Under this Agreement, NREL will work with SunEdison to monitor and analyze the performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems as they relate to grid integration. Initially this project will examine the performance of PV systems with respect to evaluating the benefits and impacts on the electric power grid.

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Preliminary system models have been developed by Idaho National Laboratory researchers and are currently being enhanced to assess integrated system performance given multiple sources (e.g., nuclear + wind) and multiple applications (i.e., electricity + process heat). Initial efforts to integrate a Fortran-based simulation of a small modular reactor (SMR) with the balance of plant model have been completed in FY12. This initial effort takes advantage of an existing SMR model developed at North Carolina State University to provide initial integrated system simulation for a relatively low cost. The SMR subsystem simulation details are discussed in this report.

This document summarizes the comments provided by peer reviewers on hydrogen and fuel cell projects presented at the fiscal year (FY) 2012 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program and Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting (AMR), held May 14-18, 2012, in Arlington, VA.

GlueX is one of the flagship experiments of the 12 GeV era at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab). The energy of the electron accelerator at JLab is presently undergoing an upgrade from 6 GeV to 12 GeV and a 4th experimental hall (Hall D) is being added. The GlueX experimental apparatus consists of a tagged coherent bremsstrahlung photon beam incident on a liquid hydrogen target. The photoproduced mesons, which are created inside of a 2.2 T solenoid, will then pass through a pair of drift chambers and eventually deposit their energy into either of two calorimeters, depending on their respective angles. GlueX will attempt to map out the light meson spectrum and search for meson-gluon hybrids to better understand the confinement of quarks and gluons in quantum chromodynamics (QCD). There is little data on the photoproduction of light mesons and the GlueX experiment will exceed the current photoproduction data by several orders of magnitude in the first year alone. Photoproduction is specifically well suited to search for meson-gluon hybrids because in the flux tube model the production cross-sections are higher for meson-gluon hybrids from photons, with the spins of the virtual quark-antiquark pair aligned, than from other sources …

Reactor material testing in the INL's Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) involves modeling and simulation of each experiment to accurately determine the irradiation temperature. This paper describes thermal analysis of capsule experiments using gas gap temperature control and provides data on recent material tests that validate the modeling results. Static capsule experiments and lead-out capsule experiments are discussed. The source of temperature variation in capsule experiments and ways to mitigate these variations are also explained. Two examples of instrumented lead-out capsule experiments, TMIST-1 and UCSB-2, are presented. A comparison of measured and calculated temperatures is used to validate the thermal models and to ascertain the accuracy of the calculated temperature.

Nuclear power and propulsion has been considered for space applications since the 1950s. Between 1955 and 1972 the US built and tested over twenty nuclear reactors / rocket engines in the Rover/NERVA programs1. The Aerojet Corporation was the prime contractor for the NERVA program. Modern changes in environmental laws present challenges for the redevelopment of the nuclear rocket. Recent advances in fuel fabrication and testing options indicate that a nuclear rocket with a fuel composition that is significantly different from those of the NERVA project can be engineered; this may be needed to ensure public support and compliance with safety requirements. The Center for Space Nuclear Research (CSNR) is pursuing a number of technologies, modeling and testing processes to further the development of safe, practical and affordable nuclear thermal propulsion systems.

Initiated in 2007 to examine the operational impact of up to 35% penetration of wind, photovoltaic (PV), and concentrating solar power (CSP) energy on the electric power system, the Western Wind and Solar Integration Study (WWSIS) is one of the largest regional wind and solar integration studies to date. The goal is to understand the effects of variability and uncertainty of wind, PV, and CSP on the grid. In the Western Wind and Solar Integration Study Phase 1, solar penetration was limited to 5%. Utility-scale PV was not included because of limited capability to model sub-hourly, utility-scale PV output . New techniques allow the Western Wind and Solar Integration Study Phase 2 to include high penetrations of solar - not only CSP and rooftop PV but also utility-scale PV plants.

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The purpose of the fluid dynamics experiments in the MIR (Matched Index of-Refraction) flow system at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is to develop benchmark databases for the assessment of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solutions of the momentum equations, scalar mixing, and turbulence models for the flow ratios between coolant channels and bypass gaps in the interstitial regions of typical prismatic standard fuel element (SFE) or upper reflector block geometries of typical Modular High-temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (MHTGR) in the limiting case of negligible buoyancy and constant fluid properties. The experiments will use optical techniques, primarily particle image velocimetry (PIV) in the INL Matched Index of Refraction (MIR) flow system.

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The goal of this report is to inform investors about the potential of solar minigrid technologies to serve India's rural market. Under the US-India Energy Dialogue, the US Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is supporting the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)'s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) in performing a business-case and policy-oriented analysis on the deployment of solar minigrids in India. The JNNSM scheme targets the development of 2GW of off-grid solar power by 2022 and provides large subsidies to meet this target. NREL worked with electricity capacity and demand data supplied by the Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agency (LREDA) from Leh District, to develop a technical approach for solar minigrid development. Based on the NREL-developed, simulated solar insolation data for the city of Leh, a 250-kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system can produce 427,737 kWh over a 12-month period. The business case analysis, based on several different scenarios and JNNSM incentives shows the cost of power ranges from Rs. 6.3/kWh (US$0.126) to Rs. 9/kWh (US$0.18). At these rates, solar power is a cheaper alternative to diesel. An assessment of the macro-environment elements--including political, economic, environmental, social, and technological--was also performed to identify …

The Time Projection Chamber is a collaborative effort to implement an innovative approach and deliver unprecedented fission measurements to DOE programs. This 4p- detector system will provide unrivaled 3-D data about the fission process. This TPC has been shipped and installed at LANSCE and is collecting further engineering data for the full system scale up next year.

The CEBAF 12 GeV upgrade project includes 80 new 7-cell cavities to form 10 cryomodules. These cryomodules were tested during production to characterize their microphonic response in situ. For several early cryomodules, detailed (vibration) modal studies of the cryomodule string were performed during the assembly process to identify the structural contributors to the measured cryomodule microphonic response. Structural modifications were then modelled, implemented, and verified by subsequent modal testing and in-situ microphonic response testing. Interim and latest results from this multi-stage process will be reviewed.

This document reports on NREL's 'Campus of the Future,' which leverages partnerships and showcases sustainable energy on and near the NREL site. It is unique in that the report is based on GRI key performance indicators, that support NREL's sustainability goals.

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Purpose: NREL's Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the lab's environmental activities for 2011 including information on environmental and sustainability performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes.

Day and night mobile hydroacoustic surveys were conducted once each month from April through December 2011 to quantify the horizontal and vertical distributions of fish throughout Cougar Reservoir, Lane County, Oregon.

New funding is sought to pursue planned closeout of the Cf-252 Loan Program. The work will be performed in phases. In the initial phase, users will be surveyed to determine whether they wish to take ownership of sources in their possession, or return them. In the second phase, sources will be recalled from non-DOE entities, and source ownership transfers will be performed. In the third phase, the remaining sources from DOE entities will be recalled. Initial funding of $350K is sought to fund the first phase, and to plan execution of the remaining phases given information collected from user surveys.

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This report provides a description of the apparatus and the single cell testing results performed at Idaho National Laboratory during January–August 2012. It is an addendum to the Small-Scale Test Report issued in January 2012. The primary program objectives during this time period were associated with design, assembly, and operation of two large experiments: a pressurized test, and a 4 kW test. Consequently, the activities described in this report represent a much smaller effort.