Buildings News

Explore our archive of buildings news stories.

Subscribe to Our Email Updates

Receive timely information about opportunities, events, and the latest news on NREL's buildings research.

Dec. 23, 2014

News Release: NREL Receives Editors’ Choice Awards for Supercomputer Research

Two prestigious scientific magazines have awarded the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with Editors’ Choice awards for the Peregrine high-performance computer and the groundbreaking research it made possible.

Dec. 18, 2014

News Release: Three New Fellows to Help Guide NREL Research

The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently named Richard DeBlasio, Sarah Kurtz and Suhuai Wei to its Research Fellows Council, the laboratory's top advisory council, comprised of internationally recognized NREL scientists and engineers.

Dec. 15, 2014

News Release: NREL Seeks National Executive Energy Leadership Academy Participants for 2015

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is accepting applications for its 2015 Executive Energy Leadership Academy. NREL’s Executive Energy Leadership Academy, also known as Energy Execs, is a program which enables decision-makers throughout the country to learn about renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, analytical tools and financing. Leaders in the private sector, communities, non-profits and government are eligible to participate in the program.

Dec. 11, 2014

News Release: NREL Compares State Solar Policies to Determine Equation for Solar Market Success

Analysts at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have used statistical analyses and detailed case studies to better understand why solar market policies in certain states are more successful. Their findings indicate that while no standard formula for solar implementation exists, a combination of foundational policies and localized strategies can increase solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in any state.

Nov. 20, 2014

News Release: NREL Teams with SolarCity to Maximize Solar Power on Electrical Grids

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and SolarCity have entered into a cooperative research agreement to address the operational issues associated with large amounts of distributed solar energy on electrical grids. The work includes collaboration with the Hawaiian Electric Companies to analyze high penetration solar scenarios using advanced modeling and inverter testing at the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF). The project is funded in part through an Energy Department solar cost-share program.

Nov. 14, 2014

New Initiatives Debut at Industry Growth Forum

At annual event, inverter technology takes top honor—and two new programs are announced to push clean energy innovations to the marketplace.

Oct. 30, 2014

News Release: NREL’s Industry Growth Forum Brings Together Energy Innovators

The Industry Growth Forum hosted by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) this week attracted nearly 400 investors, entrepreneurs, scientists and thought leaders to Denver. Last night, three companies where honored with Best Venture and Outstanding Venture Awards.

Oct. 27, 2014

News Release: NREL and Army Validate Energy Savings for Net Zero Energy Installations

The U.S. Army (Army) has partnered with the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to increase energy security through improved energy efficiency and optimized renewable energy strategies at nine installations in the Army’s portfolio. If all nine of the Army Net Zero Energy Installation (NZEI) pilot sites achieve net zero energy, they will replace approximately 8 percent of the Army’s current total installation energy use with renewable energy. In fact, if all Army installations worldwide were to achieve a 25 percent reduction in energy consumption, as the NZEI pilot sites can, the Army would save approximately 20 trillion BTUs and up to $300 million in annual energy costs.

Sept. 22, 2014

News Release: NREL to Test Inverters for the “Little Box Challenge” Presented by Google and IEEE

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will test power inverters submitted to the Little Box Challenge presented by Google and the IEEE Power Electronics Society. The Challenge is an open competition to build smaller power inverters for use in solar power systems. The winner of the $1 million prize will have designed and built a kilowatt-scale inverter with the highest power density – at least 50 Watts per cubic inch.

Sept. 19, 2014

News Release: NREL Industry Growth Forum Attracts Clean Energy Entrepreneurs and Investors

Thirty clean energy companies will present their business cases to a panel of investors and industry experts Oct. 28 and 29 in Denver, as the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosts its annual Industry Growth Forum.

April 3, 2014

News Release: NREL’s Work for the U.S. Navy Illuminates Energy and Cost Savings

Field demonstrations of newly proven energy efficient technologies are yielding valuable results for the U.S. Navy, helping it meet energy goals. In partnership with the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) recently demonstrated eight technologies at installations in Hawaii and Guam, and the initial results have encouraged the Navy to move forward with broader implementation of several of the energy efficiency technologies.

March 27, 2014

News Release: Energy Systems Integration Facility Named Lab of the Year

The editors of R&D Magazine have named the Energy Department’s Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) as the 2014 Laboratory of the Year. Located on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., research at ESIF transforms how the nation generates, delivers and uses energy by modernizing the interplay between energy sources, infrastructure, and data.

March 24, 2014

NREL Leads Demo of New Energy Management System at U.S. Naval Base

NREL Leads Demo of New Energy Management System at U.S. Naval Base

March 1, 2014

News Release: Fairview High School Wins 24th Colorado Science Bowl

Students from Boulder’s Fairview High School beat out 47 other teams to win today’s Colorado Science Bowl. They will represent Colorado at the Energy Department’s (DOE) National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., April 24-28, where they will compete against more than 400 students from 70 high schools for the national title.

Feb. 26, 2014

News Release: NREL Examines Solar Policy Pathways for States

The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has published a report that aligns solar policy and market success with state demographics. By organizing the 48 contiguous states into four peer groups based on shared non-policy characteristics, the NREL research team was able to contextualize the impact of various solar policies on photovoltaic (PV) installations.

Feb. 19, 2014

NREL Report Quantifies Value of Two CSP Technologies with Thermal Energy Storage

NREL has found that parabolic troughs and dry-cooled towers deliver similar value for concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, despite different solar profiles. A new NREL report shows increasing importance for systems with thermal energy storage. The report also demonstrates that multiple CSP technologies and plant configurations can be analyzed using traditional planning tools such as production cost models.

Feb. 18, 2014

News Release: JISEA News: Study on Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Systems Indicates New Priorities

A new study published in the journal Science says that the total impact of switching to natural gas depends heavily on leakage of methane (CH4) during the natural gas life cycle, and suggests that more can be done to reduce methane emissions and to improve measurement tools which help inform policy choices.

Feb. 14, 2014

News Release: NREL Scientist Named AAAS Fellow

David S. Ginley, a materials scientist at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has been named a fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an honor accorded to at most 1 percent of the prestigious scientific society’s membership each year.

Feb. 11, 2014

News Release: NREL Report Finds Similar Value in Two CSP Technologies

Parabolic troughs and dry-cooled towers deliver similar value for concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, despite different solar profiles, a new report by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has found.

Feb. 6, 2014

News Release: NREL Director Arvizu Elected to National Academy of Engineering

Dan Arvizu, director of the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering.

Jan. 20, 2014

News Release: NREL Study: Active Power Control of Wind Turbines Can Improve Power Grid Reliability

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), along with partners from the Electric Power Research Institute and the University of Colorado have completed a comprehensive study to understand how wind power technology can assist the power grid by controlling the active power output being placed onto the system. The rest of the power system’s resources have traditionally been adjusted around wind to support a reliable and efficient system. The research that led to this report challenges that concept.

Jan. 6, 2014

News Release: NREL Expert Honored for Energy Systems Innovations

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently won several prestigious awards, including honors for innovations in window air-conditioning efficiency, data sharing, and its energy-efficient computer data center.

Archives

2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014

Share