Feature stories from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). en-us http://www.nrel.gov/features/ Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 MST renewable energy solar wind biomass hydrogen geothermal Director Dan Arvizu's induction in the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference Hall of Fame caps a record year of accomplishment in which laboratory researchers and their projects received more than two dozen international and national prizes. http://www.nrel.gov/features/20081010_awards.html Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.nrel.gov/features/20081010_awards.html george_douglas@nrel.gov (George Douglas) Every state has dozens of contaminated sites that are unproductive -- or even abandoned. A new analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency and NREL shows that some hold surprising renewable energy potential. http://www.nrel.gov/features/20081003_limbolands.html Fri, 3 Oct 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.nrel.gov/features/20081003_limbolands.html george_douglas@nrel.gov (George Douglas) What's better to build - a new coal-fired power plant, a wind farm or a solar power plant? For communities and industries making strategic energy choices, NREL has expanded its suite of analytical tools to help determine economic impacts and make technology comparisons. http://www.nrel.gov/features/20080926_jedi.html Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.nrel.gov/features/20080926_jedi.html george_douglas@nrel.gov (George Douglas) Everyone is trying to reduce their fuel bill, but imagine if you had to fill up a fleet of 1,000 trucks? VIBE is NREL's new clean energy command center designed to marshal information and synthesize trends that industry and governments need to make clean energy decisions. http://www.nrel.gov/features/20080919_vibe.html Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.nrel.gov/features/20080919_vibe.html george_douglas@nrel.gov (George Douglas) Twenty years ago, NREL Research Fellow Dr. Timothy Coutts scoffed at a suggestion that solar cells could be 20 percent efficient. Now poised to become an emeritus fellow, he predicts solar technology will become "omnipresent." http://www.nrel.gov/features/20080912_coutts_solar.html Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.nrel.gov/features/20080912_coutts_solar.html george_douglas@nrel.gov (George Douglas) Golden sand, swaying palms, turquoise waters -- it's a traveler's dream. But paradise has a price. Developed islands such as Hawaii, the Bahamas, New Zealand and Iceland rely almost exclusively on imported oil. A U.S. Department of Energy initiative with NREL aims to transform island societies into renewable energy destinations. http://www.nrel.gov/features/20080905_islands_initiative.html Fri, 5 Sep 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.nrel.gov/features/20080905_islands_initiative.html george_douglas@nrel.gov (George Douglas)