Program News
Access news stories from NREL's research programs.
Dec. 28, 2021
DOE is accelerating emerging technologies from lab to market through its Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). With an overarching goal to increase the number of commercialized energy technologies developed at national laboratories, the TCF Program awarded funding to support two NREL Buildings projects.
Dec. 27, 2021
NREL researcher Sakshi Mishra was named to the North America 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 Energy List, part of an annual recognition of groups of 30 young professionals in areas such as health care, media, and science.
Dec. 20, 2021
From advancing wind energy science, technologies, and materials to demonstrating thought leadership on a worldwide scale, NREL's Wind Energy Program played a powerful role in maximizing the impact of wind energy during 2021.
Dec. 17, 2021
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition announced that 35 teams from 39 schools are advancing as finalists in the Class of 2021–2022 program.
Dec. 17, 2021
Scientists at NREL have experimentally synthesized a nitride perovskite that previously only existed in theory and measured its properties in collaboration with researchers at the Colorado School of Mines.
Dec. 16, 2021
The federal government owns or manages hundreds of thousands of federal buildings, and agencies have a vested interest in ensuring their buildings and energy and water infrastructure assets can withstand and recover from deliberate attacks, accidents, or naturally occurring hazards or incidents. With a massive portfolio of diverse assets, federal agencies are calling on resilience planning experts at NREL.
Dec. 16, 2021
NREL fuel and vehicle regulations expert Ted Sears has been tasked by the White House's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to lead efforts to convert the federal fleet to zero-emission vehicles.
Dec. 15, 2021
A recent breakthrough by NREL and the University of Ulm advances the way researchers measure and analyze battery materials using an artificially generated representative architecture of a Li-ion electrode particle in sub-particle grain detail.
Dec. 13, 2021
U.S. data storage technologies, like hard-disk drives (HDDs), contain imported rare-Earth elements in their magnets. As the demand for data storage increases, the supply of critical materials will become more limited.
Dec. 13, 2021
NREL joins the 16 other U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories and many publishers, journals, and other organizations in scientific publishing in a partnership to support name-change requests from researchers on past published papers.
Dec. 13, 2021
Join the NREL-administered Geothermal Collegiate Competition to win $50,000 in cash prizes this spring.
Dec. 10, 2021
The nationwide building science student competition awards teams addressing energy and environmental justice in a competitive field.
Dec. 9, 2021
NREL scientists are working on harnessing cyanobacteria to convert growing concentrations of CO₂ in Earth's atmosphere into the same chemicals currently made from petroleum and natural gas—a step toward decarbonizing the chemical industry. With partner Nzyme2HC, they are exploring whether astronauts can use NREL's patented ethylene-emitting cyanobacteria to manufacture building materials and produce oxygen on Mars.
Dec. 9, 2021
New research finds referral are pivotal to solar adoption in underserved California communities, opening the door to equity in the energy transition.
Dec. 8, 2021
To discover materials for better batteries, researchers must wade through a vast field of candidates. New research demonstrates a machine learning technique that could more quickly surface ones with the most desirable properties.
Dec. 8, 2021
A paper co-authored by NREL researchers and others studies the success of the Energy Materials Network Data Hub—a secure, customizable scientific data sharing platform.
Dec. 7, 2021
DOE selected 40 semifinalists from 16 states to advance to the next contest in the American-Made Solar Prize Round 5, a competition designed to spark U.S. solar energy innovation. Round 5 has two tracks—one for hardware and another for software—allowing even more innovators and entrepreneurs to compete.
Dec. 7, 2021
NREL’s solar permitting tool “busts through bureaucracy” to fast-track residential solar projects and expands into energy storage permitting.
Dec. 7, 2021
Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have laid out a cost-effective five-point plan to improve the reliability of solar panels in light of extreme weather, rapid innovation, and extremely competitive prices.
Dec. 7, 2021
After two decades working in finance, NREL analyst Riccardo Bracho pivoted to an energy career. Today he leads analysis of international power sector transformations.
