Energy Systems Integration Newsletter: January 2022
In this edition, NREL's Storage Futures Study demonstrates grid efficiency with high levels of energy storage, NREL shows the value of electric vehicle managed charging, a look at the latest updates to NREL's R&D100 Award winning REopt® tool, and more.
Happy Hours: Energy Storage Could Support the Grid Every Hour of the Day, All Year Long
The latest phase of NREL's Storage Futures Study finds the grid could operate more efficiently with high levels of energy storage across all studied power system configurations and grid mixes.
Using the publicly available Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS™) model and a commercially available production cost model called PLEXOS, NREL simulated hourly grid operations with widespread storage deployment through 2050. "We once again find that the potential future energy system with large quantities of energy storage could successfully balance load 24/7," said Jennie Jorgenson, principal investigator of the study.
Read more about the grid operational impacts of widespread storage deployment.
Research Shows Value of Electric Vehicle Managed Charging for Effective Vehicle-Grid Integration
Electric vehicle (EV) managed charging, or "smart charging," coordinates charging based on people's travel needs, electricity supply, and grid conditions. An NREL team completed a literature review on the potential value of EV managed charging, providing a complete look at how EVs and the grid could work together as the electric and transportation sectors become intertwined.
Read more about how NREL is aligning utilities and electric vehicles for the greater grid.
REopt Targets Emissions for Tomorrow's Cleaner, Healthier Built Environment
Curious about future emissions impacts and costs for your building's energy systems? NREL's online Renewable Energy Integration and Optimization (REopt) tool has greatly expanded emissions accounting functionality to support industry and government in making smart energy investments—while helping tackle the climate crisis. Users can model climate- and health-related emissions and their costs to consider the impacts of a future carbon tax, quantify environmental justice considerations related to emissions, or set renewable energy or emissions reduction targets for their site.
Learn more about the latest updates to NREL's R&D 100 Award-winning REopt tool.
NREL Partners With Kentucky Community To Meet 100% Clean Energy Goals
The community of Louisville, Kentucky, is partnering with NREL to achieve a goal of 100% clean electricity for municipal government operations by 2030. In 2021, the Louisville Metro Council passed an ordinance that set the goals of 100% clean electricity for the Louisville Metro Government (LMG) by 2030; for all LMG operations, including transportation and building heating, to decarbonize by 2035; and for communitywide decarbonization by 2040. NREL is working with the city to identify viable pathways for the LMG to meet its 2030 goal.
Read more about the partnership and how NREL is helping Louisville meet its renewable energy goals.
Q&A With Jordan Cox: Expect the Unexpected With Resilient Energy Systems
A resilient energy system can withstand power disruptions, mitigate the damage, and make a rapid recovery. Yet, planning for an unexpected event is a serious challenge. In this staff Q&A, resilience researcher Jordan Cox describes NREL's innovative approach to analyzing system vulnerabilities, measuring risk, and keeping communities safe.
Read our Q&A with Jordan Cox.
NREL, USAID, and the Global Power System Transformation Consortium Launch Women in Power System Transformation Initiative
As is the case across many fields, women are underrepresented in leadership and technical roles at power system operation organizations. This disparity persists despite a growing body of research demonstrating how women bring diverse skills, experiences, and perspectives that improve overall organizational performance.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), NREL, and the Global Power System Transformation Consortium launched the Women in Power System Transformation initiative to address the educational, professional, and institutional barriers to women's entry and advancement in the power system operations field.
The initiative's approach includes creating internships and fellowship opportunities for women and power system professionals in emerging economies, developing university-level academic resources, and partnering with existing programs, such as USAID's Engendering Industries.
Learn more about the opportunities provided by the Joint Workforce Development Initiative To Advance Leadership Opportunities for Women in Power System Operations.
Jobs Postings
Interested in joining NREL? We are growing quickly and looking to fill a variety of positions. Check out the NREL Careers page to explore a future with NREL!
