Grid Modernization News

Jun 17, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL hosted a recent meeting with representatives from industry and academia to discuss research exploring the energy impact of ride-hailing services. The growing use of such services has the potential to disrupt traditional car ownership paradigms, buoyed by the surge in younger consumers who only know a world with technology at their fingertips. Research indicates that ride-hailing options should be networked, electrified, shared, and mobile-friendly to best realize improvements in road congestion, energy use, and air quality.

Jun 17, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

The European Union's goal is for 10% of all of Europe's transportation fuels to come from renewable sources by 2020. In April, CNBC World's international news program "Sustainable Energy" came to NREL to spotlight how the lab's breakthrough biofuels research is advancing progress toward that ambitious objective.

Jun 17, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL released an API for REopt(TM) Lite, enabling streamlined integration with other tools inside and outside NREL and allowing building owners and researchers to evaluate the economics of grid-connected solar PV and battery storage at multiple commercial sites. The API opens opportunities for research collaboration and broader market impact, driving solar and storage deployment.

Jun 14, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

Results from a National Renewable Energy Laboratory evaluation of hydrogen fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) at Alameda Contra-Costa Transit District (AC Transit) in California show that FCEBs have made significant progress toward commercialization, surpassing Department of Energy's ultimate technical targets for fuel cell operating hours and reliability.

Jun 11, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

Passenger transportation and aviation systems are on the frontline of innovation in moving more people faster, cheaper, and better—fueled in part by greater convenience and increased choices. An NREL study focuses on the growing use and impacts of ride-hailing services to and from airports, with implications for the future of ride-hailing, parking, and car rental services in cities.

Jun 11, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL's REopt Lite web tool now offers enhanced resilience analysis capabilities that allow building owners and energy managers to size PV and storage systems to meet a specified outage duration and compare the sizing and costs of a resilient system with a system sized to maximize savings.

May 30, 2018, 18:00 by Ernie Tucker

Although NREL's recent community open house is a highly visible outreach effort, it is only one of many connecting the laboratory with communities in Colorado and across the country.

May 30, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

The U.S. Department of Energy’s interest in increasing national energy security and lowering the cost of transporting goods spurred a $3 million effort to support cost-shared research to improve high-efficiency natural gas engines. NREL is collaborating with Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories to further this early-stage research.

May 30, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL has developed an immersive visualization environment to help plan for Denver's new smart community, Peña Station NEXT.

May 29, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL teams with PG&E to stabilize grid frequency with synthetic inertia.

May 28, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

A recent analysis from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that, during last summer's total eclipse, solar energy output in the West dropped by about 5.9 gigawatts (GW).

May 28, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

NREL has received $7 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop the next generation of liquid-phase concentrating solar power technology.

May 21, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

On May 19, NREL hosted its 19th annual Middle School Electric Car Competition, where students raced solar and lithium-ion powered cars that they designed and built.

May 21, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

New and enhanced versions of NREL's Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator (FASTSim) are now available for free download in Python and Microsoft Excel formats at www.nrel.gov/fastsim. FASTSim provides a quick and simple way to compare powertrains and estimate the impact of technology improvements on light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle efficiency, performance, cost, and battery life.

May 21, 2018, 18:00 by Wayne Hicks

Technical challenges have stymied efforts to produce bioethanol on a commercial scale, but research underway at NREL may hold the key to overcoming those barriers.

May 17, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

The future of the geothermal sector is being driven by data-informed decisions and research. NREL's geothermal team is developing several tools and platforms to streamline the collection and sharing of geothermal data sets, enabling new breakthroughs in geothermal research and development.

May 16, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

The conclusion of a successful multiyear industry partnership will soon alter the landscape for Denver-area residents. This week, GE will remove the largest of the megawatt-scale research turbines at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) National Wind Technology Center (NWTC), located near Boulder, Colorado.

May 15, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

A new NREL-developed tool called EVI-Pro Lite is helping communities across the country evaluate existing electric vehicle charging infrastructure and determine future needs for charging infrastructure to support increased regional adoption of EVs. Using data from personal vehicle travel patterns, electric vehicle attributes, and charging station characteristics, the tool projects demand for charging infrastructure by state or city/urban area.

May 13, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

In this DOE Fuel Cell Technologies Office webinar, NREL's Leslie Eudy will present the most recent performance results from fuel cell electric buses operated by six transit agencies and discuss progress made toward meeting technical targets.

May 9, 2018, 18:00 by User Not Found

Mowafak Al-Jassim, Andy Walker, Robert McCormick, and Gregg Beckham were chosen for their significant contributions to NREL and the larger scientific community.