March 2017
NREL at 40: Research Efforts Drive Advanced Energy
Decades of world-class research has expanded the American energy landscape
News Release: NREL Seeks Participants for 2017 National Executive Energy Leadership Program
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has selected 22 leaders to participate in its 2017 Executive Energy Leadership program (Energy Execs).
February 2017
Lambkins Roar as the Top High School in the 27th Colorado Science Bowl
Lammie had a hard time deciding which team to back in the 27th Colorado High School Science Bowl on Feb. 11 at Littleton's Dakota Ridge High School.
NREL, SLAC Determine Ideal Conditions for Making Perovskite Photovoltaic Absorbers
Researchers at NREL and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have mapped the processing phase space where ideal conditions exist to create perovskite photovoltaic absorbers.
NREL Partnerships Designed to Make Wind Farms More Productive
NREL and two industry partners, NextEra Energy, Inc., and YStrategies, Inc., signed a cooperative research and development agreement in December 2016 to bring wake steering, or slight adjustments to turbine direction that reduce wind drag, to industry wind plants for the first time.
News Release: Fort Collins High School Wins 27th Colorado Science Bowl
Students from Fort Collins, Colo., dominated this year's Colorado High School Science Bowl with Fort Collins High School emerging victorious over second-place finisher Ridgeview Classical.
NREL Validates $1-Million H-Prize Submission for DOE
In January the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Hydrogen Education Foundation announced SimpleFuel as the winner of the $1 million H2 Refuel H-Prize Competition to develop a home hydrogen fueling system. NREL acted as the independent validator for the competition by collecting and analyzing three months of system performance data and presenting the results to the independent H-Prize judges' panel.
NREL Engineer Robert McCormick Named SAE Fellow
Robert L. McCormick, an engineer at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been named a fellow of SAE International, an association for engineers and other technical experts in automotive, commercial-vehicle, and aerospace industries.
Co-Optima Targets Maximum Transportation Sector Efficiency, Energy Independence and Industry Growth
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released a new report that spotlights key accomplishments the first year of the U.S. Department of Energy Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative.
News Release: NREL Research Pinpoints Promise of Polycrystalline Perovskites
A team of scientists from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) determined that surface recombination limits the performance of polycrystalline perovskite solar cells.
January 2017
News Release: National Wind Technology Center Begins First Validation of Wave Energy Conversion Device
The National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has begun validation work on the first water power technology ever tested in an NREL dynamometer facility.
News Release: NREL Announces Third Round of Start-Ups to Participate in the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) Program
The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will help an additional 10 companies advance their technologies under the third round of the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) program, a five-year, $10 million program designed to facilitate early-stage technologies that provide scalable solutions to reduce the energy impact of commercial buildings.
Race for a Better Fuel Begins with NREL Researchers
Catalyst converts sustainable carbon sources into fuel for high-performance engines.
News Release: NREL Pioneers Better Way to Make Renewable Hydrogen
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed a method which boosts the longevity of high-efficiency photocathodes in photoelectrochemical water-splitting devices.
NREL Awarded $1.6 Million to Accelerate Development of Plug-In Electric and Propane Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
The Energy Department (DOE) recently announced the award of funding to accelerate the development and deployment of alternative vehicle and fuel technologies, including $1.6 million for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to support three projects led by industry partners Blossman Services, Blue Bird Body Company, and Odyne Systems, LLC. NREL will support these partners in advancing electric-drive and propane fuel technologies for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
December 2016
News Release: High Renewable Electricity Growth Continued in 2015
The 2015 Renewable Energy Data Book shows that U.S. renewable electricity grew to 16.7 percent of total installed capacity and 13.8 percent of total electricity generation during the past year.
WPTO Releases Updated Draft MHK Strategy
The Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) under the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input from stakeholders on a draft Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Program strategy.
NWTC Infrastructure Is (Literally) for the Birds
The NWTC is building a reputation as a research and validation resource for technology and software that will help detect and deter bird and bat interactions. Earlier this year, researchers and engineers from Oregon State University and the University of Washington's Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center used the NWTC to test an array of sensors designed to continuously monitor for interactions (including impacts) of birds and bats with offshore wind turbines--with similar applications for land-based turbines.
Largest Generator Validation Yet at the National Wind Technology Center
The NWTC's dynamometer test facility recently welcomed one of the largest generators ever validated on its 5-megawatt dynamometer. Columbia Power Technologies is partnering with the NWTC to characterize a direct-drive wave energy generator.
NREL to Lead Novel Field Demonstration of Wind Turbine Control at the Wind Power Plant Level
The NWTC at NREL teams in systems engineering and wind power plant controls have been selected to lead a novel field demonstration to improve wind energy production and help commercialize clean energy technologies.
Last Updated May 28, 2025