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Dec. 17, 2010

NREL Employees Significantly Increase Their Community Support

For the second year in a row, employees of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) pledged significantly more to community organizations during its annual charitable giving campaign this holiday season.

Dec. 2, 2010

Scientists Generate Two Energetic Electronic States from One Photon

– Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB), have reported the first designed molecular system that produces two triplet states from an excited singlet state of a molecule, with essentially perfect efficiency.

Nov. 29, 2010

IEEE Honors DeBlasio with Steinmetz Award

Richard DeBlasio, chief engineer for renewable electricity and end use systems with the U.S. Department of the Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), will be honored by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), the world's largest technical professional association, with the 2010 Charles Proteus Steinmetz Award. The award will be presented on Dec. 5 at the IEEE Standards Association Awards Ceremony in New Brunswick, N.J.

Oct. 25, 2010

NREL Names New Deputy Lab Director for Science and Technology

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has appointed Dana C. Christensen as its new Deputy Laboratory Director for Science and Technology.

Oct. 21, 2010

NREL's Clean Energy Forum Attracts Nearly 500 Participants from Investment Community

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 23rd Industry Growth Forum this week attracted more than 500 investors, entrepreneurs, scientists and policymakers to Denver.

Sept. 28, 2010

NREL Releases BioEnergy Atlas – a Comprehensive Biomass Mapping Application

BioEnergy Atlas, a Web portal that provides access to two bioenergy analysis and mapping tools, was released today by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The visualization screening tools, BioPower and BioFuels Atlas, allow users to layer related bioenergy data onto a single map to gather information on biomass feedstocks, biopower and biofuels potential, production and distribution. BioEnergy Atlas is an improvement over current tools in that it enables more timely and accurate analysis of the potential of given sites to be successful biomass producers.

Sept. 23, 2010

NREL's 23rd Industry Growth Forum Attracts Clean Energy Investors

Thirty-four clean energy companies will present their business cases to a panel of investors and industry experts in Denver Oct. 19-21 as the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosts the 23rd NREL Industry Growth Forum.

Sept. 20, 2010

NREL and Partners to Provide up to $13.5 Million to Support Natural Gas Engine and Vehicle Development

Together, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the California Energy Commission (CEC), and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) will invest up to $13.5 million to support the development of natural gas engines and vehicles.

Sept. 10, 2010

NREL Releases Estimate of National Offshore Wind Energy Potential

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announces the release of a new report that assesses the electricity generating potential of offshore wind resources in the United States.

Sept. 1, 2010

Scientist Named an American Chemical Society Fellow

Dr. Helena Chum, research fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), was recently named a 2010 Fellow by the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Aug. 23, 2010

NREL Seeks Design Tools for Better Car Batteries

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is seeking proposals to create computer models to help build and improve electric drive vehicle (EDV) batteries.

Aug. 10, 2010

NREL Engineer Named ASHRAE Vice President

Sheila J. Hayter, a senior research supervisor for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), was recently named a vice president for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

Aug. 3, 2010

NREL Seeks Proposals for Photovoltaic Technology Incubator Program

The U. S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is seeking project proposals as part of recently announced DOE funding to accelerate commercialization of solar energy technologies

Aug. 2, 2010

Alumna of NREL's Teaching Program honored by White House

A high school physics teacher who spent three summers studying hydrogen fuel cells at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been named one of the math and science teachers of the year by a White House panel.

July 8, 2010

NREL Solar Research Garners Two Prestigious R&D 100 Awards

An etching technique that makes silicon wafers more efficient and a mammoth power generator that sets a new standard for the production of solar energy – both developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory – have been named among this year's most significant innovations by Research & Development (R&D) Magazine.

July 1, 2010

NREL Researcher Discusses Revitalized Algae Program

Dr. Philip Pienkos, Principal Research Supervisor at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), will discuss NREL's efforts to rebuild the Aquatic Species Program for algal biofuels research on July 7, from 3-5 p.m., at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus. The presentation is free, open to the public, and will also be broadcast online at http://umconnect.umn.edu/IonE.

