February 2021
Sustainable Communities Catalyzer Is Advancing Energy Transitions Through Collaboration
NREL's partner, the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis, is accelerating research capabilities for sustainable communities through the Catalyzers program.
Better Cost Estimates Build Better Systems: NREL Updates SAM Wave and Tidal Tools
Techno-economic analysis just got a bit easier for the marine renewable energy industry. Learn more about the updates to the wave and tidal SAM tool.
Offshore Wind Plugs Energy Into Homes and Businesses Back on Shore
NREL has launched plans to develop the technologies and strategies needed to integrate the coming wave of offshore wind installations into the grid. The laboratory's success with integration—from its world-renowned work on utility-scale renewable energy systems to its comprehensive vision for offshore wind development and collaboration with industry partners—is steering efforts to deliver power efficiently and affordably from offshore plants.
January 2021
Reliability Analysis of the U.S. West Reviews Barriers to a Renewable Future
As part of a multistate collaboration, NREL has modeled and assessed long-term reliability and integration impacts of solar PV growth in the western United States, with broader lessons for power grids and renewable policies.
"It Was a Grand Experiment, and It Worked"
A Q&A with David Narang and Richard DeBlasio, two of the pioneers of IEEE Standard 1547 and its 2018 revision that have become the definitive technical standards for interconnecting distributed energy resources into the grid.
Centrica Partnership Shows Optimal Strategies for Hybrid Storage Systems
NREL and project partner Centrica have looked beyond single battery energy storage system (BESS) types to hybrid solutions, discovering that untapped potential exists when battery types are combined and optimally controlled.
NREL Launches Storage Futures Study with Visionary Framework for Dramatic Increase in Deployment
The first report in the study outlines four phases of utility-scale energy storage deployment, providing a potential roadmap to 100+ gigawatts of installed capacity in the United States.
Moving Beyond Conventional WISDEM: Open-Source Software Upgrades User Experience
Recently upgraded, user-friendly WISDEM takes a systems engineering approach to wind energy project design.
Water Security Warriors Gear Up for Waves to Water CREATE Stage
In the upcoming Waves to Water Prize CREATE Stage, competitors will transform their wave-powered desalination system ideas from concept to reality, vying for a shared prize pool of $500,000 and the chance to move on to the final stage of the prize: DRINK.
Multi-Lab Collaboration Releases Groundbreaking High-Resolution, Long-Term Wave Resource Dataset
In collaboration with PNNL and Sandia, NREL has released a high spatial resolution, publicly-accessible ocean surface wave hindcast dataset.
Zeroing in on the Potential of Solar Energy To Meet Industrial Process Heat Demand
Today, natural gas and coal combustion supply most demand for industrial process heat (IPH), or the transfer of heat to a material within a production process. With the emergence of low-cost solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies, interest has grown in solar as an IPH option and decarbonization pathway for the industrial sector.
U.S. Department of Energy and NREL Launch Spring 2021 Geothermal Collegiate Competition
The U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Office today announced the launch of the Spring 2021 Geothermal Collegiate Competition, managed by NREL.
NREL Partnerships Transform Energy in Response to Global Needs
More than 12 years ago, at the start of NREL's current management contract with the Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC, NREL's partnership outreach accelerated. During that period, the laboratory has generated partnership projects totaling more than $1 billion in research-and-development contract value. In FY 2020, NREL delivered a single-year milestone, booking $102 million in new partnership agreements, and that activity continues to grow.
News Release: NREL Reports Sustainability Benchmarks for Plastics Recycling and Redesign
Researchers developing renewable plastics and exploring new processes for plastics upcycling and recycling technologies will now be able to easily baseline their efforts to current manufacturing practices to understand if their efforts will save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
NREL Invites U.S. Manufacturers To Partner on Distributed Wind Technology Innovation
NREL has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) for distributed wind. The application deadline is Feb. 26, 2021.
Saying Yes to Water Power Success: NREL Project Standouts in WPTO Accomplishments Report
Take a bird's-eye view of WPTO's 2019–2020 hydropower and marine energy accomplishments, and learn about the NREL projects highlighted within this comprehensive publication.
Shoring Up Wave Energy's Bottom Line Through Variable-Generation WEC Designs
Could the secret to unlocking wave energy's potential be found in shape-shifting control? NREL researcher Nathan Tom and his team think so.
After Four Decades of Photovoltaic Research, NREL Is Just Getting Started
In the 43 years since, the Solar Energy Research Institute—now known as NREL—has been a driving force in the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy. A new video shows why NREL researchers envision a future where PV is everywhere.
Latest Electrification Futures Study Report Explores How U.S. Power System Could Evolve With Widespread Electrification
The fifth report in the multiyear analysis reveals how widespread electrification could impact energy sector infrastructure investments, fuel use, system costs, and emissions.
Strength in Numbers: I AM Hydro Prize Partnerships
Learn about the I AM Hydro Prize and the advanced-manufacturing partners supporting it.
Last Updated May 28, 2025