News and Feature Stories
The following news stories take an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how NREL is advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
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March 2020
March 5, 2020
News Release: NREL Research Boosts Stability of Perovskites, Helps Silicon Solar Cells
A change in chemical composition enabled scientists to boost the longevity and efficiency of a perovskite solar cell developed at NREL. The new formula enabled the solar cell to resist a stability problem that has so far thwarted the commercialization of perovskites.
March 3, 2020
Taking the Plunge: Inaugural MECC Competitors Dive In
To unlock the power of the ocean and the burgeoning field of marine energy, the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office launched the first-ever Marine Energy Collegiate Competition. Fifteen teams, comprising undergraduate and graduate students, answered the call to participate, putting their heads together to develop innovative marine energy solutions to power the Blue Economy.
March 3, 2020
News Release: NREL Industry Growth Forum Announces 2020 Presenting Start-Ups
More than 500 cleantech investors, entrepreneurs, and industry representatives are expected to attend this year's Industry Growth Forum, April 29-30, in Denver, Colorado. Among them will be 40 of the most promising start-up companies from the United States and countries around the world.
March 2, 2020
Latest Grid Data Book Reveals Key Trends in Renewable Integration
Biennial data compilation identifies changes in markets and power system operations as renewables are integrated onto the grid.
March 2, 2020
Bifacial Solar Advances with the Times—and the Sun
Traditional solar modules convert light to electricity using photovoltaic cells on the top side of the panels. Now, NREL researchers are shining a light on what lies beneath. Data from June through November 2019 revealed up to a 9% gain in energy production using bifacial panels compared with their one-sided cousins.
February 2020
Feb. 28, 2020
Study Sheds Light on New IEEE Standard 1547-2018 Categories, Showing Power System Impact
A recent report from NREL has provided the first demonstration of how the revised standard helps improve stability of the overall power system.
Feb. 27, 2020
NREL Issues Request for Proposals To Enhance Distributed Wind
At a glance, the towns of Norman, Oklahoma, and Potsdam, New York, have little in common. You can say the same about Lakewood, Colorado, and Grayson, Georgia. In fact, all of these towns have one thing in common: a small business that applied for, and won funding from, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) for distributed wind.
Feb. 26, 2020
REopt Lite Goes Open Source
The REopt Lite web tool evaluates the economic viability of grid-connected photovoltaics, wind, and battery storage at a site. REopt Lite Open Source lets programmers, software developers, and researchers access the code behind the web tool.
Feb. 21, 2020
Q&A with Eliza Hotchkiss: Refining Resilience in Energy Systems
As new group manager for NREL's Energy Security and Resilience Center, Eliza Hotchkiss is developing resilience strategies for community, state, and federal agencies and organizations.
Feb. 20, 2020
Sustainably Converting Waste CO₂ into Hydrocarbon Fuels and Products
Researchers at NREL and the University of Southern California demonstrated a new process to synthesize metal carbide nanoparticles that may be used to convert waste carbon dioxide into hydrocarbon fuels or precursors to chemical products.
Feb. 19, 2020
Inaugural Edition of Industrial Data Book Identifies Trends in How Industry Uses Energy
New Data Compilation Includes Information on Industrial Energy Prices and Economic Activity for 2016-2018.
Feb. 19, 2020
Life in the FAST Lane: A Pumped-Storage Prize Progress Report
What does it take to fast-track pumped-storage hydropower projects? Four hard-working teams of innovators may hold the answer.
Feb. 19, 2020
News Release: Researchers Improve Safety of Lead-Based Perovskite Solar Cells
Researchers at NREL and Northern Illinois University have developed a technique to sequester the lead used to make perovskite solar cells, a highly efficient emerging photovoltaic technology.
Feb. 18, 2020
Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize Innovators Identifying Industry Partners
Across the country, teams of entrepreneurs are competing to build an innovative supply chain that addresses the collection, separating and sorting, safe storage and transportation, and reverse logistics of recycling lithium-ion batteries.
Feb. 18, 2020
Industry Innovators Take on Wave-Powered Desalination Challenge through DOE Prize Competition
The Waves to Water Prize competition invites participants to develop wave-powered desalination systems that can be deployed in disaster-relief scenarios and remote coastal locations to provide potable drinking water. DOE selected 20 teams as winners of the CONCEPT Stage of the prize.
Feb. 18, 2020
Latest Data Book Shows U.S. Renewable Capacity Surpassed 20% for First Time in 2018
New edition also shows continued growth in U.S. installed wind and solar photovoltaic capacity, energy storage, and electric vehicle sales.
Feb. 17, 2020
Fuels Researcher Gina Fioroni Runs Past Lab—and Trail—Obstacles
NREL Senior Scientist Gina Fioroni displays the same tenacity in her research on fuel as in her pursuit of ultrarunning events.
Feb. 12, 2020
New Reference Turbine Gives Offshore Wind an Upward Draft
NREL recently released the International Energy Agency 15-megawatt reference turbine, or IEA 15-MW for short, which features options for both fixed-bottom turbines and those with floating substructures. This open-source model can accommodate multiple software tools and will provide industry, researchers, and academics a public-domain tool for designing next-generation offshore wind turbines.
Feb. 6, 2020
HOPE Program Offers Students Unparalleled Access to World's Leading Solar Researchers
The Hands-On Photovoltaic Experience is aimed at providing in-depth training and expertise on the latest in solar technology and advancements, with the benefit of individualized research training and access in a small-group setting.
Feb. 6, 2020
NREL To Help New York Bight Fishing Communities and Offshore Wind Farms Share the Seas
NREL was recently selected by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for a two-year, $500,000 collaboration with the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) and Global Marine Group to develop solutions to address commercial fishing access in U.S. offshore wind farms.
Feb. 5, 2020
New Guidebook Informs Next Generation of Grid Integration Studies
Produced through the USAID-NREL Partnership, a new guidebook synthesizes a decade of lessons learned and best practices for conducting high-quality grid integration studies.
Feb. 4, 2020
Excellence in X-Ray Research Earns NREL Scientist Prestigious Award
Energy storage researcher Donal Finegan, a staff scientist at NREL, recently received the 2020 Young Scientist Award for his groundbreaking work at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF).
Feb. 3, 2020
Pioneer in Zero Energy Buildings Research Receives ASHRAE's Highest Honor
The impact of NREL Principal Engineer Paul Torcellini's research can be seen in hundreds of commercial buildings worldwide. After three decades of dedication to energy-efficient buildings research, Torcellini has earned the distinction of ASHRAE Fellow.
January 2020
Jan. 31, 2020
NREL Study Assesses the Energy Equivalence of Transportation Safety at Intersections
NREL researchers developed a framework for estimating the energy equivalence of transportation safety at intersections. The new framework evaluates the full economic costs of safety and their gross domestic product-weighted energy equivalences. Initial study results underscore the value of collision-avoidance technologies for benefits beyond safety.
Jan. 30, 2020
NREL Partnership Strengthens Integration of Analytics and Building Design
Through a partnership with NREL, Autodesk has added an integrated building-design-to-energy-analysis workflow to Revit, referred to as "BIM-to-BEM." By closely coupling building information modeling (BIM) with building energy modeling (BEM), Revit makes it easy for buildings professionals to evaluate the impacts of their design choices on energy use.
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