Energy Systems Integration Newsletter: March 2023
In this edition, NREL builds its most advanced computing technology yet, the Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator addresses a strategic objective in the National Cybersecurity Strategy, NREL and Idaho National Laboratory create a super lab over a high-speed data network, and more.
NREL’s Newest High-Performance Computing System Prepares to Take Flight
The newest high-performance computing system, Kestrel, is about to take flight at NREL.
The first components arrived at NREL on March 27. Now, the team is hard at work building Kestrel, testing software, and preparing the environment—targeting a fully operational system by mid-summer.
As the dedicated high-performance computing system for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Kestrel will play a critical role across the research portfolio. Rapidly advancing applications and technologies in artificial intelligence and machine learning are fostering innovation and expansion of research into new directions for computing. Kestrel will accelerate energy efficiency and renewable energy research at a pace and scale more than five times greater than NREL’s current supercomputer, Eagle.
Find out more on Kestrel’s arrival and check out the Countdown to Kestrel blog for updates on our journey of building NREL’s most-advanced computing technology yet.
National Cybersecurity Strategy Highlights Innovation and the Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator
On March 2, the Office of the National Cyber Director released its National Cybersecurity Strategy, which aims to position the United States, its allies, and partners to build a digital ecosystem that is inherently defensible, resilient, and aligned with national values. The strategy lists the Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator as one of the programs created to address strategic objective 4.4., Secure Our Clean Energy Future, stating, “the National Labs are leading the government’s effort to secure the clean energy grid of the future and generating security best practices that extend to other critical infrastructure sectors.”
Sponsored by DOE's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, in collaboration with the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator advances cyber innovation to defend modern, renewable energy technologies against high-priority cybersecurity risks to the energy sector. Learn more in a recent blog post by the DOE Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response Director Puesh Kumar about how the national labs and the office support the nation’s cybersecurity strategy toward a more secure and resilient energy future.
SuperLab Demo: Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems Forms Part of Renewable-Nuclear Power Plant
NREL and Idaho National Laboratory are individually impressive research centers, but when connected over a high-speed data network, they are a SuperLab, capable of demonstrating concepts that exist nowhere else. The two labs recently combined their facilities over the ESnet network to run a hybrid renewable and nuclear plant, and they found that the two resources complement each other well.
NREL's Wave-Powered Desalination Device Returns to the Outer Banks
Last summer, NREL researchers visited North Carolina’s Outer Banks to deploy a wave-powered desalination device for a second in-water test. The hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis wave energy converter advances critical research on small-scale wave energy converters, especially through publicly available data.
Researchers will continue iterating on the hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis wave energy converter design to make marine renewable energy technologies more reliable, resilient, and affordable. Systems like the hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis wave energy converters could provide solutions for communities that need access to both fresh water and reliable, clean energy.
Take a deep dive into the team’s new findings, data points, and potential for design changes or upgrades following the hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis wave energy converter’s second deployment.
Priorities and Perceptions on Resilience in New York State
Americans are experiencing more power disruptions attributed to climate change, extreme weather, and cyber events. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has launched an effort to integrate resilience into statewide initiatives and make the most out of new funding available for grid investments. Drawing on 15 years of experience in energy resilience planning, NREL is collaborating with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to develop a framework to measure and value resilience benefits.
The team began by interviewing a diverse set of New York State stakeholders—representing state agencies, authorities, utilities, and regulators—to examine the degree of shared understanding around resilience, to identify opportunities to address common challenges, and to align interests to better serve New York State’s services, systems, and people. A synthesis of the interviews is available in a new publication, Resilience Insights From New York State Stakeholders.
Request for Proposals Open for Clean Energy to Communities Partnerships
DOE’s Clean Energy to Communities program is seeking four or five communities for in-depth technical partnerships. NREL and other national laboratories will help the selected communities plan secure, reliable, resilient, and affordable clean energy systems that align with their local priorities. Three requests for proposals are open until May 17.
To learn more and access the requests for proposals, visit the Clean Energy to Communities website. Additionally, register for a webinar on April 5 at 1 p.m. MT, which will address questions related to the program’s requests for proposals. Local governments, electric utilities, and community-based organizations are encouraged to join.
Find Clean Energy Purchasing Programs Through the Federal Energy Management Program’s Carbon Pollution-Free Electricity Program Availability Map
Clean energy purchasing programs offer consumers the option to power their homes, businesses, and facilities with renewable energy. They’re also a key component in helping federal facilities meet Executive Order 14057 requirements.
