Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Wind Regulation”

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

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records

U.S. Wind Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances

A machine readable collection of documented wind siting ordinances at the state and local (e.g., county, township) level throughout the United States. The data were compiled from several sources including, DOE's Wind Exchange Ordinance Database (Linked in the submission), National Conference of State and Legislatures Wind Energy Siting (also linked in the submission), and scholarly legal articles. The citations for each ordinance are included in the spreadsheet. This data is an updated to a previously developed database of wind ordinances found in OEDI Submission 1932: "U.S. Wind Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances"

analysis↗

U.S. Wind Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances (2025)

A machine readable collection of documented wind siting ordinances at the state and local (e.g., county, township) level throughout the United States. The data were compiled using the Infrastructure Continuous Ordinance Mapping for Planning and Siting Systems (INFRA-COMPASS) tool, which leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate the collection of local codes and ordinances applicable to energy infrastructure. URLs for the ordinance source documents are included in the Wind Ordinances spreadsheet. The GeoPackage file included below contains the jurisdiction shapes for each ordinance. Note that the GeoPackage file is formatted for ingestion by NREL's reVX setbacks tool and therefore does not contain any of the state-level regulations. NOTE: This data was collected with the help of generative AI. The Large Language Models used for this effort make mistakes. Always validate the data for critical use cases. This data is an update to a previously developed database of wind ordinances found in OEDI Submission 5733: see the "U.S. Wind Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances 2022" link below. INFRA-COMPASS version used for collection: v0.8.2 LLMs used for collection: GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, GPT-4.1 nano, GPT-4o mini

17 WIND ENERGY↗

U.S. Wind Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances

A collection of documented wind siting ordinances at the state, county, township, and local level throughout the United States. The data were compiled from several sources including, DOE's Wind Exchange Ordinance Database (https://windexchange.energy.gov/policies-incentives), National Conference of State and Legislatures Wind Energy Siting (https://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/state-wind-energy-siting.aspx), and scholarly legal articles. The citations for each ordinance are included in the spreadsheet.

A-weighted decibel↗

Making Coal Relevant for Small Scale Applications: Modular Gasification for Syngas/Engine CHP Applications in Challenging Environments

This Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study is funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), and managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) through a Cooperative Agreement awarded to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) to perform a technical and cost study for the design and installation of a Hamilton-Maurer International (HMI) gasifier for generating a clean syngas for firing in reciprocating engines. An existing diesel engine generator (DEG) and a commercially available spark ignition engine are used to generate electricity with the low-Btu syngas. Other than the HMI gasifier, only commercially available technologies were assumed for this study. An important objective of this design study was to estimate capital and operating costs of small modular coal and coal/biomass fired generating units to provide wind regulation services. Although this study is based on retrofitting an existing coal fired power plant with the HMI gasifier, sufficient data was developed to characterize greenfield units. The original concept was to provide clean syngas and tars/oils from the gasification process to the existing Colt-Pielstick PC2.6B diesel engine generator (9.6 MWe) installed at the UAF Atkinson Power Plant. The intent was to convert the diesel engine to operate in a dual fuel mode, firing both syngas and tars/oils. As the project progressed, Fairbanks Morse Engine (FME), current licensee for the Colt-Pielstick engine line, was not able to develop a modification package for the engine to allow for syngas firing. Although this type of modification is available for firing natural gas, the capability does not extend to syngas. Western Energy Systems, distributor for Innio Jenbacher, was able to offer the Jenbacher Model JMS620 engine. After review of available options, the project team selected a design configuration using two Jenbacher engines rated at 1965 kWe each to fire the syngas, with the oils/tars directed to the Colt Pielstick diesel to be blended with ultra-low sulfur diesel oil (ULSD). The Jenbacher engines are expected to operate at continuous base load, with some load-following ability, while the existing diesel engine will operate in grid support service, with loads varying from a nominal 25% to 100%. An annual capacity factor for the diesel engine is projected to be between 50% and 60%. The overall gasifier and gas clean-up system is sized to produce enough syngas to adequately fuel three Jenbacher Engines for a nominal power output of 5.9 MWe, but this study assumes that only two Jenbacher engines will be installed due to space constraints in the Atkinson Power Plant, and because of expected air emission permit limitations. There is still potential that the excess syngas capacity equivalent to about 2 MWe could be used as supplemental fuel for the DEG. The exhaust from the Jenbacher engines is passed through heat recovery units to generate low pressure steam, thereby providing a significant portion of the steam required for operating the gasifier. The overall performance of the HMI gasifier/engine configuration is summarized as follows: 1) Overall electric efficiency, Jenbacher and diesel engines, based on gasifier fuel production (syngas and pyrolysis liquids) is 35.2% LHV, 2) Overall cogenerating efficiency (electricity plus steam), based on gasifier fuel production (syngas and pyrolysis liquids) is 54.8% LHV, 3) Overall electric efficiency, Jenbacher and diesel engines, based on coal input, is 29.6% LHV, and 4) Overall cogenerating efficiency, electricity plus steam, based on coal input is 46.0%. This project is estimated to have a Bare Erected Cost (BEC) of $\$$ 33.4 million and a Total Plant Cost (TPC) of $\$$ 45.7 million. Based on the original scope, sending both the clean syngas and the oils and tars to the existing diesel engine, the BEC and TPC values would have been $\$$ 23.3 million and $\$$ 32.1 million, respectively. A variable Cost of Electricity (COE) is calculated to reflect only those costs that will be incurred by incremental operation of the system for the HMI gasifier/Jenbacher engine combination. Operation of the diesel engine is determined separately. The variable COE values are: Case 1: 100% Usibelli Coal: (a) HMI gasifier/Jenbacher Engines -- 8.3 cents/kWh; (b) Diesel Engine -- 20.2 cents/kWh, and Case 2: 80% Usibelli Coal + 20% wood chips (proportion based on Btu input, LHV basis): (a) HMI Gasifier/Jenbacher -- 13.7 cents/kWh; (b) Diesel Engine -- 20.2 cents/kWh. The incremental cost of operating the gasifier/Jenbacher system increases with co-firing of wood chips due to the high cost of this material, over five times as costly as Usibelli coal delivered to the Atkinson Power building. The diesel cost is constant as the oils and tars are priced at the same value as the ULSD for the purposes of fueling the diesel engine. Section 8 of this report provides details of the O&M costs. The overall power system is configured to be modular and scalable to provide a wide range of generating capacity using the same components. This allows for reduction in cost, risk, schedule time to engineer and construct, and provides some degree of repeatability for air permitting.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Regulation of Solar Wind Electron Temperature Anisotropy by Collisions and Instabilities

Abstract Typical solar wind electrons are modeled as being composed of a dense but less energetic thermal “core” population plus a tenuous but energetic “halo” population with varying degrees of temperature anisotropies for both species. In this paper, we seek a fundamental explanation of how these solar wind core and halo electron temperature anisotropies are regulated by combined effects of collisions and instability excitations. The observed solar wind core/halo electron data in ( β ∥ , T ⊥ / T ∥ ) phase space show that their respective occurrence distributions are confined within an area enclosed by outer boundaries. Here, T ⊥ / T ∥ is the ratio of perpendicular and parallel temperatures and β ∥ is the ratio of parallel thermal energy to background magnetic field energy. While it is known that the boundary on the high- β ∥ side is constrained by the temperature anisotropy-driven plasma instability threshold conditions, the low- β ∥ boundary remains largely unexplained. The present paper provides a baseline explanation for the low- β ∥ boundary based upon the collisional relaxation process. By combining the instability and collisional dynamics it is shown that the observed distribution of the solar wind electrons in the ( β ∥ , T ⊥ / T ∥ ) phase space is adequately explained, both for the “core” and “halo” components.

