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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July 2017
July 14, 2017
NREL to Study Geothermal Deep Direct-Use in East Texas Power Plants
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced major funding awards for six geothermal Deep Direct-Use research projects, including a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study that will explore the feasibility of geothermal heat integration at natural gas power plants in East Texas.
July 14, 2017
Announcing the Solar Energy Innovation Network
The Solar Energy Innovation Network is a new three-year program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, designed to remove soft cost (non-hardware) barriers to wide-scale integration of distributed solar photovoltaics within the U.S. electricity system.
July 12, 2017
News Release: Study Shows India Can Integrate 175 GW of Renewable Energy into Its Electricity Grid
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has confirmed the technical and economic viability of integrating 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy into India's grid by 2022.
July 11, 2017
Gulf Coast Renewable Energy Survey to Explore Potential of Offshore Wind
A new NREL survey is designed to determine if the Gulf Coast region can transform 50 years of offshore manufacturing and deployment expertise into a thriving offshore industry
July 10, 2017
Report Proves Wake Steering May Improve Wind Plant Power Output
Wake steering allows wind power plant operators to turn the front row of turbines out of the wind, which researchers theorize would decrease wake losses and increase overall plant production.
July 6, 2017
Thermal Measurements of Packed Copper Wire Enables Better Electric Motor Designs
A recently completed study by NREL and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, of the anisotropic thermal conductivity of packed copper wire for electric-drive vehicle (EDV) motor applications, provides a baseline for the assessment of new materials and winding structures.
July 5, 2017
New Class of Thermal Interface Materials Delivers Ultralow Thermal Resistance for Compact Electronics
NREL and Texas A&M University have characterized the thermal performance of new, high-performance thermal interface materials (TIMs) capable of thermal resistance one-third lower than any other state-of-the-art TIM.
July 5, 2017
NREL at 40: It All Started With a Desire to Harness the Sun
Groundbreaking work in advanced energy research sprang from lab's 1977 start as SERI.
July 5, 2017
STEM Knowledge Puts Middle Schoolers in Driver's Seat
Student teams from across Colorado enjoy a day racing model electric cars at NREL
July 3, 2017
Webinar July 20: Using Machine Learning and Data Analysis to Improve Customer Acquisition and Marketing in Residential Solar
A free webinar on Thursday, July 20, 2017, from 1–2 p.m. ET, will share exciting new research by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories, and Vanderbilt University on how data analytics, machine learning, and social science can improve marketing and customer acquisition processes for residential solar.
June 2017
June 28, 2017
NREL Staff Recognized by DOE for Outstanding Achievements at 2017 Annual Merit Review
The U.S. Department of Energy recently honored four NREL staff members for their outstanding achievements at the Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting.
June 20, 2017
PV Module Reliability Experts Gather for DuraMAT Workshop
On May 22 and 23, 2017, the Durable Module Materials Consortium convened a workshop at Stanford University to discuss photovoltaic module reliability.
June 15, 2017
News Release: NREL Announces Participants for 2017 Executive Energy Leadership Program
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has selected 22 leaders to participate in its 2017 Executive Energy Leadership program (Energy Execs).
June 14, 2017
NREL Deploys Wave and Tidal Measurement Buoys
Researchers at the National Wind Technology Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently deployed two sets of buoys off the shores of Oregon and Maine, each equipped with a variety of high-accuracy sensors that can detect wave and tidal movement.
June 8, 2017
News Release: NREL-Led Research Effort Creates New Alloys, Phase Diagram
A multi-institutional team led by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) discovered a way to create new alloys that could form the basis of next-generation semiconductors.
June 1, 2017
NREL Co-Leading New Consortium to Overcome Catalysis Challenges for Biomass Applications
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is co-leading the Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio), a new research and development consortium dedicated to identifying and overcoming catalysis challenges for biomass conversion processes.
June 1, 2017
NREL Brings Midmarket Solar PV Technical Assistance to 36 Universities and Colleges
NREL has offered no-cost technical assistance to American universities seeking to go solar. The program, in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot initiative, is designed to increase the deployment of mid-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at universities, engage stakeholders to develop deployment solutions, and empower decision makers.
June 1, 2017
NREL's III-V Team Demonstrates Record Efficiency Dual-Junction Solar Cell
NREL scientists recently demonstrated a dual-junction solar cell with a record one-sun, certified efficiency of 32.6% (±1.4%), surpassing the previous record by a full percentage.
May 2017
May 31, 2017
News Release: NREL Names Juan Torres to Lead Energy Systems Integration
Juan Torres takes over June 5 as the new Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Systems Integration at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
May 23, 2017
Popular NREL-Developed Transportation Mobile App Launches on Android Platform
A new Android version of the Alternative Fueling Station Locator App was recently released. The NREL-developed mobile application for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program joins the original iPhone version, and allows users to select an alternative fuel—including electricity, natural gas, biodiesel, ethanol (E85), propane, and hydrogen—to find the 20 closest stations within a 30-mile radius.
May 20, 2017
News Release: Teams From Stargate, Manning Options Schools Victorious in NREL's 27th Solar and Lithium-Ion Car Races
Fifty-three teams from 18 Colorado middle schools gathered at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden today for the 27th Annual Junior Solar Sprint and Lithium-Ion Battery Car Competitions.
May 17, 2017
Wind Energy's Next Generation Competes in the Collegiate Wind Competition
Last month, 10 college teams from around the country convened at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition 2017 Technical Challenge. The participating teams included:
May 16, 2017
NREL Research Takes Off for International Space Station
Students at Chatfield High School are hoping their algal research yields energy in microgravity.
May 16, 2017
News Release: NREL's Quantum Dot Research Yields Greater Control
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed new designer quantum dot systems with greater control over beneficial properties for photoelectrochemical and photovoltaic solar applications.
May 11, 2017
NREL Partners with California Valley Transportation Authority on Electric Bus Grid Integration Project
NREL is partnering with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in California on a new Advanced Transit Bus Vehicle Grid Integration (VGI) Project to develop and demonstrate VGI strategies and analytics to inform state-wide opportunities for transit agencies. The California Energy Commission is funding the $2 million project, which will span four years and includes a variety of partners.
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