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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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DOE OSTI2024

The Lithuania 100% Renewable Energy Study - Interim Results: Electricity System Scenarios for 2030 [Slides]

Lithuania's Energy Vision aims to achieve self-sufficiency in electricity generation by 2035 and transition to 100% renewable energy as soon as possible while maintaining affordability, reliability, and energy security. The Lithuania Energy Agency (LEA) is partnering with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to conduct the Lithuania 100% Renewable Energy Study (Lithuania 100) to provide evidence-based analysis for development of Lithuania's National Energy Independence Strategy. The Lithuania 100 Study leverages unique tools and capabilities of NREL to provide rigorous technical analysis of clean energy policies to achieve 100% renewable energy, and assess impacts on electricity grid operations, hydrogen system development, electricity distribution networks, air quality, and human health outcomes. The study is supported by a stakeholder committee chaired by the Ministry of Energy of Lithuania and implemented by four technical working groups. This report provides highlights of key interim results from modeling of Lithuania's near-term electricity grid through the year 2030. Results show that Lithuania has sufficient renewable energy potential, flexible generation capacity, and interconnection with neighboring European Union countries to reliably meet projected 2030 electricity demand with 100% renewable energy. A range of scenarios were modeled, each of which achieves at least 100% renewable energy in electricity, on average over the year, by 2030. Potential demands for hydrogen across industrial and transportation sectors were also evaluated, as well as the cost of hydrogen produced in Lithuania by 2030.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100): Final Report

The Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100) is a comprehensive analysis based on extensive stakeholder input of possible pathways for Puerto Rico to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050. PR100 was an integrated effort drawing on expertise and capabilities of the contributing national laboratories that explored possible pathways for Puerto Rico to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy in the long term (by 2050), increase reliability and resilience in the immediate term (within the next few years), and work toward energy justice. The purpose of the study is to provide decision support and inform investment decisions for implementers of Puerto Rico's energy transition. See NREL/TP-6A20-88614 for the Spanish translation of this report.

100% renewable energy target↗
DOE OSTI2025

Toward 100% Renewable Power Grids: A Review

The transition to a 100% renewable power grid remains beset by significant technical challenges. This paper critically examines the obstacles arising from the variability and unpredictability of renewable energy sources (RES), which complicate the real-time balancing of power generation and load demand. In addition to traditional stability concerns (e.g., rotor angle, voltage, and frequency stability), the increasing penetration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) introduces novel challenges, including resonance stability issues and converter-driven dynamics. Moreover, the dynamic behavior and fault response of IBRs diverge markedly from those of conventional synchronous generators, rendering traditional protection schemes increasingly inadequate. This paper reviews state-of-the-art solutions in power balancing, grid flexibility, stability enhancement, and advanced protection strategies, discussing their implications for future grid design. The analysis provides a comprehensive assessment of recent technological advancements, thereby outlining critical research directions essential for achieving a resilient, 100% renewable power grid.

100% renewable power grid↗
DOE OSTI2024

Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100) (Summary Report)

The Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100) is a comprehensive analysis based on extensive stakeholder input of possible pathways for Puerto Rico to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050. In this summary report of the PR100 Final Report, we describe the background and motivation behind the study, provide an overview, summarize results, highlight key findings, and outline implementation actions for stakeholders to take in the immediate-, near-, mid-, and long-term to achieve Puerto Rico’s energy system goals.

100% renewable energy target↗
DOE OSTI2024

Estudio de Resiliencia de la Red Electrica de Puerto Rico y Transiciones a Energia 100% Renovable (PR100): Informe resumido [Spanish Translation of Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100) (Summary Report)]

The Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100) is a comprehensive analysis based on extensive stakeholder input of possible pathways for Puerto Rico to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050. In this summary report of the PR100 Final Report, we describe the background and motivation behind the study, provide an overview, summarize results, highlight key findings, and outline implementation actions for stakeholders to take in the immediate-, near-, mid-, and long-term to achieve Puerto Rico’s energy system goals. For the English version of this report, see NREL/TP-6A20-88615 (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy24osti/88615.pdf).

