Abstracts

“Microgrid Planning Utilizing an Open Modeling Framework for Resilient Installations Leveraging Their Utility Privatization” by Mr. David Pinney (EW20-5055)

Military installations host multiple mission-critical critical loads with stringent resilience requirements. These requirements can often be cost-effectively met by microgrid deployments. However, existing electric grid planning tools lack integrated methods for concurrently modeling on-site generation systems with low voltage (building), medium voltage (distribution system primary), and high voltage (transmission systems). This shortcoming in existing planning tools increases time, cost, complexity, and uncertainty in designing microgrids for multi-building sites. The MicrogridUP project has created a comprehensive microgrid planning framework to address known software and planning problems that limit the widespread, cost-effective utilization of coordinated microgrid deployments. The project team includes utilities that hold utility privatization (UP) contracts to own and operate electrical infrastructure on behalf of the military, and the framework has been used to develop microgrid plans for four installations that these utilities serve. National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Research's MicrogridUP planning framework has been able to identify attractive microgrid candidates, optimize their placement and components, and reduce the soft costs associated with the planning process. This presentation will provide an overview of the multi-staged optimization approach to microgrid planning and discuss microgrid opportunities that have been identified at four military installations served by three cooperative UP owners.

“Transferring Capability for Microgrids and Resilience in DoD Installations” by Dr. Nathan Johnson and Mr. Chuck Kurnik (EW22-7348)

The National Defense Authorization Act and all military branches specifically mandate resilience. However, there are insufficient resources to support infrastructure and training, as well as limited guidance on how to conceptualize, execute, and fund resilience. This project is providing energy resilience training focused on microgrids to achieve the following: (a) enhance understanding, design for, and sustainment of reliable energy access for mission assurance within military installations; (b) facilitate cross-collaboration between utilities, installation leadership, and installation facilities to develop resilient energy solutions such as microgrids; and, (c) disseminate a standardized microgrid resilience knowledge set and expertise across DoD entities with continuation through DoD training programs for facilities personnel. This work refines and scales training content from Arizona State University (ASU), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Slipstream, and Converge Strategies into a series of recurring microgrid training programs targeted toward military installation facilities and leadership, DoD laboratories and warfare centers, energy utility partners, and DoD contractors/partners. This presentation will provide an overview of the training programs and information on how to plug-in to the growing effort to enhance capacity to meet resilience goals.

Speaker Biographies

Mr. David Pinney is the Analytics Research Program Manager at National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). He coordinates software and analytics research efforts among the cooperatives and their partners in academia, industry, and the government. His current research projects include cost-benefit analysis of distributed energy resources; distribution and transmission system simulation; sensor, machine intelligence, and modeling platforms; and decision models for resiliency investments. Prior to these efforts, Mr. Pinney developed research software for NRECA, led consulting engagements for software and data mining company MicroStrategy, and built biological models at the UCLA Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics. He received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Cornell University.

Dr. Nathan Johnson leads numerous efforts at ASU to accelerate the advancement of sustainable development goals through innovation in stakeholder value propositions, technology, business models, and policy. In this, Dr. Johnson builds public-private partnerships in the U.S. and internationally to develop energy decarbonization solutions leading to pilot demonstration and scale. Specific to the DoD, he leads or co-directs ten active projects supported by Office of Naval Research and ESTCP with a focus on translating research to on-base pilot demonstration and scale. These efforts emphasize installation resilience, microgrids, cybersecurity, and training. Before joining ASU, Dr. Johnson spent ten years in industry and academia working in product development and business development with projects across 15 countries. His international work continues in the Asia-Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, and Latin America. Dr. Johnson received bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering, and a master’s degree in international development from Iowa State University.

Mr. Charles “Chuck” Kurnik is a Senior Engineer focusing on microgrids in the Energy Security and Resilience Center at the U.S. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado. He has been with NREL for nearly 15 years and leads their support services to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps enhancing energy resilience. He has supported DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program for over 12 years and was the site operations manager of the DOE Solar Decathlon in 2013 and 2015. Before coming to NREL, Mr. Kurnik spent several years as a manufacturing engineer and as a field engineer designing, installing, and maintaining remote geophysical data collection systems. He has spent three seasons at McMurdo Station in Antarctica as a research engineer. Mr. Kurnik received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Colorado State University, focused on data communications and building energy.