Yoon, Peter H. (ORCID:0000000181343790)↗

Distributed Cooperative Control of Wind Farms with On-Site Battery Energy Storage Systems

This chapter studies the output power regulation in wind farms consisting of doubly-fed induction generator wind turbines, one of the most popular generator configurations in modern multi-MW wind industry, equipped with on-site battery energy storage systems. Traditionally, wind farms were operated as standalone units or were equipped with a central, large-scale, energy storage system. In fact, most of the existing control designs for hybrid wind-storage applications are centralized, where the central unit collects the measured data from all wind turbines and storage systems (if they exist) and compares with the load demand to generate the reference power for each wind turbine controller. Those centralized setups or control structures do not fully exploit the flexibility and locality of the on-site energy storage systems in a wind farm. Moreover, the storage functionality is lost if the central storage system is broken down, while in a distributed architecture, a failure only affects individual on-site storage systems and the others will still operate. Therefore, on-site storage systems and distributed control designs need to be developed for wind farms to provide regulation services for the grid. An approach to tackle that challenge will be presented in this chapter.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Impact of Siting Ordinances on Land Availability for Wind and Solar Development

In the United States, many siting regulations for wind and solar developments are created at the county or township level. Here we survey local zoning ordinances across the contiguous United States to understand the types and frequency of ordinances that might impact wind and solar development. We identify over 1,800 ordinances for wind and more than 800 ordinances for solar in 2022. To understand the impact of ordinances on anticipated land availability, we use spatial modelling on the setbacks specified in the ordinances. Extrapolating the setbacks throughout the country can reduce wind and solar resources by up to 87% and 38%, respectively, depending on the size of the setbacks applied. These results indicate the importance of capturing setback ordinances in resources assessments so as to not overstate resource potential, especially when considering highly decarbonized futures.

county↗

Impact of Siting Ordinances on Land Availability for Wind and Solar Development

In the United States, many siting regulations for wind and solar developments are created at the county or township level. Here we survey local zoning ordinances across the contiguous United States to understand the types and frequency of ordinances that might impact wind and solar development. We identify over 1,800 ordinances for wind and more than 800 ordinances for solar in 2022. To understand the impact of ordinances on anticipated land availability, we use spatial modelling on the setbacks specified in the ordinances. Extrapolating the setbacks throughout the country can reduce wind and solar resources by up to 87% and 38%, respectively, depending on the size of the setbacks applied. These results indicate the importance of capturing setback ordinances in resources assessments so as to not overstate resource potential.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Integration of Storage in the DC Link of a Full Converter-Based Distributed Wind Turbine

Energy storage is known to support the dispatchability of variable renewable resources. In this paper, we model a battery energy storage system (BESS) integrated with the DC link of a Type IV full converter-based wind turbine and the necessary controls to achieve efficient dispatch. To support the validation of control methodologies, we build a detailed model of a Type IV research wind turbine at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Controls Advanced Research Turbine (CART 3), and we integrated a lithium-ion BESS model in grid-following mode into the model. The simulation results illustrate the sizing and control of the DC link-integrated BESS for a given variable wind resource and varying dispatch strategies (i.e., under constant, uncertain, and ramping wind scenarios). The integrated storage can smooth variabilities in distributed wind output, hedge against uncertainties, provide the ramping capability, as well as support stability under voltage and frequency transients. All of these have been illustrated in MATLAB/Simulink.

DC-link voltage↗

Impedance Analysis and PHIL Demonstration of Reactive Power Oscillations in a Wind Power Plant Using a 4-MW Wind Turbine

This paper presents impedance-based analysis, mitigation, and power-hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) demonstration of reactive power oscillations in a wind power plant using a 4-MW Type III wind turbine drivetrain. Because such low-frequency oscillations result from interactions among slower control loops of wind turbines regulating phasor quantities—active and reactive power output of the wind turbine and the magnitude of voltages at the point of interconnection (POI)—a new type of admittance is defined in terms of phasor quantities for their analysis. The so-called power-domain admittance of a wind turbine is defined as the transfer function from the frequency and magnitude of voltages at the POI to the active and reactive power output of the turbine. The power-domain admittance responses of the 4-MW wind turbine are measured using a 7-MVA grid simulator to identify the source of the reactive power oscillations. Power-domain impedance analysis and PHIL experiments are performed to explain how a resonant mode manifests as turbine-to-turbine and plant-to-grid reactive power oscillations. It is discovered that weaker grids exhibiting high inductive impedance mitigate oscillations in the reactive power output of wind power plants; however, a higher grid impedance does not help in damping turbine-to-turbine reactive power oscillations. This paper presents a simple droop-based solution to eliminate both turbine-to-turbine and plant-to-grid reactive power oscillations.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Enabling Renewable Energy While Protecting Wildlife: An Ecological Risk-Based Approach to Wind Energy Development Using Ecosystem-Based Management Values

