NASA Langley Partners with Virginia Department of Energy to Boost Energy Security

According to NASA News Releases, NASA is assisting in strengthening long-term energy security within Virginia. NASA’s Langley Research Center, located in Hampton, Virginia, has established a partnership with the Virginia Department of Energy. This collaboration aims to support informed decisions regarding the generation, delivery, and use of energy by supplying solar, meteorological, and future weather risk datasets for energy system modeling and planning.

Under a new Space Act Agreement announced during a ceremony on Friday, the partnership will utilize NASA's expertise in atmospheric sciences to aid Virginia Energy in conducting resource analysis, resiliency studies, and long-term energy planning. NASA Langley Deputy Director Allen Kilgore stated that NASA Langley values the chance to provide its distinct science data to those aiming to improve lives, adding that the collaboration with Virginia Energy will benefit Virginia's citizens and foster greater energy security for the Commonwealth.

This agreement is intended to enable state officials to plan for current and prospective extreme weather events in Virginia and to evaluate the effects on electricity demand, energy generation, and system strain. The information provided can be integrated directly into energy policy, operational decisions, and planning. The partnership is expected to support a more dependable and resilient energy system by helping Virginians better anticipate energy needs, prepare for severe weather, and understand the factors influencing electricity production.

Virginia Energy Director Vince Maiden noted that effective energy planning relies on models that accurately reflect real-world conditions, and that this collaboration will assist in gaining a clearer understanding of how weather impacts electricity supply and demand, identifying vulnerabilities, and assessing resource tradeoffs with increased confidence.

The partnership will incorporate relevant data products from NASA's Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) into Virginia Energy’s modeling and analysis system. The POWER information supports the design of energy generation systems and the forecasting of energy production using validated data products from NASA’s Earth Science to Action program. These key NASA products stem from research and development across NASA, including Langley, the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.

Virginia Energy can access Langley’s POWER web platform through a digital pipeline to download specific datasets and integrate them into their modeling tools. Furthermore, members of NASA’s POWER team will collaborate with Virginia Energy researchers to refine the data exchange, adjust formats, and determine if further data is necessary. This new partnership was facilitated by NASA Langley’s Strategic Partnerships Office, which connects government agencies, academia, and industry with the center's technical expertise, specialized test environments, and facilities to realize new concepts.