News Releases

Access news releases about the laboratory and renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

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Dec. 27, 2018

News Release: NREL Details Great Potential for Floating PV Systems

While the United States was the first to demonstrate floating PV panels--with the first installation occurring 10 years ago on pontoons on an irrigation pond in Napa Valley, California--the idea has not received widespread national acceptance.

Dec. 13, 2018

News Release: Upwind Wind Plants Can Reduce Flow to Downwind Neighbors

New National Science Foundation and Department of Energy-funded research highlights a previously unexplored consequence of the global proliferation of wind energy facilities: a wake effect from upwind facilities that can reduce the energy production of their downwind neighbors.

Nov. 27, 2018

News Release: Algae Testbed Experiment Yields Data Useful for Future Projects

Researchers established identical raceway-style ponds in five outdoor locations to cultivate and harvest three strains of algae during the four seasons.

Nov. 19, 2018

News Release: R&D Magazine Honors Duo of NREL Innovations

Given annually by R&D Magazine, the awards honor the 100 most innovative technologies of the past year and were chosen by an independent panel of judges.

Nov. 14, 2018

News Release: NREL Identifies Where New Solar Technologies Can Be Flexible

Opportunity exists for thin-film photovoltaic and emerging technologies notable for being lightweight and flexible, according to scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Oct. 30, 2018

News Release: NREL, Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) Announce New Participants

As part of an ongoing partnership designed to accelerate transfer of energy efficient technologies' to market, the Wells Fargo Foundation and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory added five new clean-tech startups to the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) program.

Oct. 23, 2018

News Release: NREL to Lead $5 Million Initiative to Reduce Energy Use and Increase Energy Efficiency of Major Transportation Hub

Working with DFW and the surrounding region, NREL and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will identify technology approaches that maximize mobility energy productivity of passenger and freight options in this major transportation hub.

July 2, 2018

News Release: Leading the Charge to Build a New Energy Future, NREL's Sheila Hayter Named President of ASHRAE

Sheila Hayter, group manager with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), was installed last week as president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) during the industry group's annual conference in Houston, Texas.

June 27, 2018

News Release: Researchers Discover New Enzyme Paradigm for Critical Reaction in Converting Lignin to Useful Products

An international research team, including scientists from NREL, has discovered and characterized a new family of cytochrome P450 enzymes that is critical to improving the conversion of lignin--one of the main components of plants--into valuable products such as nylon, plastics, and chemicals.

June 19, 2018

News Release: Novel Genetic Method Improves Efficiency of Enzyme

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Georgia developed a new genetic engineering technique to dramatically improve an enzyme's ability to break down biomass.

June 18, 2018

News Release: NREL Announces Participants for 2018 Executive Energy Leadership Program

The program provides non-technical business, governmental, and community leaders throughout the country an opportunity to learn about advanced energy technologies, analytical tools, and financing to guide their organizations and communities in energy-related decisions and planning.

May 29, 2018

News Release: NREL Researchers Measure Impact of Eclipse on Electrical Grid

A recent analysis from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that, during last summer's total eclipse, solar energy output in the West dropped by about 5.9 gigawatts (GW).

May 10, 2018

News Release: NREL Names Four Scientists Senior Research Fellows

Mowafak Al-Jassim, Andy Walker, Robert McCormick, and Gregg Beckham were chosen for their significant contributions to NREL and the larger scientific community.

May 9, 2018

News Release: NREL's Gregg Beckham Wins Prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Award

Gregg Beckham, a senior research fellow and group leader at NREL, was awarded the prize for the development of hybrid biological-catalytic and recycling processes to convert biomass and waste plastics to useful chemicals and high-value materials.

May 8, 2018

News Release: NREL Releases Major Update to Wind Energy Dataset

A massive amount of wind data was recently made accessible online, greatly expanding the amount of information available on wind flow across the continental United States.

May 2, 2018

News Release: NREL Validates Go Electric's Technology As Part of Wells Fargo IN2 Program

The Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has completed technology validation testing for Go Electric Inc. as part of the NREL-administered Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) program.

April 13, 2018

News Release: Research Team Engineers a Better Plastic-Degrading Enzyme

A breakthrough in enzyme research led by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the United Kingdom's University of Portsmouth has led to an improved variant of an enzyme that can breakdown ubiquitous plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET.

