News and Feature Stories

May 18, 2016

News Release: NREL Helps DOE Assess Progress “On the Path to SunShot”

Analysts and researchers at the Energy Department's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) played a significant role in a suite of studies released today by DOE’s SunShot Initiative that identify the progress made by the U.S. solar energy industry toward SunShot’s goal of achieving cost parity with traditional energy sources by 2020.

May 18, 2016

Successful Transportation Lab-Industry Collaborations Spotlighted at Summit

NREL hosted leaders from the business, government, and research communities at the EERE National Lab Impact Summit to showcase the cutting-edge innovation, bottom-line benefits, and marketplace successes that result from collaboration between national labs and industry. Transportation projects were spotlighted as prime examples of these win-win partnerships, with major automakers, component manufacturers, and fuel producers touting the expertise gained through joining forces with the labs.

May 17, 2016

DOE, DOT Announce Collaboration to Advance Smart Transportation Systems

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced their collaboration to accelerate research, demonstration, and deployment of innovative transportation and alternative fuel technologies.

May 17, 2016

Craig Turchi Receives NREL Staff Award

As a CSP expert, Craig has helped combine geothermal and other technologies with CSP, improving performance of geothermal plants.

May 17, 2016

Craig Turchi Receives NREL Staff Award

May 16, 2016

NREL Helping the Bureau of Land Management Dive Further into Hot Water

Geothermal program boosted by greater access to data.

May 14, 2016

News Release: Winners for NREL’s 26th Solar and Lithium-Ion Car Races

Fifty-seven teams from 15 Colorado middle schools gathered at Dakota Ridge High School in Littleton today for the 26th Annual Junior Solar Sprint and Lithium-Ion Battery car competitions. The day’s event drew nearly 200 students ready to compete and race the solar- and lithium-ion battery-powered vehicles they designed and built. Ken Caryl Middle School (Littleton) swept the top speed awards winning trophies for the fastest solar-powered model car and the fastest lithium-ion battery-powered model car.

May 13, 2016

News Release: NREL Distributes Wind Competitiveness Improvement Project Round Four Funding

The Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is awarding four subcontracts under the fourth round of funding through DOE’s Distributed Wind Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP).

May 11, 2016

New Partnerships Help Utilities Break Down Solar Barriers

The Solar Technical Assistance Team (STAT) Network launched its first program of technical assistance to electric utilities and announced three new efforts to provide direct support to utility partners. The activities range from providing interconnection training to conducting detailed techno-economic modeling to leveraging community solar finance tools.

May 5, 2016

News Release: Energy Department Selects NREL Scientist for Exclusive Award

Scientist Adele Tamboli of the Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been awarded additional funding as part of a select group of scientists in the early stage of their careers.

May 3, 2016

News Release: NREL Scientists and Engineers Recognized for Top Innovations as Lab Celebrates another Record-Breaking Year of Inventions

Today during its annual Innovation and Technology Transfer Awards ceremony, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recognized researchers and staff for 169 new innovations, a record-breaking number of scientific and engineering inventions in fiscal year 2015 (FY15). This is a 33 percent increase from last year.

May 3, 2016

NREL Convenes Gathering of U.S.-China Electric Vehicle Battery Experts

On April 25-26, NREL and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) hosted the 11th United States (U.S.)-China Electric Vehicle and Battery Technology Information Exchange to share insights on battery technology advancements and identify opportunities to collaborate on electric vehicle battery research. The meeting represents the 11th workshop designed to convene battery experts under the U.S.-China bilateral Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI), which focuses on activities such as joint standards development, demonstration projects, technical road mapping for new research, information exchange, and public education.

April 29, 2016

News Release: NREL’s Romero Chosen Top Young Professional in U.S.

Rachel Romero, a building systems engineer at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been named a 2016 New Faces of Engineering recipient by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

April 28, 2016

INTEGRATE Partner Demonstrates Active Network Management of Distributed Energy Resources at NREL

New York-based Smarter Grid Solutions has employed its Active Network Management system at the Energy Systems Integration Facility to manage and maintain a modeled distribution grid within normal operating limits through the autonomous management, coordination, and control of distributed energy resources in real time.

April 25, 2016

News Release: NREL Finds Nanotube Semiconductors Well-suited for PV Systems

Researchers at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) discovered single-walled carbon nanotube semiconductors could be favorable for photovoltaic systems because they can potentially convert sunlight to electricity or fuels without losing much energy.

April 22, 2016

News Release: NREL Theory Establishes a Path to High-Performance 2D Semiconductor Devices

Researchers at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have uncovered a way to overcome a principal obstacle in using two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors in electronic and optoelectronic devices.

April 21, 2016

NREL Solar Technical Assistance Team to Partner with Illinois, Nevada, and New York

Three organizations were selected to receive expertise from the Solar Technical Assistance Team (STAT) Network to address critical questions and challenges to making their states more solar friendly.

April 21, 2016

News Release: NREL Demonstrates Light-Driven Process for Enzymatic Ammonia Production

A new process using light to reduce dinitrogen into ammonia, the main ingredient in chemical fertilizers could inspire development of new, more sustainable processes that eliminate the energy-intensive, lengthier processes now commonly in use. According to researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), photochemical (photon) energy can serve as a substitute for the adenosine 5’-triphosphate (ATP)-dependent electron transfer mechanism typically used in biology to drive nitrogenase to reduce dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3).

April 14, 2016

Researcher's Love for Science Starts with a Bang and Continues to Sizzle

NREL research fellow and chief scientist Dave Ginley's passion for science began at an early age—and continues to burn.

April 13, 2016

NREL Researchers Apply New Extreme Condition Wave Response Methodology

Extreme wave-induced loads are often the key cost driver for wave energy converter (WEC) designs. Therefore, in an effort to better understand the effects that extreme wave conditions can have on wave energy applications, researchers at NREL have applied a technique called the most likely extreme response method to evaluate the maximum displacement and loads of a point absorber WEC experiencing anticipated 100-year waves.

April 6, 2016

2015 Energy Systems Integration Facility Annual Report Calls to Industry: Bring Us Your Challenges

New report highlights research and achievements for the ESIF in its second year of operation.

April 5, 2016

NWTC Engineer Wins Prestigious International Electrotechnical Commission Award

Jeroen van Dam is proving that a single person can have a global impact. A principal engineer at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, van Dam recently received the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 1906 award. This honor is bestowed on technical experts whose exceptional involvement in IEC activities has brought about significant advancements in international electrotechnical standardization. Since the award’s inception in 2004, three current NWTC experts have received it: Derek Berry, Arlinda Huskey, and Paul Veers.

April 5, 2016

Collegiate Teams on Track for May Competition

Twelve collegiate teams are gearing up for the biannual U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition 2016, to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 23–25, 2016, in conjunction with the AWEA WINDPOWER 2016 Conference & Exhibition. Since the inaugural competition in 2014, the number of competing teams has increased—and so has the diversity—hailing from colleges and universities across the United States, including Alaska and Puerto Rico.

April 4, 2016

News Release: NREL Reveals Potential for Capturing Waste Heat via Nanotubes

A finely tuned carbon nanotube thin film has the potential to act as a thermoelectric power generator that captures and uses waste heat, according to researchers at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

April 4, 2016

From Pump to Plug: Measuring the Public's Attitude about Plug-In Electric Vehicles

A new report by NREL's Mark Singer highlights what consumers really think about plug-in electric vehicles and what is needed to overcome widespread barriers to adoption.