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March 2021

March 8, 2021

NREL's New Solar TRACE Tool Adds Transparency to Permitting, Inspection, and Interconnection Nationwide

In partnership with the solar industry, NREL recently developed Solar TRACE, an online tool to increase transparency into PII processes, requirements, and overall adoption cycle times nationwide.

February 2021

Feb. 25, 2021

Pathways To Achieve New Circular Vision for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries are increasingly in demand for energy storage and use in electric vehicles—needs that are projected to grow further with expected technological innovations and declining costs.

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. 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. 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.

Feb. 8, 2021

REopt Lite Adds a Fresh Dimension: Combined Heat and Power

In its latest release, the REopt Lite team, which includes NREL and partners at Colorado School of Mines and Clean Energy Group, has added combined heat and power, expanding the model's scope beyond electric-only strategies to include a new universe of thermal energy opportunities.

January 2021

Jan. 29, 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.

Jan. 26, 2021

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.

Jan. 22, 2021

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.

Jan. 21, 2021

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.


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Last Updated May 5, 2025