Discover NREL Newsletter Archives - April 2007
Discover NREL is published by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This newsletter brings you news and information about the Laboratory.
In this Issue
Research Highlights
NREL to Receive Additional Funding
NREL will receive a $101 million increase to its budget as part of the Fiscal Year 2007 Appropriation approved by Congress. The increased funding will allow the Laboratory to move forward with the acquisition of new facilities, including a building to house administrative staff and an addition to the Alternative Fuels User Facility (AFUF).
Funds also will be used to purchase new research equipment and pay for improvements to the Laboratory's computer networking system. "NREL is a national asset worth investing in and at the same time an institution from which much is expected," Director Dan Arvizu said. "I am thrilled by the confidence placed in NREL by our supporters and stakeholders that this additional investment in our Laboratory represents."
New funding for the Research Support Facility (RSF) administrative office complex comes in addition to $10 million already allocated and will allow NREL to meet its goal of moving staff currently working in leased space into permanent NREL facilities.
The RSF will integrate energy-saving design and building practices and showcase the latest renewable energy and energy efficiency technology advances. Construction is expected to be completed within two and a half years.
The Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility (IBRF), to be built adjacent to the Process Development Unit in the AFUF, will expand NREL's capabilities to develop new cellulosic ethanol technologies. The IBRF will allow the Laboratory to work simultaneously on multiple research projects with multiple research partners. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2010.
New equipment slated for the Science & Technology Facility will address immediate needs in the Process Development Integration Laboratory (PDIL) and allow for the selective upgrade of research equipment in the Solar Energy Research Facility.
A portion of the equipment funds will be used to purchase deposition, processing and characterization equipment that will help bring the PDIL to its full operational potential. The PDIL allows researchers to pass samples between equipment in a controlled environment, avoiding contamination from the air.
NREL facilities such as the S&TF and SERF are available for use by industry and research organizations. Contact Jennifer Schofield at 303-384-7424 to learn more about using NREL's facilities for research and development.
Science & Technology Facility is First LEED Platinum Federal Building
NREL's Science & Technology Facility is a 71,000-sq. ft., $22.7-million, state-of-the-art laboratory building located in Golden, Colo.
NREL's Science & Technology Facility (S&TF) has been designated as one of the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly places to work in the United States by the U.S. Green Buildings Council under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building program.
The 71,000-sq. ft., $22.7-million, state-of-the-art S&TF is the first federal laboratory building to receive a platinum rating, the highest in the LEED Green Building rating system. Only 28 other buildings in the world have achieved the LEED platinum designation.
LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. It recognizes and measures building performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
The S&TF was designed to help accelerate the development and commercialization of promising new energy technologies and was completed in June 2006. Read More
Collaboratory Agreement Signed, Renewable Fuels Venture Launched
NREL Director Dan Arvizu and leaders of three Colorado universities signed the Renewable Energy Collaboratory Agreement at the Colorado State Capitol on Feb. 21.
NREL Director Dan Arvizu joined leaders of the Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University and the University of Colorado in signing the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory Agreement on Feb. 21. The research collaboration emphasizes the development of new technologies and the advancement of existing technologies for rapid transfer to private industry for commercial development.
The state of Colorado is providing the Collaboratory with up to $2 million a year for three years, beginning in Fiscal Year 2007. This money can be used only as matching funds to enable the Collaboratory to qualify for federal and private research projects. The Collaboratory will work with public agencies, private enterprise, nonprofit institutions and all of Colorado's universities and colleges to increase the production and use of renewable energy, support economic growth by renewable energy industries and build a renewable energy economy in rural areas.
The Collaboratory recently announced the formation of a new venture with large and small businesses to further develop renewable fuels. The Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels (C2B2) will perform world class research to develop new biofuels and biorefining technologies and transfer these advances as rapidly as possible to the private sector.