June 21, 2010

NREL Launches Partnership with Solarmer Energy to Extend Lifetime of Plastic Solar Cells

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Solarmer Energy, Inc., have signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to collaborate on improving the lifetime of plastic solar cells, a promising new solar conversion technology. The joint research covered by the CRADA will explore the lifetime and stability of the organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices that make up the energy-harvesting layers of plastic solar cells.

June 15, 2010

NREL to Partner with University of Delaware on Offshore Wind Research

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Delaware (UD) today announced they will work to facilitate the potential establishment of a test site for commercial wind turbines off the Delaware coast.

June 11, 2010

NREL Selects Team to Begin Design and Construction for ESIF

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has signed a contract with the design build team of JE Dunn and SmithGroup to begin design and construction for the latest research building on the NREL campus. The Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) will be the nation's only facility that can conduct integrated megawatt-scale testing of all components and strategies critical to deploying renewable energy and other energy-efficiency technologies into the nation's electric grid at utility scale.

June 4, 2010

NREL To Provide Community Support through Loaned Executive

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced today that it has entered an agreement with the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver (ULMD) to provide a loaned executive to the organization to support its important mission of helping African Americans and other residents of metro Denver attain job training and educational achievement. Syl Morgan-Smith, a 29-year NREL employee who currently manages NREL's diversity outreach programs, will become ULMD's development director effective June 7.

June 1, 2010

NREL Picks 20 Leaders for National Executive Education Program

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has selected 20 national leaders to participate in its 2010 Executive Energy Leadership program, a premier leadership program focused on educating business, community and government leaders about clean energy solutions.

May 22, 2010

Students Recognized for Creativity and Skill in Energy Education Event

Fifty-four teams from 18 Colorado schools participated in today's Junior Solar Sprint competitions hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

May 20, 2010

NREL Study Shows Power Grid can Accommodate Large Increase in Wind and Solar Generation

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory today released an initial study assessing the operational impacts and economics of increased contributions from wind and solar energy producers on the power grid. The Western Wind and Solar Integration Study examines the benefits and challenges of integrating enough wind and solar energy capacity into the grid to produce 35 percent of its electricity by 2017. The study finds that this target is technically feasible and does not necessitate extensive additional infrastructure, but does require key changes to current operational practice. The results offer a first look at the issue of adding significant amount of variable renewable energy in the West and will help utilities across the region plan how to ramp up their production of renewable energy as they incorporate more wind and solar energy plants into the power grid.

May 3, 2010

NREL Highlights Utility Green Power Leaders

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) today released its annual assessment of leading utility green power programs. Under these voluntary programs, consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as wind and solar.

April 21, 2010

DOE Announces New Opportunities to Improve Commercial Building Energy Efficiency

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced support for energy-saving commercial building projects as part of an ongoing effort by DOE to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the United States. With money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, DOE's national laboratories will select and fund technical experts to provide technical guidance to commercial building owners and operators. The goal of this Commercial Building Partnerships (CBP) initiative is to increase the energy efficiency of selected new and existing buildings.

April 14, 2010

NREL Teams with French Researchers

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently signed a research collaboration agreement with Tenerrdis, located in the Rhône-Alpes Region of France. As part of the memorandum of understanding (MOU), NREL and Tenerrdis will join forces on solar energy, smart grid and battery technology research as part of ongoing efforts to increase deployment and reduce the costs of renewable energy.

March 30, 2010

NREL to Help California Tackle Solar Energy Grid Integration

The California Public Utilities Commission has tapped experts at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to help the state stimulate solar energy research and build a sustainable solar industry.

March 26, 2010

NREL Named Corporation of Year by the Rocky Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council

A minority business advocacy group has named the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory as its corporation of the year, citing NREL's contracts with minority-owned businesses and its outreach to them.

