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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: 'Potential of Data Center Controls in Grid Services'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Potential of Data Center Controls in Grid Services."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
The rapid proliferation of large data centers brings both challenges and opportunities for grid reliability. The data center resources and their potential flexibility have the potential to contribute resources to grid operations. Through capabilities like energy shifting and resource coordination, data centers can help reduce their net demand on the
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Potential of Data Center Controls in Grid Services."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
The rapid proliferation of large data centers brings both challenges and opportunities for grid reliability. The data center resources and their potential flexibility have the potential to contribute resources to grid operations. Through capabilities like energy shifting and resource coordination, data centers can help reduce their net demand on thetransmission network, as well as provide additional grid services to support reliable operation on the grid.
While transient and long-term grid planning and operations are the scenarios that draw most attention, the quasi-steady state timeseries (QSTS) operation of data centers and grid bring interesting scenarios that can help evaluate the data center controls to aid grid services. This work is focused on modeling data centers for QSTS applications - incorporating the AI data center load profiles and building on the PNNL digital twin model for the thermal management loads to enable simulation studies to reveal the impact of data center controls on grid performance.
This includes the integration of a QSTS battery and natural gas generator model to incorporate local resource impacts to the system. The simulation study is performed with a modified IEEE 24-Bus transmission system. Scenarios are focused on evaluating the data center load impacts on the transmission system and leveraging both data center and local generation controls to mitigate those impacts and provide additional grid services.
The data center controls revealed the ability to contribute to two main kinds of grid services: preventing congestion on a weak grid by coordinating the data center resources with the collocated BESS and onsite generation; and the ability to help the grid operations during stressed times of operation like during a contingency. Leveraging these and other capabilities has the potential to help data centers become grid responsive assets, aiding in both their integration into the power system and grid reliability.
Citation
Bharati A., M. Mamun, M. Mukherjee, and F.K. Tuffner. 2026.
Potential of Data Center Controls in Grid Services.
Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
PNNL-39553.
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View report at: https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/potential-data-center-controls-grid-services
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: 'Harvesting Subsea Water Motion to Provide Clean Electrical Power'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Harvesting Subsea Water Motion to Provide Clean Electrical Power."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
This TEAMER project had three main objectives related to characterizing the performance of a vortex-induced vibration (VIV) marine energy harvesting device called the Whatever Input To Torsion (WITT). The first was to characterize the motion of the WITT device as it vibrates on top of a pipe in a natural tidal flow.
The second was to
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Harvesting Subsea Water Motion to Provide Clean Electrical Power."
Here are excerpts:
* * *
Abstract
This TEAMER project had three main objectives related to characterizing the performance of a vortex-induced vibration (VIV) marine energy harvesting device called the Whatever Input To Torsion (WITT). The first was to characterize the motion of the WITT device as it vibrates on top of a pipe in a natural tidal flow.
The second was tomeasure how much electricity the WITT device generates when it is deployed on top of a pipe that is secured to the seabed with a lander. The third objective was to measure how much electricity the WITT device generates in the same configuration but with a longer pipe. This TEAMER project succeeded in satisfying the first objective by measuring the motion of the WITT device with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) mounted in the WITT housing.
The motion was described by examining changes in the acceleration, pitch, roll, and yaw, and displacement. The frequency of the motion was characterized using spectral analysis. The TEAMER project succeeded in reaching the second objective by measuring the power produced by the WITT. It is reported here as the average and maximum power in hourly intervals. WITT Energy decided to not have us pursue the third objective of testing a longer pipe because the first test was unexpectedly successful at having the system vibrate at the target frequency.
A longer pipe would have resulted in a decreased frequency and therefore not have been a useful test. Based on these findings, the decision was made to keep the same pipe length for both tests and improve on other aspects of the test structure that had failed during the first test. The key finding of this TEAMER project is that the WITT is capable of generating electricity in moderate flow speeds when it is in a housing that is attached to a 2.5 m pipe and secured to the seabed by a lander.
This report contains the first power values for a VIV instrument that generates electricity from a pendulum swinging at the top of a long pipe. The experiment demonstrated that the vibration frequency of the device varied with the tidal current speed, which changed throughout a given tidal cycle. This meant that the desired peak frequency was not sustained for more than one hour.
