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Feature News

The following feature stories take an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how NREL is advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. You may subscribe to receive weekly news features by e-mail or via RSS feed. NREL Features RSS Feed (XML)

2009

November 2009

Photo of a man wearing a sports jacket and blue jeans walking past solar panels installed on the roof of a large retail store with mountains in the background.

NREL Uncovers Clean Energy Leaders State by State

That California and Texas still lead the United States in generating renewable energy probably is no surprise. But, NREL's 2009 State of the States report shows that several smaller states from Maine to Louisiana to Utah are closing the clean energy gap, confirming that every state has renewable energy potential.

Photo of the hood of a white vehicle with lettering on it and reflection of sun.

Eco-Friendly SUV Gets a Hydrogen Mileage Boost

Driving hydrogen fueled SUVs for 431 miles per fill-up is no longer a California dream. Researchers from NREL and Toyota recently completed a 331 mile round trip drive between Torrance and San Diego in two Toyota Highlander Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles. And, with the fuel remaining, those SUVs easily crossed the 400 mile mark.

Photo of four men seated at a long, crowded table studying their scorecards while a woman seated at the table speaks into a microphone, asking a question to a person off camera.

Generation-Y Start-up Stuns NREL Growth Forum

Foam shipping materials made from fossil fuels do a righteous job of protecting your new flat screen TV, but are brutal on the environment. Two Generation-Y entrepreneurs won the 2009 NREL Clean Energy Growth Forum with an organic, low-carbon technology using mushroom fibers to protect your most precious stuff.

October 2009

Photo of a large three story building under construction with windows not installed against a dark blue sky.

Building Panels Protect, Provide Comfort

The exterior skin of NREL's newest building will do more than keep the weather out. The concrete panels actually will be part of the Research Support Facilities' heating and cooling system. It's an old idea brought back to life in the name of energy efficiency.

Photo of white flags that say Siemens and NREL flutter in front of a giant wind turbine.

Largest Wind R&D Study Underway at NREL

Gusting Colorado winds recently helped usher in a new milestone for wind technology research and development. NREL and Siemens Power Generation "flipped the switch" starting the blades on a 2.3 megawatt wind turbine installed as part of a R&D agreement for testing turbine aerodynamics, structure and reliability.

Photo of a black cube house covered with solar panels that look like glossy clapboards, and ringed by a wooden deck.

It Takes a Solar Village

Rain didn't ruin the 2009 Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. University teams successfully operated 20 net-zero, grid-connected solar power homes for a week on the National Mall. Some used more power-generating solar panels; others relied on energy efficiency strategies. The winner was clean energy.

Image of a computer screen showing the drawing of a building and software tools that a user of OpenStudio would see.

Software Helps Design Energy Stingy Buildings

A new quick, easy to use and free software tool created by NREL developers seamlessly combines the building energy simulation of EnergyPlus with the popular drawing interface of Google's SketchUp, helping architects design healthier structures with fewer carbon emissions and lower utility bills.

Photo of a tower with power lines strung in two directions under clouds and a blue sky

Conference Tackles Interstate Transmission

The U.S. electricity grid is strained to its limit, and the nation's windiest and sunniest places are rarely near cities that generate high demand. Finding ways to string new power lines across several states is a challenge for even the most creative regulators and energy analysts determined to increase America's use of renewable energy.

September 2009

Photo of four men and a women examining a piece of yellowed glass with a device made of mirrors in the background.

Weathering System Cuts Product Testing Time

Engineers design a new auto paint, a better solar device or a sturdier vinyl siding. But how can they know if the new products deserve a five-year, 10-year or 30-year warranty? Better a leap in technology than a leap of faith. Scientists at NREL have come up with a way, the Ultra-Accelerated Weathering System.

Photo of a round metal storage canisters with valves on top.

NREL Team Tests Higher Ethanol Fuel Mix

Going on a diet can be good for you. And maybe a gasoline "diet" of traditional fuel blended with increased levels of ethanol will be good for the environment and economy without hurting cars and small engines. Researchers are trying to find out because new ethanol blends could play a starring role in reducing petroleum use.

Photo of gloved fingers holding a coin-sized brown square wafer with a wire attached and coming out the top.

Award-Winning Battery's Secret is 'Buried'

An innovative microbattery based on a NREL team's inspired digression already is bringing home major awards. But those involved with the buried anode rechargeable battery's ongoing development say the technology's greatest promise is as a building block for big batteries powering vehicles and storing wind and solar power.

Photo of three men walking on a roof among numerous solar panels. The Denver skyline is seen in the background.

NREL Energy Execs Make an Impact Nationally

NREL is no stranger to the spotlight when it comes to the discussion of renewable energy solutions for the country. And now alumni from NREL's Executive Energy Leadership program (Energy Execs) are finding their green energy projects in the national spotlight as they put what they learned into practice.