Companies participate in C2B2 as a sponsor by paying a membership fee. These fees will fund shared research, and sponsors will have the opportunity to participate in the discoveries and patents generated by the shared research, with the goal of commercializing the new technologies as soon as possible. Sponsors may also enter into individual agreements to fund proprietary research through C2B2. Read More
Appointments Announced for NREL Advisory Group
Thirteen prominent national leaders accepted invitations to join NREL's National Advisory Council. The National Advisory Council provides external and independent counsel to NREL Director Dan Arvizu on the Laboratory's strategic direction. The council also monitors broader trends and anticipates changes that may affect NREL's mission. Council members are preeminent individuals in the fields of science, technology, industry, academia and public service. For a complete list of National Advisory Council members, visit the NREL News Room.
NREL Ranks Leading Utility Green Power Programs
NREL released its annual ranking of leading utility green power programs on April 3. More than 600 utilities across the United States offer these voluntary programs where consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as solar and wind.
Ranked by renewable energy sales, the green power program of Austin (Texas) Energy is first in the nation, followed by Portland General Electric, Florida Power & Light, PacifiCorp and Xcel Energy.
Ranked by customer participation rates, the top utilities are City of Palo Alto (Calif.) Utilities, Lenox (Iowa) Municipal Utilities, Montezuma (Iowa) Municipal Light & Power, Portland General Electric and Sacramento Municipal Utility District.
Using information provided by utilities, NREL develops "Top 10" rankings of utility programs in the following categories: total sales of renewable energy to program participants, total number of customer participants, customer participation rate and the lowest price premium charged for a green pricing service using new renewable resources.
NREL analysts attribute the success of many programs to persistence in marketing and creative marketing strategies, including in some cases, utility partnerships with independent green power marketers. To view charts of utility rankings, visit Green Power Network.
Clean Energy Legislation Signed at NWTC
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter was at NREL's National Wind Technology Center on March 27 to sign two pieces of clean energy legislation.
With NREL's National Wind Technology Center near Boulder, Colo., as the backdrop, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed two pieces of clean energy legislation on March 27 - House Bill 1281 and Senate Bill 100 - to help create a "New Energy Economy" for the state.
HB-1281 requires Colorado utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as the sun, wind or biomass by 2020 - double the goal of 10 percent by 2015 set by Amendment 37 which voters passed in November 2004. Under HB-1281, all rural electric cooperatives in Colorado would be required to get 10 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2020.
The bill offers incentives for Colorado-based renewable energy, local community clean energy projects and projects initiated by local utilities by offering increased credits toward meeting the renewable energy standard for those projects.
Ritter also signed Senate Bill 100, which allows utilities to propose transmission plans and recover those investments from electric ratepayers fairly expeditiously.
"These new laws will improve our economic security, our environmental security and our national security," Gov. Ritter said. "They will breathe new economic life into rural Colorado. They will create new jobs, and they will say to the rest of the world, 'Colorado is open for business in what will be one of the most important industries of the 21st Century.'" Read More
Vestas to Establish Blade Factory in Colorado
Danish wind-turbine company Vestas Wind Systems will establish a blade production facility in Windsor, Colo. The total investment in production equipment, land and buildings is expected to amount to approximately $60 million.
Construction of the factory will begin in the spring of 2007, with the start of production planned for early 2008. At full production, the plant will have a production capacity of approximately 1,200 blades per year and the factory will employ around 400 people.
"This is a perfect example of how we are going to build a new energy economy here in Colorado and establish the state as a national and world leader in renewable energy," Gov. Ritter said. "We are extremely excited that Vestas has chosen the state of Colorado for its first production facility in the USA." Read More
Awards and Recognition
Larry Kazmerski
Larry Kazmerski, director of NREL's National Center for Photovoltaics, received the 2007 Karl Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit on April 5 at the University of Delaware (UD). The award is given in honor of Karl Wolfgang Böer, founder of UD's Institute of Energy Conversion and a distinguished scientist in the field of solar cells. The medal and a cash award of $40,000 is given every two years to an individual who has made significant pioneering contributions to the promotion of solar energy as an alternate source of energy through research, development or economic enterprise or to an individual who has made extraordinarily valuable and enduring contributions to the field of solar energy in other ways.
