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 2023
March 2, 2023
Why Frankfort Set a 2023 Clean Energy Goal
In 2021, the city of Frankfort, Kentucky, set a very accelerated and ambitious clean energy goal: to supply 100% clean, renewable electricity to city government operations by the end of 2023. NREL and Frankfort used the SLOPE tool together to explore real data so the community could customize its plan for its needs.
February 2023
Feb. 28, 2023
Climate Solutions Fuel NREL's Hari Sitaraman
Carrying on his father's influence, Hari Sitaraman collaborates with fellow computational scientists to model sustainable energy solutions for the creation of biofuels.
Feb. 27, 2023
Visualizing a Cyber-Secure Future
To strengthen their cyber defenses, six critical infrastructure companies convened for a two-day exercise hosted on Mastercard's cyber range. NREL provided a visualization to make the simulation easier to view for on-the-fly decision-making.
Feb. 23, 2023
Announcing the 2023 JUMP Into STEM Final Competition Winners
Students and professors from across the country, an esteemed panel of judges, and program supporters from the U.S. Department of Energy converged in Golden, Colorado, for the 2023 JUMP into STEM Final Competition.
Feb. 23, 2023
News Release: 2023 NREL Industry Growth Forum Presenters Set To Pitch to Interested Cleantech Investors
NREL announced the list of 40 presenters for the 2023 NREL Industry Growth Forum (IGF). The selected companies represent a wide range of clean and sustainable technology startups from around the world.
Feb. 21, 2023
In Ultrathin Layers, NREL Researchers Find a Path to Better Materials
For three decades, researchers have known that the addition of a single chemical creates better-performing solar cells. But they have not understood exactly why—until now. The answer has implications that stretch well beyond solar cells.
Feb. 21, 2023
Powering Forward: NREL, Puerto Rican Universities Train Next Generation of Energy Scientists
A new NREL initiative will bring Puerto Rican university students to NREL for hands-on training in cutting-edge hydrogen research.
Feb. 21, 2023
New Study Breaks Materials Down—Literally
NREL researchers rapidly age more than 300 material specimens to learn which could survive longest in underwater marine energy technologies.
Feb. 20, 2023
NREL Study Shows Wind Energy Can Help Puerto Rico Achieve Its Clean Energy and Grid Reliability Goals
The Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act, passed in 2019, set a goal for the territory to meet its electricity needs with 100% renewable energy by 2050. To support that goal, experts from NREL evaluated Puerto Rico's wind energy costs and technical potential.
Feb. 20, 2023
Cambium Offers Forward-Looking, Publicly Available Data To Build Into Grid Planning Workflows
In the latest installment of NREL's Tell Me Something Grid series, energy systems researcher Pieter Gagnon describes the value of NREL's Cambium data sets for making decisions about the future grid.
Feb. 16, 2023
Clean Energy Innovators Book Shares the Human Side of NREL Research
NREL recently published "Clean Energy Innovators: NREL People Working to Change the World," a 202-page softbound book written by NREL's Ernie Tucker.
Feb. 16, 2023
A HERO's Journey: NREL's Wave-Powered Desalination Device Returns to the Outer Banks
In August 2022, researchers journeyed to North Carolina’s Outer Banks to deploy NREL's first wave-powered desalination for a second in-water test. The wave energy converter produced desalinated water for the first time.
Feb. 15, 2023
New Energy CLASS Prize Supports School Upgrades
Schools across the United States can benefit from infrastructure upgrades—improved ventilation and increased energy efficiency is good for students, teachers, and the school's bottom line.
Feb. 14, 2023
Top 3 Reasons Why Our Researchers Love Water Power (And You Should, Too)
This Valentine's Day, dive into all the reasons to love water power. NREL researchers share their top reasons to adore one of the oldest forms of renewable energy.
Feb. 10, 2023
National Academy of Engineering Bestows Honor on Deputy Laboratory Director Peter Green
NREL's deputy laboratory director for Science and Technology and chief research officer, Green is among 124 new members elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Feb. 9, 2023
News Release: Perovskite-Based Thermochromic Windows Reduce Energy Load and Carbon Emission in Buildings
The use of thermochromic windows in office buildings improves energy efficiency across all climate zones in the United States by modulating the temperature inside, leading to a massive savings, according to a research effort led by NREL.
Feb. 8, 2023
Innovative HOPE Graduate Workshop Is Accepting Applications for Summer Participation
Annie Greenaway and Silvana Ovaitt started out as graduate student participants in the Hands-On Photovoltaic Experience (HOPE) workshop—a program designed to provide graduate students with opportunities to learn about photovoltaics from leading researchers.
Feb. 8, 2023
Leveraging NREL All-Electric HVAC Technology, Blue Frontier Earns $20 Million Development Boost
Bolstered by technologies developed at NREL, startup company Blue Frontier earned $20 million from the Bill Gates-funded Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Feb. 8, 2023
SLOPE Platform Puts Clean Energy Job Growth Insights Into Hands of Decision Makers
Did you know there is potential for more than 1.6 million new jobs to be created across America by the year 2030 to help build the country's clean energy future? Insights such as this are now available through NREL's State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE) Platform.
Feb. 8, 2023
Toolkit Helps Tallahassee Ready for Clean Energy Implementation
The city of Tallahassee, Florida, has a long history of environmental stewardship and in 2019 set a goal to achieve 100% net clean, renewable energy by 2050. To assist in its planning efforts, the city sought insights from NREL.
Feb. 2, 2023
Q&A With Mou Paul: Artist Making Better Fuel Cells, Water Treatment Systems, and Cheese
As part of the Manufacturing Masterminds Q&A profile series, NREL senior staff scientist Mou Paul shares how she wanted to be a "great writer and a great scientist, too." Today, Paul has published fictional short stories as well as more than 40 scientific publications, won several high-profile awards, and earned more than 50 patents.
Feb. 2, 2023
NREL Patent Activity Climbed in FY 2022 as Researchers Recognize More Eureka Moments
NREL files an average of about 170 patent applications annually and releases roughly 48 open-source software titles.
Feb. 1, 2023
NREL Removes Initial Barrier to Distributed Wind Turbine Certification
By funding the cost of preliminary reviews for certification applicants, NREL is helping ensure that small- and medium-sized turbine designs can be certified for use in homes, schools, farms, and remote communities.
Feb. 1, 2023
Leader in Geospatial Data Science Named Most Promising Scientist
From geospatial modeler to role model, Anthony Lopez shines in the STEM community.
Feb. 1, 2023
Matthew Beard and Garry Rumbles Elected Fellows of AAAS
This week, NREL researchers Garry Rumbles and Matthew Beard were announced as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
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