The success of this TEAMER test provides evidence that continued research in the area of electricity generation from VIV holds promise as a source of marine energy for offshore applications. Future tests should focus on refining the pipe length equations and improving the power take off system of the WITT power electronics. In addition, experiments aimed at expanded testing and evaluation (e.g. longer than one month) are needed to measure the power production at higher tidal current speeds and test the system's durability.
Citation
Branch R.A., E.N. Geon, J.R. McVey, A.M. Turpin, C.R. Rumple, M. Wickett, and M. Wickett. 2025.
Harvesting Subsea Water Motion to Provide Clean Electrical Power.
Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
PNNL-38730.
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View report at: https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/harvesting-subsea-water-motion-provide-clean-electrical-power
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: 'FAST-1.2.2 - Integral Assessment'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "FAST-1.2.2: Integral Assessment."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
This integral assessment quantifies the predictive capabilities of Fuel Analysis under Steady-state and Transients (FAST), a thermal-mechanical nuclear fuel performance code designed to analyze fuel behavior from beginning of life to burnup levels allowed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
FAST code calculations are shown to compare satisfactorily to a pre-selected
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "FAST-1.2.2: Integral Assessment."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
This integral assessment quantifies the predictive capabilities of Fuel Analysis under Steady-state and Transients (FAST), a thermal-mechanical nuclear fuel performance code designed to analyze fuel behavior from beginning of life to burnup levels allowed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
FAST code calculations are shown to compare satisfactorily to a pre-selectedset of experimental data with both steady-state and anticipated operating occurrence conditions and design basis accident transient operating conditions.
This document describes the assessment of FAST-1.2.2, the latest version of FAST, released April 2026.
Citation
Geelhood K.J., C.E. Goodson, D.V. Colameco, D.F. Wray, W.G. Luscher, J. Corson, and J.J. Whitman. 2026.
FAST-1.2.2: Integral Assessment.
Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
PNNL-39257.
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View report at: https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/fast-122-integral-assessment
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: 'Evaluation of Howard A. Hanson Dam Juvenile Fish Passage and Survival Study'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Evaluation of Howard A. Hanson Dam Juvenile Fish Passage and Survival Study: Downstream Passage and Survival (Acoustic Telemetry) Task Final Report."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
The Downstream Passage and Survival (Acoustic Telemetry) task was one of several tasks for the Evaluation of Howard A. Hanson Dam (HAHD) Juvenile Fish Passage and Survival study. For this task, a juvenile fish passage and survival study was conducted at HAHD
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Evaluation of Howard A. Hanson Dam Juvenile Fish Passage and Survival Study: Downstream Passage and Survival (Acoustic Telemetry) Task Final Report."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
The Downstream Passage and Survival (Acoustic Telemetry) task was one of several tasks for the Evaluation of Howard A. Hanson Dam (HAHD) Juvenile Fish Passage and Survival study. For this task, a juvenile fish passage and survival study was conducted at HAHDfrom March 10, 2024 through June 27, 2024 for arrays in the HAHD Reservoir and Green River, and through July 9, 2024 for the arrays in the Duwamish River.
Fish releases occurred over four times from March through May. Active tag (acoustic telemetry) technology was used to provide biological baseline information for the passage and survival of juvenile Puget Sound (PS) Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Results will be used by biologists, engineers, resource managers, and regional decision-makers to inform the engineering design of the new fish passage facility (FPF) at HAHD. However, hatchery sub-yearling PS Chinook salmon of the appropriate size for tag implantation during the study period (> 95 mm in fork length, Geist et al. 2018) were unavailable.
Therefore, yearling Coho salmon (O. kisutch) were used as a surrogate species for this acoustic telemetry study. This study was conducted by researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) technology was used to evaluate existing HAHD operations to understand if they met the Biological Opinion (BiOp) requirements set forth by the National Marine Fisheries Service for fish passage (75% overall reservoir to downstream survival, 95% collection, and 98% passage survival; NOAA 2019).
Additionally, a combination of reservoir elevation and discharge during spring refill was intended to be assessed, to evaluate at which depths and discharges were associated with (a) 80% fish passage in the reservoir, (b) 95% fish passage by the radial gate within the forebay, and (c) 2% mortality associated with the existing project passage. A total of 2,684 juvenile Coho salmon were tagged and used for analyses (n = 2,468 released alive; and n = 216 released dead). One of the primary findings from this study was that few fish were detected downstream of HAHD. There were 2,261 fish detected on the 3-dimensional (3-D) cabled array, located at the dam face of HAHD. Of those, 205 fish were detected downstream of HAHD.
