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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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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Better Climate Challenge: Greenhouse Gas Reporting Guidance

Better Climate Challenge Greenhouse Gas Reporting Guidance document can help you define the scope of your commitment, set your goal and base year, and annually report progress toward your goal for Better Climate Challenge Program. You will share GHG emissions and energy data across your building/plant portfolio with DOE, including owned and operated fleets. This document provides instructional guidance on how to quantify GHG emissions across your organization. Establishing an accurate GHG inventory is a critical first step to developing a plan to reduce emissions across your organization.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Better Climate Challenge Working Groups Non-Energy Benefits of Energy Projects-Improving Financial Payback

Energy efficiency is a key strategy recently identified by the United States Department of Energy as a pillar of industrial decarbonization. For manufacturing companies, improving energy efficiency will reduce money spent on energy utilities such as gas, electricity, and oil. Energy improvement projects also provide valuable benefits outside of simple operating cost reductions, such as reducing the carbon footprint, improving safety metrics and even enhancing quality and productivity. Unfortunately, energy efficiency projects have typically faced an adoption gap, even when they meet criteria such as payback period for capital projects. The inclusion and quantification of non-energy benefits (NEBs), also known as co-benefits, in the decision-making process for energy efficiency projects can improve the overall financial payback periods for those projects as well as potentially improve the company's key performance metrics aligned with business strategies. There are no readily available tools that facilitate this, however, and the most used tools for energy audits address NEBs in a perfunctory way if at all. We integrated research for finding and quantifying non-energy benefits of energy efficiency projects into a commonly recognized continuous improvement practice, the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) Process. This process, along with software and supplemental materials, guides energy assessments to find and to quantify NEBs associated with energy conservation opportunities. Our aim is to deliver an easy to use and effective process and software tool and to maximize return on investment for energy efficiency projects as well as contribute to companies' strategic performance goals.

DMAIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Making It Happen: On-Site Renewable Energy and Storage Challenges and Solutions for Commercial Buildings: Preprint

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Better Climate Challenge invites organizations to partner with DOE to set ambitious, portfolio-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals. To better understand the barriers to these goals and to demonstrate successful emissions reduction pathways, organizations can access working groups as one form of technical assistance from leading experts. One working group focus was the use of on-site renewable energy and storage - a key decarbonization strategy after energy efficiency. Members of the Better Climate Challenge onsite renewable energy and storage working group first identified barriers to implementing these technologies. Solutions were then brainstormed to support portfolio building owners to move from single systems to widespread implementation. Example insights include improving understandings of installation processes and location decisions, making the business case to relevant stakeholders, discussing unanticipated challenges throughout the process, and replicating these technologies across portfolios. This paper details valuable market feedback and highlights pathways to move toward widespread deployment of renewable energy and storage solutions.

building decarbonization strategies↗
DOE OSTI2025

Workforce Development Opportunities Through the US Department of Energy’s Better Plants Program 2025

The increasing global demand for energy underscores the importance of energy efficiency and sustainability. To address these challenges in the US manufacturing sector, the US Department of Energy has implemented the Better Plants and Better Climate Challenge programs. These initiatives aim to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and water usage in industrial facilities. This paper highlights a critical component of these programs, workforce development, which equips individuals with the skills and knowledge to implement energy-saving measures. Through the variety of training opportunities discussed, including bootcamps, in-plant trainings, virtual trainings, and annual events, the programs are able to cater to a wide range of industrial participants, from entry-level professionals to experienced engineers. By fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing and by leveraging certifications offered by organizations like the Association of Energy Engineers, these initiatives empower individuals to drive innovation and sustainable practices.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Framework for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Planning: Building Portfolios

The goal of this framework for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction planning (ERP) is to provide guidance to organizations seeking to reduce GHG emissions for their building portfolios and vehicle fleets. The process described in this framework helps organizations develop an actionable plan that prioritizes emissions reduction measures, identifies solutions, and lays out a phased pathway to achieve deep emissions reductions. The plan aims to result in the achievement of Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions reduction targets, in alignment with goals set within the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Better Climate Challenge, as well as longer term emissions reduction goals.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) Overview