Dec. 2, 2021
Driven by the growing popularity of shared micromobility—which typically involves the use of electric bicycles and scooters as well as regular bicycles—a research team from NREL is exploring the energy impacts of such travel modes versus the conventional modes they may replace.
Dec. 2, 2021
Eric Lockhart leads the Integrated Decision Support (IDS) group at NREL, in addition to being the principal investigator for the Solar Energy Innovation Network (SEIN), a project focused on novel applications of solar and storage in domestic settings.
Dec. 1, 2021
Kestrel will take flight and bring the U.S. closer to a clean energy future.
Dec. 1, 2021
Every day, game-changing technologies are introduced that could more easily transition the world to a clean energy future. However, few entrepreneurs have the resources to develop promising new technologies into successful cleantech startups.
Nov. 30, 2021
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's 2021 Standard Scenarios Outlook is now available. The Standard Scenarios are a suite of annually released future scenarios for U.S. power sector evolution through 2050.
Nov. 29, 2021
In the first Q&A profile in a new series, Manufacturing Masterminds, Birdie Carpenter shares how she is working to reduce industrial energy use, carbon emissions, plastic waste, and more.
Nov. 29, 2021
Researchers at NREL and affiliated institutions across the country have bolstered the efficiency of perovskite solar cells by as much as 16%.
Nov. 22, 2021
Scientists at NREL are helping pave the way for the next generation of data-driven, AI-enabled material science. In a new journal article, the authors describe a decade-long effort to build a modern data ecosystem to support close interaction between computational sciences and materials sciences.
Nov. 19, 2021
Commercial buildings generate 16% of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.
Nov. 16, 2021
Eight researchers affiliated with NREL are on this year's list of Highly Cited Researchers, with many familiar names from the 2020 list. Clarivate PLC, the London-based company that released the list on Nov. 16, selected 6,602 researchers around the world based on the number of highly cited papers they produced between January 2010 and December 2020.
Nov. 15, 2021
Since joining NREL in 2012, Janna Martinek has developed a reputation across the laboratory as a leader in numerical modeling and related engineering. She is also known as someone who can handle any problem that is thrown her way—no matter how complex.
Nov. 15, 2021
USAID and three Department of Energy national laboratories partner to advance clean and sustainable energy in South Asia.
Nov. 12, 2021
NREL has released its annual cost breakdown of installed solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage systems. U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmark: Q1 2021 details installed costs for PV systems as of the first quarter of 2021.
Nov. 10, 2021
NREL's partner, the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis, is accelerating research capabilities for sustainable communities through the Catalyzers program.
Nov. 10, 2021
On Sept. 16, DOE announced the winners of the fourth round of the Solar Prize. AeroShield Materials from Boston, Massachusetts, and the r&d lab from Petaluma, California, each received $500,000 to continue developing and commercializing their products and an additional $75,000 in vouchers redeemable for technical support.
Nov. 9, 2021
Phase 2 finalists of the Water Resource Recovery Prize receive honorable mention for proposing innovative solutions to lower the cost of water treatment by extracting valuable resources.
Nov. 8, 2021
A new thought piece by NREL analysts describes the challenges of defining long-duration energy storage to reflect both duration and application.
Nov. 5, 2021
Like many others, Luigi Gentile Polese was drawn to NREL by its mission and values. With a passion for energy and the environment, this innovator did not see an ambiguous job posting as a deterrent.
Nov. 1, 2021
A new NREL and Argonne National Laboratory tool named the Cybersecurity Value-at-Risk Framework provides hydropower operators complete and customized assessments of their cybersecurity risks and demonstrates how different investments will help improve overall resilience.
Nov. 1, 2021
The Basalt Vista community, nestled high in the mountains in Basalt, Colorado, is about to get a whole lot smarter in the pursuit of energy efficiency and renewable energy integration.
