Energy Systems Integration Newsletter: June 2024

In this edition, NREL releases the 2024 Electricity Annual Technology Baseline, interim results of the Lithuania 100 study are now available, a new study finds that the impact of extreme weather on the power grid is changing, and more.

Plug Into the Newly Released 2024 U.S. Electricity Sector Data

Celebrating its 10th release, the Electricity Annual Technology Baseline offers trusted, freely available, technology-specific cost and performance data for electricity generating technologies. The 2024 Electricity Annual Technology Baseline includes refreshed financial assumptions with the latest market data and exciting upgrades for floating offshore wind, geothermal, nuclear, pumped storage hydropower, and natural gas. To learn more about this year’s updates, register on Zoom for the 2024 Electricity Annual Technology Baseline Launch Webinar on July 23, 2024, 9 a.m. MT, featuring a general overview and breakout rooms led by Annual Technology Baseline technical experts.

Lithuania’s Energy Vision: Path to 100% Renewable Energy

Lithuania aims to achieve self-sufficiency in electricity generation by 2035 and transition to 100% renewable energy while ensuring affordability, reliability, and energy security. The Lithuanian Energy Agency has partnered with NREL for the Lithuania 100% Renewable Energy Study, also known as Lithuania 100. This study will provide evidence-based analysis for developing Lithuania’s National Energy Independence Strategy. Lithuania 100 will use advanced tools for the rigorous technical analysis of clean energy policies to assess the impact on power grid operations, hydrogen system development, electricity distribution networks, air quality, and human health outcomes, all while supporting a stakeholder committee chaired by the Ministry of Energy of Lithuania and implemented by four technical working groups. Read more about the interim results of Lithuania 100.

Study Findings Help Grid Planners Prepare for the New “Extreme”

A study by NREL and Sharply Focused finds that the impact of extreme weather on the power grid is changing. The analysis produced eight findings that are important in the examination of the weather resilience and resource adequacy of future power system infrastructure. Most notably, the type of weather with extreme grid risks evolved as renewable generation increased. Renewable generation was robust during extreme weather events that drive today’s peak demand, reducing risk during those periods; however, less extreme cold or hot periods concurrent with low wind speeds and/or cloudy conditions can yield extreme net loads, making these events the new extreme concern for energy planners. Read the news story to learn more.

Get the Long Story Short on Community Energy Transitions

Oil and gas communities across the world are incorporating clean energy technologies into their economies to meet their development, emissions, and resilience goals—and NREL is helping them along the way. In a new Long Story Short video, Senior Research Advisor Jill Engel-Cox discusses what goes into planning a successful energy transition and the interconnected benefits diverse energy sources can bring to the economy, workforce, environment, and more. Check out the new video on YouTube to learn more.

How To Realize the Full Value of Interregional Transmission

Transmission across planning regions, or interregional transmission, is becoming more important for decarbonization because the best wind and solar resources are often located far from areas with lots of electricity demand; however, this type of transmission requires a new level of coordination across regions. A new study takes a fresh look at today’s transmission market and operating rules to identify the potential changes that are needed to maximize the value of interregional transmission. This work is part of the National Transmission Planning Study led by the U.S. Department of Energy Grid Deployment Office in partnership with NREL and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

On the Road to Increased Transmission: Four Options for the U.S. Grid

The U.S. power grid is incorporating increasing amounts of clean energy. By 2050, there could be 5 times as much wind power and 10 times as much solar coming online. That means we might need to consider new means to increase transmission on the grid to ensure all that power can reach the areas with the highest demand. NREL produced a brief video on YouTube explaining four options to achieve increased transmission: dynamic line ratings, flexible alternating current transmission systems, higher-voltage alternating current lines, and high-voltage direct current lines. An accompanying series of four web articles dives deeper into each option. Read how each option works, starting with dynamic line ratings.

NREL Partners With Industry Leaders To Prove Out Grid Integration Solutions

“These simulations will help us better prepare for the future,” says Colorado Springs Utilities as it launches a new project at NREL. Colorado Springs Utilities and Dominion Energy were both selected to demonstrate ways distribution utilities can adapt as more of their customers drive and charge electric vehicles, adding load to the grid. The teams will use NREL’s premier capability for grid control research, the Advanced Distribution Management System Test Bed, to validate forward-looking solutions for charging vehicles and improving service for the community.

