Energy Systems Integration Newsletter: October 2023

In this edition, an NREL study looks at moving beyond 4-hour energy storage, the Advanced Distribution Management System is a safe sandbox for testing advanced distribution system designs, the Athena Zero-Emissions Vehicles project looks at electrifying rental car fleets at airports, and more.

From Minor Player to Major League: Moving Beyond 4-Hour Energy Storage

Energy storage with more than 4 hours of duration could play an important role in integrating lots of renewable energy into the U.S. power grid, but it comprises less than 10% of the storage deployed since 2010. In a new study, NREL returned to its multiyear Storage Futures Study to understand how to move beyond 4-hour storage. Results show that increasing demand in winter will likely bring new opportunities for longer-duration storage to go from a minor player to the major league of the energy landscape. Read the full energy storage story.

One Key Asset Can Transform the Grid Edge, and It's Open to Users

The Advanced Distribution Management System test bed is a unique tool for utilities and industry: They can simulate their planned investments and product deployments in a sandbox environment. It's as close to reality as utilities and companies can usually get in system testing, and it's been instrumental for embarking on breakthrough distribution system designs, like an updated fault identification scheme or an electric vehicle charging schedule.

These applications and many others have helped dozens of users unleash technologies at the grid edge, and new projects for the Advanced Distribution Management System test bed are being invited. Utilities or companies working on vehicle-to-grid integration are encouraged to apply. Read a recent story about the Advanced Distribution Management System test bed.

The Next Phase of Athena Zero-Emissions Vehicles Will Focus on Electrifying Rental Car Fleets at Airports

Aviation emissions contribute sizable impacts to air quality in and around airports, with the sector accounting for nearly 8% of all transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Athena, a collaborative effort funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office and led by NREL in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was launched in 2018 to help transportation hubs—including Dallas Fort Worth International Airport —integrate and adapt to transformative technologies that support ambitious energy and climate goals.

The next phase of Athena—referred to as the Athena Zero-Emissions Vehicles project—aims to electrify transportation and de-risk airport investments, with an initial focus on rental cars. The project was officially launched in August at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, where NREL researchers leading Athena Zero-Emissions Vehicles efforts convened with a diverse array of stakeholders and project partners. Read how NREL researchers and partners, through Athena Zero-Emissions Vehicles, will continue building on past insights and use NREL's powerful Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems platform to model cost-optimal, behind-the-meter energy storage and solar photovoltaic systems to meet increasing energy demand from the electrification of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport’s rental car fleets.

Save the Date for Energy Transition Summit

The U.S. Department of Energy Grid Modernization Initiative and Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response are excited to host the Energy Transition Summit: Grid Modernization Initiative and Clean Energy Cybersecurity in Arlington, Virginia, Feb. 5–8, 2024.

Attendees will learn about opportunities to engage with DOE-led efforts that are modernizing the future power grid and enabling a more resilient, secure, and equitable energy transition. This event will host thought leaders and working sessions to have a dialog about strategies and road maps for future energy systems through partnerships and technology transitions across government, industry, research organizations, and local communities.

The summit will feature keynote speakers and focused sessions covering topics on the two summit themes:

• Grid Modernization Initiative: Creating the grid of the future to deliver resilient, reliable, flexible, secure, sustainable, and affordable electricity
• Clean Energy Cybersecurity: Fostering collaborative security solutions to enable a more resilient and equitable energy transition.

Registration details will be available soon.

Learn About NREL’s Holistic Electricity Model in the Latest Tell Me Something Grid Article

The evolution of the electricity system has historically been modeled from the perspective of a single utility or central planner, with limited consideration of the diversity of individual consumers and suppliers and societal objectives, incentives, and actions. But that approach is becoming less effective as electricity systems rapidly evolve. In a new article, NREL grid researcher Elaine Hale describes a new modeling approach to ensure all community members are considered.