This is a conservative estimate because the 3-D tracking of fish for passage was unable to be performed. There was an overload of data on the autonomous and cabled receivers in the forebay of HAHD because fish were not passing the dam. The data overload caused data cards to fill up faster than expected, which led to data gaps and the inability to perform the 3-D tracking for fish passage.
The data overload also created time jump issues in the data and caused strain on the batteries in the autonomous receivers. Finally, because so few fish were confirmed to have been detected downstream of the dam, fewer fish were tagged and released than were proposed. Another finding was that of the fish that were detected downstream of the dam, more did so earlier in the season (March) than later in the season (April and May).
This could be attributed to the rise in reservoir elevation, which increased the depth fish would need to sound (dive) to find the outflow tunnel to pass the dam. As a result, the autonomous receivers and cabled array equipment were pulled from the reservoir before the battery life of the active tags expired, as it was anticipated the continued rise in reservoir elevation would result in even fewer fish passing HAHD and a continued overload of data on the receivers in the forebay.
The joint probability of migration and survival for the March-released fish was estimated from fish release at the head of reservoir (HOR) to the Cumberland Kanasket Bridge (CKB), located approximately 14.3 river kilometers (rkm) downstream.
Citation
Larson S.A., E.S. Fischer, E.L. Zionce, R.A. Harnish, T. Fu, K.D. Ham, and J.M. Carver, et al. 2025.
Evaluation of Howard A. Hanson Dam Juvenile Fish Passage and Survival Study: Downstream Passage and Survival (Acoustic Telemetry) Task Final Report.
Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
PNNL-37338.
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View report at: https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/evaluation-howard-hanson-dam-juvenile-fish-passage-and-survival-study-downstream
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: 'Dielectric Spectroscopy Cable NDE for Unequal Aging Over Different Lengths'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Dielectric Spectroscopy Cable NDE for Unequal Aging Over Different Lengths."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
This Pacific Northwest National Laboratory milestone report assesses the effect of unequal aging over different lengths of cable on dielectric spectroscopy (DS) bulk impedance measurements from the cable end. DS measurements can indicate the remaining useful life of cables; however, most benchmark tests are based on accelerated
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Dielectric Spectroscopy Cable NDE for Unequal Aging Over Different Lengths."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
This Pacific Northwest National Laboratory milestone report assesses the effect of unequal aging over different lengths of cable on dielectric spectroscopy (DS) bulk impedance measurements from the cable end. DS measurements can indicate the remaining useful life of cables; however, most benchmark tests are based on acceleratedaging of the entire cable.
If only a portion of the cable is exposed to a harsh environment (as is frequently the case), the DS measurement will indicate a significantly less-aged cable than if the entire cable were exposed to a uniform environmental stress. The DS measurement is primarily related to the intrinsic insulation material relative permittivity--typically between 1.5 and 3.0.
Insulation aging increases permittivity and, correspondingly, the cable's overall capacitance measured from the cable end. To judge the health of the overall cable system, operators are primarily interested in the condition of the most severely aged section since that is where a failure is most likely to occur. This can be expressed as the dimensionless relative permittivity of the severely aged section divided by the permittivity of a pristine cable. This relative permittivity is an intrinsic material parameter independent of cable length and can serve as a quantitative indication of the insulation condition.
If the relative percentages of cable exposed to a harsh and benign environment are known, the DS measurement of the entire cable length, including both pristine and aged sections, can be compensated to predict the relative permittivity (relative to pristine permittivity) of the most severly aged segment. A test was performed on three 50 ft (16 m) cables with 10%, 50%, and 90% of the cable inside a thermal aging oven. Predictably, the aging effect on the DS response was greatest in the 90% sample, followed by the 50% sample, and then the 10% sample.
The more interesting result is the ratio of the aged insulation permittivity to the pristine insulation permittivity. Based on prior work, an end-of-life cable has a value of approximately 1.35. If the relative percentages of pristine and severely aged cable lengths are known, and the total cable-length capacitance of the initial pristine cable and the combined pristine plus aged cable are known, the relative aged permittivity (ratio of aged section permittivity / pristine section permittivity) can be estimated.
