October 2020
JUMP into STEM: Students Building a Better Future Starts NOW
Do not delay! The deadline for submissions to the JUMP into STEM competition is quickly approaching. Make sure your submission is in before Nov. 13, 2020.
Two New Solar Technologies Emerge through Solar Prize Round 2
DOE announces winners of the Solar Prize Round 2, awarding another $1 million in prizes to solar innovators.
News Release: R&D 100 Awards Honor Six NREL Innovations
R&D World magazine today presented NREL with four of its annual R&D 100 Awards for research innovations. In addition to the R&D 100 winners, two additional NREL technologies were given Special Recognition Awards.
Updated OpenOA Software Improves Energy Production Predictions To Reduce Investment Risk
A new version of OpenOA has been released, which includes features designed to help wind plant operators identify and analyze the different factors that drive wind plant performance.
Wind Workforce Webinar Series Offers Insights, Information, and Solutions
To help the wind industry recruit the best and brightest and to provide students with the essential resources to set them on a path toward a rewarding career in the wind energy workforce, NREL, in partnership with the American Wind Energy Association, hosted a three-part Wind Workforce Webinar Series as part of American Wind Week.
Apex Flex: An All-Perovskite Tandem Technology Suitable for Solar-Powered Vehicles
NREL's new perovskite material, marketed as Apex Flex, broke through two design barriers to arrive at a solar cell that is flexible and stable enough for car-top application at a cost 200 times less than flexible PV technologies of similar specific power.
News Release: NREL, UK University Partner To Dive Deeper Into How Enzymes Digest Plastic
A collaboration between NREL, the University of Portsmouth, and other partners has determined two synergistic enzymes—PETase and MHETase—work effectively in tandem to break down polyethylene terephthalate, a type of plastic used to make single-use beverage bottles, clothing, and carpeting.
Following FCC Ruling, NREL and Industry Partner Anterix See More Opportunities for Grid Modernization
The FCC recently ruled that utilities can secure and prioritize their communications via broadband wireless in a spectrum that offers wide-area coverage. What does this mean for NREL and Anterix, who partnered to better understand resilient and secure communications for emerging energy systems?
September 2020
Q&A with Andrey Bernstein: Between the Frontiers of Mathematics and the Future of Energy Systems
Algorithms developed by Andrey Bernstein have become the basis for a growing research agenda named autonomous energy grids. Now, Bernstein is revisiting math from his academic past to merge machine learning and distributed control for wide-scale energy systems operation.
News Release: Untapped Potential Exists for Blending Hydropower, Floating PV
Hybrid systems of floating solar panels and hydropower plants may hold the technical potential to produce a significant portion of the electricity generated annually across the globe, according to an analysis by researchers at NREL.
News Release: Three Grand Prize Winners of the Fish Protection Prize; Deadlines for Two Additional Hydropower Prizes
Through the Fish Protection Prize, the U.S. DOE Water Power Technologies Office solicited sustainable solutions that allow hydropower and fish to thrive side by side. Additionally, the I AM Hydro Prize aims to strengthen hydropower by applying advanced manufacturing technologies.
NREL Researchers Share $40 Million with Partners To Scale Next-Gen Biotechnologies
A combined award of nearly $40 million from the U.S. Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office will support NREL researchers, along with partners from universities and industries, to develop and scale up 11 groundbreaking bioenergy projects.
Scientists Offer Companies a Novel Chemistry for Greener Polyurethane
Through a novel chemistry using nontoxic resources like linseed oil, waste grease, or even algae, chemist Phil Pienkos and colleague Tao Dong, an expert in chemical engineering, have developed a groundbreaking method for producing renewable polyurethane without toxic precursors.
USAID-NREL Partnership Offers Solutions To Accelerate Distributed Photovoltaic Market Growth in India
Improvements to regulations governing PV-plus-storage and better standards for PV quality and safety will help India achieve their distributed PV targets.
Can Revegetation Return PV Site Soil to Its Untouched Glory?
In a recently published journal article, NREL researchers investigated the soil impacts of solar PV array installations and considered how energy and agriculture can coexist.
Updated Tool Makes Calculating EV Emissions Easier, More Precise
Electric vehicles (EVs) typically produce fewer emissions than conventional vehicles, but when measuring emissions, the source of electricity matters. The emissions benefit varies from one state to the next depending on how the electricity to charge the battery was generated.
Calling All Water Technology Innovators: NAWI FOA in Intensified Brine Management Open for Applications
Do you have the technological know-how to develop the desalination systems of tomorrow? Help strengthen the United States’ long-term energy and water security by joining forces with the largest federal investment in water treatment research in 50 years.
Renewables Rescue Stability as the Grid Loses Spin
Across the world, renewable power is displacing traditional generation, but can renewables also replace the critical stability functions that go with it? NREL studies are confirming in the field and on live power systems that solar, wind, and hybrid power plants can provide their own source of grid stability—potentially unlike anything currently on the grid.
Automated Mobility District "Digital Twin" Provides Insights for Urban Transportation Systems
The Automated Mobility District (AMD) modeling and simulation toolkit makes it easier for researchers and city planners to quantify the advantages and disadvantages of similar transportation evolutions.
Souped-Up STEM Portal Broadens Horizons of Prospective Water Power Workforce
We are inspiring tomorrow's water power workforce. Visit the updated STEM Hydropower and Marine Renewable Energy Portals and learn how.
Last Updated May 28, 2025