Journal Articles
Integrated energy systems research is published across a wide array of peer reviewed journals and technical conferences.
System Options
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Modeling nuclear energy’s future role in decarbonized energy systems | (January 2023) This paper examines models of electric sector planning and broader energy systems optimization to understand the prospective roles of nuclear energy and other technologies. |
| Mapping thermal energy storage technologies with advanced nuclear reactors | (June 2022) This study explores the possibility of integrating a wide variety of thermal energy storage technologies with various categories of advanced nuclear power plants, based on their operating characteristics. |
| Multi-input, Multi-output Hybrid Energy Systems Volume 5, Issue 1, Pages 47-58 | (January 2021) Jurisdictions and industries are setting ambitious goals to decarbonize energy systems. Low-cost wind, solar, and natural gas and the resultant dynamic electric grid require energy technologies to adapt in order to meet key attributes for modern energy systems: resilience, reliability, security, affordability, flexibility, and sustainability. |
| Maximizing Clean Energy Use: Integrating Nuclear and Renewable Technologies to Support Variable Electricity, Heat, and Hydrogen Demands | (September 2020) Fossil fuels are hard to beat: low cost, easy to store, and easy to transport. They enable the economic provision of variable electricity and heat to the customer because the capital cost of power plants, furnaces, and boilers is small relative to the cost of the fuel. It is economic to operate fossil plants at part load—the money is in the fuel. |
| Reimagining future energy systems: Overview of the US program to maximize energy utilization via integrated nuclear‐renewable energy systems | (February 2020) A sustainable, balanced energy portfolio is necessary for a country's continued economic growth. This portfolio must collectively be able to provide reliable, resilient electricity at stable, affordable prices |
| Opportunities and Challenges for Nuclear-Renewable Hybrid Energy Systems IAEA-TECDOC-1885, p. 95-111 | (January 2019) Tightly coupled nuclear–renewable hybrid energy systems (N–R HESs) are systems that link subsystems to generate dispatchable electricity and produce at least one industrial product from two or more energy resources. |
| Joint Use Modular Plant Program to Support RD&D Needs for Integrated Energy Systems IAEA-TECDOC-1885, p. 194-201 | (January 2019) The premise of Joint Use Modular Plant (JUMP) Program is to enable both commercial use and research, development and demonstration (RD&D) activities within a single multi-module nuclear plant, wherein a specific module would be allocated to RD&D use via a prearranged agreement between the operating utility and the national laboratory conducting the research activities. |
| Dynamic performance analysis of a high-temperature steam electrolysis plant integrated within nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems | (October 2018) A high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) plant is proposed as a flexible load resource to be integrated with a light water reactor (LWR) in nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems (N-R HESs). |
System Simulation
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Modeling the Idaho National Laboratory Thermal-Energy Distribution System (TEDS) in the Modelica Ecosystem | (December 2020) Integrated energy systems (IES)—including the intimate coupling between thermal generators, the grid, ancillary processes, and energy storage—are becoming increasingly pertinent to the energy grid. To facilitate a better understanding of IES, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has developed the experimental Thermal Energy Distribution System (TEDS) to test the interoperability of nuclear reactors, energy storage, and ancillary processes in a real-world setting. |
| Multi-input, Multi-output Hybrid Energy Systems | (December 2020) This paper describes novel hybrid energy systems that synergistically incorporate diverse energy sources, including renewable, nuclear, and fossil with carbon capture, that offer potential to provide environmentally sustainable, cost-effective and reliable power, heat, mobility, and other energy services, more effectively. In contrast to competitive assessment of single energy sources, hybrid energy systems offer distinct comparative advantages via utilization of multiple feedstocks to create multiple products and services through increased coordination and direct hybridization, allowing dynamic optimization of supply and demand. |
| Development of the NuScale Power Module in the INL Modelica Ecosystem | (October 2020) This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the development of a NuScale power module in the Modelica process model ecosystem at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy Integrated Energy Systems (IES) program. |
| Comparative review of hydrogen production technologies for nuclear hybrid energy systems | (May 2020) Nuclear hybrid energy systems (NHES) have potential to capitalize on (1) producing multiple commodities, i.e. electricity and hydrogen as well as (2) allowing for electricity grid load following, with hydrogen production during low electricity prices. Using nuclear thermal energy and electricity (from the reactor itself) makes hydrogen production an economically attractive option. |
| An Improved Genetic Algorithm approach to the Unit Commitment/Economic Dispatch problem | (April 2020) The deployment of new technologies, the importance of accurately modeling the dynamics of the generating units and the introduction of new policies are making the solution of the Unit Commitment/Economic Dispatch problem more and more complicated. |
| Correlated synthetic time series generation for energy system simulations using Fourier and ARMA signal processing | (March 2020) As the contribution of renewable energy grows in electricity markets, the complexity of the energy mix required to meet demand grows, likewise the need for robust simulation techniques. While decades of wind, solar, and demand profiles can sometimes be obtained, this is too few samples to provide a statistically meaningful analysis of a system with baseload, peaker, and renewable generation. |
| Reimagining future energy systems: Overview of the US program to maximize energy utilization via integrated nuclear-renewable energy systems | February 2020) A sustainable, balanced energy portfolio is necessary for a country's continued economic growth. This portfolio must collectively be able to provide reliable, resilient electricity at stable, affordable prices. Nuclear energy is an important contributor to global clean energy supply, both as a primary source and by complementing and enabling other clean energy sources. |
| Economic Analysis of a Nuclear Hybrid Energy System in a Stochastic Environment Including Wind Turbines in an Electricity Grid | (December 2019) The electricity market in the U.S. is moving toward an energy mix including more variable renewable energy (VRE) sources like wind and solar. This increasing VRE penetration is altering the profile of the net electricity demand. |
