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.
March 2023
March 9, 2023
NREL-Led Team Explores Potential of Underground Geothermal Energy Storage for All Seasons
Renewable energy storage technologies with long-duration capabilities are essential as the U.S. power grid and wider energy economy move toward decarbonization.
March 8, 2023
New Prize Aims To Accelerate Microbattery Advances and Adoption
The new Microbattery Design Prize offers a total prize pool of $1.1 million in federal funding and performance and safety testing services with DOE national laboratories.
March 7, 2023
57 Teams Advance to Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge Final
More than 300 collegiate students will visit the NREL campus in April 2023 for the Solar Decathlon Final Competition Event.
March 7, 2023
Full Steam Ahead: Unearthing the Power of Geothermal
While geothermal power plants have delivered renewable power for more than 100 years, recent research and advancements have shown that geothermal is more than a 24/7 clean power source.
March 6, 2023
News Release: Fossil Ridge Wins 33rd Colorado High School Science Bowl
Students from Fossil Ridge will represent the state of Colorado at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., to compete for the national title.
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
Clean Energy for Healthy Communities: Q&A With Dana-Marie Thomas
NREL researcher Dana-Marie Thomas believes that all communities should have access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy and that energy resilience is essential for promoting health and well-being.
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. 22, 2023
A Path for Considering Equity in Early-Stage Research
NREL researchers developed a new tool, the Justice Underpinning Science and Technology Research (JUST-R) metrics framework, that aims to help researchers think more about the social impacts of technologies from the earliest stages of research and development.
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. 17, 2023
Breaking Barriers to Home Electrification Through the EAS-E Prize
Apply for EAS-E Prize Phase 1 by March 8 to compete for $2.4 million in prizes and technical assistance to accelerate fast, easy, and scalable home electrification solutions.
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.