Nov. 1, 2021
Wind turbine blades might look elegant, even ballet-like, as they glide through the air. But, much like ballet, achieving that simple grace requires complex, advanced engineering. NREL researchers are revolutionizing wind turbine blade manufacturing by combining recyclable thermoplastics and additive manufacturing.
Oct. 29, 2021
NREL's Cybersecurity Program Director Jon White shares his own path into the field and the laboratory's strategy for deploying technologies that stay one step ahead of adversaries.
Oct. 29, 2021
A national laboratories report, titled "An Examination of the Hydropower Licensing and Federal Authorization Process," identifies what factors can add time, cost, or risk when earning a hydropower license so decisionmakers can streamline the process and create carbon-free energy.
Oct. 28, 2021
In a breakthrough for the autonomous energy systems research program, NREL has demonstrated new methods for optimizing more than 1 million distributed energy resources with autonomous controls. The updated approach cuts the computation time by more than tenfold, enabling real-time distribution system optimization for economics and stability in high-renewable power systems.
Oct. 28, 2021
New prize seeks to accelerate the development of solar forecasting capabilities.
Oct. 28, 2021
Scientists at NREL and Northern Illinois University have successfully prevented lead from escaping damaged perovskite solar cells. The research effort is their latest work in addressing concerns about potential lead toxicity.
Oct. 27, 2021
A favorite sweater, an open window, or a simple press of a button are all it takes for some of us to enjoy the perfect temperature in our homes. But many low-income households are battling their thermostat and struggling with their electric bill—paying a high price for energy-inefficient homes they have no control over.
Oct. 27, 2021
Electric vehicles have surged in popularity during recent years as car companies continue to bring new models to market. Reaping the benefits relies on having somewhere to charge that is convenient, affordable, and reliable. A new NREL report sheds light on the potential for residential charging access.
Oct. 27, 2021
A new study from NREL compares load profiles from potential EV charging stations against those of big-box retail grocery stores to assess how the electricity demands of specific sites may change by adding EV charging.
Oct. 26, 2021
NREL has shown that relatively simple controls can enable power grids to operate with 100% wind, solar, and storage, without the need for dedicated device-to-device communications.
Oct. 22, 2021
NREL researchers are not only skilled at making photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules. They are also world-class destroyers of PV modules. The goal is to discover and understand how these modules might degrade when installed outside for many decades. This helps other NREL researchers and engineers in the PV industry design better, longer-lasting modules.
Oct. 22, 2021
A true living laboratory, NREL added a small but noticeable splash of color to its cafeteria building. Five quantum dot windows were installed this summer as a demonstration project evaluating innovative windows technologies, in collaboration with UbiQD and the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator program.
Oct. 20, 2021
As states reach higher toward 100% renewable operation, energy storage will be key to enabling a more variable power supply. But no single technology will be a silver bullet for all our energy storage needs.
Oct. 20, 2021
In theory, over 1 billion tons of biomass could be sustainably collected and processed into biofuels by 2030 in the United States, according to U.S. Department of Energy analysis.
Oct. 20, 2021
Oct. 28 teaming webinar offers potential partners the opportunity to learn about winning concepts and network with quarterfinalists.
Oct. 20, 2021
A more sustainable farming sector, lower industrial emissions, more efficient biochemical production—NREL scientists and industry partners expect sizable benefits from three new projects to commercialize bioinsecticides, enzymatic carbon dioxide (CO2) utilization, and cell-free biocatalysis.
Oct. 20, 2021
On October 20, NREL will join organizations and individuals nationwide in celebrating the ninth annual Bioenergy Day. The day commemorates advancements in the use of biomass to produce energy from sustainable resources such as farm, forestry, and other plant waste.
Oct. 19, 2021
As manager of the Mobility Infrastructure and Impacts Analysis (MIIA) group, NREL's Maggie Mann will be the first to tell you that electric vehicles (EVs) alone are not a perfect solution to achieve sustainability within the transportation industry.