Acceptance of wind energy development is challenged by stakeholders’ concerns about potential effects on the environment, specifically on wildlife, such as birds, bats, and (for offshore wind) marine animals, and the habitats that support them. Communities near wind energy developments are also concerned with social and economic impacts, as well as impacts on aesthetics, historical sites, and recreation and tourism. Lack of a systematic, widely accepted, and balanced approach for measuring the potential damage to wildlife, habitats, and communities continues to leave wind developers, regulators, and other stakeholders in an uncertain position. This paper explores ecological risk-based management (RBM) in wind energy development for land-based and offshore wind installations. This paper provides a framework for the adaptation of ecosystem-based management to wind energy development and examines that framework through a series of case studies and best management practices for applying risk-based principles to wind energy. Ten case studies indicate that wind farm monitoring is often driven by regulatory requirements that may not be underpinned by scientific questions. While each case applies principles of adaptive management, there is room for improvement in applying scientific principles to the data collection and analysis. Challenges and constraints for wind farm development to meet RBM framework criteria include collecting sufficient baseline and monitoring data year-round, engaging stakeholder facilitators, and bringing together large and diverse scientific teams. The RBM framework approach may provide insights for improved siting and consenting/permitting processes for regulators and their advisors, particularly in those nations where wind energy is still in the early development stages on land or at sea.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

2018 Offshore Wind Technologies (Market Report)

The 2018 Offshore Wind Technologies Market Report is intended to provide offshore wind policymakers, regulators, developers, researchers, engineers, financiers, supply chain participants, and other stakeholders with up-to-date quantitative information about the offshore wind market, technology, and cost trends in the United States and worldwide. This report is especially intended to provide detailed information on the domestic offshore wind industry to provide a U.S. context and help navigate technical and market barriers and opportunities.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

2018 Offshore Wind Technologies Market Report

Offshore wind energy is a rapidly growing global industry that creates electricity from wind turbines installed in coastal waters on either rigid or floating substructures anchored to the seabed or lake bottom. The 2018 Offshore Wind Technologies Market Report was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and is intended to provide offshore wind policymakers, regulators, developers, researchers, engineers, financiers, supply chain participants, and other stakeholders with up-to-date quantitative information about the offshore wind market, technology, and cost trends in the United States and worldwide. This report provides detailed information on the domestic offshore wind industry to contextualize the U.S. market and help policymakers, researchers, and the general public understand technical and market barriers and opportunities. Globally, the scope of the report covers the status of the 176 operating offshore wind projects through December 31, 2018, and provides the status of, and analysis on, a broader global pipeline of 838 projects in various stages of development. To provide the most up-to-date discussion of this dynamically evolving industry, this report also tracks the most significant domestic developments and events from January 1, 2018, through March 31, 2019. The following is a summary of the key offshore wind market findings.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition

The Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition is intended to provide offshore wind policymakers, regulators, developers, researchers, engineers, financiers, supply chain participants, and other stakeholders with up-to-date quantitative information about the offshore wind market, technology, and cost trends in the United States and worldwide. This report details information on the domestic offshore wind industry to provide a U.S. context and help navigate technical and market barriers and opportunities.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2022 Edition

The 2022 edition of the Offshore Wind Market Report provides offshore wind policymakers, regulators, developers, researchers, engineers, financiers, supply chain participants, and other stakeholders with up-to-date quantitative information about the offshore wind market, technology, and cost trends in the United States and worldwide. The report covers the global offshore wind industry for the 2021 calendar year and the most significant U.S. domestic industry progress and events from January 1, 2021, through May 31, 2022.

17 WIND ENERGY↗