of Idaho, and 5 megawatt natural gas fueled CHP system at the University of Montana ( UM Breaks Ground on New Power Facility, Slashes Emissions 30% (umt.edu) ). Many other CHP systems recently installed are also either directly or at least partially the result of information and technical services provided by the team. Finally, though much more difficult to quantify and less glamorous, the team has helped countless organizations to understand CHP and determine whether and how CHP may be a fit for them, before they consider paying for engineering services. Whether the ultimate outcome has been to include CHP or not, the expert skills provided by the NW CHP TAP team have provided real value to these organizations considering this relatively complex technology. Over the duration of the contract our team provided 71 Initial Technical Assessments and 17 Advanced Technical Assessments; 53 End-User Engagements and 33 Stakeholder Engagements of various types; 42 Technical Profiles (Project Profiles, Program Profiles and Policy Profiles), and produced 14 technical articles for the Department of Energy. Unfortunately, these quantities provide no measure of the value that the team has provided. Only our clients can judge that, and we are confident that they are pleased with the benefits we have offered them.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Advanced Manufacturing and Materials for Hydropower: Challenges and Opportunities

Hydropower is a well-established industry that has been largely contributing to the global generation of clean and renewable energy for more than a century. In the United States in 2021, it accounted for 30% of all renewable energy generation and 6.1% of the total energy portfolio. Hydropower technology and designs have been optimized throughout the years, but manufacturing of hydropower components still relies heavily on traditional methods and materials. Changes in global energy production systems and international supply chain issues are inspiring the manufacturing sector to reconsider their processes. Similarly, the hydropower industry is facing manufacturing challenges stemming from well-known maintenance issues, environmental impact mitigations, and changes in operations. These challenges, along with continued innovation in new hydropower and pumped storage development and modernization of the fleet, present an opportunity for advanced manufacturing and materials (AMM) to provide immense value to the hydropower industry. In support of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), this report aims to characterize the current and emerging manufacturing-related challenges in US hydropower and to identify the high-impact opportunities in AMM that could address these challenges. The results highlighted in this report were collected through literature review, individual stakeholder interviews, and an in-person workshop organized at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory Manufacturing Demonstration Facility that brought together hydropower industry stakeholders, advanced manufacturing R&D, and the government.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Hawai‘i National Marine Renewable Energy Center (HINMREC)

The Hawaii National Marine Renewable Energy Center (HINMREC) was established to facilitate the commercialization of wave energy converter (WEC) devices, and to accelerate development and testing of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technologies. Housed at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) of the University of Hawaii (UH), this program started with execution of the contract between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and UH in March 2009, and activities ran through the end of the project in September 2019. The DOE tasked HINMREC with facilitating and accelerating the build-out of the Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site (WETS), the nation’s first grid-connected open water wave energy conversion test facility, located off Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) in Kaneohe, on the island of Oahu. WETS was expanded from an existing test berth at 30m water depth to include test berths at 60m and 80m water depths. In recognition of the high costs associated with at-sea testing and evaluation of WEC devices, it was deemed imperative that HINMREC seek ways to reduce costs to developers by providing key research support to these early-stage technologies. WETS and HINMREC’s support allowed development of wave energy technology by providing a testing infrastructure that allows technology developers to test, demonstrate and evaluate their WEC devices, and generate data in order to advance WEC designs toward commercial readiness. HINMREC’s roles have included support in the establishment of the full site, including of wave resource characterization and site survey, followed by the essential roles of independent WEC device power performance assessment and environmental monitoring in support of deployed pre-commercial WECs. This DOE-funded work transitioned effectively to continue Navy-funded tasks for OTEC development, and activities at WETS, now under Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) funding. A secondary objective in the establishment of HINMREC was to assist the private sector in moving OTEC systems beyond proof-of-concept to pre-commercialization, primarily focused on system and component engineering, and local and global investigations into the potential environmental impacts of OTEC systems. HINMREC was tasked with maintaining high-resolution models of ocean thermal resources and the potential sustainable power output of OTEC systems. Ongoing tests begun previously under Navy funding at the OTEC Heat Exchangers (HXs) Test Facility at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA), in Kona on Hawaii Island, have been continued to identify cost-effective aluminum alloys for use in OTEC systems operating in the corrosive marine environment.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

DOE OSTI2022

Demand Response in Industrial Facilities: Peak Electric Demand

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Better Buildings, Better Plants Program (Better Plants) is a voluntary energy efficiency leadership initiative for US manufacturers and water/wastewater entities. The program encourages organizations to commit to reducing the energy intensity of their US operations over a 10-year period, typically by 25%. Companies joining Better Plants are recognized by DOE for their leadership in implementing energy efficiency practices and for reducing their energy intensity. Better Plants Partners are assigned to a Technical Account Manager, who can help companies establish energy intensity baselines, develop energy management plans, and identify key resources and incentives from DOE, other federal agencies, states, utilities, and other organizations that can enable them to reach their goals. Better Plants Partners are expected to report their progress to DOE once a year. This involves establishing an energy intensity baseline upon joining the program and then tracking their progress over time. Demand Response in Industrial Facilities: Peak Electrical Demand is intended to help companies understand peak demand response programs offering by their local utility. Manufacturing industries can learn about time-varying rates and smart technologies they can use to help them reduce their energy bills. This guidance document is applicable to companies participating at either the program or challenge level. Although this guide is intended primarily to assist companies participating in Better Plants, the methodologies and guidance within the document are applicable to any organization interested in understanding peak demand response programs.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2022