Senior Research Fellow Arthur Nozik's work on quantum-dot solar power was highlighted by MIT's Technology Review in its annual "10 Emerging Technologies" report. Nozik hopes quantum dots will enable the production of more efficient and less expensive solar cells, finally making solar power competitive with other sources of electricity.
DOE's Golden Field Office and an NREL licensee partner were honored at an Industry Awards Breakfast for their job growth and capital investment on March 22. John Kersten, former DOE Golden Field Office Manager was awarded Economic Developer of the Year for his leadership within Jefferson County over his 38-year career. Ascent Solar Technologies, a technology licensee partner with NREL, was honored with a Business Recognition Award.
Research Fellow Alex Zunger co-authored a paper in the February issue of the Institute of Physics' (IOP) Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. The paper, "Evolution of L 12 ordered domains in fcc Cu3Au alloy," is available online (PDF 386 KB). Download Acrobat Reader
Working with NREL
Transitioning Cadmium Telluride PV Technology to Commercialization
NREL and PrimeStar Solar, Inc. signed an $870,000 Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to transition NREL's leading cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) technology to commercial module production. This technology has been used to produce the world record cadmium telluride photovoltaic cell efficiency of 16.5 percent by NREL's Xuanzhi Wu and his colleagues at PrimeStar Solar, Joe Beach and Fred Seymour.
This agreement provides PrimeStar Solar with ready access to NREL's world-class photovoltaic scientists and state-of-the-art equipment. PrimeStar Solar has leased a 16,000 square foot facility near NREL in Golden, Colo. to develop a pilot plant. Initial CdTe processing equipment was delivered in March from PrimeStar's assembly facility in Michigan. Read More
Solar America Initiative - PV Module Incubator Funding Opportunity
NREL is offering an opportunity to submit a Letter of Interest to be considered for Solar America Initiative funding for research and development of photovoltaic (PV) component prototypes with full functionality, produced in pilot-scale operations. This solicitation is set aside for small businesses only. However, the small business may team with a large company and/or university partner(s).
It is expected prototype technologies will have already completed proofs-of-concept for new manufacturing processes, either through contractor equipment, the NREL Process Design Integration Laboratory facilities or other appropriate facilities. The emphasis will be on the barriers to entry for 2010 commercialization.
The expected results from awards made from this planned opportunity will be a clear and direct integration of DOE basic and applied research leading to the accelerated innovation necessary for development of prototype modules and system components with associated pilot production.
To apply for this funding opportunity, a Letter of Interest is due by May 7. Awards will be made on June 29. For more information, visit Read More
Partnership Opportunity for Advanced Wind Turbine Blade Test Facility Progresses
DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and NREL announced March 9 that applications from partnerships in Massachusetts and Texas to design, construct and operate an advanced wind turbine blade test facility will move on to a final competitive round. The finalist will be awarded a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with NREL in mid-2007.
Under the CRADA, DOE/NREL will provide $2 million in capital equipment to the blade test facility in addition to technical assistance. The estimated capital cost of the facility is $9 to 12 million.
A total of six applications were received from partnerships in Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia, for the CRADA opportunity announced in May 2006. The applications were scored by a technical panel comprised of DOE national laboratory experts in conjunction with input from DOE wind program experts and wind industry representatives. Read More
Technology Transfer
NREL's Technology Transfer team routinely works with private and public sector agencies to move NREL-developed technologies and expertise into commercially viable products and businesses. The Laboratory offers research and technology development opportunities with industry partners, utilities, state agencies, universities, and other economic development organizations to foster the transfer and application of NREL's research expertise and technology. NREL does not, however, provide funding assistance to potential research partners under these types of partnerships. For more information on how to work with NREL, contact Rich Bolin in the Technology Transfer Office at 303-275-3028.
Spotlight On...
Computer-Modeling Program Meets Needs of Transportation Industry
ADVISOR can be used to simulate and analyze conventional, advanced, light, and heavy vehicles, including hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles.
Xcel Energy recently announced the results of a six-month study related to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and how an increase in their popularity may affect Colorado. Xcel's Utility Innovations group worked with NREL on the study using a cutting-edge computer-modeling program developed at the Laboratory to measure the impact of a mass penetration of PHEVs and how much energy would be required to charge them.