NREL Helps Small Businesses Succeed Through U.S. Department of Energy Mentor-Protégé Program

Veteran-owned businesses employ nearly 5.5. million workers and represent a major part of the U.S. economy today. NREL is an active supporter of these businesses and actively collaborates with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization by sharing its research on renewable energy and technical knowledge. One of the most successful programs NREL has participated in is the DOE Mentor-Protégé Program, a cross-laboratory initiative that recently recognized NREL mentee Converge Strategies as protégé of the year.

To learn more about partnering directly with NREL, download our Transforming Energy Through Small Business brochure or complete our Small Business Registration form.

New Dataset Exploring U.S. Electric Vehicle Charging Load Is Now Available via Demand-Side Grid Toolkit and OpenEI

NREL's open-source demand-side grid tool kit has a new dataset that could aid in planning power and other energy systems. The data, detailed in this report from June 2023, were developed using the Transportation Energy & Mobility Pathway Options (TEMPO™) model and outline three scenarios through 2050: Annual Energy Outlook Reference Case, which aligns with the U.S. Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook 2018; Electrification Futures Study High Electrification, which aligns with the High Electrification scenario of the Electrification Futures Study; and All EV Sales by 2035, which assumes average light-duty passenger electric vehicle adoption sales reach 50% in 2030 and 100% in 2035. The dataset provides county-level, hourly data for the contiguous United States for the three light-duty passenger electric vehicle adoption scenarios. The data also differentiate between 60 household bins, 12 vehicle types, and 2 charging types. View the new TEMPO dataset on OpenEI.

Publications Roundup

Autonomous Energy Systems: Building Reliable, Resilient, and Secure Electrified Communities, NREL Fact Sheet (2024)

Technological changes across energy systems are forcing utilities and operators to reconsider their methods for managing power delivery, but few operators have adopted advanced controls and operational software. The challenge is that every system has peculiar requirements, and the available solutions are relatively new, untested, and difficult to integrate into an operational environment. Through extensive collaboration with utilities and cooperatives, NREL has realized the need for the autonomous and optimized management of energy resources, leading to the development of autonomous energy systems, a packaged set of controls that is ready to be integrated into existing control rooms.

Exploring Equality and Sustainability Trade-Offs of Energy Transition Outcomes in the United States in 2050, Applied Energy (2024)

With increasing focus on an equitable and just energy transition, it is critical to understand the trade-offs of different decarbonization outcomes across economic, environmental, and social sustainability criteria. In this analysis, the authors use a multicriteria decision analysis to quantify sustainability outcomes across 32 decarbonization outcomes in 2050 in the United States. They evaluate performance across these criteria under 11 different stakeholder preference scenarios. They find that decarbonization policies with indefinitely extended tax credits have the highest sustainability score under equal criteria weighting, with greater investments in renewable energy technologies, and result in better environmental, system cost, job, and air pollution disparities compared to mid-case scenarios, which include only current policies and carbon dioxide reduction targets.

Reducing Current and Future Risks to Energy Security, NREL Fact Sheet (2024)

As global communities transition to clean energy technologies, the threat landscape for energy security is more complex than ever before. Although broad adoption of clean energy technologies has progressed across the world, NREL has been researching how to reduce risks and the value renewable energy technologies bring to improved energy security, today and decades into the future. Continuing to adopt technologies to meet clean energy and climate mitigation goals requires consideration of energy security, making NREL’s risk reduction and mitigation research increasingly important.

Strategies for Considering Environmental Justice in the Early-Stage Development of Circular Economy Technologies, Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (2024)

The circular economy could transform how industry and society approach resources and waste, resulting in significant environmental justice implications; however, there are few resources for analyzing the energy justice impacts of new circular economy technologies before they are deployed. This work presents an energy justice framework tailored for early-stage circular economy technologies and showcases its capabilities through a case study on enzymatic plastic recycling. By providing concise, actionable, and accessible guidelines based on technology readiness levels and a series of 20 questions, the framework empowers both experts and nonexperts to evaluate the justice implications of circular economy solutions. Preliminary user feedback highlights the approachability of the framework and its corresponding interactive worksheet as well as their potential to stimulate innovative thinking toward a more just and sustainable future.