Grid Modernization News

Jul 29, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL researchers are charting the course to better quality, lower-cost wind turbine blades through automation.

Jul 28, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

This year, NREL joined the Department of Energy's Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC) in celebrating just a few of the women making significant contributions within energy storage programs.

Jul 28, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

JISEA program manager Liz Weber knew in 2010 she was ready to become an environmental leader. She did not know she would become a leading project manager within the U.S. Department of Energy complex.

Jul 28, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

Researchers at NREL have developed a rigorous new Storage Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (StoreFAST) model to evaluate the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), also known as the levelized cost of storage (LCOS).

Jul 28, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

Waves to Water Prize competitors are using their industry expertise to help advance marine energy technologies that could harness the power of ocean waves to produce clean drinking water.

Jul 27, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

After receiving a nearly $3 million award from the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), an NREL-led project will integrate electrochemistry with sugar fermentation to produce lipids used to make biofuels, while avoiding the release of CO₂ into the atmosphere.

Jul 26, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

There is economic potential for 490 gigawatts per hour of behind-the-meter battery storage in the United States by 2050, or 300 times today's installed capacity. But only a small fraction could be adopted by customers, according to the latest phase of NREL's Storage Futures Study.

Jul 26, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

Early-stage companies used microgrid validations at NREL to size-up commercial systems, and the results have high-impact lessons for the larger grid.

Jul 25, 2021, 18:00 by Kristi Theis

In November 2020, multinational powerhouse Emerson acquired a startup company, 7AC. It was a big deal in the world of cleantech startups—a fairy-tale ending for a startup company whose technology had made it to the HVAC commercial market.

Jul 21, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

The 15,700-square-foot Research and Innovation Laboratory (RAIL) will provide multipurpose lab space for cross-disciplinary research at the intersection of chemistry, materials science, bioscience, and engineering in support of a breadth of energy efficiency and renewable energy research areas.

Jul 20, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL is driving innovation in geothermal lithium extraction through research, expertise, and prize incentives.

Jul 20, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

Now in the third year of the Athena project, the team has published a series of three journal articles sharing key results on shuttle bus route optimization and expanded parking choices to improve energy use and reduce operational costs at airports.

Jul 19, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

The United States has 37 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar capacity—enough to power over 4,070,000,000 LED lights—with an impressive additional 112 GW of capacity currently under development.

Jul 18, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

Leveraging its data science expertise and state-of-the-art modeling and analysis tools, NREL is helping the California Energy Commission pinpoint the number of electric vehicle chargers needed to meet the state’s ambitious zero-emission vehicle and greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Jul 18, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL elevated two principal scientists to the position of senior research fellow, Joseph Berry and Ingrid Repins, who, along with the current research fellows, will advise NREL executive management on the strategic direction of science and technology research and ensure NREL's work continues to meet the highest standards.

Jul 14, 2021, 18:00 by Josh Rasmussen

NREL and First Solar Inc. have been collaboratively breaking ground on thin film solar technology for more than two decades, helping NREL fulfill its goal as a DOE national laboratory of commercializing technology through partnerships, and contributing to First Solar's success in development, manufacturing, and operation of photovoltaic (PV) power plants with technology that still bucks industry trends.

Jul 14, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

Microstructure-scale modeling carried out by NREL over the past five years has culminated in the newly released Microstructure Analysis ToolBox (MATBOX) dedicated to the meshing, numerical generation, segmentation, and characterization of three-dimensional heterogeneous materials, such as battery electrodes.

Jul 14, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

Researchers in the BOTTLE Consortium, including from NREL and the University of Portsmouth, have identified using enzymes as a more sustainable approach for recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic in single-use beverage bottles, clothing, and food packaging.

Jul 14, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

In the Waves to Water Prize, competitors from academia are part of the diverse set of pioneers dipping their feet in the water by introducing, expanding, and evolving what is possible for marine energy.

Jul 13, 2021, 18:00 by User Not Found

DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Office announced $20 million for the Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) Photovoltaic (PV) Accelerator Consortium Solicitation to formalize the leadership of a consortium that will identify the technology development priorities to impact the entire domestic CdTe supply chain.