March 24, 2010

NREL and 3M Sign Agreement on Renewable Energy Research

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) today announced a series of Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) with 3M, the St. Paul, Minn.-based technology company. The collaborative effort demonstrates both 3M's and NREL's commitments to meeting the nation's clean energy needs by developing technologies that are vital to producing large-scale sources of new renewable electricity and fuel at competitive costs.

March 18, 2010

NREL Launches Strategic Energy Analysis Institute

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced today that it has established a new global institute dedicated to analyzing, speeding and smoothing the transition to sustainable energy worldwide.

March 5, 2010

Regional Test Centers Project Expands U.S. Small Wind Certification Testing Capability

On Feb. 9, 2010, The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and DOE's Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program announced the selection of four partners to establish small wind Regional Test Centers (RTCs) to conduct tests on small wind turbines to meet national and international standards. These awards provide funding, training, and technical support for each Regional Test Center to conduct testing of two small wind turbines to support the burgeoning U.S. small wind turbine market.

March 1, 2010

U.S. Virgin Islands Makes Aggressive Energy Pledge at NREL

The U.S. Virgin Islands can reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by 60% within the next 15 years by developing its abundant renewable energy resources, Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. announced at a workshop at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Feb. 23, 2010

EPA, NREL Partner to Develop Renewable Energy on Potentially Contaminated Sites

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are evaluating the feasibility of developing renewable energy production on Superfund, brownfields, and former landfill or mining sites.

Feb. 17, 2010

Microalgae Shows High-Energy Potential as a U.S. Biofuel

Dr. Al Darzins will discuss how NREL is advancing the development of microalgae as a renewable biofuel on Feb. 19 at the AAAS Annual Meeting in San Diego.

Feb. 17, 2010

NREL Seeks Leaders for National Executive Education Program

Applications are currently being accepted for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) 2010 Executive Energy Leadership program (Energy Execs).

Feb. 17, 2010

CRSP Funds 10 New Advanced Solar Research Projects, Announces First Sponsored Research Program Project with Konarka Technologies

The Center for Revolutionary Solar Photoconversion (CRSP) has funded 10 advanced solar research projects totaling $800,000 – its second round of Shared Research Program funding. Separately, CRSP also has launched its first Sponsored Research Program effort – a project between Konarka Technologies and Colorado State University (CSU).

Feb. 13, 2010

Peak to Peak Charter Wins Colorado Science Bowl

Students from Peak to Peak Charter School won the Colorado High School Science Bowl today. They will go on to the 20th National Science Bowl in Washington D.C. on April 29 – May 4, where they will compete for the national title against more than 450 students from 68 high schools.

Jan. 28, 2010

NREL Wind Researcher Named IEEE Fellow

Dr. Eduard Muljadi, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been elected fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE).

Jan. 21, 2010

Wind for Schools Program Adds Funding in Five States

Today the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and DOE's Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program announced the selection of five additional states to each receive approximately $60,000 in funding per year for three years for activities supporting Wind Powering America's Wind for Schools project. These awards will provide universities, state institutions, and non-governmental organizations funding and technical support that will be used to develop educational programs to improve understanding of wind technology and its implementation using the successful Wind for Schools model.

Jan. 20, 2010

DOE to Provide Up to $12 Million to Support Early Stage Solar Technologies

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced that the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., will invest $12 million in total funding ($10 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) to support the development of early stage solar energy technologies.

Jan. 20, 2010

NREL Study Shows 20 Percent Wind is Possible by 2024

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS). This unprecedented two-and-a-half year technical study of future high-penetration wind scenarios was designed to analyze the economic, operational, and technical implications of shifting 20 percent or more of the Eastern Interconnection's electrical load to wind energy by the year 2024.

Jan. 13, 2010

DOE Selects NREL as a New Biofuels R&D Program Leader

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory will co-lead a new national program to develop advanced biofuels that are compatible with the nation's existing hydrocarbon fuels infrastructure.

Jan. 12, 2010

Renné to Lead International Renewable Energy Society

Dr. David Renné, principal project leader for analysis at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been elected president of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES). Renné's term began at the start of the New Year and will run through Dec. 31, 2011.

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