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- Asset Management
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- Hydraulic Optimization
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- Marine Energy
Remote Community Led Test Campaign (ETIPP)
Lead Companies
Sandia National Laboratories
Lead Researcher (s)
- Jesse Roberts
The Energy Transitions Initiative (ETI), in partnership with the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), is establishing a new public-private partnership effort to increase the resilience of energy systems in islanded and remote communities. The purpose of the partnership is to support energy system planning and operations that prioritize the resilience of these communities, including through new generation and storage technologies, physical system design and operations, and closer integration of electricity, transport, and industrial energy use. The support will include direct technical assistance to communities and utilities, as well as peer-to-peer information sharing.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Hydrokinetic
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Representing Hydropower in Power Flow and Stability Models
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Nadar Samaan
Identification of modeling gaps for existing and new hydropower replacements/installations including, but not limited to the following: • Governor dead-band issues • Response exceeding generator nameplate template • Forced oscillations, while operating in rough zones • Secondary control loops • Frequency trip settings • Water-hammer effect and water inertia • Over/underestimation of water availability • Static head-water values that are not adjusted to represent current conditions • Over/underestimation of available generation capacity
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Marine Energy
Resiliency of Poly-Crystaline Diamond Bearings Exposed to Marine Environments
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Robert Jeters
Marine energy efforts are increasingly focused on remote locations where traditional grid-tied systems are not practical. Seals and bearings in marine energy generators are a common source of failures, accounting for up to a 25\% failure rate per year. Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) bearings are composed of one of the most durable substances known to humankind and have been successfully tested in laboratory conditions for marine use. PCD bearings can be used to construct flooded marine energy generators that do not have seals while providing virtually indestructible bearings to reduce maintenance while increasing reliability for marine energy systems. PNNL built a bearing test stand to mimic conditions found in the cross-flow turbines being built by researchers at the Applied Physics Laboratory at University of Washington. We exposed steel and PCD bearings in the bearing test stand to Arctic water temperatures (-2.4°C), fostering ice formation around bearing surfaces while monitoring bearing health for \~1,000 hours. While the steel bearings failed at the 990 hour mark, the PCD bearing show virtually no signs of wear beyond characteristic self-polishing of bearing surfaces. The PCD bearings did not change weight appreciably and while ice formation impacted bearings function while present, the coefficient of friction (CoF) of the bearings was approximately .05 without ice, making these bearings 95\% efficient. PCD bearings present an opportunity for rugged marine power generation in flooded marine energy generators.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Generator
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Physical & Cyber Security
Resilient Alaskan Distribution system Improvements using Automation, Network analysis, Control, and Energy storage (RADIANCE)
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
Lead Researcher (s)
- Tamara Becejac, PNNL
- Sigifredo Gonzalez, SNL
This project aims to perform a full-scale regional deployment of advanced technologies and methods for resiliency-enhanced operation of regional distribution grid in the City of Cordova, AK under harsh weather, cyber-threats, and dynamic grid conditions. PNNL will lead the efforts for design, analysis and evaluation of communication networks, fault propagation, interoperability and communication protocols, including IEC 61850 (and associated standard IEC 62351), for loosely- and tightly-networked microgrids. PNNL’s expertise in advanced sensors such as micro-PMUs will be utilized in the project and aspects related to optimal placement of sensors in Cordova grid will be addressed in collaboration with SNL’s efforts for microgrid design and INL’s real-time CHIL and cyber-testing.
