July 2017
News Release: NREL to Receive Public Service Award for 40 Years of Energy Innovation
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is again receiving national recognition for its 40th Anniversary with a prestigious public service award.
News Release: NREL Announces Partnership with Panasonic and Xcel Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is partnering with Panasonic Corporation and Xcel Energy to simulate and optimize the energy load profile of Peña Station NEXT, a planned 382-acre mixed-use development in Denver, Colo.
NREL to Study Geothermal Deep Direct-Use in East Texas Power Plants
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced major funding awards for six geothermal Deep Direct-Use research projects, including a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study that will explore the feasibility of geothermal heat integration at natural gas power plants in East Texas.
Announcing the Solar Energy Innovation Network
The Solar Energy Innovation Network is a new three-year program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, designed to remove soft cost (non-hardware) barriers to wide-scale integration of distributed solar photovoltaics within the U.S. electricity system.
News Release: Study Shows India Can Integrate 175 GW of Renewable Energy into Its Electricity Grid
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has confirmed the technical and economic viability of integrating 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy into India's grid by 2022.
Gulf Coast Renewable Energy Survey to Explore Potential of Offshore Wind
A new NREL survey is designed to determine if the Gulf Coast region can transform 50 years of offshore manufacturing and deployment expertise into a thriving offshore industry
Report Proves Wake Steering May Improve Wind Plant Power Output
Wake steering allows wind power plant operators to turn the front row of turbines out of the wind, which researchers theorize would decrease wake losses and increase overall plant production.
Thermal Measurements of Packed Copper Wire Enables Better Electric Motor Designs
A recently completed study by NREL and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, of the anisotropic thermal conductivity of packed copper wire for electric-drive vehicle (EDV) motor applications, provides a baseline for the assessment of new materials and winding structures.
New Class of Thermal Interface Materials Delivers Ultralow Thermal Resistance for Compact Electronics
NREL and Texas A&M University have characterized the thermal performance of new, high-performance thermal interface materials (TIMs) capable of thermal resistance one-third lower than any other state-of-the-art TIM.
STEM Knowledge Puts Middle Schoolers in Driver's Seat
Student teams from across Colorado enjoy a day racing model electric cars at NREL
NREL at 40: It All Started With a Desire to Harness the Sun
Groundbreaking work in advanced energy research sprang from lab's 1977 start as SERI.
Webinar July 20: Using Machine Learning and Data Analysis to Improve Customer Acquisition and Marketing in Residential Solar
A free webinar on Thursday, July 20, 2017, from 1–2 p.m. ET, will share exciting new research by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories, and Vanderbilt University on how data analytics, machine learning, and social science can improve marketing and customer acquisition processes for residential solar.
June 2017
NREL Staff Recognized by DOE for Outstanding Achievements at 2017 Annual Merit Review
The U.S. Department of Energy recently honored four NREL staff members for their outstanding achievements at the Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting.
PV Module Reliability Experts Gather for DuraMAT Workshop
On May 22 and 23, 2017, the Durable Module Materials Consortium convened a workshop at Stanford University to discuss photovoltaic module reliability.
News Release: NREL Announces Participants for 2017 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).
NREL Deploys Wave and Tidal Measurement Buoys
Researchers at the National Wind Technology Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently deployed two sets of buoys off the shores of Oregon and Maine, each equipped with a variety of high-accuracy sensors that can detect wave and tidal movement.
News Release: NREL-Led Research Effort Creates New Alloys, Phase Diagram
A multi-institutional team led by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) discovered a way to create new alloys that could form the basis of next-generation semiconductors.
NREL Co-Leading New Consortium to Overcome Catalysis Challenges for Biomass Applications
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is co-leading the Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio), a new research and development consortium dedicated to identifying and overcoming catalysis challenges for biomass conversion processes.
NREL Brings Midmarket Solar PV Technical Assistance to 36 Universities and Colleges
NREL has offered no-cost technical assistance to American universities seeking to go solar. The program, in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot initiative, is designed to increase the deployment of mid-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at universities, engage stakeholders to develop deployment solutions, and empower decision makers.
NREL's III-V Team Demonstrates Record Efficiency Dual-Junction Solar Cell
NREL scientists recently demonstrated a dual-junction solar cell with a record one-sun, certified efficiency of 32.6% (±1.4%), surpassing the previous record by a full percentage.
Last Updated May 1, 2025