Green Energy from the Blue Oceanby Kathy Chambers 13 Dec, 2016 in Image Credit: DOE Water Power Program Movements of waves, tides, and currents in the ocean carry kinetic energy that can be harnessed and converted to electricity. There is vast potential for using this ocean resource to provide clean, renewable energy to communities and cities in coastal areas, and it could impact the nearly half of the U.S. population that lives within 50 miles of the coastlines. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Program supports the design, development, testing, and demonstration of marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) technologies that can capture energy from waves, tides, and currents. This program also funds the creation of instrumentation, modeling, and simulation tools to enable real-condition testing of technologies. DOE recently announced $20 million in funding for projects that advance and monitor marine and hydrokinetic energy systems and will contribute to the development of a commercially viable MHK industry. The Water Power Program also sponsored the $2.25 million, 20-month Wave Energy Prize challenge. This public contest was designed to encourage the development of more efficient... Related Topics: Blue, energy, green, ocean, tides, waves Read more... |
Keeping the lights onby Kathy Chambers 17 Jul, 2013 in Products and Content
On August 14, 2003, a software bug at a utility company brought New York City to its knees, and the resulting cascading effect ultimately forced the shutdown of more than 100 power plants (read more). Approximately 50 million people in 8 U.S. states and Canada experienced the worst blackout in North American history. Research has been ongoing at the Department of Energy to improve our electrical grid’s reliability to ensure history is not repeated. Dr. William Watson, Physicist, OSTI staff, details in his latest white paper In the OSTI Collections: Keeping Power Grids Stable how DOE researchers are using data-based simulations, mathematically analyzing power grid behavior, improving energy storage, and working to understand the effects of transient power changes caused by devices connected to the grid so that we can avoid power grid instability and keep the lights on. Related Topics: blackout, Dr. William Watson, energy, lights, North American, OSTI Homepage, power grids, power plants Read more... |
Department of Energy’s SunShot Projectsby Tonya Chadwell 28 Mar, 2013 in Products and Content
The SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national effort to make solar energy cost competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade. As part of the initiative, the Department announced seven data-driven projects that will bring to light new opportunities to lower costs and advance solar energy deployment in the U.S.A. Former Energy Secretary Steven Chu said, “Through powerful analytical tools developed by our nation’s top universities and national labs, we can gain unparalleled insight into solar deployment that will help lower the cost of solar power and create new businesses and jobs.” The Energy Department is investing funds in these projects to assist with these new discoveries to improve solar cell efficiency and reduce costs. - Edited excerpts from Energy Department Announces New SunShot Projects to Harness the Power of Big Data
DOE Green Energy site, offers more information on the SunShot Initiative Additional Resources: Related Topics: Chu, diffusion, DOE Green Energy, energy, green energy, power, solar, SunShot Read more... |
Wind Direction Forwardby Daphne Evans 28 Aug, 2012 in Science Communications
Wind-Energy - A Revitalized Pursuit was issued by Sandia Laboratories in 1974. This report discusses challenges of the “energy crunch” and the U.S. goal to maintain high standards of living by developing “promising energy sources that are (1) vast, (2) environmentally acceptable, and (3) economically competitive.” The authors felt that wind energy was a feasible solution. Devising ways to efficiently harness the wind is an ongoing pursuit of scientists around the world. The wind mills of the past have evolved into high-tech wind turbines, governed by complex computer systems. These control systems continue to be more and more important as turbines become larger, with more flexible and lighter components. Advanced controls are necessary to prevent damage and possible malfunction of the turbines. Facilities for testing new control systems at the National Wind Technology Center are described in the fact sheet Advanced Wind Turbine Controls Reduce Loads. Read more about wind energy in the DOE Science Showcase: Wind Power and watch Energy 101: Wind Turbines (YouTube) to learn about the fundamentals and future of wind energy.
