Grid Modernization News

Apr 28, 2016, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

Rachel Romero, a building systems engineer at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been named a 2016 New Faces of Engineering recipient by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

Apr 27, 2016, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

New York-based Smarter Grid Solutions has employed its Active Network Management system at the Energy Systems Integration Facility to manage and maintain a modeled distribution grid within normal operating limits through the autonomous management, coordination, and control of distributed energy resources in real time.

Apr 24, 2016, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

Researchers at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) discovered single-walled carbon nanotube semiconductors could be favorable for photovoltaic systems because they can potentially convert sunlight to electricity or fuels without losing much energy.

Apr 21, 2016, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

Researchers at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have uncovered a way to overcome a principal obstacle in using two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors in electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Apr 20, 2016, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

A new process using light to reduce dinitrogen into ammonia, the main ingredient in chemical fertilizers could inspire development of new, more sustainable processes that eliminate the energy-intensive, lengthier processes now commonly in use. According to researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), photochemical (photon) energy can serve as a substitute for the adenosine 5’-triphosphate (ATP)-dependent electron transfer mechanism typically used in biology to drive nitrogenase to reduce dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3).

Apr 20, 2016, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

Three organizations were selected to receive expertise from the Solar Technical Assistance Team (STAT) Network to address critical questions and challenges to making their states more solar friendly.

Apr 13, 2016, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL research fellow and chief scientist Dave Ginley's passion for science began at an early age—and continues to burn.

Apr 12, 2016, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

Extreme wave-induced loads are often the key cost driver for wave energy converter (WEC) designs. Therefore, in an effort to better understand the effects that extreme wave conditions can have on wave energy applications, researchers at NREL have applied a technique called the most likely extreme response method to evaluate the maximum displacement and loads of a point absorber WEC experiencing anticipated 100-year waves.

Apr 5, 2016, 18:00 by Devonie McCamey

New report highlights research and achievements for the ESIF in its second year of operation.

Apr 4, 2016, 18:00 by Kelly Yaker

Twelve collegiate teams are gearing up for the biannual U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition 2016, to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 23–25, 2016, in conjunction with the AWEA WINDPOWER 2016 Conference & Exhibition. Since the inaugural competition in 2014, the number of competing teams has increased—and so has the diversity—hailing from colleges and universities across the United States, including Alaska and Puerto Rico.

Apr 4, 2016, 18:00 by Kelly Yaker

Jeroen van Dam is proving that a single person can have a global impact. A principal engineer at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, van Dam recently received the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 1906 award. This honor is bestowed on technical experts whose exceptional involvement in IEC activities has brought about significant advancements in international electrotechnical standardization. Since the award’s inception in 2004, three current NWTC experts have received it: Derek Berry, Arlinda Huskey, and Paul Veers.

Apr 3, 2016, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

A finely tuned carbon nanotube thin film has the potential to act as a thermoelectric power generator that captures and uses waste heat, according to researchers at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Apr 3, 2016, 18:00 by Julia Thomas

A new report by NREL's Mark Singer highlights what consumers really think about plug-in electric vehicles and what is needed to overcome widespread barriers to adoption.

Mar 31, 2016, 18:00 by Kelly Yaker

Before the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released its Simulator fOr Wind Farm Applications (SOWFA) simulation tool in August 2013, there had not been an open-source, freely available tool of this capability that researchers all over the world could embrace. Now, the winds of change are blowing.

Mar 31, 2016, 18:00 by User Not Found

When the Energy DEpartment commissioned a 1.5-megawatt (MW) wind turbine in 2009, it became a key player in improving the performance and lowering the costs of wind energy systems. In 2015, researchers at the National Wind Technology Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, connected the 300-foot-tall turbine to the controllable grid interface test facility, which simulates the real-time conditions of a utility-scale power grid. This began an ongoing, Energy Department-funded research effort to test how wind turbines can remain connected to the grid during short periods of grid failure.

Mar 31, 2016, 18:00 by Kelly Yaker

National Wind Technology Center researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have entered the final phase of testing a next-generation drivetrain—the components of a wind turbine that convert the rotational energy of the rotor into electricity—that will be less expensive, more reliable, and more efficient. This project, funded by the Energy Department, combines innovations across the entire drivetrain system, including the gearbox, generator, and power converter.

Mar 31, 2016, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

Scientists at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have been able to pinpoint for the first time what happens during a key manufacturing process of silicon solar cells.

Mar 31, 2016, 18:00 by Kelly Yaker

Robert Thresher may be considered the wizard of wind at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, having worked in the field since 1973. At the laboratory since 1984, Thresher’s credited with the buildup of what is now the National Wind Technology Center and the startup of the Energy Department's Water Energy Program. His longtime efforts at turning wind and water into renewable energy has now yielded a record of invention titled “Wave Energy Conversion Devices with Actuated Geometry.”

Mar 31, 2016, 18:00 by Kelly Yaker

Researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory are working to make the “brains” of a wind farm smarter and more efficient.

Mar 29, 2016, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

Scientists from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), along with their counterparts from solar energy research institutes in Germany and Japan, gathered recently to discuss the future of photovoltaics (PV) and assess its contributions to increasing global prosperity, energy security and mitigation of climate change.