Environmental Science Thought Leader Explains Renewable Energy’s Benefits to Public Health

As wildfires covered the country in smoke during the past few months, Americans suffered from the health effects of high concentrations of air pollutants. In a newly released Long Story Short video, senior environmental scientist Garvin Heath discusses renewable energy’s role in reducing air pollutants and improving public health. Heath highlights NREL’s work to quantify the health benefits of replacing combustion-based energy sources with renewables in studies such as the Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study (LA100). Watch the video to learn more.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: NREL’s Cyber Experts Fortify Energy Systems Against Threats

Energy is essential to our everyday lives. It powers our homes, businesses, and schools and keeps critical services operational; however, in the event of a successful cyberattack on the grid, energy reliability could be impacted. At NREL, a dedicated team of experts is working to fortify our energy systems against these threats through leading-edge research, collaborations, and technologies. During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, hear from two NREL cybersecurity researchers on how an NREL-led initiative is accelerating innovative cybersecurity solutions to market and how NREL’s cyber range enables power system threat and mitigations evaluations at scale.

Register Now for Energy Exchange 2024

Attendee registration and hotel reservations for Energy Exchange 2024 are officially open! Register today to hear actionable technical training, engaging panel discussions, and senior leadership keynote presentations; attend a solution-packed trade show; and network with more than 2,500 energy, water, and fleet leaders. As the premier accredited training event for the federal government, it's one of the most cost-effective and flexible ways to gain mission-critical knowledge, develop professional skills, and earn continuing education units. Early bird registration closes Jan. 12—don’t wait to join us.

Communities Local Energy Action Program Supports Local Clean Energy and Economic Development Goals

DOE is launching the second round of Communities Local Energy Action Program to provide technical assistance to 24–32 competitively selected communities in support of their community-based clean energy and economic development goals. Communities Local Energy Action Program is specifically for low-income, energy-burdened communities that are experiencing either environmental injustice or direct economic impacts from the shift away from the historical reliance on fossil fuels. Selected communities may also receive up to $50,000 in funding for services rendered as part of the technical assistance delivery. Applications for the second round are open through Dec. 14, 2023, at 5 p.m. ET.

Publications Roundup

Estimating National-Scale Wind Potential Using Spatially Explicit Turbine Layout Optimization, NREL Technical Report (2023)

National renewable energy potential assessments play a broad and critical role in the analysis of the clean energy transition by providing foundational estimates of developable clean resources. Common to all past wind potential assessments is an assumption that wraps the complexity of wind plant layout into a single metric, known as capacity density, or rated power capacity per unit of land area. Quite often, a singular capacity density or rotor-diameter-driven capacity density is used in wind potential assessments across broad geographies despite the complexities of local drivers. In this paper, we present a new wind technical potential assessment for the United States, leveraging a spatial optimization approach in lieu of the traditional uniform capacity density. The optimization approach is a spatially explicit method for determining the potential locations of individual wind turbines—accounting for the turbine configuration, plant economics and losses, wind resource, and siting considerations.

Virtual Power Plants and Energy Justice, NREL Technical Report (2023)

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order 2222, issued in September 2020, removes barriers for distributed energy resources to participate in wholesale energy markets by allowing distributed energy resources to aggregate and participate in wholesale markets as a single entity, known as a virtual power plant (VPP). VPPs can provide balancing, reliability, and resiliency grid services and can participate in capacity, energy, and ancillary services markets. They can also increase customer energy access and lower electricity bills. This report focuses on VPP business models, including considerations of energy justice. Through an analysis of the VPP value chain, business models, programs, and pilots, several VPP applications are identified and grouped by their ability to have quantitatively measurable or monetized benefits. Benefits and barriers specific to underserved communities are outlined, and VPP programs with an intentional focus on underserved communities are compared to those without such a focus.

Long-Duration Energy Storage: Resiliency for Military Installations, NREL Technical Report (2023)

This report provides a quantitative techno-economic analysis of a long-duration energy storage technology, when coupled to on-base solar photovoltaics, to meet the U.S. Department of Defense’s 14-day requirement to sustain critical electric loads during a power outage and significantly reduce an installation’s carbon footprint. The long-duration energy storage modeled is Antora Energy’s battery energy storage system. It is currently at a technology readiness level of seven and not ready for full-scale deployment. To support decisions on the value of near-term demonstrations, this analysis looked at the potential value of Antora Energy’s battery energy storage system if deployed in the future.