| Summary Report on Synthetic Time History Development and Deployment | (October 2019) This report summarizes research work performed at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and George Washington University (GWU) in support of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy Integrated Energy Systems (IES) program. In particular, the work focuses on improving and strengthening two fundamental steps in the mathematical and computational framework that is currently being developed to optimize the economic performance of Integrated Energy Systems. |
| Dynamic performance analysis of a high-temperature steam electrolysis plant integrated within nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems | (October 2018) A high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) plant is proposed as a flexible load resource to be integrated with a light water reactor (LWR) in nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems (N-R HESs). This integrated energy system is capable of dynamically apportioning electrical and thermal energy on an industrial scale to meet both grid demand and energy needs in the HTSE plant without generating greenhouse gases. |
| Case Study: Nuclear-Renewable-Water Integration in Arizona | (September 2018) This document reports the application of the N-R HES software framework to a case study for Arizona Public Service (APS); the manager and part owner of the Palo Verde (PV) nuclear power plant. The case study is a work in progress of which this report presents a detailed description of the current model input data, assumptions and the corresponding results produced by the developed software framework. |
| Thermal Energy Delivery System Design Basis Report | (September 2018) Nuclear power plants operate most efficiently and economically when they are operating at some constant power output. However, with the current dynamics of the grid, including the introduction and growth of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, nuclear generation facilities across the U.S. are finding it difficult to keep their power supply constant and provide for baseload generation capacities. |
| Design and Operation of a Sensible Heat Peaking Unit for Small Modular Reactors | (April 2018) Approximately 19% of the electricity produced in the United States comes from nuclear power plants. Traditionally, nuclear power plants, as well as larger coal-fired plants, operate in a baseload manner at or near steady state for prolonged periods of time. |
| Optimal sizing of flexible nuclear hybrid energy system components considering wind volatility | (February 2018) We explore a nuclear hybrid energy system (NHES) consisting of a 300 MW small modular reactor, wind generation, battery storage, and a reverse osmosis desalination plant. A dispatch rule is constructed within the Risk Analysis Virtual Environment (RAVEN) to model the system. |
| Economic comparison of current electricity generating technologies and advanced nuclear options | (December 2017) This analysis compares the cost of various electric grid scenarios at the national level over a one-year period. Scenarios include high renewable, zero nuclear, zero carbon, and deployment of advanced nuclear. |
| Thermal Energy Storage Configurations for Small Modular Reactor Load Shedding | (August 2017) The increased penetration of intermittent renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar power can strain electric grids, forcing carbon-based and nuclear sources of energy to operate in a load-follow mode. For nuclear reactors, load-follow operation can be undesirable due to the associated thermal and mechanical stresses placed on the fuel and other reactor components. |
| Profitability Evaluation of Load-following Nuclear Units with Physics-induced Operational Constraints | (July 2017) This work explores the technical challenges associated with flexible operation for nuclear power plants (NPPs) and evaluates whether a flexible operational mode could improve the profitability of nuclear units by allowing nuclear plant owners/operators to reduce output when prices are low and instead shift capacity to the ancillary services markets. |
| Fault Propagation And Effects Analysis For Designing An Online Monitoring System For The Secondary Loop Of A Nuclear Power Plant Part Of A Hybrid Energy System | (March 2017) This paper studies the propagation and effects of faults of critical components that pertain to the secondary loop of a nuclear power plant found in Nuclear Hybrid Energy Systems (NHES). |
| Dynamic performance analysis of two regional Nuclear Hybrid Energy Systems | (March 2016) In support of more efficient utilization of clean energy generation sources, including renewable and nuclear options, hybrid energy systems (HES) can be designed and operated as flexible energy resources (FER) to meet both electrical and thermal energy needs in the electric grid and industrial sectors. These conceptual systems could effectively and economically be utilized, for example, to manage the increasing levels of dynamic variability and uncertainty introduced by variable energy resources (VER) such as renewable sources (e.g., wind, solar), distributed energy resources, demand response schemes, and modern energy demands (e.g., electric vehicles) with their ever changing usage patterns. |
| Operations Optimization of Nuclear Hybrid Energy Systems | (October 2015) This paper focuses on the operations optimization of two specific NHES configurations to address the variability raised from wholesale electricity markets and renewable generation. Both analytical and numerical approaches are used to obtain the optimal operations schedule. |
| Nuclear Renewable Energy Integration: An Economic Case Study | (October 2015) Electrical energy is a versatile form of energy that exhibits high efficiency and availability, and as a result is widely utilized with continually escalating needs worldwide. However, there are limits to the supply of natural resources that may be utilized to help meet these increasing needs. |
| Nuclear Renewable Energy Integration: An Economic Case Study | (October 2015) Electrical energy is a versatile form of energy that exhibits high efficiency and availability, and as a result is widely utilized with continually escalating needs worldwide. However, there are limits to the supply of natural resources that may be utilized to help meet these increasing needs. |
Experimental Systems
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| A 25 kW High Temperature Electrolysis System for Flexible Hydrogen Production and System Integration Studies | (June 2020) A 25 kW high-temperature electrolysis (HTE) flexible test facility has been developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for performance evaluation of solid-oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) stacks operating independently or in thermal integration with co-located systems. This facility is aimed at advancing the state of the art of HTE technology while demonstrating dynamic grid and thermal energy integration and operational characteristics. |