Daphne Evans, OSTI Staff Related Topics: energy, Sandia, showcase, wind Read more... |
Energy in the Forecastby Daphne Evans 13 Aug, 2012 in Science Communications
If you can accurately predict the weather, you may be able to predict how much energy can be generated from wind turbines. That was one objective of the “Great Plains Wind Energy Transmission Development Project,” completed in 2011, to “develop a wind energy forecast system, and demonstrate its efficacy in scheduling power output from wind farms in the Great Plains.” The forecasting system described in the report was comprised of three elements, a software component using various weather prediction models, a wind energy output model, and a graphical user interface. Detailed wind resource maps, provided by the Wind Powering America Initiative, are another tool for demonstrating wind resource potential and removing some of the guesswork from wind energy prediction. You can read more about the wind, weather, and turbine dynamics in OSTI Collections: Wind Power, and link to many other research reports delving deeper into a range of topics related to wind energy. Daphne Evans, OSTI Staff Related Topics: energy, maps, OSTI collections, weather, wind, wind collection Read more... |
ETDEWEB World Energy Baseby Debbie Cutler 27 Jun, 2012 in Products and Content
Just in time for the summer heat, a refreshing new design of ETDEWEB World Energy Base! New results screen and display options make your search experience cool. (Registration may be required). See more records on your search results screen and don’t forget to use the new ‘…Show More’ to expand content. Interested in full text? Users may now limit their searches to show only records with full text available. Not sure exactly what you want to search for? Check out the latest ETDEWEB World Energy Base enhancement: Popular Topics. Using Popular Topics will give you search results from topics you may have not thought to explore yet. Or if a Popular Topic is already your area of interest, simply click the search to get the latest information available. ETDEWEB World Energy Base is constantly working to expand the content you know and love. Come explore and search for information on energy R&D; energy policy and planning; basic sciences and materials research; the environmental impact of energy production and use, including climate change; energy conservation; nuclear; coal and fossil fuels; renewable energy technologies and much, much more. ETDE is always open to receiving your thoughts and suggestions. Related Topics: climate change, coal, conservation, energy, ETDEWEB, fossil, fuels, nuclear, r&d Read more... |
Fuel cell vehicle…working toward an enviro-friendly car of the futureby Daphne Evans 21 Jun, 2012 in Products and Content
Hydrogen fuel cells are being widely tested as a potential for meeting future transportation needs. In the technical report, Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project, available from the Information Bridge, the U.S. Department of Energy, Mercedes-Benz & Research Development, North America (MBRDNA), Chrysler, Daimler, Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA), BP, DTE Energy and Next Energy endeavor to substantiate fuel cell technologies for infrastructure and transportation as well as evaluate technology and commercial market suitability. Tests were performed through the operation and fueling of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in practical situations, including variations in climate, topography, and driving conditions. The Team deployed 30 GEN I and 20 GEN II fuel cell vehicles to over 37 customers located in various regions in the United States, which provided real-world lessons for the future of the overall program. This report and many others are available on this topic…find them at the DOE Information Bridge.
Related Topics: energy, fuel cells, Information Bridge (IB) Read more... |
Energy Quadrennial Technology Review Releasedby Kate Bannan 28 Sep, 2011 in Science Communications “The Department is uniquely situated to serve as a resource for energy and technology data, information, and analysis that can enhance understanding, operation and planning across all organizations… ." — From the Energy Quadrennial Technology Review
— From the media announcement regarding the Energy Quadrennial Technology Review On September 27, Secretary Steven Chu and Under Secretary Steven Koonin released the first Report on the Department of Energy Quadrennial Technology Review (QTR). Related Topics: 21st century, doe, energy, r&d, research, Technology Read more... |
DOE’s Solar Decathlon – Building the Futureby Kate Bannan 26 Sep, 2011 in Science Communications
The Solar Decathlon is being held September 23–October 2, 2011, at the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, DC. The event is free and open to the public. Related Topics: biomass, collegiate, decathlon, DOE Green Energy, energy, geothermal, green, hydro, power, solar, synthetic fuels, wave, wind Read more... |
Strengthening America’s Energy Securityby Kate Bannan 06 Apr, 2011 in Science Communications
Energy continues to be much in the news these days; rising gas prices affect all Americans – families feel the pinch at the pump, and businesses and farmers see the increased costs impact their bottom line. The Obama Administration recently released a Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future (pdf) that outlines a comprehensive national energy policy that aims to:
Do you want to know what is being done at the Department of Energy and its national laboratories that will help reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign sources of energy, what new or alternative sources of energy are being developed and how we can use energy more efficiently? Go to the Office of Scientific and Technical Informationand use Science Accelerator, a free resource that was developed to advance discovery and deliver science information. Science Accelerator allows the user to search, via a single query, for scientific and technical... Related Topics: America, energy, Science Accelerator Read more... |
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