This fact sheet describes the current state of the offshore wind industry in the United States and the offshore wind research and development activities conducted the U.S. Department of Energy Wind and Water Power Program.

This report explores three mechanisms for encouraging solar ready building design and construction: solar ready legislation, certification programs for solar ready design and construction, and stakeholder education. These methods are not mutually exclusive, and all, if implemented well, could contribute to more solar ready construction. Solar ready itself does not reduce energy use or create clean energy. Nevertheless, solar ready building practices are needed to reach the full potential of solar deployment. Without forethought on incorporating solar into design, buildings may be incompatible with solar due to roof structure or excessive shading. In these cases, retrofitting the roof or removing shading elements is cost prohibitive. Furthermore, higher up-front costs due to structural adaptations and production losses caused by less than optimal roof orientation, roof equipment, or shading will lengthen payback periods, making solar more expensive. With millions of new buildings constructed each year in the United States, solar ready can remove installation barriers and increase the potential for widespread solar adoption. There are many approaches to promoting solar ready, including solar ready legislation, certification programs, and education of stakeholders. Federal, state, and local governments have the potential to implement programs that encourage solar ready and in turn reduce barriers to …

The Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) accelerator at Jefferson Lab will be upgraded from 6 GeV to 12 GeV in the next few years. To meet the requirement of the new machine and to take the opportunity to improve the beam quality, the CEBAF injector will be upgraded with a higher voltage gun, a new booster, and a new accelerating RF module. The CEBAF injector creates and accelerates three beams at different currents simultaneously. The beams are interleaved, each at one third of the RF frequency, traveling through the same beam line. The higher voltage gun will lower the space charge effects. The new booster with optimized beam dynamics will complete the bunching process and provide initial acceleration matched to the new gun voltage. Using our latest SRF design, the new booster has significantly lower x/y coupling effects that should improve our beam setup and operation for the highly sensitive parity experiments scheduled for the CEBAF's future. Finally, the new accelerating RF module will roughly double the injector final energy to match the rest of the 12 GeV accelerator. In this paper we will provide more detail about this upgrade.

Wind power forecasting is expected to be an important enabler for greater penetration of wind power into electricity systems. Because no wind forecasting system is perfect, a thorough understanding of the errors that do occur can be critical to system operation functions, such as the setting of operating reserve levels. This paper provides an international comparison of the distribution of wind power forecasting errors from operational systems, based on real forecast data. The paper concludes with an assessment of similarities and differences between the errors observed in different locations.

Each week the U.S. Department of Energy s Vehicle Technology Program (VTP) posts a Fact of the Week on their website: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/. These Facts provide statistical information, usually in the form of charts and tables, on vehicle sales, fuel economy, gasoline prices, and other transportation-related trends. Each Fact is a stand-alone page that includes a graph, text explaining the significance of the data, the supporting information on which the graph was based, and the source of the data. A link to the current Fact is available Monday through Friday on the VTP homepage, but older Facts are archived and still available at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/. This report is a compilation of the Facts that were posted during calendar year 2011. The Facts were written and prepared by staff in Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Center for Transportation Analysis.

A broad range of scientific computation involves the use of difference stencils. In a parallel computing environment, this computation is typically implemented by decomposing the spacial domain, inducing a 'halo exchange' of process-owned boundary data. This approach adheres to the Bulk Synchronous Parallel (BSP) model. Because commonly available architectures provide strong inter-node bandwidth relative to latency costs, many codes 'bulk up' these messages by aggregating data into a message as a means of reducing the number of messages. A renewed focus on non-traditional architectures and architecture features provides new opportunities for exploring alternatives to this programming approach. In this report we describe miniGhost, a 'miniapp' designed for exploration of the capabilities of current as well as emerging and future architectures within the context of these sorts of applications. MiniGhost joins the suite of miniapps developed as part of the Mantevo project.