Oct. 19, 2021
NREL is partnering with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) to design, build, and evaluate energy use models to increase energy efficiency in broiler houses.
Oct. 19, 2021
New market report shows which states are leading growth in community solar.
Oct. 18, 2021
A novel multi-model analysis led by NREL explores the benefits and costs of uniting two of the world’s largest power systems.
Oct. 15, 2021
Buildings are used every day by almost all members of U.S. society, which is why diversity in building science professionals is critical to better understanding the needs of all building occupants.
Oct. 15, 2021
From Iceland to Alaska to France, NREL geoscientist Amanda Kolker has studied geothermal energy all around the world. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in geology, Kolker went to study volcano and glacier interactions in Iceland but was quickly distracted by Iceland's vast geothermal energy systems.
Oct. 13, 2021
To help combat the plastic waste problem, NREL and its collaborators have developed a method to upcycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into performance-advantaged nylon, a precursor to other valuable products such as waterproof clothing, stick-free cookware coatings, and heat-resistant machine parts.
Oct. 13, 2021
Researchers at NREL are collaborating with leading industry and research partners on a new modeling framework that can be used to analyze and plan net-zero-emission and hybrid freight train systems: Advanced Locomotive Technology and Rail Infrastructure Optimization System (ALTRIOS) software.
Oct. 11, 2021
Scientists at NREL developed a fully integrated process to produce a promising precursor for diesel and jet fuel from lignocellulosic biomass, and for less expense than the selling price of the same material from petroleum.
Oct. 8, 2021
A poppy seed from your morning bagel is about 1,000 times larger than a bacterial cell. That small cell is about 1,000 times larger than the chemical structures NREL researchers are creating and studying to transform how we use energy.
Oct. 8, 2021
Ten teams competing in the CABLE Conductor Manufacturing Prize were selected as Stage 1 winners. Competitors are helping re-wire the future of electricity—developing concepts for affordable and manufacturable conductivity-enhanced, next-generation materials.
Oct. 8, 2021
October 8—10/08—is Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day! This year NREL is celebrating this symbolic date, chosen to represent the atomic weight of hydrogen (1.008), by highlighting innovative hydrogen and fuel cell research across the laboratory.
Oct. 6, 2021
A new podcast produced by NREL in partnership with the Clean Cities Coalition Network presents a fresh way to highlight how we can bring more affordable, accessible, and sustainable transportation to the streets today, while exploring strategies to improve the mobility options of tomorrow.
Oct. 6, 2021
New study by the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis finds industrial manufacturing could profitably help stabilize the grid with large-scale batteries.
Oct. 6, 2021
An exciting new initiative has been created by DOE and NREL to catalyze the development of cybersecurity solutions for the nation's clean energy grid of the future. The Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator brings together federal infrastructure and expertise, asset owners in the energy sector, and technology innovators in a way that has not yet been done before.
Oct. 1, 2021
An NREL-led project is working on a new type of grid device that could segment sections of the grid, providing advanced control for flexibility and resilience for our power systems.
Oct. 1, 2021
The Composites Manufacturing Education and Technology Facility can help partners build better materials for wind and marine energy, transportation, and energy-efficient buildings.
Sept. 30, 2021
To help achieve ambitious goals to address climate change, the DOE has launched a new $2.5 million Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize to fund organizations working with disadvantaged communities in clean energy as well as foster connections between DOE and innovators the agency has yet to reach to pave the way to an inclusive, equitable, and just energy future.
Sept. 29, 2021
The infrastructure that defines the U.S. electric grid is based largely on pre-digital technologies and is now faced with increasingly difficult load and power quality demands. New tools are required to create a flexible and modern electric grid and the next generation of renewable energy professionals are here to help.
Sept. 29, 2021
In March 2022, the Collegiate Wind Competition organizers will implement a new application process and timeline for the 2023 competition. This new process is intended to broaden the reach and impact of the CWC.
