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Energy and Environment Directorate

Rebecca O'Neil

Rebecca O'Neil

(971) 940-7098

Biography

Ms. Rebecca O’Neil is an advisor for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In her career at the Laboratory, she has served as the lab relationship manager for the US DOE EERE Renewable Energy portfolio, served a rotation into the U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office to develop a hydropower-grid research program, and led the regulatory area for energy storage. Her research interests relate to energy justice, energy storage, community-scale innovation, sustainable hydropower and marine energy development. She joined PNNL in 2015 from the Oregon Department of Energy, where she represented the agency on water power development, oversaw the state renewable portfolio standard, and ran a multi-million-dollar portfolio of federal grants ranging from renewable energy feasibility studies, agricultural efficiency measures, energy assurance, and woodstove replacement programs. Before her state service, she managed the multifamily energy efficiency program for the Energy Trust of Oregon, administering incentives to drive upgrades in multifamily dwellings. For years, Rebecca represented a coalition of river conservation and recreation organizations in federal hydropower dam licensing, becoming a recognized and published expert in the regulatory process and the relationship between hydropower operations and environmental effects. She serves on multiple organizational boards and advisory groups related to renewable energy. Unrelated to energy, Rebecca has served as an AmeriCorps-VISTA teaching childhood literacy in rural Kentucky. As a Wagoner Scholar, she conducted Honors work in Cape Town, South Africa, producing a thesis on the role of literacy in manumission. She is a civilian advisory graduate of the National Security Seminar at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She earned a B.A. from Rice University in Houston.

PNNL Publications

2024

  • Kerby J.R., and R.S. O'Neil. 2024. Lessons from Artist in Residence Program Design and Impact. PNNL-36402. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Lessons from Artist in Residence Program Design and Impact
  • Kerby J.R., T.D. Hardy, J.B. Twitchell, R.S. O'Neil, and B.W. Tarekegne. 2024. "A Targeted Approach to Energy Burden Reduction Measures: Comparing the Effects of Energy Storage, Rooftop Solar, Weatherization, and Energy Efficiency Upgrades." Energy Policy 184. PNNL-SA-187892. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113867
  • O'Neil R.S., K. Oikonomou, V.C. Tidwell, N. Voisin, J.R. Kerby, Z. Hou, and M. Parvania, et al. 2024. "Global Research Priorities for Holistic Integration of Water and Power Systems." IEEE Open Access Journal of Power and Energy 11, no. _:457 - 468. PNNL-SA-195372. doi:10.1109/OAJPE.2024.3457448
  • O'Neil R.S., P.R. Jackson, and R.J. Feraldi. 2024. Biomimicry in Clean Energy Futures: Workshop Report. PNNL-36992. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Biomimicry in Clean Energy Futures: Workshop Report

2023

2022

  • Freeman M.C., R.S. O'Neil, L. Garavelli, D. Hellin, and J. Klure. 2022. "Case Study on the Novel Permitting and Authorization of PacWave South, a US Grid-Connected Wave Energy Test Facility: Development, Challenges, and Insights." Energy Policy 168. PNNL-SA-175192. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113141
  • Newman S.F., D. Bhatnagar, R.S. O'Neil, A.P. Reiman, D.C. Preziuso, and B. Robertson. 2022. "Evaluating the resilience benefits of marine energy in microgrids." International Journal of Marine Energy 5, no. 2:143-150. PNNL-SA-169469. doi:10.36688/imej.5.143-150
  • Nguyen Q.H., A. Singhal, R.S. O'Neil, J.D. Taft, J.B. Twitchell, and A. Somani. 2022. "Analysis of Distributed Energy Storage as a Core Grid Infrastructure via Production Cost Modeling." In IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM 2022), July 17-21, 2022, Denver, CO, 1-5. Piscataway, New Jersey:IEEE. PNNL-SA-168724. doi:10.1109/PESGM48719.2022.9917218
  • O'Neil R.S., D.C. Preziuso, K.K. Arkema, Y. Ko, N. Pevzner, K. Diamond, and S. Gore, et al. 2022. Renewable Energy Landscapes: Designing Place-Based Infrastructure for Scale. PNNL-32680. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Renewable Energy Landscapes: Designing Place-Based Infrastructure for Scale
  • Tarekegne B.W., D.W. Powell, K. Oikonomou, E.C. Jacroux, and R.S. O'Neil. 2022. "Analysis of Energy Justice and Equity Impacts from Replacing Peaker Plants with Energy Storage." In IEEE Electrical Energy Storage Applications and Technologies Conference (EESAT 2022), November 8-9, 2022, Austin, TX, 1-5. Piscataway, New Jersey:IEEE. PNNL-SA-175289. doi:10.1109/EESAT55007.2022.9998034
  • Tarekegne B.W., K. Kazimierczuk, and R.S. O'Neil. 2022. "Communities in energy transition: Exploring best practices and decision support tools to provide equitable outcomes." Discover Sustainability 3. PNNL-SA-170152. doi:10.1007/s43621-022-00080-z

