Grid Modernization News

Dec 15, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

Two awards totaling nearly $10 million from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program will support two research projects at NREL and partner laboratories that aim to analyze and reduce biosecurity risks of promising bioengineered organisms.

Dec 15, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

In their new report, "Workforce and Economic Development Considerations from the Operations and Maintenance of Wind Power Plants," NREL researchers Matthew Kotarbinski, David Keyser, and Jeremy Stefek seek to expand our understanding of wind's economic impact by examining O&M worker integration in communities.

Dec 13, 2020, 17:00 by Caitlin Dorsey

With the breakneck speed of innovation at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the laboratory's High-Flux Solar Furnace (HFSF) is all the more remarkable for continuously facilitating envelope-pushing research since 1989.

Dec 13, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

Determining how many years a solar panel will last can take, well, years. Intended to function for 25 years or more, solar panels must be made to withstand the elements. In some cases, panels continue working well after their planned operational lifetime. Nowhere is this more evident than on the sunny hillside where NREL operates the Outdoor Test Facility.

Dec 8, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

The NREL wind program's top 2020 achievements demonstrate not only the laboratory's scientific and research abilities, but also its clear vision for wind energy advancement.

Dec 7, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

Future novel hybrid energy systems could lead to paradigm shifts in clean energy production, according to a paper published last week in Joule. Researchers from the U.S. DOE's three applied energy laboratories co-authored the paper describing such integrated energy systems.

Dec 3, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

While research continues to move perovskite solar technology toward commercialization, scientists at NREL are investigating how to manufacture them with human health in mind.

Dec 3, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

For the first time, researchers with DOE's Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative have shared scientific details that will help the research community and industry identify viable candidates for bio-based fuels that can maximize performance and efficiency when used in turbocharged spark-ignition (SI) engines.

Dec 2, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

Explore 45 forward-looking scenarios and a new interactive data viewer with the latest release of our flagship Standard Scenarios.

Dec 1, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

The early days of the ongoing pandemic were marked by shortages of personal protective equipment and coronavirus testing materials. To help overcome those challenges, an NREL research team led by Samantha Reese and Alberta Carpenter identified pinch points in the manufacturing process due to simultaneous shortages and increased demand for face shields, N95 respirators, and materials used in coronavirus tests.

Dec 1, 2020, 17:00 by Anya Breitenbach

National Wind Technology Center researchers at NREL apply a range of modeling expertise and tools to help industry, government, and research partners gain objective understanding of the balance among potential offshore wind costs, revenues, and risks within the context of technical, legal, regulatory, tax, and policy issues.

Dec 1, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

The Electrochemical Society (ECS) headquarters has awarded the 2021 Energy Technology Division Research Award to Bryan Pivovar, a researcher in the Chemistry and Nanoscience Center at NREL.

Nov 30, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Transportation Secure Data Center (TSDC), a national resource providing free online access to a veritable treasure trove of detailed travel behavior data applicable for a host of research applications.

Nov 30, 2020, 17:00 by Josh Rasmussen

Now in its seventh year, the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) is now a $50 million program, designed from the start to consider a diverse cross section of start-ups, collect them into cohorts, connect them with technological expertise, and accelerate their clean technologies to the marketplace.

Nov 29, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

An NREL team and external collaborators have invented near-replicas of energy systems—realistic down to individual devices and up to interstate power transmission. The team's creation, Smart-DS, is set to become the new standard in modeling and simulating energy system scenarios.

Nov 24, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

Since joining NREL as a summer intern in 2015, Tarek Elgindy has since become a key engineer, developing SMART-DS: Synthetic Models for Advanced, Realistic Testing: Distribution Systems and Scenarios through the Power Systems Engineering Center.

Nov 24, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

Eight researchers affiliated with NREL are on this year's list of Highly Cited Researchers compiled by Clarivate Analytics' Web of Science Group, with four identified for their influence beyond their own scientific specialty.

Nov 23, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

New feature of NREL's electric vehicle infrastructure projection tool helps utilities, agencies, and researchers predict hour-by-hour impact of charging on the grid.

Nov 23, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

Johney Green, an associate laboratory director at NREL, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Nov 17, 2020, 17:00 by User Not Found

NREL researcher Scott Jenne and his team are paving the way to the development of the wave energy generation devices of tomorrow.