Energy Systems Integration Newsletter: October 2022

In this edition, NREL develops resilience solutions for at-risk energy systems, a Department of Energy (DOE) report identifies key actions for securing current and future energy systems, senior systems security and resilience researcher Maurice Martin shares his path to cybersecurity, and more.

Energy Resilience Resources: NREL Has Solutions for Before and After Disasters

NREL has helped recover and design resilience into energy systems across the United States, including after floods in Alaska, hurricanes in the Gulf, tornadoes in the heartland, and anywhere else that disasters inhibit energy flow.

From their work, NREL researchers have developed strategies and tools to manage resilience for modern, at-risk energy systems of all kinds. With NREL resources and expertise, communities can start preparing for the next disaster now, or they can put their current recovery on track to maximize energy resilience.

Department of Energy Cybersecurity Report Provides Recommendations on Secure, Distributed Clean Energy for the Nation's Electric Grid

Actions for securing current and future energy systems from cybersecurity threats are identified in a new report released by the DOE Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response and the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

The deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs) is expected to quadruple by 2025. Wind, solar, and energy storage will help to achieve the nation’s clean energy goals, diversify the electricity supply, and increase the resilience of the grid to outages, making investment in security for DERs essential to safeguarding the nation’s energy infrastructure. Depending on the system conditions, a fleet of DERs aggregated to a significant size could pose a reliability challenge if the DERs are under the control of an attacker and if cybersecurity considerations and threat mitigation strategies are ignored. 

This report provides DER operators and electric power entities with ways they can reduce cybersecurity risks and provides policy recommendations for decision makers. The recommendations include adopting best practices, meeting minimum security requirements, implementing good governance, and incentivizing cyber resilience that goes beyond existing standards.

Read the DOE announcement to access the full report.

Q&A With Maurice Martin: Advancing Cybersecurity on the Front Lines of the Modern Grid

Securing the grid from cyberattacks is increasingly important as systems become more distributed, digital, and interdependent. This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we sat down with Maurice Martin—a senior systems security and resilience researcher at NREL—to learn about his journey to cybersecurity, his passion for working with utilities, and some NREL projects addressing critical infrastructure security.

Read our Q&A with Maurice Martin.

NREL and the University of Connecticut Join Forces for Clean Energy Innovation and Grid Resilience

NREL and the University of Connecticut (UConn) have teamed up for a research collaboration. Investing in the development of joint solutions to clean energy challenges in the Northeast and increasing funding opportunities not otherwise available to either individual institution are just a few of the partnership’s goals.

"NREL sees the partnership with UConn as a critical part of achieving clean energy at scale that brings together talent from both institutions to further our collective goals," says Ellen Morris, director of University Partnerships at NREL.

Read more about this partnership in UConn’s news release.

Carbon-Free in the Carolinas

Duke Energy delivers electricity to millions of customers in North and South Carolina, and by 2050, that electricity is expected to come from renewable resources. NREL led a study in collaboration with Duke Energy to analyze the utility’s options as it navigates near- and long-term mandates for clean energy.

The study used a suite of advanced NREL software to identify cost-optimal solutions to reach Duke Energy’s clean energy commitments. The authors found that gradually deploying more solar, wind, and storage in the coming years will make economic sense for the utility, as will adding transmission to other service areas in the region.

Our news story provides complete details about the study’s design and findings. Read about Duke Energy’s generation options through 2050.

Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis Welcomes Elizabeth Doris as New Director

Elizabeth Doris took the helm of the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA). Doris has worked at NREL since 2005. She served as the laboratory program manager for NREL’s State, Local, and Tribal Program and has spearheaded several large initiatives at the laboratory. Most recently, Doris was on a detail assignment as senior advisor on energy justice for DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Now Doris’ pursuit to understand challenges at the intersection of technology and society has led to her new role as JISEA director.

Learn about Doris and her vision for the future of JISEA.

NREL Announces Three New Prestigious Senior Research Fellows

NREL elevated three principal scientists to the position of senior research fellow: Paul Denholm, Vahan Gevorgian, and Joey Luther.

Among the more than 3,000 people who work at NREL, only 15 are senior research fellows. Along with the current research fellows, Denholm, Gevorgian, and Luther will advise NREL executive management on the strategic direction of science and technology research and ensure NREL’s work continues to meet the highest standards for quality and objectivity. A group of exceptional scientists and engineers are nominated by the leadership of each directorate for consideration to become a senior research fellow, the highest technical position at NREL.

Learn more about Denholm, Gevorgian, and Luther’s impressive contributions to the laboratory and clean energy research.

Recognizing a Legacy: Buildings Energy Researcher Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Otto Van Geet is a pioneer in integrated building energy, and he was recently recognized by the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories for 30 years of innovation in the field. Van Geet has helped design and refurbish energy systems at many federal research laboratories, including NREL’s Energy Systems Integration Facility, where Van Geet codesigned radically efficient connections between the building’s data center and heating system. Van Geet continues to share his expertise on building efficiency with early career scientists and international organizations alike. Read the full story about Van Geet’s award.

Off-Road Vehicle Decarbonization Is on the Table

Early in 2022, NREL hosted a cross-sector workshop to discuss challenges and strategies to decarbonizing off-road vehicles. More than 70 participants from industry and government in the areas of mining, military, construction, and agriculture came together for three days to share their experiences and address roadblocks to decarbonization. The workshop served as a precompetitive forum for groups that do not often collaborate to join forces behind a common objective, and their findings have been collected in a report that provides recommendations on where to target research and development. Read our story that explains findings from the workshop.

Publications Roundup

Exceedance Probabilities and Recurrence Intervals for Extended Power Outages in the United States

NREL energy resilience researchers have developed a methodology to estimate the historical likelihood a customer in the United States experienced a long-duration power outage. Although short-duration power outages are relatively common, an outage event lasting between one day and one week is expected to occur between once every 16 years and once every 42 years, depending on the region, with an average recurrence rate of once every 32 years across the contiguous United States.

Resilience solutions—such as installing backup systems, integrating microgrid solutions, weatherizing buildings, and hardening distribution and transmission components—can reduce the consequences of extended power outages, but these solutions come with increased capital costs. The analysis in this technical report can help planners at the facility, local, state, and federal levels understand the expected benefits of resilience investments, particularly in the event of extended outages lasting several hours, days, or weeks.

Adaptive Neurocontrol for Grid-Following Inverters

As synchronous generators are replaced with power inverters, new controls are needed to replace the more natural, mechanical response of synchronous generators. Grid-following inverters, which use grid measurements and internal controls to update power set points, sometimes rely on data about the wider grid, but that data flow can be restricted by infrastructure or privacy concerns. This paper proposes an “adaptive neurocontrol” technique that relies on local measurements and is suited for uncertain and complex systems. The authors devise the controls and run a numerical analysis on a model system. The authors find that their controls return frequency and voltage magnitudes to the targeted values, but they are limited by the need for accurate approximations of control parameters, which could require detailed physical models or data-inferring methods.