This document is prepared to help Better Buildings, Better Plants, and Better Climate Challenge partners understand renewable energy certificates (RECs).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Power Purchase Agreements: Overview

Overview guidance for the Better Buildings, Better Plants, and Better Climate Challenge programs on the types of power purchase agreements available for renewable energy procurement.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Framework for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Planning: Building Portfolios

The goal of this Framework for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction planning (ERP) is to provide guidance to organizations seeking to reduce GHG emissions for their building portfolios and vehicle fleets. The process described in this framework helps organizations develop an actionable plan that prioritizes emissions reduction measures, identifies solutions, and lays out a phased pathway to achieve deep emissions reductions The plan aims to result in the achievement of Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions reduction targets, in alignment with goals set within the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Better Climate Challenge, as well as longer term emissions reduction goals.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Guide for Creating a Building-Level Action Plan to Improve Energy Efficiency and Reduce Carbon Emissions

Action plans are tools for commercial building owners to create pathways for reducing energy use and decarbonize, hence reducing carbon emissions. This template and associated direction manual provides a method for creating an action plan. Originally created for the Better Buildings Low Carbon Pilot, it can also be applied to the Better Buildings Climate Challenge and for any building owner striving towards lower carbon footprints.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

GHG Emissions Reduction Audit: A Checklist for Owners

This guidance and accompanying checklist detail recommended services and deliverables for a building-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction audit focused on Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Uncertain Pathways to a Future Safe Climate

Abstract Global climate change is often thought of as a steady and approximately predictable physical response to increasing forcings, which then requires commensurate adaptation. But adaptation has practical, cultural and biological limits, and climate change may pose unanticipated global hazards, sudden changes or other surprises–as may societal adaptation and mitigation responses. These poorly known factors could substantially affect the urgency of mitigation as well as adaptation decisions. We outline a strategy for better accommodating these challenges by making climate science more integrative, in order to identify and quantify known and novel physical risks including those arising from interactions with ecosystems and society. We need to do this even–or especially–when they are highly uncertain, and to explore risks and opportunities associated with mitigation and adaptation responses by engaging across disciplines. We argue that upcoming climate assessments need to be more risk‐aware, and suggest ways of achieving this. These strategies improve the chances of anticipating potential surprises and identifying and communicating “safe landing” pathways that meet UN Sustainable Development Goals and guide humanity toward a better future.

Sherwood, S. C.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Residential Cold-Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge

Cold-climate heat pumps (CCHPs) provide both space heating and cooling for homes, and incorporate advanced features that allow for improved heating capacity and efficiency at cold weather conditions compared with traditional heat pumps. To advance the adoption of CCHP technologies, DOE is launching the Cold-Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge as part of the Initiative for Better Energy, Emissions, and Equity (E3 Initiative).

Space conditioning, water heating, HVAC, competiti↗
DOE OSTI2022

Climate-aware decision-making: lessons for electric grid infrastructure planning and operations

Abstract Climate change poses significant risks to large-scale infrastructure systems and brings considerable uncertainties that challenge historical planning approaches. Here we focus on how climate awareness might be better incorporated into planning and decision-making in the electric power sector. To do so, we consider lessons from decision science literature where researchers have specifically focused on how to make better decisions under uncertainty. We perform a three-part review: of decision science literature on best practices for decision-making under uncertainty, of industry practice documents to understand how new uncertainties may affect the types of decisions electric utilities are making today, and of literature on electricity sector planning under climate change to assess how lessons from decision science might fit into sector-specific analyses. We discuss how characterizations of uncertainty from the decision science literature might guide approaches in the electricity sector to appropriately capture climate-related uncertainties. We also distill three key ideas from the decision science literature that can be incorporated into electricity sector planning to manage these new uncertainties: robustness, adaptive planning, and multi-stakeholder engagement. We offer example recommendations for how these key ideas might be incorporated into one essential type of planning activity, capacity expansion.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Reliability and Resiliency in South Asia's Power Sector - Pathways for Research, Modeling, and Implementation

