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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October 2020
Oct. 29, 2020
Q&A with Charisa Powell: Developing Tools and an Emulation Platform To Safeguard Distributed Energy Resource Systems
As a cybersecurity researcher in NREL's Energy Security and Resilience Center, Charisa Powell spends her time developing current strategies for energy-sector organizations to be vigilant and resilient in their cybersecurity safeguards.
Oct. 27, 2020
American-Made Solar Team's Solid-State Transformer Wins Grand Prize
The NREL-composed team developed a solid state transformer that allows the independent regulation of solar, battery, load, and grid sources. The team is further working to optimize the technology's performance and cost efficiency.
Oct. 27, 2020
19 Innovative Projects Selected in $9 million Solar Desalination Prize Competition
On Oct. 19, DOE announced the 19 Innovation Contest winners of the Solar Desalination Prize, a $9 million prize competition designed to increase access to fresh water and strengthen water security in the United States.
Oct. 26, 2020
NREL Forms New Research Center, Names Jennifer Kurtz as Leader
NREL named Jennifer Kurtz director of the newly formed Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Center. The new cross-cutting center is dedicated to systems engineering for energy conversion and storage technologies such as batteries, hydrogen, geothermal, thermal, and water power.
Oct. 20, 2020
BOTTLE Consortium Launches To Change the Way We Recycle
The consortium will focus on two critical problems that are both essential to tackle the plastics pollution problem. The first challenge is how to upcycle today's waste plastics in a way that incentivizes their reclamation. The second undertakes the challenge of wholly redesigning tomorrow's plastics to be recyclable-by-design.
Oct. 20, 2020
Into the Unknown: Ben Sigrin Models How Consumers Adopt Renewables
As a University of Texas graduate student in 2011, Ben Sigrin tried to understand how people make decisions about purchasing or leasing rooftop solar panels. He quickly found that it is not black or white—and that there is no average consumer.
Oct. 19, 2020
NREL Unveils Open-Source Distributed Generation Market Demand Model
NREL's Distributed Generation Market Demand (dGen) model is publicly available for the first time. Public users can access model methodology and instructions, run the code, and receive technical support from the dGen team.
Oct. 19, 2020
Removing the Element of Surprise: Ocean Observing Prize Solicits Designs for Tomorrow's Storm Tracking Technology
NREL announces concurrent launch of DEVELOP Competition and 90-day DESIGN Contest.
Oct. 19, 2020
Wind Energy and Wildlife Share Future in the Skies and Seas
NREL researchers are collaborating with academic, conservation, regulatory, and industry partners to understand the potential effects of offshore wind installations on the environment while maintaining optimal energy production.
Oct. 19, 2020
News Release: National Laboratories Point to Sugars as a Key Factor in Ideal Feedstock for Biofuels
Popular wisdom holds that tall, fast-growing trees are best for biomass, but new research by two DOE national laboratories reveals the size of trees is only part of the equation. Of equal economic importance is the amount of sugars that can be produced from the ligno-cellulosic biomass and converted into fuels.
Oct. 16, 2020
News Release: Colorful Perovskites: NREL Advances Thermochromic Window Technologies
Scientists at NREL report a breakthrough in developing a next-generation thermochromic window that not only reduces the need for air conditioning but simultaneously generates electricity.
Oct. 15, 2020
NREL Research Highlighted at Largest Geothermal Meeting
NREL researches, develops, and demonstrates technologies to advance the use of geothermal energy as a clean, renewable, domestic power source for the United States. This research will be showcased during the Geothermal Resources Council 2020 Annual Meeting and Expo, October 18–23, 2020.
Oct. 15, 2020
Meet the 2021 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition Contenders
Get to know tomorrow’s blue economy trailblazers: the recently announced 2021 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition teams.
Oct. 15, 2020
NREL Will Join Effort To Bridge Gaps in Island Energy Resilience
As a partner in a new U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored initiative, NREL aims to bridge energy resiliency gaps by providing resources and access to on-the-ground support for remote and islanded communities seeking to transform their energy systems and lower their vulnerability.
Oct. 12, 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.
Oct. 12, 2020
NREL Computational Science Center Welcomes Leading Princeton Researcher Dr. Michael Mueller
NREL and Princeton University recently formalized the first joint appointment under a new master agreement between the two institutions, under which NREL's experts in computational science and combustion simulation will work closely with Dr. Michael Mueller from Princeton.
Oct. 12, 2020
NREL-Hosted Event Supports Industry Development of Megawatt Charging System Connectors
On Sept. 23-24, 2020, NREL joined forces with the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) to host a high-power electric vehicle charging connector test event.
Oct. 8, 2020
NREL To Lead New Lab Consortium To Enable Low-Cost Electrolyzers for Hydrogen Production
The H2NEW consortium will conduct R&D to enable large-scale manufacturing of affordable electrolyzers that use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Oct. 8, 2020
Data Show Big Gains for Offshore Wind
Global installed offshore wind capacity reached 27,064 MW in 2019—a 19% increase from the previous year. This and other trends can be found in the "2019 Offshore Wind Technology Data Update," released by NREL on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies Office.
Oct. 8, 2020
NREL Celebrates a Year of Innovation on National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day
October 8—10/08—is National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day, a date chosen to represent the atomic weight of hydrogen (1.008). The U.S. Senate officially designated Oct. 8, 2020, as National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day with the passage of Senate Resolution 720, and Colorado's governor issued a proclamation to proclaim the date as Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day in Colorado.
Oct. 8, 2020
Study Shows Abundant Opportunities for Hydrogen in a Future Integrated Energy System
H2@Scale Initiative finds achievable 2X to 4X U.S. hydrogen market growth.
Oct. 6, 2020
JUMP into STEM: Students Building a Better Future Starts NOW
Do not delay! The deadline for submissions to the JUMP into STEM competition is quickly approaching. Make sure your submission is in before Nov. 13, 2020.
Oct. 6, 2020
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.
Oct. 5, 2020
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.
Oct. 2, 2020
Updated OpenOA Software Improves Energy Production Predictions To Reduce Investment Risk
A new version of OpenOA has been released, which includes features designed to help wind plant operators identify and analyze the different factors that drive wind plant performance.
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