To make it easier for federal stakeholders to identify carbon pollution-free electricity options, the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) created a Program Availability Map. While designed for the federal sector, FEMP's searchable database includes helpful resources for anyone looking to switch to clean electricity. Information about each program is available in the database, including eligible customer classes, program costs (if available), and website links.
Learn more about the FEMP Federal Utility Carbon Pollution-Free Electricity Program Availability Map.
Cambium Offers Forward-Looking, Publicly Available Data To Build Into Grid Planning Workflows
NREL’s Cambium data sets, first released in 2020, are publicly available and include modeled hourly emission, cost, and generation metrics for a range of possible U.S. electricity sector futures, projecting out through 2050. Cambium can support anyone who is making decisions about the future power grid or grid-connected systems but may not have time or expertise to do the modeling themselves.
Additionally, the Cambium data is key in building the Standard Scenarios. The Standard Scenarios—including 70 scenarios this year—are a great tool for folks wanting to gain a conceptual idea of how the U.S. electricity sector could evolve.
In a new installment of NREL’s Tell Me Something Grid series, Peter Gagnon, energy systems researcher and lead developer of Cambium, discusses the value of forward-looking emission, cost and generations metrics—particularly a novel long-run marginal emission rate.
Spring, Summer, and Year-Round Internships for Students
Are you an undergraduate or graduate student looking for a hands-on laboratory experience? NREL is accepting applications for its spring, summer, and year-round internships. Learn more and find even more opportunities by visiting NREL’s career page.
R9962—Graduate (Year-Round) Intern: Laboratory Testing of Multi-Vendor Inverters and Microgrid
R9963—Graduate Summer Intern: Bulk Power System Modeling and Analysis for Cyber Resilience
R10009—Women in Power System Transformation: Undergraduate/Graduate Summer Intern
R10345—Graduate (Summer) Intern: Life Cycle Framework Development and Decision Analysis
R10352—Graduate (Summer) Intern: Power Electronic Device Characterization and Renewable Applications
R10070—Undergraduate/Graduate Summer Intern: Electromagnetic Transients Modeling
R10451—Graduate (Summer) Intern: Energy Law and Policy Analysis
R10299—Graduate (Summer) Intern: Grid Integration Pathways for Distributed Energy Resources
R10387—Graduate (Year-Round) Intern: Energy Engineering
R10508—Graduate (Summer) Intern: Dynamic Power System Modeling
R10593—Graduate (Summer) Intern: Harnessing Flexibility to Coordinate Distributed Energy Resources
R10141—Graduate (Spring, Summer, or Year-Round) Intern: Co-Optimized Design for High Renewable Grids
Publications Roundup
Advanced Grid Operational Technology Edge-Level Threat Detection
The goal of this project is to provide energy system owners and operators with a highly trusted alarm system for cybersecurity threats on the grid network. Legacy systems often lack the comprehensive situational awareness and data infrastructure needed to meet current risk. NREL’s solution includes several components: (1) development of a software (named iViz-OT) to visualize and locate intrusions in the grid network, (2) testing of signature-based intrusion detection systems for different types of intrusions, (3) integration of the novel software and the intrusion detection systems with the visualization dashboard, and (4) real-time testing using a hardware-in-the-loop testbed.
Achieving sustainable energy sector decarbonization requires implementing and improving energy technologies while simultaneously addressing sources of social inequity in the energy system. Incorporating energy justice from the earliest stage of research and development will enable more just technology implementation, but doing so is a challenge due to a lack of tools to assess and manage them. To fill this gap, the authors developed the Justice Underpinning Science and Technology Research metrics framework. By applying these metrics to a materials for next-generation photovoltaics case study, the authors highlight potential benefits and barriers to implementation and discuss necessary institutional and individual actions.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law represent the largest commitment of the federal government to invest in the modernization and decarbonization of the U.S. energy system. The climate and clean energy provisions have the potential to impact all aspects of the U.S. energy system. But the provisions relevant to the electricity sector are expected to be the most consequential in terms of emissions reduction and clean energy deployment. This report details the methods and results of a study estimating the potential impacts of key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law from the present day through 2030.
Toward Solar Photovoltaic Storm Resilience Learning From Hurricane Loss and Rebuilding Better
This FEMP case study focuses on the rebuilding of a 469 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) array located at a federal General Services Administration building in Christiansted, St. Croix. Five U.S. government-owned solar PV arrays in the Caribbean suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in 2017. Lessons learned can be applied in planning solar PV projects in locations with severe wind and rain events. The St. Croix site provides a particularly high-value opportunity for lessons learned due to the innovative rebuilding process used by the General Services Administration managers and the in-depth analysis performed by the project engineers.
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