Bryan Palmintier is the Group Manager of the Transmission & Distribution Interactions Group in the Grid Planning and Analysis Center. He has 25 years of experience with integrating multi-domain models and hardware testing spanning electric power systems, larger multi-energy systems (including transportation, buildings, water, etc.), and aerospace systems. He currently focuses on advanced tools and approaches for integrating distributed energy technologies in the power system. This work recognizes the importance of capturing not only the purely technical aspects, but also the social, economic, and regulatory interactions to accurately understand and model modern complex engineering systems, such as the U.S. energy system. Bryan also has extensive experience leading teams from technical projects to outdoor expeditions. 

Research Interests

Integration of distributed renewable resources onto the grid at all scales

Development of innovative modeling tools and datasets for integration of transmission and distribution systems

Multi-sector analysis of energy systems integration including transportation, built environment, water, and communications and their interactions with the grid

Holistic integration of human factors into energy system modeling such as social, economic, and equity considerations

Simulation and techno-economic analysis of power systems with high deployment of renewables

Education

Ph.D., Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Engineer’s Degree, Mechanical Engineering (Design Division), Stanford University

M.S., Aeronautics & Astronautics Engineering, Stanford University

B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Professional Experience

Principal Research Engineer and Group Manager, NREL (2018–Present)

Senior Research Engineer, NREL (2014–2018)

Postdoctoral DOE SunShot Fellow, NREL (2013–2014)

Graduate Research Assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2009–2012)

Visiting Lecturer, University of Washington (2010–2012)

Research and Consulting Fellow, Rocky Mountain Institute (2007–2008)

Project Manager, Energy Solutions (2006–2007)

Research Staff Associate and Adjunct Faculty, Santa Clara University (2001–2007)

Associations and Memberships

Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 

Member, Power & Energy Society

Member, Industrial Electronics Society

Featured Work

Challenges and Opportunities of Integrating Electric Vehicles in Electricity Distribution Systems, Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports (2022)

Improving the Performance of Integrated Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop and Quasi-Static Time-Series Simulations, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics (2021)

Experiences Developing Large-Scale Synthetic U.S.-Style Distribution Test Systems, Electric Power Systems Research (2021)

The Challenges of Achieving a 100% Renewable Electricity System in the United States, Joule (2021)

The Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study (LA100), NREL Technical Report (2021)

Chapter 7: Distribution System Analysis in The Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study, NREL Technical Report (2021)

A Techno-Economic Comparison of Traditional Upgrades, Volt-Var Controls, and Coordinated Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems for Integration of Distributed Photovoltaic Resources, International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems (2020)

Design of the HELICS High-Performance Transmission-Distribution-Communication Market Co-Simulation Framework, NREL Technical Report (2017)

Impact of Operational Flexibility on Electricity Generation Planning with Renewable and Carbon Targets, IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy (2016)

On The Path to Sunshot: Emerging Issues and Challenges in Integrating Solar with the Distribution System, NREL Technical Report (2016)

Awards and Honors

Distinguished Member of Research Staff, NREL (2021)

R&D 100 Award Finalist for HELICS (2019)

Rising Star Award, NREL Tech Transfer (2017)

President’s Award, NREL (2016)