Problem/ Solution Statement. UProblem The California Air Resources Board (CARB) 2010 emission standards for heavy-duty engines establish a limit for Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions of 0.2 grams per brake horsepower hour (g/bhp-hr), and constitute a 90% reduction of emissions compared to the previous standard (CARB 2007) of 2.0 g/bhp-hr. Nevertheless, it is projected that even with the entire on-road fleet of heavy-duty vehicles compliant with the 2010 standards, upcoming National Ambient Air Quality Standards requirements for ozone attainment cannot be achieved in California’s worst air basins without further significant reductions in NOx emissions from heavy-duty fleets. Analysis of natural gas vehicle technology shows a high potential for greenhouse gas reductions on a well‐to‐wheels basis in heavy-duty vehicles (11‐23%) using conventional natural gas, as well as an opportunity to substantially offset petroleum consumption. Original equipment manufacturers indicate that the near-zero emission target of 0.05 g/bhp-hr could be met or exceeded through research and development efforts. Even higher potential may exist, depending in large part on the removal of current obstacles through research development and demonstration and deployment. Collaborative research efforts between federal, state, and local funding agencies and private technology developers are expected to produce key strategic breakthroughs in a broad range of natural gas vehicle technologies.
Problem/ Solution Statement. Problem Public buildings that serve as emergency and community centers typically rely on polluting fossil fuel generators with fuel storage tanks to support operations in the event of prolonged grid outages. While stationary lithium-ion battery energy storage can provide backup power with significantly lower emissions, these systems are expensive particularly if scaled to cover a multi- day outage. Large behind-the-meter (BTM) stationary energy storage may have a low utilization factor with a large fraction of the capacity unused. While V2B technologies can provide backup power at potentially lower costs than stationary BTM storage, previous demonstrations have typically focused on a single vehicle powering a single building.
Problem/ Solution Statement. Problem Blending pipeline gas with hydrogen is still in the early stages of development and use. Research is required to evaluate hydrogen compatibility with pipeline materials, ensure system safety and integrity of the gas grid and hydrogen transport.
Problem/ Solution Statement. Problem Current state-of-the-art battery technology, including lithium-ion batteries, have four major problems:
Problem/ Solution Statement. Problem The equipment that will be replaced is aging, inefficient and has been unreliable in recent years, with high maintenance costs and personnel time to troubleshoot equipment failures. Furthermore, due to the age of the equipment, it is becoming increasingly harder to find replacement parts when there is an equipment failure, as some of the parts are no longer ready-made. This is problematic when equipment issues occur during grape crush season (which has been experienced by the Recipient). Grapes must be fermented within hours of being picked; there is no ability to store grapes to process at a later time if equipment failures occur. Also critical to the fermentation process is the ability to cool the vessel the wine is being fermented in to maintain wine quality and to store the wine at consistent temperatures. If the cold temperature cannot be maintained without interruptions, the entire batch of wine is compromised, resulting in significant economic losses. Without this equipment replacement, the Recipient remains vulnerable to continued equipment failures, high maintenance costs, and potential additional losses of revenue.
Problem/ Solution Statement. Problem Evaporation is one of the fundamental processing steps undertaken by all California tomato processors. Evaporation involves boiling off large quantities of water to concentrate tomato juice into tomato paste, reducing its volume and making it suitable to be stored and transported to various end markets. The evaporation process is inherently an energy-intensive process.
Problem/ Solution Statement. Problem Large scale energy storage is a critical success factor in the widespread de-carbonization of the nation’s electric power generation and delivery capability. To date single technology solutions do not offer the required capacity, are expensive, have short duty lives, and much of their approach is harmful to the environment when decommissioning occurs.
Problem/ Solution Statement. 1 Please see subtask 1.3 in Part III of the Scope of Work (General Project Tasks) for a description of Critical Project Review (CPR) Meetings. Problem Disadvantaged communities, such as Oak View, tend to suffer disproportionally to environmental impacts of energy conversion (e.g., poor air quality). Technologies that can combat poor air quality also have the potential to, when designed properly, improve grid performance, and improve resiliency through the creation of a microgrid. Currently, no other organization is examining how to design a microgrid that improves air quality, while also improving grid reliability and resiliency. In addition, there is a dearth of design methods that simultaneously consider microgrid technologies, electrification, and building energy efficiency retrofits for improving both air quality and grid impact at a reasonable cost.
Problem/ Solution Statement. Problem As a result of increased wildfire intensity and frequency, the State of California, and California Energy Commission (CEC) have identified the need to broaden and improve emergency response to support the safety and health of affected communities. Critically, this includes electrical utility outages caused by either wildfire damage or preemptive de-energization by electrical utilities. Mobile Renewable Backup Generation Systems (MORBUGs) are an innovative technical solution to support electrical outages, provide emission reduction benefits during emergency and non- emergency events, and increase the resilience of California’s electrical generation and distribution grid to the harmful effects of climate change and extreme weather events.
Problem/ Solution Statement. Problem Disadvantaged communities (DACs) suffer from a combination of economic, health, and environmental burdens2 and relatively few resources are utilized on retrofits and clean energy developments, despite the fact that these communities are home to low performing buildings and little resources to complete the retrofits. Two major factors that contribute to DACs being left behind are a lack of community engagement and education and inadequate business and financial models. The wide array and disaggregated nature of financing programs, energy products, and service providers creates a confusing array of choices and potential risks. This is amplified in disadvantaged communities, where financial risks have more impact, a greater portion of residents are renters, and education and/or language barriers inhibit knowledge transfer.
