Grid Modernization News
Explore our archive of grid modernization news stories.
Dec. 28, 2022
NREL researchers and staff reached countless goals and achieved numerous successes in science, partnerships, and commercialization in 2022. Here are just a few of the highlights.
Dec. 13, 2022
The electrical grid is a symphony with each component playing its own tune. NREL researchers have taken such musical principles to heart in designing tools to test grid stability, and they had some fun on the way.
Dec. 12, 2022
NREL will begin work early next year on a series of additions and improvements to two of its campuses made possible by $150 million in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Dec. 8, 2022
NREL has released the 2022 Standard Scenarios, a suite of forward-looking scenarios of the U.S. electricity sector.
Nov. 16, 2022
Electric vehicle adoption is increasing—and fast. At this point, you may own one or probably know someone who does.
Nov. 9, 2022
NREL-developed PRECISE™ automates interconnection assessments to help customers and utilities reach growing solar goals.
Nov. 7, 2022
Cybersecurity is gaining significant importance on the power grid as more distributed energy resources (DERs) are connecting to operational technology (OT) networks.
Nov. 2, 2022
A new agreement between NREL and the Lithuanian Energy Agency kicks off a multiyear research collaboration to support Lithuania with achieving 100% clean electricity.
Oct. 24, 2022
Among the more than 3,000 people who work at NREL, only 15 are current senior research fellows. Along with the current research fellows, Paul Denholm, Vahan Gevorgian, and Joey Luther will advise NREL executive management on the strategic direction of science and technology research.
Oct. 5, 2022
NREL and Duke Energy investigated the pathways to a decarbonized grid.
Sept. 30, 2022
With the modern transition to renewable energy and electrified transportation, power electronics have the potential to enable seamless integration of renewable energy resources with the electric grid. Take a virtual 360-degree tour of NREL's power electronics capabilities.
Sept. 29, 2022
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has now published a description of the improvised controls that saved NREL during its own outage, which could make microgrids easy and low cost where they are needed most.
Sept. 29, 2022
NREL's validation capabilities range from lab to field, watt to megawatt, component to system, and nanogrid to microgrid.
Sept. 12, 2022
A growing body of research has demonstrated that cost-effective high-renewable power systems are possible, but costs increase as systems approach 100% carbon-free electricity—what has become known as the "last 10% problem."
Sept. 8, 2022
Distributed energy resources (DERs) with advanced controls can provide services to the grid such as frequency response. However, unlike conventional generators, DERs have to regularly exchange signals with faraway control centers.
Aug. 10, 2022
NREL's energy analysts use the "three Rs" concept to provide a fuller picture of power system reliability with changing resource mixes and grid conditions.
Aug. 2, 2022
As federal sites invest in distributed energy resources like solar panels and battery backups, investments in cybersecurity must also be considered. More energy resources create more complexity to manage—introducing the potential of new cyber vulnerabilities and added costs down the road.
July 29, 2022
The U.S. Department of Energy has selected industry leaders Shell, Spirae LLC, Electrical Grid Monitoring Inc., and Israel Electric Corporation to partner with NREL on power distribution system management and controls.
July 28, 2022
Utilities need cybersecurity solutions that are easy to implement and can make a real-world difference immediately. That is why the theme for the first cohort of the new Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator (CECA) is strong authentication for distributed energy resources.
July 18, 2022
Video explains how having more than enough renewable energy capacity can make the grid more flexible.
July 15, 2022
From sustainable fuels to airport infrastructure analysis to next-gen aircraft, NREL offers solutions for lowering emissions in a sector that is among the most difficult to decarbonize.
June 6, 2022
Ten years after visionary renewable electricity futures study showed an 80% renewable U.S. Grid was possible, NREL experts recount how they've built on those findings in the decade since—and what is next.
June 2, 2022
A new video and report explain why fault protection should be on grid planners' radar as the power system continues to evolve.
June 1, 2022
A demonstration of outage recovery using inverter-based resources is showing how renewable energy can lead the way to power system resilience.
May 25, 2022
Martin Keller, director of NREL, said he expects the Flatirons Campus near Boulder, Colorado, will reach net zero emissions annually by the end of fiscal year 2023 and the South Table Mountain Campus outside Golden, Colorado, to hit that achievement three years later.
May 18, 2022
NREL's Autonomous Energy Systems work has been used commercially, applied in cross-cutting demonstrations, and is continually pushing the scientific edge of controls and optimization.
April 29, 2022
Researchers at NREL are leading research to address bias in artificial intelligence and machine learning for clean energy innovation.
Jan. 25, 2022
Women in Power System Transformation initiative seeks to increase women’s representation and leadership in global transition to clean energy through targeted academic and workforce training.
Jan. 18, 2022
The REopt® web tool is a techno-economic decision support platform used by researchers to optimize energy systems for buildings, campuses, communities, microgrids, and more, helping users determine the optimal size and combination of energy systems to maximize cost savings while meeting resilience or energy performance goals.