Demand Response in Industrial Facilities: Peak Electric Demand

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2021

Building Life-Cycle Analysis with the GREET Building Module: Methodology, Data, and Case Studies

To holistically address building sustainability, Argonne National Laboratory has expanded its Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) life-cycle model with a new GREET Building Module. This report documents life-cycle analysis (LCA) methodology and foreground data that Argonne National Laboratory compiles and develops to address embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy impacts of a wide range of envelope and structural building materials for new construction and retrofits. The methodology and data form the backbone of the GREET Building Module. This research effort focuses on developing consistent LCA methodology that conforms to building LCA standards such as the EN 15978 to address embodied GHG emissions and energy impacts of building materials/technologies. We document detailed foreground data for selected building materials and building components that are common for building construction. To test the LCA methodology and the GREET Building Module, this report includes case studies of insulation materials and wall panels for residential building retrofit. We have developed a separate document as a User Guide for understanding and applying the GREET Building Module to conduct detailed, process-level LCA of embodied carbon and energy impacts of emerging building materials and technology solutions that of interest to the Building Technologies Office (BTO) of the US Department of Energy, researchers, and industry stakeholders.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2021

Core Analysis E-Reports Produced for the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration for Wells 13-10A, 13-14, and 32-8 of the Farnsworth Unit, Texas

The submission is three electronic reports (e-reports) produced by Terra Tek, a former Schlumberger company, for and under the oversight of the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration (SWP). The SWP designed and implemented a coring and core analysis program in conjunction with the previous field operator Chaparral Energy, L.L.C. The main SWP contacts who oversaw the coring and core analysis program, including geologic core descriptions and sample selection for testing by the Terra Tek, are listed below in the Authors section. The three reports are for Wells 13-10A, 13-14, and 32-8 of the Farnsworth Unit, TX, a site of the SWP's CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery project. The e-reports include many data types that are not listed in full detail here, but may include: geomechanical, geochemical, and petrophysical measurements; white light and UV core photos; spectral gamma logs on the core; and Heterogeneous Rock Analysis logs. Fracture core review reports are included for Wells 13-14 and 32-8. The three e-reports each have many subfolders with the various types of data in spreadsheets, pdfs, image files, or other formats. The main e-reports for each well are listed by the well name. The sub-folder “E-Report” for each well has a Report.html file, which, when opened, will have hyperlinks to the various data sets and information. The files in the zipped folder will need to be extracted for the Report.html files to work properly. These authors thank Joseph Hall, a geologist formerly of Chaparral Energy, L.L.C., for assistance in designing the coring program, his geologic expertise of the Farnsworth Unit, and his assistance with characterizing the core. Christopher Gillespie, of Terra Tek at the time, managed the myriad geomechanical, geochemical, and petrophysical measurements provided by Terra Tek for this project. The core from which the samples were collected for this project are housed at the Subsurface Data and Core Libraries of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Socorro, New Mexico, USA. Funding for this project is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) through the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration (SWP) under Award No. DE-FC26-05NT42591. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. These e-reports describe objective technical results and analysis. Any subjective views or opinions that might be expressed in the reports do not necessarily represent the views of the US Department of Energy or the United States Government.

Caprock↗

DOE OSTI2024

An Action Plan for Maritime Energy and Emissions Innovation

The Action Plan for Maritime Energy and Emissions Innovation (the action plan) lays out a strategy to reduce and eliminate nearly all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. maritime sector by 2050, in line with the U.S. economy-wide goal of net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. To reach this goal, the action plan outlines actions, objectives, targets, and activities to scale low- and net-zero emissions fuels, energies, and technologies; strengthen the maritime workforce; bolster shipbuilding capacity; and expand complementary landside infrastructure. The action plan supports industry, mariners, communities, civil society, sub-national governments, and other interested parties that will decarbonize the maritime sector alongside the U.S. government.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Thermal Resilience of Residential Building with Thermally Anisotropic Building Envelope Connected to Geothermal Sources

Heat waves and cold snaps have become more frequent and more intense because of climate change. A heat wave and a cold snap are a period of excessively hot and cold weather, respectively, that poses severe risks to building occupants’ health, especially for vulnerable people. They increase electrical energy consumption and put high stress on the grid which leads to potential power outages. Therefore, it is critical to assess and actively improve the thermal resilience of buildings to cope with heat waves, cold snaps, and power outages. The thermally anisotropic building envelope (TABE) is a novel active building envelope that can save energy while maintaining thermal comfort in buildings by redirecting heat and coolness from building envelopes to hydronic loops. When connecting to a ground thermal loop (GL), TABE can utilize the relatively stable temperature of the ground to protect the indoor environment during heat waves and cold snaps. This study assesses the thermal resilience of residential buildings that installed TABE and used ground thermal energy to supply the hydronic loops, abbreviated as ground thermal loop or TABE+GL. The simulation and analysis are conducted for the US Department of Energy prototype single-family detached residential building in the hot climate of Miami, Florida and Tucson, Arizona, and the cold climate of Denver, Colorado, and Rochester, Minnesota. Heat waves and cold snaps were obtained from the historical weather data of 1998-2020 for the studied regions. Three thermal resilience metrics, including the standard effective temperature (SET) degree-hours, the Heat Index, and the Hours of Safety (HOS) were used to quantify the effect of TABE+GL. The results showed that buildings installed TABE+GL could significantly reduce the average SET degree-hours above 30°C, increase HOS, and greatly improve thermal resilience.

Shen, Zhenglai↗