Reliability and resilience are the core principles of power system planning and operations around the world. Power systems in South Asia are transforming with increasing penetration of clean energy generation resources, emerging technologies, increasing electricity demand and electrification. At the same time, these power systems are facing challenges posed by extreme weather events and climate change. All these factors would add furthermore importance to the reliability and resilience of future power systems in South Asia. This has motivated us to better understand the country specific challenges and chalk out the pathways for research, modelling and implementation in South Asia. Our research, experience in the region and feedback from key stakeholders indicate following as the key areas where more work is needed to improve reliability and resilience of power systems in the region: Renewable energy Data for power system studies, New Tools and Studies, Resilience Planning, Resource Adequacy, Advanced RE Forecasting, Cybersecurity, Load Forecasting, and Coordinated Planning and Operations.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Examining future changes in coastal low-level jet properties offshore California through dynamical downscaling

The coastal low-level jet, or coastal low-level jet (CLLJ), is a synoptically-forced meteorological feature frequently present offshore the western United States (U.S.). Characterized by a wind speed maximum that resides at the top of the marine boundary layer, the CLLJ is largely controlled by the location and strength of the North Pacific High (NPH) as well as the coastal geometry. Considering the rich wind resource available in this offshore region, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management identified wind energy lease areas offshore California and supported the deployment of two U.S. Department of Energy wind lidar buoys near Morro Bay and Humboldt. Despite our relatively good understanding of the fundamental mechanisms responsible for large-scale CLLJ properties offshore the western U.S., future changes in CLLJ characteristics are less clear. To address this research challenge, and ultimately to better inform future wind turbine deployments, we use simulations driven by three global climate models (GCMs). We apply self-organizing maps to the model outputs for a historical and two future climate periods to show the range of NPH regimes that support CLLJ conditions during the warm seasons, as well as the subtle contribution from land-falling cyclones approaching the mainland during the cold seasons. Compared to the historical period, the three GCM-driven simulations agree that CLLJ conditions will become more (less) prevalent from central California northward (southward). They agree less with respect to future changes in maximum CLLJ wind speeds and CLLJ heights. However, after considering model biases present during the historical period, wind speeds between the models are actually more similar during the 2070–2095 period than during the historical period. The potential combination of more frequent CLLJ conditions characterized by relatively consistent wind speeds occurring at lower heights across northern California suggests that the Humboldt lease area may be ideal for a long-term wind turbine deployment.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Mobile Energy Storage Systems: A Grid-Edge Technology to Enhance Reliability and Resilience

Increase in the number and frequency of widespread outages in recent years has been directly linked to drastic climate change necessitating better preparedness for outage mitigation. Severe weather conditions are experienced more frequently and on larger scales, challenging system operation and recovery time after an outage. In conclusion, the impact is more evident and concerning than before, considering the increased dependency on electricity in all aspects of our lives.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Impacts, processes and projections of the quasi-biennial oscillation

In the tropical stratosphere, deep layers of eastward and westward winds encircle the globe and descend regularly from the upper stratosphere to the tropical tropopause. With a complete cycle typically lasting almost 2.5 years, this quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is arguably the most predictable mode of atmospheric variability that is not linked to the changing seasons. Here, the QBO affects climate phenomena outside the tropical stratosphere, including ozone transport, the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Madden–Julian Oscillation, and its high predictability could enable better forecasts of these phenomena if models can accurately represent the coupling processes. Climate and forecasting models are increasingly able to simulate stratospheric oscillations resembling the QBO, but exhibit common systematic errors such as weak amplitude in the lowermost tropical stratosphere. Uncertainties about the waves that force the oscillation, particularly the momentum fluxes from small-scale gravity waves excited by deep convection, make its simulation challenging. Improved representation of the processes governing the QBO is expected to lead to better forecasts of the oscillation and its impacts, increased understanding of unusual events such as the two QBO disruptions observed since 2016, and more reliable future projections of QBO behaviour under climate change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