In April 2007, the Department of Energy (DOE) designated the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) a National Scientific User Facility (NSUF) to advance US leadership in nuclear science and technology. By attracting new users from universities, laboratories, and industry, the ATR will support basic and applied nuclear research and development and help address the nation's energy security needs. In support of this new program, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has developed in-house capabilities to fabricate, test, and qualify new and enhanced temperature sensors for irradiation testing. Although most efforts emphasize sensors capable of providing real-time data, selected tasks have been completed to enhance sensors provided in irradiation locations where instrumentation leads cannot be included, such as drop-in capsule and Hydraulic Shuttle Irradiation System (HSIS) or 'rabbit' locations. For example, silicon carbide (SiC) monitors are now available to detect peak irradiation temperatures between 200°C and 800°C. Using a resistance measurement approach, specialized equipment installed at INL's High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL) and specialized procedures were developed to ensure that accurate peak irradiation temperature measurements are inferred from SiC monitors irradiated at the ATR. Comparison examinations were completed by INL to demonstrate this capability, and several programs currently rely on SiC monitors for …

Coherent electron cooling (CEC) has a potential to significantly boost luminosity of high-energy, high-intensity hadron colliders. To verify the concept we conduct proof-of-the-principle experiment at RHIC. In this paper, we describe the current experimental setup to be installed into 2 o'clock RHIC interaction regions. We present current design, status of equipment acquisition and estimates for the expected beam parameters.

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The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is in the process of modernizing the various reactor physics modeling and simulation tools used to support operation and safety assurance of the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). Key accomplishments so far have encompassed both computational as well as experimental work. A new suite of stochastic and deterministic transport theory based reactor physics codes and their supporting nuclear data libraries (HELIOS, KENO6/SCALE, NEWT/SCALE, ATTILA, and an extended implementation of MCNP5) has been installed at the INL. Corresponding models of the ATR and ATRC are now operational with all five codes, demonstrating the basic feasibility of the new code packages for their intended purpose. Of particular importance, a set of as-run core depletion HELIOS calculations for all ATR cycles since August 2009 was successfully completed during 2011. This demonstration supported a decision late in the year to proceed with the phased incorporation of the HELIOS methodology into the ATR fuel cycle management process beginning in 2012. On the experimental side of the project, new hardware was fabricated, measurement protocols were finalized, and the first four of six planned physics code validation experiments based on neutron activation spectrometry were conducted at the ATRC facility. Data analysis for the …

This presentation covers the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's role in economic impact analysis for wind power Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (JEDI) models, JEDI results, small wind JEDI specifics, and a request for information to complete the model.

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This document is intended to provide a Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project tool in which to collect and identify key definitions, plant capabilities, and inputs and assumptions to be used in ongoing efforts related to the licensing and deployment of a high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). These definitions, capabilities, and assumptions are extracted from a number of sources, including NGNP Project documents such as licensing related white papers [References 1-11] and previously issued requirement documents [References 13-15]. Also included is information agreed upon by the NGNP Regulatory Affairs group's Licensing Working Group and Configuration Council. The NGNP Project approach to licensing an HTGR plant via a combined license (COL) is defined within the referenced white papers and reference [12], and is not duplicated here.

We present the results of a search for planetary companions orbiting near hot Jupiter planet candidates (Jupiter-size candidates with orbital periods near 3 d) identified in the Kepler data through its sixth quarter of science operations. Special emphasis is given to companions between the 2:1 interior and exterior mean-motion resonances. A photometric transit search excludes companions with sizes ranging from roughly two-thirds to five times the size of the Earth, depending upon the noise properties of the target star. A search for dynamically induced deviations from a constant period (transit timing variations) also shows no significant signals. In contrast, comparison studies of warm Jupiters (with slightly larger orbits) and hot Neptune-size candidates do exhibit signatures of additional companions with these same tests. These differences between hot Jupiters and other planetary systems denote a distinctly different formation or dynamical history.

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This presentation is an update on the Gearbox Reliability Collaborative (GRC) for the AWEA Wind Project Operations, Maintenance & Reliability Seminar. GRC accomplishments are: (1) Failure database software deployed - partners see business value for themselves and customers; (2) Designed, built, instrumented, and tested two gearboxes - (a) Generated unprecedented public domain test data from both field testing and dynamometer testing, (b) Different responses from 'identical' gearboxes, (c) Demonstrated importance of non-torque loading and modeling approach; and (3) Active collaborative, with wide industry support, leveraging DOE funding - Modeling round robin and Condition Monitoring round robin.

Provides an overview of Clean Cities National Clean Fleets Partnership (NCFP). The NCFP is open to large private-sector companies that have fleet operations in multiple states. Companies that join the partnership receive customized assistance to reduce petroleum use through increased efficiency and use of alternative fuels. This initiative provides fleets with specialized resources, expertise, and support to successfully incorporate alternative fuels and fuel-saving measures into their operations. The National Clean Fleets Partnership builds on the established success of DOE's Clean Cities program, which reduces petroleum consumption at the community level through a nationwide network of coalitions that work with local stakeholders. Developed with input from fleet managers, industry representatives, and Clean Cities coordinators, the National Clean Fleets Partnership goes one step further by working with large private-sector fleets.