The relative cable lengths exposed to a harsh environment may be known or estimated based on plant layout drawings or cable reflectometry tests that can locate the oven entry and exit points. The compensation was verified using a lumped-parameter model to predict the aged-segment permittivity e2/e1, where e2 is the aged-segment permittivity and e1 is the pristine-segment permittivity. For all three percentages of aged cable lengths, the ratio was quite similar, as would be expected since all cable segments were exposed to the same aging environment. This ratio of aged permittivity to pristine permittivity can be compared to other damage indicating tests, including elongation at break, to assess cable condition.
Citation
Glass S.W., M. Elen, and J. Fifield. 2026.
Dielectric Spectroscopy Cable NDE for Unequal Aging Over Different Lengths.
Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
PNNL-39707.
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View report at: https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/dielectric-spectroscopy-cable-nde-unequal-aging-over-different-lengths
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: 'Developing a Framework for Valuation of Grid Services'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Developing a Framework for Valuation of Grid Services."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
The electric system is rapidly evolving and growing, raising new questions about how to define and value grid services delivered by a diverse set of resources, including customer-owned assets.
This report advances a service-parameter-value framework that links what a grid service does to why it matters, and how its benefits are evidenced. We build
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Developing a Framework for Valuation of Grid Services."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
The electric system is rapidly evolving and growing, raising new questions about how to define and value grid services delivered by a diverse set of resources, including customer-owned assets.
This report advances a service-parameter-value framework that links what a grid service does to why it matters, and how its benefits are evidenced. We buildupon prior efforts (Bender et al. 2021) and extend them to include value categories (reliability, resilience, cost & access, and security) with primary and secondary tiers, service-specific value streams that explain how benefits materialize, and metrics that make valuation traceable and comparable.
We apply the framework to the six core grid services defined in (Kolln et al. 2023): Frequency Response, Regulation, Reserves, Energy, Voltage Management, and Blackstart and demonstrate it on three use cases to highlight the adaptability of these value streams.
Further, we outline how the framework integrates with existing tools such as asset optimization, hosting capacity and cost-benefit analysis, and propose a path to portable qualifications and consistent stacking rules for use in tariffs and filings.
Finally, we identify future pathways for research and application research needs to support standardization and decision-ready comparisons across services, assets, and architectures.
Citation
Parker K.M., S. Nagaraja Sudhakar, D.J. Sebastian Cardenas, S.R. Bender, and J.T. Kolln. 2026.
Developing a Framework for Valuation of Grid Services.
Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
PNNL-38892.
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View report at: https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/developing-framework-valuation-grid-services
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: 'Coordinated Natural Gas and Electric Planning - Case Studies of Current Approaches and Practices'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Coordinated Natural Gas and Electric Planning: Case Studies of Current Approaches and Practices."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
This paper examines how natural gas and electric utilities across eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces are beginning to coordinate historically separate planning processes in response to growing system interdependencies, policy mandates, aging infrastructure, and changing customer energy choices.
Electricity
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory issued the following report on Sept. 22, 2026, entitled "Coordinated Natural Gas and Electric Planning: Case Studies of Current Approaches and Practices."
Here are excerpts:
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Abstract
This paper examines how natural gas and electric utilities across eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces are beginning to coordinate historically separate planning processes in response to growing system interdependencies, policy mandates, aging infrastructure, and changing customer energy choices.
Electricityplanning has long relied on robust integrated resource planning frameworks that weigh numerous objectives, risks, and costs. Natural gas planning, on the other hand, is typically less transparent and more narrowly focused on safety and system integrity.
As economic, reliability, and policy drivers place new and shared demands on both systems, jurisdictions and utilities are experimenting with approaches such as coordinated forecasting, non pipeline alternatives, and combined planning pilots. A few have issued regulatory or statutory directives for greater data sharing and methodological alignment.
Case studies from British Columbia, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Quebec, Rhode Island, and Washington illustrate a wide range of approaches to rethinking siloed planning. The paper identifies several common themes across the jurisdictions examined.
It provides observations on the methods, processes, and organizational steps that may be needed in the future to address the challenges being faced by states and utilities. Lastly, it identifies some initial steps that states and utilities can consider if they would like to pursue more integrated, cost-effective, policy-aligned energy system planning.
Citation
Shipley J.A., K. Kazimierczuk, M.I. De La Rosa, and J.G. Eisdorfer. 2026.
Coordinated Natural Gas and Electric Planning: Case Studies of Current Approaches and Practices.
Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
PNNL-39539.
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View report at: https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/coordinated-natural-gas-and-electric-planning-case-studies-current-approaches-and