August 2009

Photo of a tall industrial crane lifting a large rotor with three blades into the air and preparing to attach them to a box atop a tall white metal tower.

Wind Technology Center Installing a Dynamic Duo

Generating 20 percent of the nation's electricity from clean wind resources will require more and bigger wind turbines. NREL is installing two large wind turbines at the National Wind Technology Center to examine some of the industry's largest machines and address issues to expand wind energy on a commercial scale.

Photo of a smiling man with white hair and a brown shirt.

NREL Center Turns Materials Design Upside Down

The new NREL-led Center for Inverse Design will combine quantum theory, computation and combinatorial synthesis to turn materials design on its head. The center's success could accelerate the pace of materials discovery and trigger leaps in performance and efficiency in everything from sensors to lasers to solar panels.

Photo of a man in front of a screen pointing to a diagram.

NREL Summer Labs Season Science Students

Rather than seeing summer as a welcome break from scholarship, some dedicated students embrace the season as a time of new discoveries and learning. Eighty students from across the country recently spent 10 weeks at NREL tackling real-world problems in an internship program that benefits the lab, the nation and the students.

Photo of two men in yellow hard hats standing and talking in front of an enormous reflective, curved piece of metal.

Award-Winning Reflector to Cut Solar Cost

In a breakthrough development that recently netted a coveted R&D Magazine top 100 award, a small solar company has teamed with scientists at NREL to develop massive curved sheets of metal that have the potential to be 30 percent less expensive than today's best collectors of concentrated solar power.

July 2009

Photo of handheld data device with a screen showing the Mobile Alternative Fueling Station Locator

On the Road with Alternative Fuels

Drivers of alternate fuel vehicles now can take a popular tool on the road. The Mobile Alternative Fueling Station Locator helps on-the-go drivers find the five closest biodiesel, electricity, E85 (ethanol), hydrogen, natural gas, and propane fueling sites using any mobile device with Internet access.

Photo of a man in a hard hat and orange vest resting his hands on a large round pipe, which is the corner support for a building structure.

Recycled Natural Gas Pipes Shore Up Green Building

NREL's efforts to create one the of the world's most energy efficient buildings is putting a twist on an old building standard. The vertical supporting columns which will carry the weight of floors and walls in the new Research Support Facilities is made from recycled natural gas pipe.

Photo of a man pointing to a glove box as several other people look inside.

Unique Research Tool Aims to Reduce PV Cost

Thin film photovoltaics made with semiconducting inks promise to revolutionize the solar energy industry with flexible modules that can be integrated into roofs, windows and walls of any structure. NREL has a unique new processing platform that enables scientists and industry to collaborate on efficient ways to commercialize the process.

Photo of a test tube containing a light purple liquid.

Biofuels Studies to Benefit from Better Lab Test

In a step that is likely to make a loud noise in alternative energy, a pair of scientists at NREL has worked out a simpler, faster and far less costly way to measure manganese, the metal that helps green plants split water. The breakthrough could support the development of photosynthetic systems for producing biofuels.

June 2009

Photo of a man wearing a yellow polo shirt crossing his arms and looking at industrial machinery featuring long black rubber gloves that appear to be reaching out towards him.

Lawmakers Visit NREL for Clean Energy Solutions

Want a tough job? Try being a state legislator during a recession. Now add an energy crisis and climate change to the mix. Two dozen lawmakers from Washington state to Maryland visited NREL to learn about clean energy technologies and incentives as ways to retool their economies and protect the environment.

Photo of a man holding a meter up to lights running along the metal interior ceiling of a building.

NREL, Industry Work to Halve Building Energy Use

Partners from the private sector, the U.S. Department of Energy, and national labs including NREL are working together to drastically reduce energy consumption in commercial buildings. This week, NREL launched a new Web site dedicated to the collaborative research project dubbed "National Accounts."

Photo of two men wearing red overalls installing solar panels on the flat roof of a warehouse in Germany.

NREL Energy Analysts Dig into Feed-In Tariffs

Feed-in tariffs have helped to transform cloudy Germany into the world leader of installed solar power and photovoltaic manufacturing. In a trio of reports, NREL energy analysts say similar incentives could stimulate renewable energy development on this side of the Atlantic, too.

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Vets and 'Gray Fields' Go Green with NREL

NREL recently hosted a very green graduation ceremony — the Veterans Green Jobs Academy saw its first class of graduates eagerly accept their diplomas before heading off to jobs in the new energy economy. A partnership with NREL to create a National Training Demonstration Center in Energy Efficiency was announced at the event, too.