In this study a four-phase micro-structure of a PEFC catalyst layer was reconstructed by randomly placing overlapping spheres for each solid catalyst phase. The micro-structure was mirrored to make a micro-structure. A body-fit computational mesh was produced for the reconstructed micro-structure in OpenFOAM. Associated conservation equations were solved within all the phases with electrochemical reaction as the boundary condition at the interface between ionomer and platinum phases. The study is focused on the platinum loading of CL. The polarization curves of the micro-structure performance have been compared for different platinum loadings. This paper gives increased insight into the relatively greater losses at decreased platinum loadings.

In a laboratory environment, it is cost prohibitive to run automotive battery aging experiments across a wide range of possible ambient environment, drive cycle and charging scenarios. Since worst-case scenarios drive the conservative sizing of electric-drive vehicle batteries, it is useful to understand how and why those scenarios arise and what design or control actions might be taken to mitigate them. In an effort to explore this problem, this paper applies a semi-empirical life model of the graphite/nickel-cobalt-aluminum lithium-ion chemistry to investigate impacts of geographic environments under storage and simplified cycling conditions. The model is then applied to analyze complex cycling conditions, using battery charge/discharge profiles generated from simulations of PHEV10 and PHEV40 vehicles across 782 single-day driving cycles taken from Texas travel survey data.

A number of pure cement and cement-basalt interface samples were subjected to a range of compressive loads to form internal fractures. X-ray microtomography was used to visualize the formation and growth of internal fractures in three dimensions as a function of compressive loads. This laboratory data will be incorporated into a geomechanics model to predict the risk of CO2 leakage through wellbores during geologic carbon storage.

This guide regarding energy recovery is one in a series on best practices for laboratories. It was produced by Laboratories for the 21st Century ('Labs 21'), a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Laboratories typically require 100% outside air for ventilation at higher rates than other commercial buildings. Minimum ventilation is typically provided at air change per hour (ACH) rates in accordance with codes and adopted design standards including Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Standard 1910.1450 (4 to 12 ACH - non-mandatory) or the 2011 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Applications Handbook, Chapter 16 - Laboratories (6 to 12 ACH). While OSHA states this minimum ventilation rate 'should not be relied on for protection from toxic substances released into the laboratory' it specifically indicates that it is intended to 'provide a source of air for breathing and for input to local ventilation devices (e.g., chemical fume hoods or exhausted bio-safety cabinets), to ensure that laboratory air is continually replaced preventing the increase of air concentrations of toxic substances during the working day, direct air flow into the laboratory from non-laboratory areas and out to the exterior …

This presentation describes a National Renewable Energy Laboratory project to collect and analyze commercial fleet deployment data from medium-duty plug-in hybrid electric and all-electric vehicles that were deployed using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This work supports the Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program and its Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity.

One of the events postulated in the hazard analysis at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) and other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities is a breach in process piping that produces aerosols with droplet sizes in the respirable range. The current approach for predicting the size and concentration of aerosols produced in a spray leak involves extrapolating from correlations reported in the literature. These correlations are based on results obtained from small engineered spray nozzles using pure liquids with Newtonian fluid behavior. The narrow ranges of physical properties on which the correlations are based do not cover the wide range of slurries and viscous materials that will be processed in the WTP and across processing facilities in the DOE complex. Two key technical areas were identified where testing results were needed to improve the technical basis by reducing the uncertainty due to extrapolating existing literature results. The first technical need was to quantify the role of slurry particles in small breaches where the slurry particles may plug and result in substantially reduced, or even negligible, respirable fraction formed by high-pressure sprays. The second technical need was to determine the aerosol droplet size distribution and volume from prototypic …

This NREL technical report details a plan for the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) to minimize the economic damage caused by major petroleum price increases. The assumptions for this plan are that the USVI will have very little time and money to implement it and that the population will be highly motivated to follow it because of high fuel prices. The plan's success, therefore, is highly dependent on behavior change. This plan was derived largely from a review of the actions taken and behavior changes made by companies and commuters throughout the United States in response to the oil price spike of 2008. Many of these solutions were coordinated by or reported through the 88 local representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities program. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory provides technical and communications support for the Clean Cities program and therefore serves as a de facto repository of these solutions. This plan is the first publication that has tapped this repository.