NREL's Vehicle Systems Analysis Team developed ADVISOR (Advanced Vehicle Simulator) in 1994 to meet the simulation needs of the transportation industry. In 2003, NREL transferred a license to commercialize ADVISOR to AVL Powertrain Engineering, Inc. AVL obtains rights to manufacture, market and sell commercial versions of ADVISOR 2003TM.
NREL retains a royalty-free license to future versions of ADVISOR for use on government projects. A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between NREL and AVL provides for future collaboration to develop integrated vehicle simulation tools for DOE and the private sector.
ADVISOR can be used to simulate and analyze conventional, advanced, light and heavy vehicles, including hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles. It tests the effect of changes in vehicle components (such as motors, batteries, catalytic converters, climate control systems, and alternative fuels) and other modifications that might affect fuel economy, performance or emissions. For the Xcel study, ADVISOR was able to simulate adding vehicles to the roads in large increments, under real driving conditions, simulating an increase in the market penetration of these vehicles. The study revealed these cars, each equipped with a 9 kilowatt-hour battery, could reduce overall CO2 vehicle emissions by half. They could also save owners more than $450 in fuel costs each year compared to a traditional combustion engine vehicle.
How much would be saved in vehicle emissions depends on when drivers charge their cars. Incentive programs may induce customers to charge their PHEVs at certain times and will help Xcel Energy minimize emissions and operating costs as well as incremental utility infrastructure investment. Future studies will include PHEV field tests and will evaluate the ability to manage the charging process in conjunction with the availability of renewable energy sources. Read More
Events
NREL's 20th Industry Growth Forum is going to be held Nov 6-8 at the Adams Mark Hotel in Denver, Colo. This annual event is structured to foster economic opportunities in the clean energy market by uniting entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, corporate investors, government officials and energy executives. NREL is pleased to be hosting this year's Industry Growth Forum with the Denver Economic Development Corporation. Applications to present a business plan will be accepted starting in May. For more information, visit Clean Energy Forum
Companies interested in sponsoring this event may explore many options. All sponsorship packages can be tailored to fit into any organization's marketing objectives and provide pre-event and online branding opportunities. For more information, visit Clean Energy Forum Sponsorship.
Upcoming Events
For information on events sponsored by NREL, industry partners and universities, visit Meetings and Events.
Recent Publications
The following publications and other information products are available online through the NREL Publications Database. The database contains bibliographic information about publications developed or written by NREL staff and subcontractors from 1977 to the present. Many publications are available electronically as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Acrobat Reader.
Clean Cities Fact Sheet - Flexible Fuel Vehicles: Powered by a Renewable American Fuel (March 2007) (PDF 287 KB)
This fact sheet defines flexible fuel vehicles (FFV) and describes FFV features, performance and benefits. In addition it includes several links to resources such as the Alternative Fuels Data Center and more.
Clean Cities Fact Sheet - Clean Cities 2007 Update (March 2007) (PDF 1 MB)
This fact sheet describes DOE's Clean Cities program, which deploys alternative and advanced fuels and vehicles to displace petroleum in the transportation sector.
Geothermal: The Energy Under Our Feet (February 2007) (PDF 972 KB)
This brochure is based on the document: "Geothermal - The Energy Under our Feet, Geothermal Resources Estimates for the United States", NREL/TP-840-40665, November 2006. It conveys the significance of the vast geothermal resources in the United States and includes tables showing developable resources and energy equivalents by resource category.
Wind Powering America FY06 Activities Summary (February 2007) (PDF 3.5 MB)
This document reflects the accomplishments of state wind working groups, programs at NREL and partner organizations.
Geothermal Energy: The Clean Energy Source (February 2007) (PDF 906 KB)
This brochure summarizes the activities of the GeoPowering the West (GPW) initiative, which develops relationships with policy and decision makers to expand the use of geothermal resources as an environmental alternative that will increase economic development. The brochure also provides contact information for key DOE and national laboratory staff representing the GPW program.
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