August 2019
Oregon State University Partners with NREL To Improve Wildlife Impact Minimization System
A surprising combination of sophisticated sensor technology, tennis balls, a potato gun, and a novel deterrent device could hold the answers to preventing eagles from encountering wind turbines.
Exploring Tomorrow's Energy Solutions, Together
NREL’s 2019 Partner Forum brought together energy industry leaders across multiple sectors to discuss today’s energy challenges and explore tomorrow’s potential solutions.
NREL Marks Partner Forum With Dedication of Bioreactor
Installed outside the laboratory's Energy Systems Integration Facility, the bioreactor uses a selectively evolved microorganism that feeds on renewable hydrogen produced at NREL and a diet of carbon dioxide.
NREL's Past Collaboration with GM Continues to Proffer Rewards for Battery Electric Vehicles
One of the largest impediments to the mass adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the United States is range anxiety--or, consumers' fear that they will be stranded because the vehicle has insufficient battery power to get them to their destination. A 2012 NREL collaboration with General Motors (GM) continues to inform the improvement of industry apps that help allay range anxiety and increase driver freedom.
NREL, First Solar Collaboration Improves Thin-Film Solar Cells
A new paper reports a cell efficiency of 20.8%, representing a crossing point for the new group V technology relative to historic copper technology.
Twin Scientists Advance Understanding of PV Windows
The brothers both previously worked at NREL, although the older one is now a university professor in Wisconsin.
Field Trials Validate Wind Turbine Wake Steering Impact at Scale
NREL researchers believe wind plant operators can increase energy capture using plant-level controls. By steering individual turbine wakes away from downstream turbines, existing facilities can achieve annual energy production gains of 1%-2% depending on the plant size and design.
NREL Experts Give Added Steam to Geothermal Industry
NREL's Geothermal Laboratory Program Manager Kate Young and Operations Manager Caity Smith are members of the U.S. team selected as the new global chair of Women in Geothermal (WING), an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the education, professional development, and advancement of women in the geothermal industry.
From the Bottom Up: Designing a Decentralized Power System
Cross-Discipline Team Envisions the Grid of the Future
Atomic-Level Look at Energy Already Solved One Mystery
Cara Lubner's research focuses on a novel method organisms use to generate energy, called flavin-based electron bifurcation. How this works was a mystery until Lubner and other researchers at NREL discovered the secret.
Q&A with Jennifer Daw: Working at the Crossroads of Energy, Water, and Land
Balancing the needs of food, water, and energy is becoming one of the most important trends in sustainability strategy, and we talked with one of its experts, Jennifer Daw, the group manager of strategy, policy, and implantation within NREL’s Integrated Application Center.
Updated Baseline Cost and Performance Data for Electricity Generation Technologies
NREL has released a 2019 update to the Annual Technology Baseline, a key source of reliable electricity generation technology cost and performance data used to support and inform electric sector analysis in the United States.
Virtual Tools Developed at NREL Create Real-World Savings
NREL researchers are creating useful software applications designed to help highlight potential costs and savings associated with renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. In doing so, they hope to shorten the path to commercialization and increase overall adoption of those technologies.
Funding Provides Boost to Investigation of Nitrides
Nitride semiconductors have played an important role in certain technologies, such as light-emitting diodes and radio frequency transistors, but these materials aren't found in nature.
The Role Fungi Will Play in NREL's Biomass Research
The research will attempt to solve the mystery of what really happens when white-rot fungi -- the best lignin degraders in nature -- meet lignin.
Three NREL Scientists Receive Prestigious DOE Early Career Research Funding
The three were among 70 other researchers from institutions across the country named in an announcement made by the Office of Science.
Last Updated May 28, 2025