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February 2021

Feb. 16, 2021

NREL Software Automates Residential Solar Permitting, Replacing Painstaking Process for Local Governments

NREL has released a no-cost resource for cities and counties across the country to streamline distributed solar installation: SolarAPP (Solar Automated Permit Processing).

Feb. 16, 2021

NREL Research Identifies Motivations, Methods for Achieving a Circular Economy for Wind Energy

Researchers at NREL are addressing critical challenges when it comes to achieving a circular economy for wind turbine components. The motivations for pursuing this research are outlined in a new journal article, "Wind turbine blade material in the United States: Quantities, costs, and end-of-life options."

Feb. 16, 2021

NREL Discusses Circular Economy With High-Profile Partners in Fourth Partner Forum

At its fourth annual Partner Forum, NREL showcased its stable of leading experts and opened its virtual doors to partners, extending invitations to companies from around the world to engage in a collaborative effort to design a future replete with renewable energy solutions to the energy challenges of today.

Feb. 16, 2021

New E-ROBOT Prize Encourages Robotic Innovation To Drive Energy Efficiency in Envelope Retrofit Solutions

The future of buildings is affordable, comfortable, and energy efficient. However, the current reality is that buildings consume 39% of all U.S. energy and 74% of all U.S. electricity at an annual cost of more than $400 billion.

Feb. 12, 2021

CEMAC/JISEA Releases Global Clean Energy Manufacturing Data and Insights

The latest Benchmarks of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing report assesses market characteristics, global trade flows, and manufacturing value added for four clean energy technologies to support deeper insights into balance of trade effects on upstream materials.

Feb. 12, 2021

Using Mathematical Models To Enable Transportation Decarbonization and Combat Climate Change

Conducted in partnership with USAID, an NREL study assessing the electrification potential of transit fleets in two Mexican cities determined that at least 80% of the operational bus days for the studied routes were suitable for electrification—with a 250-kWh battery in Mexico City and a 300-kWh battery in León.

Feb. 11, 2021

NREL's dGen Analysts Team Up With Orlando Utilities Commission To Forecast Household Solar Adoption

NREL analysts tailor the Distributed Generation Market Demand model for Orlando energy planners, simulating individual household rooftop solar photovoltaic adoption potential through 2050—the highest-resolution projections for Orlando to date.

Feb. 11, 2021

News Release: NREL Heats Up Thermal Energy Storage with New Solution Meant To Ease Grid Stress, Ultimately Improving Energy Efficiency

Scientists from NREL have developed a simple way to better evaluate the potential of novel materials to store or release heat on demand in your home, office, or other building in a way that more efficiently manages the building's energy use.

Feb. 10, 2021

Data Democratized: RE Data Explorer Enhancements Deliver High-Value Renewable Energy Resource Data To Inform Decision-Making

Upgrade features new, high-resolution data sets and a streamlined, state-of-the-art interface.

Feb. 10, 2021

Documenting a Decade of Cost Declines for PV Systems

NREL marks ongoing cost reductions for installed photovoltaic (PV) systems, while also establishing benchmark of PV-plus-storage systems.


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Last Updated May 5, 2025