May 2009

Drawing of two wings of the building surround a courtyard and are joined by a lobby.

Labyrinth to Store Energy in Basement for Later Use

There's a labyrinth in the basement of NREL's newest building. The maze wasn't designed to hem in a mythical beast or to confuse workers, but it is a trap — one that will capture the heat of the day or the cool of the night, hold onto it and then slowly release the thermal energy to help warm or cool the building.

Photo of students crouched at the top of straight black rubberized race tracks reacting with both excitement and disappointment as their hydrogen-powered model cars begin a race. Behind them stand several adults who are coaching the student racing teams and serving as race judges.

Solar, Hydrogen Model Cars Race Toward New Energy Future

Bright skies and creative designs combined for blistering speeds at the 2009 Junior Solar Sprint and Hydrogen Fuel Cell car competitions. The NREL-hosted event attracted 78 teams from 29 Colorado middle schools. For the 19th year, student teams raced solar or hydrogen powered vehicles that they designed and built themselves.

Photo of a woman, in a lab, holding a metal box with wires attached.

NREL Scientist Finds Time to Do it All

Senior Scientist Huyen Dinh has been with NREL a relatively short time but is tackling big projects involving millions of research dollars, worldwide collaboration with colleagues, and has welcomed a new member to her family. Motivated by her past, she takes multitasking to a whole new level.

Photo of a rectangular wooden plaque with writing on the facing surface. The top of the plaque bears a layer of bark from the tree from which it was made. The plaque reads, in part, City of Greensburg & Greensburg GreenTown First Annual Green Initiative City Award Outstanding Partner Award … Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory "Encouragement, generosity, counsel"

Two Years Later, Greensburg is Officially Green — with NREL's Help

Two years after a tornado annihilated Greensburg, the Kansas farm town gives NREL the city's inaugural award for helping it realize its ambition to become America's model green community with wind power and efficient new buildings. "NREL has made our lives easier and better," said City Administrator Steve Hewitt.

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Recovery Act Money Invested at NREL

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu made his first visit to NREL as secretary an especially memorable one — announcing $110 million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate construction of the Laboratory's campus, dramatically expanding NREL's capacity for renewable energy research and partnerships while showcasing some of the world's most energy efficient buildings.

April 2009

Photo of the inside of a car with bright lights shining through the windshield. A man wearing protective eye wear adjusts a human form made of metal and wires.

NREL and Ford Team Up to Develop 'Cool' Cars

NREL soon will be joining with Ford in a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) to study and develop high-efficiency thermoelectric climate systems for cars. NREL, which has been working for years to understand how cooling techniques affect fuel use and comfort, has developed unique tools to help the research.

Photo of six wind turbines in a row appearing golden in the early morning sun against a dark sky.

NREL Gearbox Study Aims to Grease Wind Power's Future

Wind turbines are designed to last 20 years. But gearboxes and other key components are wearing out sooner. Engineers at NREL's National Wind Technology Center are working with industry to discover why and retool the design process to improve reliability, reduce the cost and help the nation reach its clean energy potential.

Photo of a long bus with mountains and blue sky in the background.

NREL Helps Sort Green Transportation Options

With a variety of green transportation options to chose from, fleet managers hoping to preserve the environment along with a bottom line can be excused for sometimes being confused. Through the Alternative Fuels Data Center, NREL helps fleet managers successfully support their company's sustainability goals with a variety of online tools.

Photo of a woman wearing a white lab coat and safety glasses holding a flask containing a green liquid up to the light.

Algae-to-Fuel Research Enjoys Resurgence at NREL

After languishing for more than a decade, NREL's algae program is revitalized and expanding, as hundreds of companies try to commercialize processes to turn algae into fuel. Now researchers are focusing on a better understanding of algae biology and trying to separate myths from reality surrounding this promising source of "green crude."

March 2009

Photo of a doughnut-shaped vent near a volcano glowing yellow and dark red against a background of black rock.

NREL Assigns Renewables Experts to Hawaii, Alaska

Hawaii and Alaska have a few things in common: Their remote locations result in high energy prices, but they also have ample clean energy resources. And, NREL experts are working with government officials and utilities in both states to deploy renewable energy technologies and integrate these new systems into local grids.

Photo of rows of stone seats on a hill side with grasses and trees in the background.

Lab Preserves Nature, History

NREL's South Table Mountain campus teems with wildlife. Its dry landscape is home to more than 200 plant species. The site includes cultural gems that speak to the region's past. And, NREL is growing. But growth for the future won't mean changing the nature of the place or ignoring its history. NREL staff is keeping a watchful eye to ensure that construction has minimal impact on the environment.

Drawing of an office with low walled cubicles and people with sky line in the background.