April 10, 2018

News Release: New Solar PV Tool Accurately Calculates Degradation Rates, Saving Money and Guiding Business Decisions

A new software package developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and industry partners SunPower and kWh Analytics is making the measurement of PV system expected lifetime performance more reliable, consistent, and accurate.

April 5, 2018

News Release: Perovskite Technology is Scalable, But Questions Remain about the Best Methods

As perovskite solar cells set efficiency records and the nascent technology becomes more stable, another major challenge remains: the issue of scalability, according to researchers at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

April 3, 2018

News Release: NREL Opens Large Database of Inorganic Thin-Film Materials

An extensive experimental database of inorganic thin-film materials that organizes a decade's worth of research at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is now publicly available.

April 2, 2018

News Release: NREL Research Overcomes Major Technical Obstacles in Magnesium-Metal Batteries

Scientists at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have discovered a new approach for developing a rechargeable non-aqueous magnesium-metal battery.

March 22, 2018

News Release: NREL Discovers Enzyme Domains that Dramatically Improve Performance

By studying and comparing the workhorse cellulose-degrading enzymes of two fungi, researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have pinpointed regions on these enzymes that can be targeted via genetic engineering to help break down cellulose faster.

March 7, 2018

News Release: NREL Research Fellow Inducted Into Engineering Academy

Mark O'Malley, a senior research fellow at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been elected as a foreign member to the National Academy of Engineering. Only 16 foreign members were chosen this year.

March 3, 2018

News Release: Fort Collins High School Wins 28th Colorado High School Science Bowl

Students from northern Colorado dominated this year's Colorado High School Science Bowl with Fort Collins High School emerging victorious over second-place finisher Fairview High School (Boulder).

Feb. 26, 2018

News Release: NREL's Industry Growth Forum and Emerging Markets Day Connect Advanced Energy Startups and Investors

Advanced energy innovation will be on display May 2- 4 in Denver, Colorado, when 30 small businesses present their business cases to a panel of investors and industry experts as the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosts its annual Industry Growth Forum (IGF).

Feb. 13, 2018

News Release: NREL Scientists Model Methane-Eating Bacteria

A research team including scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory explored the possibilities provided by the natural world by researching how the bacteria Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum 20ZR uses methane, an abundant greenhouse gas, and converts it to valuable product precursors.

Feb. 6, 2018

News Release: NREL Taps Young to Oversee Geothermal Energy Program

In her new role, Young will work closely with NREL management to establish the lab's geothermal energy portfolio, including research and development geared toward advancing the use of geothermal energy as a renewable power source.

Jan. 31, 2018

News Release: 2016 Data Book Shows Continued Growth of Renewable Electricity

The 2016 Renewable Energy Data Book shows that U.S. renewable electricity grew to 18.3 percent of total installed capacity and 15.6 percent of total electricity generation in 2016.

Jan. 30, 2018

News Release: NREL Scientists Demonstrate Remarkable Stability in Perovskite Solar Cells

Researchers at NREL created an environmentally stable, high-efficiency perovskite solar cell, bringing the emerging technology a step closer to commercial deployment.

Jan. 29, 2018

News Release: NREL Seeks Participants for 2018 Executive Energy Leadership Program

Leaders in the private sector, communities, non-profits, and government are eligible to participate in the program.

Jan. 23, 2018

News Release: NREL Research Determines Integration of Plug-in Electric Vehicles Should Play a Big Role in Future Electric System Planning

An influx of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) charging without coordination could prove challenging to the nation’s electric grid, according to research conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Jan. 16, 2018

News Release: NREL, University of Texas Scientists Determine Critical Factor for Improving Performance and Durability of Perovskite Solar Cells

A microscopic analysis of perovskite solar cells reveals new insight into how the devices degrade--information necessary for moving the technology closer to commercialization.

Jan. 9, 2018

News Release: Multi-model Effort Highlights Progress, Future Needs in Renewable Energy Modeling

Four agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), hosted two workshops that led to a new report where the teams identified areas of importance for modeling variable renewable energy, performed experiments to determine key assumptions, and compiled a set of recommendations for future research in this area.

Jan. 8, 2018

News Release: NREL Launches Electrification Futures Study Series

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is spearheading the Electrification Futures Study, a research collaboration to explore the impacts of widespread electrification in all U.S. economic sectors--commercial and residential buildings, transportation, and industry.

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