100% renewable energy target↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design of Zone-Based Hierarchical Protection System for 100% Renewable Microgrids

Design of a reliable and secure protection system for a 100% renewable microgrid with only inverter-based resources (IBRs), is quite challenging. Most of the existing protection schemes in the state-of-the-art are suitable for microgrids with mixed-type of distributed energy resources (DERs) that covers both rotating machine-based DERs as well as IBR-based DERs, where the fault current level is moderately high. Due to drastic reduction in fault current level based on mode of operation and the variation of the low fault current level based on the operating level of the IBRs, the existing protection schemes face critical challenges, in case of a 100% renewable microgrid. This article proposes a zone-based hierarchical protection scheme that partitions a microgrid into various zones-of-protection and assigns speed-based hierarchical protection schemes in order to address the fundamental challenges of such microgrids. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated using time-domain simulation study on a microgrid test system. The results corroborates that the proposed hierarchical zone-based protection scheme exhibits enhanced reliability, security and dependability while tested with various fault cases (fault types, locations, and impedances), and non-fault cases during both grid-tied and islanded mode.

grid-forming inverter↗
DOE OSTI2024

Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project: Bainbridge Island, Washington - Cohort 2 Technical Assistance: Pathways to 100% Renewable Energy

The City of Bainbridge Island (COBI) applied for and received technical assistance from the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Program (ETIPP) in part to achieve their goal of 100% renewable electricity generation by 2040, five years ahead of the Washington State goal, and to increase its energy resilience in the face of natural disasters. To help address these goals, the City of Bainbridge Island (COBI) applied for and received technical assistance from the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Program (ETIPP) during 2022-2024. Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, ETIPP provides technical assistance to remote coastal and island communities interested in approaches to renewable and resilient energy transitions. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) completed the technical analysis aspects of the project, supported by the community partner Spark Northwest and the program administrator, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This report begins by describing the approach to technical assistance in the ETIPP project, followed by the development of future scenarios for electric demand based on current use. Potential pathways to 100% renewable energy are identified and analyzed by technology contributions from solar energy, anaerobic biodigestion, distributed wind, and marine energy. The combinations of these technologies and contributions to meet demand are discussed, along with potential policies and programs for implementation of the most relevant technologies moving forward. The report concludes with recommendations for next steps for COBI to meet the goal of 100% renewable energy generation by 2040 on- and off-island, and key caveats to consider.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design of Zone-Based Hierarchical Protection System for 100% Renewable Microgrids: Preprint

Design of a reliable and secure protection system for a 100% renewable microgrid with only inverter-based resources (IBRs), is quite challenging. Most of the existing protection schemes in the state-of-the-art are suitable for microgrids with mixed-type of distributed energy resources (DERs) that covers both rotating machine-based DERs as well as IBR-based DERs, where the fault current level is moderately high. Due to drastic reduction in fault current level based on mode of operation and the variation of the low fault current level based on the operating level of the IBRs, the existing protection schemes face critical challenges, in case of a 100% renewable microgrid. This article proposes a zone-based hierarchical protection scheme that partitions a microgrid into various zones-of-protection and assigns speed-based hierarchical protection schemes in order to address the fundamental challenges of such microgrids. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated using time-domain simulation study on a microgrid test system. The results corroborates that the proposed hierarchical zone-based protection scheme exhibits enhanced reliability, security and dependability while tested with various fault cases (fault types, locations, and impedances), and non-fault cases during both grid-tied and islanded mode.

grid-forming inverter↗
DOE OSTI2024

Air quality and public health co-benefits of 100% renewable electricity adoption and electrification pathways in Los Angeles

To demonstrate how a mega city can lead in decarbonizing beyond legal mandates, the city of Los Angeles (LA) developed science-based, feasible pathways towards utilizing 100% renewable energy for its municipally-owned electric utility. Aside from decarbonization, renewable energy adoption can lead to co-benefits such as improving urban air quality from reductions in combustion-related emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO x ), primary fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and others. Herein, we quantify changes to air pollutant concentrations and public health from scenarios of 100% renewable electricity adoption in LA in 2045, alongside aggressive electrification of end-use sectors. Our analysis suggests that while ensuring reliable electricity supply, reductions in emissions of air pollutants associated with the 100% renewable electricity scenarios can lead to 8% citywide reductions of PM 2.5 concentration while increasing ozone concentration by 5% relative to a 2012 baseline year, given identical meteorology conditions. The combination of these concentration changes could result in net monetized public health benefits (driven by avoided deaths) of up to $\$$1.4 billion in year 2045 in LA, results potentially replicable for other city-scale decarbonization scenarios.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100)

Puerto Rico has committed to meeting its electricity needs with 100% renewable energy by 2050, along with realizing interim goals of 40% by 2025, 60% by 2040, the phaseout of coal-fired generation by 2028, and a 30% improvement in energy efficiency by 2040 as established in Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act (Act 17). To meet these goals and support widespread end-use electrification, Puerto Rico is exploring renewable energy and innovative technologies for energy storage, distributed generation, distribution control, electric vehicles, and energy efficient and responsive loads that can be deployed in each of Puerto Rico's cities and communities. Launched in February 2022, a two-year study entitled Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy (PR100) will perform a comprehensive analysis of stakeholder-driven pathways to Puerto Rico's clean energy future. This fact sheet describes the five activities this robust and objective energy analysis entails.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Removing Barriers to 100% Renewables

