A new analysis shows how renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydropower respond to climate patterns, and how utilities can use this data to save money and invest in energy storage.
A new digital twin platform can help hydropower dam operators by providing accurate and predictive models of physical turbines that improve facilities and enhance reliability.
Although climate change may bring increased precipitation to many parts of the United States, some areas may face drier conditions and lower streamflow, resulting in decreased hydropower generation.
PNNL and collaborators developed new models—recently approved by the U.S. Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC)—to help utilities understand how new grid-forming inverter technology will enhance grid stability.
Recycling polyolefin materials is challenging. One waste management strategy is plastic upcycling. New work demonstrates a single-step upcycling route coupling cracking and alkylation, recycling carbon and keeping valuable resources active.
PNNL’s patented Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE™) technique is an advanced manufacturing technology that enables better-performing materials and components while offering opportunities to reduce costs and energy consumption.
New methodological approach demonstrates how to assess the economic value, including non-traditional value streams, of converting non-powered dams to hydroelectric facilities.
A PNNL study developed a water management module for Xanthos that distinguishes between the operational characteristics of hydropower, irrigation, and flood control reservoirs.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory launches the Training Outreach and Recruitment for Cybersecurity Hydropower program at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Understanding the risk of compound energy droughts—times when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow—will help grid planners understand where energy storage is needed most.
PNNL led one of five Pathway Summer School programs nationwide, with a specific focus on engaging students from Native American or Indigenous backgrounds.
PNNL receives a 2023 Federal Laboratory Consortium Far West Regional Award for a technological innovation that could help make the U.S. a producer of critical minerals used in electronics and energy production.
A PNNL innovation uses steam to recover heat from the high-temperature reactor effluent in the HTL process, substantially reducing the propensity for fouling and potentially reducing costs.