R7441 – Advanced Distribution Modeler and Analyst
R7758 – Senior Electrical Engineer for Energy Systems Integration and Microgrid Development
R7781 – Project Controller III – Grid Integration Program
R7783 – Postdoctoral Researcher – Formal Methods for Cybersecurity
R7784 – Postdoctoral Researcher – Game Theory and Cybersecurity
R7971 – Consumer Behavior Software Modeler
R7986 – Lead Engineer – Cyberphysical Cloud Operations
R8019 – Research Technician IV/V (Build)
R8035 – Postdoctoral Researcher: Power Systems Modeling and Analysis
R8044 – Postdoctoral Researcher – Data-Driven Analytics for Power Systems
R8045 – Transmission Modeling Postdoc Researcher – Advanced Grid Planning and Analysis
R8046 – Transmission Modeling Engineer – Advanced Grid Planning and Analysis
R8051 – Chief Researcher – Embedded Software Systems
R8052 – IAC Project Controller II
R8055 – Grid Systems Analyst (Early-Mid Career)
R8117 – Researcher – Energy and Demand Response Modeling and Analysis
R8129 – Technical Project Manager: Domestic and International Projects
R8130 – Researcher – Cybersecurity Red Team
R8204 – Researcher – Applied Cybersecurity and Formal Methods
R8226 – Project Controller I/II – Power Systems Engineering Center
R8265 – Project Controller II/III – Power Systems Engineering Center
R8275 – Grid Planning and Analysis Researcher
R8299 – Researcher II/III – Full-Stack Developer
R8338 – Laboratory Program Manager – ARIES/ESIF Program
R8344 – Cybersecurity Research Support
R8365 – Intermediate Research Analyst – Circular Economy for Energy Materials
R8412 – Business Support Professional/Administrative Assistant
Tune In for an Expert Discussion on Blockchain and Future Energy Systems
The rise in distributed energy resources is leading to millions of new connected devices across homes and neighborhoods—necessitating innovative ways to manage and trade energy for the future grid. Blockchain technologies could offer a secure, market-based approach that connects power producers with consumers and safely meets the future energy demand for more renewable energy resources.
Register now for an upcoming webinar hosted by NREL's cybersecurity program, The Future of Blockchain and Energy Systems, on Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. MST.
Panelists from industry and government will unpack the potential benefits and risks of blockchain for trading and managing energy. They will also showcase a project with participation from multiple national laboratories that explores blockchain-based concepts for device security, secure communications, and grid resilience.
NREL Scientists Dive Into Data in Search of Answers
In NREL's Insight Center, researchers bring data and models to life, illuminating pathways to a clean energy future. From reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, specifically around airports, to analyzing how birds can safely fly around wind power plants, the Insight Center provides a unique approach to viewing and analyzing data.
Learn more about the work and researchers of NREL's Insight Center.
Publications Roundup
Background Information on the Protection Requirements in IEEE Standard 1547-2018
The widely relevant IEEE 1547-2018 standard for the interconnection and interoperability of distributed energy resources has direct implications for distribution system protections. This recent NREL report summarizes protection-related guidance within IEEE Std 1547, such as handling abnormal operating performance, the response of distributed energy resources (DERs) to various faults and grid conditions, and requirements for conformance testing. This report covers common protection concerns for DER systems and discusses current practices to mitigate such problems. In addition to this report, NREL provides a variety of educational resources related to IEEE Std 1547.
The NREL Cyber Range
Get to know the NREL Cyber Range, a one-of-a-kind environment for experiencing energy system cybersecurity with real technologies and operations. This fact sheet provides an overview of the Cyber Range, which combines energy system models, advanced controls, and tomorrow's energy infrastructure to construct a flexible environment that matches the sophistication of future threats and defenses. With this space, NREL offers unlimited potential to test the frontier of energy systems security.
Federated Architecture for Secure and Transactive Distributed Energy Resource Management Solutions System Architecture and Reference Implementation
An NREL-led, multilab collaboration is finalizing a universal framework, the Federated Architecture for Secure and Transactive Distributed Energy Resource Management Solutions (FAST-DERMS), for the near-real-time management of DERs in transactive energy markets. The framework and an example implementation are explained in a recent report, which also details the importance of the framework to utilities and the power industry. FAST-DERMS is an all-in-one framework that aggregates and dispatches DERs, handling scheduling and operations, and communications and control. It is designed to operate alongside a utility's advanced distribution management system and provides a standardized structure for integrating DERs into the distribution system. FAST-DERMS was developed by multiple DOE laboratories with input from utilities and energy companies.
The Solar Influencer Next Door: Predicting Low-Income Solar Referrals and Leads
Because of its promise to simultaneously reduce the energy burden and support the just distribution of renewable energy benefits, increasing the adoption of solar among low-to-moderate income (LMI) households remains an important policy goal. However, scaling LMI solar continues to be a challenge due to affordability and access issues. This paper from NREL researchers, published in Energy Research & Social Science, develops a new household-level data set on LMI solar lead acquisition, referrals, and adoption to understand the processes through which LMI solar uptake has occurred in California. Using these data, the researchers developed models to predict lost leads and referrals. In addition to substantially improving prediction accuracy, these models found that referrals are both the highest quality and largest source of LMI solar leads, providing a promising mechanism to expand LMI programs.
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