Grid Modernization News

May 6, 2015, 18:00 by Heather Lammers

Today during its annual Innovation and Technology Transfer Awards ceremony, the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recognized the professionals behind the lab’s greatest innovations from the past year. NREL also celebrated the 43 U.S. patents issued in fiscal year 2014 (FY14), which is the largest number in lab history—nearly three times more than the previous year.

May 6, 2015, 18:00 by Sara Havig

This webinar will provide a basic introduction to two new analysis tools, the Hydrogen Refueling Station Analysis Model (HRSAM) and the Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST). These tools were developed by Argonne National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, respectively, to address key technical and financial barriers to hydrogen fueling infrastructure deployment.

May 4, 2015, 18:00 by Kelly Yaker

Seven teams of students from across the country gathered at the National Wind Technology Center for a fierce blade-to-blade wind turbine rematch. At the Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition 2015 Engineering Contest, teams of undergraduates tested original designs of model wind turbines in an on-site wind tunnel and presented their technical designs to wind technology experts.

May 3, 2015, 18:00 by Linh Truong

Understanding how birds are affected by utility-scale solar facilities is the focus of a new NREL report that was completed in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory.

May 3, 2015, 18:00 by Heather Lammers

The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have successfully demonstrated the capability to connect grid simulations at their two labs for real time interaction via the Internet. This new inter-lab capability enables the modeling of power grids in greater detail by allowing software and equipment anywhere in the world to establish a real-time connection to the unique facilities and capabilities available within the DOE national laboratory complex.

Apr 28, 2015, 18:00 by David Glickson

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has selected 21 leaders to participate in its 2015 Executive Energy Leadership program (Energy Execs), which empowers executives to integrate clean energy solutions in their communities.

Apr 26, 2015, 18:00 by Heather Lammers

Analysis from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) finds that by making shared solar programs available to households and businesses that currently cannot host on-site photovoltaic (PV) systems shared solar could represent 32 to 49 percent of the distributed photovoltaic market in 2020.

Apr 21, 2015, 18:00 by William Scanlon

NREL and Laufer employ "Houdini" to teach radar how to detect birds near wind power plants.

Apr 20, 2015, 18:00 by Sara Havig

The Energy Department has announced two new tools developed through H2USA to help address technical and financial barriers to hydrogen fueling infrastructure deployment. The tools, the the Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST) and the Hydrogen Refueling Stations Analysis Model (HRSAM), were developed by NREL and Argonne National Laboratory respectively to address the key technical and financial barriers to hydrogen fueling infrastructure deployment. Additionally, NREL and Sandia National Laboratories published two task reports through the Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure Research and Station Technology (H2FIRST) project, which supports H2USA by addressing critical R&D barriers to station deployment.

Apr 16, 2015, 18:00 by Devonie McCamey

As a complement to DOE's recently released Wind Vision Report, a new paper summarizes the lessons learned from actual power systems operational practice, along with some of the most relevant and comprehensive wind integration studies conducted during the past several years.

Apr 15, 2015, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL Power Systems Engineering Center Director Dr. Ben Kroposki spoke to Smart Grid Today about the unique capabilities of the Energy Systems Integration Facility.

Apr 13, 2015, 18:00 by Devonie McCamey

Demonstration projects will create and test a power-to-gas concept that uses electricity from renewable sources to make carbon-free hydrogen gas.

Apr 13, 2015, 18:00 by Heather Lammers

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released an updated proposal that will establish an international quality standard for photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturing. The document is intended for immediate use by PV manufacturers when producing modules on an industrial scale so they can increase investor, utility, and consumer confidence in PV system performance.

Apr 12, 2015, 18:00 by William Scanlon

NREL heads international effort to toughen standards, ensure reliability of solar PV systems.

Apr 5, 2015, 18:00 by Heather Lammers

Dr. Erfan Ibrahim has joined the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory as director of Cyber Physical Systems Security and Resilience for NREL’s Energy Systems Integration directorate. This critical area of research and development addresses the challenges of integrating clean energy sources into the national energy infrastructure.

Mar 30, 2015, 18:00 by Heather Lammers

The Solar Access to Public Capital (SAPC) working group has released new best practices guidelines for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, with the goal of increasing investor confidence in the long-term viability of PV systems. The guides — SAPC Best Practices in PV System Installation and SAPC Best Practices in PV Operations and Maintenance — were developed by SAPC subcommittees, each involving dozens of solar and finance entities.

Mar 18, 2015, 18:00 by User Not Found

In the search for abundant and sustainable options to petroleum-derived fuels, biofuels stand out as a promising alternative. An NREL study is determining which biomass-derived oxygenates are most commercially feasible in drop-in fuels that are compatible with existing engines and fuel distribution.

Mar 18, 2015, 18:00 by Heather Lammers

Dr. Dan E. Arvizu today announced that he intends to retire at the end of September from his role as the Director and Chief Executive of the Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.

Mar 8, 2015, 18:00 by William Scanlon

Engineers travel the globe to help save energy, improve lives.

Mar 8, 2015, 18:00 by David Glickson

The Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has used the Battery Lifetime Analysis and Simulation Tool (BLAST) to confirm that energy storage for demand-charge management can deliver attractive economic benefits. The analysis paired recent utility rate structures with historic data on solar photovoltaic electricity generation and commercial facility loads to evaluate 6,860 unique scenarios. The results revealed that, in the absence of incentives, small battery systems reducing peak demand by 2.5 percent offer the most attractive return on investment.