NREL Tests Energy-Saving Office of the Future

New administrative offices for the U.S. Department of Energy's Golden Field Office and NREL will be in one of the world's most energy efficient buildings. Planners have set their sights on achieving a LEED Platinum rating; employees, however, are simply dubbing the building as the "office of the future."

Photo of corn being harvested by a machine. Some rows of corn are seen standing, while others have been knocked down. Mountains are in the background.

Partnerships Boost Research, Improve Technology

Sometimes the most efficient path to success is to find a partner to work with along the way. NREL uses CRADAs (Cooperative Research and Development Agreements) to help the best minds in industry and government team up to find solutions for alternative energy. A recent CRADA with DuPont sought solutions to make ethanol from corn stalks.

February 2009

Photo of a small new two story house painted yellow with white trim. The dry bare dirt front yard awaits landscaping.

NREL Helps New Orleans Go Green

New Orleans is going green as it rebuilds after Hurricane Katrina — with a big assist from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. New homes and public buildings are being designed with energy efficient features to reduce energy use while remaining comfortable in a muggy climate.

Photo of a turquoise-green Toyota fuel cell SUV displayed at an auto show cut in half length-wise to show visitors its advanced systems.

Controlling Heat Key to Hybrid Performance

Advanced hybrid-electric vehicles are poised to transform the auto market. But excess heat can sap hybrids' advantages. Researchers in NREL's Advanced Electronics Laboratory are exploring every layer of hybrid technology to reduce heat and dramatically improve performance and efficiency while reducing costs.

Photo of a man standing in front of large solar collector with mountains in the background.

Governor Honors Alternative Energy Advocate

Colorado's governor recently honored NREL's Chuck Kutscher with the Governor's Excellence in Renewable Energy Award. Kutscher has dedicated 30 years to NREL, is a tireless advocate of renewable energy as a climate change solution, and is a writer, a teacher and a leader in the solar industry.

Photo of three young men sitting at a table with their fingers on buttons controlling a buzzer. The teammates are costumed in a stovepipe hat, left, and armor, center, made from duct tape. The rightmost has a bright red banner across his chest.

Science Bowl is Fun with a Future

Science is fun! Just ask students across the country currently competing for a trip to the National Science Bowl. But there is a not-so-hidden agenda for Science Bowl sponsors: engage the next generation of scientists and engineers. "We truly enjoy science," one of the competitors says. "With science there are so many places you can go in life."

January 2009

Photo of a truck delivering a wind turbine blade. The yellow cab of the truck is around the bend, while the red trailer carrying the wind blade is still on the other side of the curve, in the foreground.

Bigger and Better: Lab Aims to Improve Giant Wind Turbines

It's going to be a big summer at NREL's National Wind Technology Center. The national laboratory is installing two giant turbines from GE and Siemens for performance testing that will continue for years. The research aims to make turbines taller, larger, less expensive, more reliable and more efficient.

Photo of a young man leaning on a railing in front of a brown building. Mountains are in the background.

Wanted: Energy Innovators

David Hsu came to NREL to make a difference by helping reduce the nation's dependence on oil. In the current economy, NREL is unusual: the national laboratory is hiring new employees, expanding its campus and planning for more growth to meet the nation's energy challenges. That's why NREL needs energy innovators, such as biofuels analyst Hsu.

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NREL Seeks Energy Innovators

In the current economy, NREL is unusual: we are hiring new employees, expanding our campus, and planning for continued growth. Driving this growth is the critical need to move technologies developed at NREL into the marketplace to meet the nation's energy and environmental challenges. To meet these challenges head on, NREL is hiring energy innovators.

Photo of a young woman and a man with a moustache, both wearing hardhats and dark safety glasses, standing outside in front of a large curved metal reflector. The man is holding a small square-shaped sample of the silver reflective surface, which replaces heavy glass mirrors in the design. The large reflector is streaked with snow and frost after a recent winter storm.

New Solar Technology Concentrates on Cost, Efficiency

The SkyTrough parabolic dish at NREL's South Table Mountain test site uses a reflective laminate over lightweight sheet metal to focus the sun's energy. The technology now being scrutinized by NREL engineers could make concentrating the sun's heat to generate electricity more efficient and affordable. "It's unlike any parabolic trough design used so far," says senior engineer Keith Gawlik.

Photo of a man with a trim white beard wearing safety glasses and a dark blue lab coat, looking closely at a test tube containing a clear liquid.

NREL Helps Set Stringent Biodiesel Standards

Most drivers don't have a clue about the percentage of free glycerin or Group I and II metals in the biodiesel they are pumping into their tanks, and they don't have to. New biodiesel standards developed with NREL's help should boost confidence in fuel quality and support from vehicle manufacturers. NREL research provided the technical basis for setting the new standards.

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