June 2023
Researchers Can Now Build Huge Hydropower Plants In the Lab
Today's hydropower plants could be even better—and more flexible—if researchers can find a better way to study these big, complex facilities. Learn how NREL researchers have designed a way to do exactly that.
News Release: NREL Awards $2 Million in Contracts To Support Development of Cheaper, More Efficient Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells
NREL has awarded $2 million to fund six projects to support the Cadmium Telluride Accelerator Consortium (CTAC).
Substitute for Gold Layer in Perovskite Clears Way for Cheaper Commercialization
A thin layer of gold or silver helps improve the efficiency of perovskite solar cells, but researchers have found a less expensive material that will enable commercialization of the technology without exorbitant cost.
Clearing the Path for Renewable Geothermal Project Development
What is stopping clean geothermal energy from rapid expansion?
Colorado Shows Eagerness for Sustainable Aviation
Amid the buzz of alternative aircraft and fuels, the Colorado Division of Aeronautics has been swayed: New aviation technologies are a major opportunity for Coloradans, and it is time to start planning their future.
NREL Researchers Traveled the Southwest To See the Future of Transportation in Action
To see the future of on-demand transit, researchers from NREL spent three days touring innovative mobility systems across the Southwest. Here's what they learned.
NREL’s New High-Performance Computer Has a Tremendous Supporting Cast
Kestrel—the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's newest and fastest supercomputer—is being built at NREL by a coordinated team.
NREL Windows Research Clearly Making a Difference
Builders began erecting edifices with massive walls of windows after World War II. The trend continues to this day, but the 1970s saw the adoption of double-pane windows to reduce energy consumption. Researchers at NREL have been working to improve windows since 1983.
Beneath the Surface: The 'Spark Squad' Behind the Spark Squad
Learn about the "spark squad" behind the Spark Squad comics, a series created to inspire today's kids to become tomorrow's clean energy champions.
News Release: NREL Announces Participants for the 2023 Executive Energy Leadership Program
Eighteen leaders from around the country have been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy's NREL to participate in the 2023 Executive Energy Leadership program.
Take a Trip to Renewable Energy Discovery Island
Get a sneak peek into a virtual world where water power has huge potential.
Digital-Twin Project Green-Lights Traffic Congestion Improvements
The Chattanooga Digital Twin Project, a collaboration between NREL and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, aimed to reduce transportation-based energy emissions and commuting delays in the city using advanced computing.
How Deep Is Your Ocean Love?
To celebrate National Ocean Month, we spoke to three water power researchers whose lives and work revolve around the 70% of our planet that is covered in ocean.
Collegiate Competitions Supercharge the Future Clean Energy Workforce
College students showcased their work in water power and wind energy at the final events for three DOE collegiate competitions: the inaugural Hydropower Collegiate Competition, fourth annual Marine Energy Collegiate Competition, and 10th annual Collegiate Wind Competition.
NREL Power Electronics Researcher Wins ASME Avram Bar-Cohen Memorial Medal
Sreekant Narumanchi, who leads NREL's advanced power electronics and electric machines research, has been awarded the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Avram Bar-Cohen Memorial Medal.
NREL's Gallium Oxide Power Module Represents Innovation on Nearly Every Front
Faisal Khan, chief researcher of power electronics at NREL, is leading a transformational project to revolutionize the power electronics systems within electric vehicles and for high-power, high-voltage, industrial-scale power conversion. How? With a smart, rugged, and wireless gallium oxide power module.
News Release: Heliostat Consortium Announces Funding Awards Aimed at Lowering Costs and Barriers to Widespread Heliostat Deployment
NREL and Sandia National Laboratories announced seven awardees from a request for proposals aimed at achieving DOE's goals for heliostat cost reduction, sustained multifaceted innovation, and improved solar field performance.
May 2023
NREL Collaborates With Volvo Group To Chart Course Toward Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles
In collaboration with Volvo Group, NREL researchers charted a path forward for achieving a zero-emission future for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Together, the industry/research team explored the current status and mapped the opportunity space for various technologies that could help turn that vision into reality.
Delegation From Bangladesh, NREL's Longest-Running USAID Country Partner, Touches Down in Colorado
Visitors from the USAID Bangladesh mission, the longest running country-partner program in the USAID-NREL Partnership, visited NREL's world-class facilities.
Q&A With Andriy Zakutayev: Materials Architect Builds New Energy-Efficient Devices One Atom at a Time
As a materials scientist at NREL, Andriy Zakutayev manufactures materials to find new ways to control electrons, helping them carry electricity inside computers, solar panels, and smartphones.
Last Updated May 28, 2025