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October 2020
Integrated Hydrogen Sensor/Separation Module Boosts Long-Term Efficiency and Revenue in Solar Power Plants
Concentrating solar power (CSP) plants generate clean energy to power our communities. Yet, one consistent challenge of CSP plants is hydrogen buildup, which can be costly to mitigate and reduces plant efficiency. NREL researcher Greg Glatzmaier has spent much of his career finding a solution.
Collegiate Competition Unveils Class of 2021 Competitors
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition announces the list of schools participating in the Class of 2021 competition.
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.
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.
September 2020
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.
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.
August 2020
Two-for-One Energy from Photons, Now Better than Ever
NREL researchers have found a promising group of materials for tomorrow's super-efficient solar cells, demonstrating how a carefully designed molecule can efficiently split the energy imparted by one photon into two excited states and keep them separated for several microseconds.
July 2020
News Release: NREL Research Points to Strategies for Recycling of Solar Panels
Due to rapid increase of PV installations over the past decade, there is expected to be an explosion of retired PV modules by 2050. NREL scientists propose research and development to advance processes for managing that waste and establishing a PV circular economy.
2020 Annual Technology Baseline Electricity Data Now Available
Released each year, electricity-generation technology cost and performance data power forward-looking analyses at NREL and beyond.
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Last Updated May 5, 2025