2021

  • Bhattacharya S., S. Pennock, B. Robertson, S. Hanif, M.E. Alam, D. Bhatnagar, and D.C. Preziuso, et al. 2021. "Timing Value of Marine Renewable Energy Resources for Potential Grid Applications." Applied Energy 299. PNNL-SA-156569. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117281
  • Chalishazar V.H., S. Bhattacharya, S. Hanif, D. Bhatnagar, M.E. Alam, B. Robertson, and D.C. Preziuso, et al. 2021. "Data-Driven Reliability Assessment for Marine Renewable Energy Enabled Island Power Systems." In IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM 2021), July 26-29, 2021, Washington DC, 1-5. Piscataway, New Jersey:IEEE. PNNL-SA-157769. doi:10.1109/PESGM46819.2021.9637995
  • Hanif S., S. Bhattacharya, V.H. Chalishazar, D. Bhatnagar, M.E. Alam, B. Robertson, and D.C. Preziuso, et al. 2021. "Storage Requirements for Grid Integration of Marine Renewable Energy - a Parametric Study." In IEEE Power & Energy Society Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference (ISGT 2021), February 16-18, 2021, Washington DC, 01-05. Piscataway, New Jersey:IEEE. PNNL-SA-155924. doi:10.1109/ISGT49243.2021.9372165
  • Michener S.R., R.S. O'Neil, S. Atcitty, R. Jeffers, and B.W. Tarekegne. 2021. Energy Storage for Social Equity Roundtable Report. PNNL-31964. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Energy Storage for Social Equity Roundtable Report
  • Newman S.F., D. Bhatnagar, R.S. O'Neil, A.P. Reiman, D.C. Preziuso, and B. Robertson. 2021. "Evaluating the resilience benefits of marine energy in microgrids." In Proceedings of the 14th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC 2021), September 5-9, 2021, Virtual, Online, 1892-1 - 1892-9. Southampton:European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference Series. PNNL-SA-160842.
  • Preziuso D.C., T. Bowers, S.M. Hunt, K. Kazimierczuk, S.R. Michener, R.S. O'Neil, and E.G. Shreeve, et al. 2021. Inclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship Roundtable. PNNL-31852. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Inclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship Roundtable
  • Tarekegne B.W., R.S. O'Neil, and J.B. Twitchell. 2021. "Energy Storage as an Equity Asset." Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports 8, no. 3:149-155. PNNL-SA-162218. doi:10.1007/s40518-021-00184-6

2020

2019

  • Bhattacharya S., D. Bhatnagar, D.C. Preziuso, M.E. Alam, and R.S. O'Neil. 2019. "Grid Value Propositions for Tidal Generation Resources - a Temporal Analysis." In OCEANS 2019 MTS/IEEE, October 27-31, 2019, Seattle, WA. Piscataway, New Jersey:IEEE. PNNL-SA-147233. doi:10.23919/OCEANS40490.2019.8962857
  • O'Neil R.S., T.M. Harris, and T. Mosier. 2019. Water Innovation and R&D Concept Exploration and Preliminary Assessment : Water Scoping Project Report Deliverable. PNNL-29471. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Water Innovation and R&D Concept Exploration and Preliminary Assessment : Water Scoping Project Report Deliverable
  • Preziuso D.C., G. Garcia Medina, R.S. O'Neil, and Z. Yang. 2019. "Evaluating the tidal energy resource for smooth power output and grid integration in the United States." In OCEANS 2019 MTS/IEEE, October 27-31, 2019, Seattle, WA. Piscataway, New Jersey:IEEE. PNNL-SA-147231. doi:10.23919/OCEANS40490.2019.8962815
  • Twitchell J.B., R.S. O'Neil, and K. Mongird. 2019. Energy Storage Seminar for Western State Regulatory Commission Staff: Report on Proceedings. PNNL-28060. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Energy Storage Seminar for Western State Regulatory Commission Staff: Report on Proceedings

2018

  • Schultz A., and R.S. O'Neil. 2018. "Coastal Resilience for the Electric Power System: A National Overview and the Oregon Example." Sea Grant Law and Policy Journal 9, no. 1:3-24. PNNL-SA-126909.

Energy and Environment

Core Research Areas

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