This presentation was part of the 100% Renewables Panel - Parallel Event at the 2023 European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EUPVSEC). This presentation aims to debunk some of the misinformation surrounding sustainability, circularity economy concepts for PV, and PV toxicity which are often used as barriers to the much needed fast deployment for decarbonization.

circular economy↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hierarchical Data-Driven Protection for Microgrid with 100% Renewable Penetration: Preprint

The accurate detection and isolation of faults is critical for the reliable operation of microgrids (MGs). Traditional protection approaches are even more challenged for 100% renewable MGs because inverter-based resources (IBRs) are the only sources for fault current which are usually low and unpredictable/non-uniform. This calls for new protection scheme that can identify IBR fault responses and detect faults in MGs. Data-driven based protection can learn the pattern of IBR fault responses and make the correct decision to identify faults. Therefore, this paper presents a data-driven approach for fault localization in island MGs. The approach builds a training dataset of comprehensive fault scenarios that can be used to learn fault characteristics from processed measurements. The localization task is modeled as a binary classification problem at each relay, which simplifies the learning process. Then, a hierarchical decision mechanism is used to identify the fault location. The proposed approach is assessed using an exemplary MG with several grid-forming (GFM) and grid-following (GFL) inverters, where accurate estimation of fault location is achieved. The data-driven based protection approach developed in this paper provides a generic framework and useful guidance for power system protection engineers to achieve reliable protection for MGs with 100% renewables.

artificial intelligence↗
DOE OSTI2024

Guam100: Guam's 100% Renewable Energy Future

Guam100 is a comprehensive approach to providing analysis to support the transition to 100% renewable energy that considers future load growth, equity, and affordability as well as enhancing the reliability of Guam's electric grid. Guam community stakeholder input will inform the approach to analysis and modeling of future electricity needs, priorities (resilience, equity, and affordability), and resources to meet those needs.

energy burden↗
DOE OSTI2023

Regional Economic Impacts of the Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Transition

To help mitigate greenhouse gas (GHGs) generation from burning fossil fuels, many state and local governments are requiring utilities to dramatically increase the share of electricity generated from renewable sources. The City of Los Angeles has set a target of 100% renewable energy by 2045 and has formulated a plan that considers nine potential alternative scenarios that differ by technology, location, and timing. Each scenario has a unique set of local investments, operating and maintenance (O&M) costs, and concomitant rate structures. In this study we develop and apply a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model built specifically for LA to estimate and compare the economic impacts for each of the scenarios over time relative to a reference case. We find differences in economic impacts across scenarios, depending on the level and timing of investment and O&M expenditures, as well as differences in the relative rate changes across scenarios. Results show that employment and economic output are positively correlated with greater capital and O&M spending, while higher electricity rates can dampen economic activity. Several scenarios generate positive economic impacts relative to the reference case, showing that the transition need not have harmful economic impacts, and all scenarios generate a number of other positive co-benefits, such as reduced damage to health from the reduction of ordinary air pollutants. The net employment impacts from 2026 to 2045 across the scenarios range from a low of 3,600 job-year losses annually to 4,700 job-year gains, both around only 0.1% of the baseline average annual employment in the city over that period. The analysis also indicates that lower-income households are relatively more affected than others by the scenarios. Overall, even in the most negatively impactful case, the economic output and employment effects are quite small when taken in the context of the overall size of the regional economy and the large reduction in GHGs.