Technology Application
Physical & Cyber Security, Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Future Grid
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
Expected 2022
- Marine Energy
Scale up, Field Testing, and Optimization of Nontoxic, Durable, Economical Coatings for Control of Biofouling and Corrosion on Marine Energy Devices and Facilities
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Shane Addleman
The objective of this project is to mature and demonstrate durable, economical, and nontoxic coatings that will prevent fouling organisms from growing on MHK structures. A novel foul-release coating recently developed (initial patents filed in 2016 and 2017) at PNNL, Superhydrophobic Lubricant Infused Composite (SLIC) technology, will be adapted to provide the durability necessary for >5 year protection in the marine environment.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Marine Energy
SNL Wave-SPARC Prize Support
Lead Companies
Sandia National Laboratories
Lead Researcher (s)
- Jesse Roberts
The goal of this WaveSPARC prize scoping project to maximize the beneficial impact of a thriving WaveSPARC community. This prize may be funded in the near future. Diligent prize preparation under a formal prize is necessary but not sufficient. Thorough derisking of the most challenging and novel elements of the prize and setting the groundwork for the prize to achieve its core values is essential. WaveSPARC has been a lab-led effort since 1 October 2014 focused on spurring early-stage marine energy innovation that can be further developed by industry for commercial applications. WaveSPARC provides innovation and assessment tools to support grid-scale wave energy converter (WEC) design concepts with high technology performance levels and low technology readiness levels. It has developed publicly accessible techno-economic assessment tools, novel WEC concepts, and functional requirements for WEC arrays. By introducing a WaveSPARC Prize, the publicly available and well-received tools created by WaveSPARC would be further propagated and utilized by those within the marine energy industry, as well as associated industries such as materials and soft robotics, among others. The prize would also help spur innovation and collaboration in WEC designs that follow WaveSPARC methodologies.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Wave
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
Expected 2022
- Marine Energy
SPA I and II: Supporting HQ Evaluation of Awardee Technical Progress in Controls and Structures
Lead Companies
Sandia National Laboratories
Lead Researcher (s)
- Jesse Roberts
One of the DOE Water Power Technologies Office’s (WPTO) focuses has been in advancing technology performance by making investments in component technology improvements that enhance the performance of MHK systems. Sandia National Laboratories has been supporting DOE and Awardees of the MHK SPA FOAs, DE-FOA-0000848 and DE-FOA-0001182 (SPA I and SPA II, respectively). Starting in FY19, Sandia began support of DOE and awardees of the DE-FOA-0001837 Topic Area 2 “Controls and Power Take Off (PTO) Design Integration and Testing” (typically referenced as SPA III). Sandia’s expertise will be utilized in assisting DOE’s tracking of the technical progress and providing technical support to the Awardees where appropriate. Sandia will support DOE’s independent assessment of the component performance metrics that will be validated as part of the system test for each of the Awardees. Sandia will also support broader performance metrics initiatives.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Hydrokinetic
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
Expected 2023
- Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Standard Modular Hydropower Technology Acceleration
Lead Companies
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Lead Researcher (s)
- Scott DeNeale (denealest@ornl.gov)
Currently, small hydropower development is a complex and uncertain undertaking, with design engineering, construction, equipment selection, environmental impact mitigation strategies, and total installed costs driven by site-specific considerations. Given existing technologies, there are limited opportunities for new, affordable hydropower growth. To address these challenges, the Standard Modular Hydropower (SMH) Technology Acceleration project defines standardization, modularity, and environmental compatibility as three enabling principles of a low-cost, environmentally sustainable hydropower growth strategy. SMH poses the question: Can we develop low-cost, modular, replicable hydropower facilities that preserve or enhance river function? The project takes multiple research approaches for promoting SMH technology acceleration, as evidenced in its two core research tasks: Module Research & Development, and SMH Facility Research & Development. Together, the associated research activities aim to enable the design and development of new SMH technologies for both existing water infrastructure and new stream-reach development.
Technology Application
Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Marine Energy
Standards Development
Lead Companies
Sandia National Laboratories
Lead Researcher (s)
- Vince Neary
This project focuses on collecting and analyzing data to inform standards and certification development efforts by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Committee (TC) 114 Ocean Energy. IEC TC114 is responsible for developing standards that define the international requirements for all ocean energy devices in the future. Participation, including reviewing and proposing data-based improvements to recommended standards, in these groups is essential because such interactions broaden and streamline adoption of marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) devices in the global marketplace and ensure that the interests of the U.S. industry and the DOE are established and maintained.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Tidal
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
Expected 2024
Don’t see your waterpower research?
Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org