Grid Modernization News

Feb 21, 2016, 17:00 by Heather Lammers

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) today released new analysis exploring the potential impact of recently extended federal tax credits on the deployment of renewable generation technologies and related U.S. electric sector carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Feb 17, 2016, 17:00 by Devonie McCamey

NREL's Power Systems Engineering Center published 33 journal and magazine articles in the past year highlighting recent research in integrating renewable energy into power systems.

Feb 10, 2016, 17:00 by Wayne Hicks

In an interview published in Solar Today, Dr. Jao van de Lagemaat, director of the Chemistry and Nanoscience Center at the National Renewable Laboratory (NREL), highlighted various aspects of perovskites, which have received considerable attention by solar cell researchers at NREL and other institutions.

Feb 8, 2016, 17:00 by Wayne Hicks

A new biorefinery process developed by scientists at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has proven to be significantly more effective at producing ethanol from algae than previous research.

Feb 7, 2016, 17:00 by Wayne Hicks

Working with partners around the world, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have completed five years of work toward helping establish an international quality standard for manufacturing photovoltaic (PV) modules.

Feb 4, 2016, 17:00 by Wayne Hicks

Researchers at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) say better understanding of a bacterium could lead to cheaper production of cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels.

Feb 3, 2016, 17:00 by Wayne Hicks

Record numbers carefully vetted by scientists to assure accuracy.

Feb 3, 2016, 17:00 by Wayne Hicks

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) was recently issued a patent for a novel method that rapidly characterizes specialized materials during the manufacturing process. This approach significantly improves on standard quality control techniques by allowing for complete monitoring of materials without interrupting workflow.

Jan 27, 2016, 17:00 by User Not Found

Demonstration project shows utility-scale photovoltaic plants that incorporate “grid-friendly” controls can contribute to grid stability and reliability.

Jan 26, 2016, 17:00 by Devonie McCamey

A new resource sponsored by the Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative helps distribution engineers understand the challenges of high-penetration PV integration—giving them the information they need to ramp up their solar energy integration and deliver more clean, renewable power to consumers.

Jan 25, 2016, 17:00 by User Not Found

On Thursday, January 12, 2016, NREL’s Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center Director Chris Gearhart provided a testimony on new technologies in the automobile industry before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Jan 24, 2016, 17:00 by Sara Havig

The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently received a 2015 Tucson Fuel Cell vehicle on loan from Hyundai and a B-Class F-CELL on loan from Mercedes-Benz. NREL is partnering with Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai to evaluate the interaction of the vehicles' high-pressure hydrogen storage systems with NREL's hydrogen fueling system equipment and to test the user experience by refueling fuel cell electric vehicles at the lab's new state-of-the-art hydrogen fueling station.

Jan 24, 2016, 17:00 by Nicolene Durham

The potential to slow pollution through deployment of automated vehicles is gaining more and more traction in the news. In a recent Scientific American article, reporter Camille von Kaenel asked NREL’s Jeff Gonder for a transportation researcher’s thoughts on both the sustainability benefits and uncertainties that will accompany an increase in driverless cars.

Jan 21, 2016, 17:00 by User Not Found

NREL initiative approaches sustainable transportation as an integrated system, where travelers and transportation resources are viewed as a dynamic network.

Jan 20, 2016, 17:00 by Julia Thomas

With emerging technologies, travel behavior may shift from personal vehicles to automated transit systems. An NREL study shows that a campus-sized-ranging from four to 10 square miles-automated mobility district has the potential to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 4% to 14% depending on various operating and ridership factors.

Jan 18, 2016, 17:00 by Wayne Hicks

Katherine Dykes and Rick Damiani completed the six-week training as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's pilot Lab-Corps program. Lab-Corps seeks to "help move innovative technologies from national labs into the marketplace."

Jan 13, 2016, 17:00 by Heather Lammers

Today, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced up to $220 million in new funding for a consortium of DOE national laboratories and partners to support critical research and development over the next three years to help modernize our nation’s electrical power grid. The secretary also announced the release of DOE’s comprehensive new Grid Modernization Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP), a blueprint for the Department’s research, development, and demonstration agenda to enable a modernized grid. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will be strongly supporting this effort, bringing its unique array of experts and resources together to participate in 48 of the 88 awarded projects announced today.

Jan 11, 2016, 17:00 by Wayne Hicks

Scientists at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are studying what may seem paradoxical - certain defects in silicon solar cells may actually improve their performance.

Jan 5, 2016, 17:00 by Heather Lammers

A new study by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) estimates that $2.2 billion in benefits came from reduced greenhouse gas emissions and $5.2 billion from reductions in other air pollution, in mid-range estimates, for state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies operating in 2013. RPS policies require utilities or other electricity providers to meet a minimum portion of their load with eligible forms of renewable electricity.

Jan 4, 2016, 17:00 by Wayne Hicks

Scientists at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and at the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) have jointly set a new world record for converting non-concentrated (1-sun) sunlight into electricity using a dual-junction III-V/Si solar cell.