economic impact modeling↗
DOE OSTI2025

Grid Resiliency with a 100% Renewable Microgrid

San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) installed America’s first and largest utility-scale microgrid in Borrego Springs in 2013. The first generation Borrego Springs Microgrid utilized diesel generators to form and stabilize the microgrid island, with support from grid-scale batteries and local solar photovoltaic (PV) generation. In this project, SDG&E in partnership with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) demonstrated through modeling, simulation and utility field testing that blackstart and islanding of the microgrid can be led with 100% renewable, inverter based resources (IBRs), to help reduce community reliance on conventional generation resources. Through equipment upgrades, grid-forming island leader capability was transitioned to a battery IBR instead of the Borrego Springs Microgrid diesel generators. A new microgrid controller was integrated to the microgrid and programmed to control and manage multiple energy storage systems. Synchrophasor and other power quality data verified autonomous, high-speed response of the IBRs through blackstart, islanding, and load step testing. Results of project field evaluations provide distribution systems operators (DSO) with increased confidence that renewable, IBR can replace traditional generators to blackstart and island microgrids and rapidly establish stable island frequency with rapid changes in peak power demand. Importantly, the project validated the integration feasibility of a distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) controller that manages multiple grid-forming and grid-following IBRs, establishing a standard design interface to reduce the complexity of integrating new DERs in the future and supporting replication by the industry. As a result of learnings in this project, SDG&E has implemented the microgrid controller strategy at multiple other microgrid sites, thereby validating the replicability of the solution. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations including power and controller HIL hardware — along with electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations of Borrego Springs Microgrid —informed adjustments to inverter parameters and were important to characterize the performance of the IBRs in relevant operating conditions before deployment. The EMT and HIL simulations of islanding the entire community are important contributions in providing confidence in IBR performance prior to future islanding of the community in the field. High-fidelity EMT and/or HIL simulation of IBRs can de-risk field operations, and its relevance and importance as a tool is increasing as distribution grids and microgrids become more complex and dynamic with an increasing proportion of renewable generation, distributed energy storage, and two-way power and energy flows.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

SVM-Based Synchronized Fault Detection for 100% Renewable Microgrids

Traditional protection schemes face significant challenges when applied to microgrids with high penetrations of renewables with inverter-based resources (IBRs). The proliferation of advanced sensing and communication technologies has generated copious data, offering an opportunity to overcome these limitations using data-driven machine learning approaches. This work proposes a novel approach based on a support vector machine (SVM) for detecting faults within a 100% renewable microgrid. The approach encompasses a systematic offline training stage for the development of a linear SVM-based fault detection algorithm. This process covers offline data collection from the microgrid under study, the extraction of features such as positive- and negative-sequence components and the total harmonic distortion of the voltage and current measurements of the relays, and the design of the linear SVM-based classifier. During the online implementation, however, different classifiers can exhibit asynchronicity in detecting the fault inception at different subcycle-to-cycle period-level delays. To circumvent this asynchronicity issue, a separate algorithm is developed for each relay to estimate the fault inception time as close to the real fault time. The performance of the proposed SVM-based synchronized fault detection method is evaluated using online time-domain simulation studies on a microgrid test system. The results corroborate the reliability of the fault detection scheme when tested under various fault cases (fault types, locations, and impedances) and non-fault cases during both grid-tied and islanded operation modes.

100% microgrid↗
DOE OSTI2024

SVM-Based Synchronized Fault Detection for 100% Renewable Microgrids: Preprint

Traditional protection schemes face significant challenges when applied to microgrids with high penetrations of renewables with inverter-based resources (IBRs). The proliferation of advanced sensing and communication technologies has generated copious data, offering an opportunity to overcome these limitations using data-driven machine learning approaches. This work proposes a novel approach based on a support vector machine (SVM) for detecting faults within a 100% renewable microgrid. The approach encompasses a systematic offline training stage for the development of a linear SVM-based fault detection algorithm. This process covers offline data collection from the microgrid under study, the extraction of features such as positive- and negative-sequence components and the total harmonic distortion of the voltage and current measurements of the relays, and the design of the linear SVM-based classifier. During the online implementation, however, different classifiers can exhibit asynchronicity in detecting the fault inception at different subcycle-to-cycle period-level delays. To circumvent this asynchronicity issue, a separate algorithm is developed for each relay to estimate the fault inception time as close to the real fault time. The performance of the proposed SVM-based synchronized fault detection method is evaluated using online time-domain simulation studies on a microgrid test system. The results corroborate the reliability of the fault detection scheme when tested under various fault cases (fault types, locations, and impedances) and non-fault cases during both grid-tied and islanded operation modes.

100% microgrid↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrated multimodel analysis reveals achievable pathways toward reliable, 100% renewable electricity for Los Angeles

Climate change has prompted many communities to set targets for carbon-free power supplies, but they often lack data-driven strategies to achieve them. We present a comprehensive analysis of an entirely renewable electric power system that can maintain operating reliability and resource adequacy using detailed models of the city of Los Angeles power grid. In consultation with the operating utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), and the local community, we develop four supply scenarios across three demand projections to analyze which types of infrastructure and operational changes would achieve reliable electricity at least cost. We find that a reliable, 100%-renewable power system yielding more than $1 billion annually in health and climate co-benefits is achievable. Solar can supply most future energy needs, while combustion turbines that use renewable, storable carbon-neutral fuels are key to maintaining reliability. This study provides a replicable methodology that other jurisdictions globally can follow.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