Sept. 29, 2021
This is the first in series of articles profiling NREL researchers whose work is helping build a circular economy to extend the lifespan of materials, components, and products, while reducing waste, conserving resources, and boosting efficiency. NREL Senior Research Fellow Bob Allen shared his thoughts on how innovations in upcycling sustainable polymers and composites can contribute to the circular economy.
Sept. 27, 2021
The NREL star thought he had no potential growing up. Today, he is leading research on how land use constraints factor into realizing wind energy's full potential.
Sept. 22, 2021
NREL researchers are at the forefront of silicon anode research, using cutting-edge facilities to explore the foundational science of organic electrolytes with silicon interfaces. However, recent findings highlight the importance of continued studies on the lifetime of silicon-based cells.
Sept. 21, 2021
A new report from NREL seeks to pinpoint the conditions for when battery electric or fuel cell electric commercial trucks offer economic advantages over traditional diesel-fueled trucks by examining a key metric—the total cost of ownership (TCO).
Sept. 17, 2021
NREL is partnering with ocean experts in North Carolina and Puerto Rico to collect detailed data on surface waves in the Atlantic Ocean.
Sept. 16, 2021
The Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis studied sustainable energy generation and consumption in Colorado farms and agricultural production facilities.
Sept. 15, 2021
When events like tropical storms or other unforeseen crises disrupt a state's primary supply of gasoline and diesel, emergency fleet efforts can become hampered as access to fuel is restricted or completely unavailable.
Sept. 15, 2021
By 2050, there could be 80 million metric tons globally of solar photovoltaics (PV) reaching the end of their lifetime, with 10 million metric tons in the United States alone—or the weight of 30 Empire State Buildings.
Sept. 14, 2021
According to the Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, written by a team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy and NREL, the U.S. offshore wind pipeline made gale-force gains between 2019 and 2020.
Sept. 10, 2021
A 24-acre family farm purchased by Jack Stingerie in 1972 has now evolved into a model for how to produce energy and food in tandem. Multiple agrivoltaics activities including crop production, pollinator habitat, ecosystem services, and pasture grass for grazing are being researched across Jack's Solar Garden in Longmont, Colorado.
Sept. 9, 2021
National Alliance for Water Innovation's new master roadmap guides industries to invest in low-cost, low-energy ways to treat salt water and recycle wastewater.
Sept. 7, 2021
NREL researchers listened to the wind for hours to determine how rotating wind turbines affected their sound output. To their surprise, the next generation of wind plants could both create more energy and less noise pollution.
Sept. 2, 2021
A new webinar series from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in collaboration with the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC) aims to raise awareness about all aspects of security and help utilities develop a well-rounded cybersecurity program.
Sept. 1, 2021
NREL is collaborating with Idaho National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories to develop FlexPower, a colocated, variable generation hybrid power plant enhanced with energy storage, stationed at the Flatirons Campus.
Aug. 31, 2021
NREL will lead the Department of Energy's new Universal Interoperability for Grid-Forming Inverters Consortium to develop a universal set of guidelines enabling seamless integration of inverter-based resources like solar, wind, batteries, and electric vehicles.
Aug. 30, 2021
The winners of the Spring 2021 Geothermal Collegiate Competition were announced.
Aug. 30, 2021
NREL performed a first-of-its-kind assessment of opportunities for grid-scale energy storage in South Asia over the next three decades.
Aug. 30, 2021
Researchers at NREL are in the late stages of prototype testing a game-changing new thermal energy storage technology that uses inexpensive silica sand as a storage medium—known as ENDURING—a reliable, cost-effective, and scalable solution that can be sited anywhere.
Aug. 30, 2021
Electric vehicle industry experts and scientists at NREL are at work on a new high-power charging standard for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles called the Megawatt Charging System (MCS).
Aug. 27, 2021
The American-Made E-ROBOT Prize Phase 1 winners are transforming existing U.S. homes and buildings with a sweeping portfolio of advanced robotics innovations.
Aug. 26, 2021
One of the challenges of aggregating solar energy data from different sources into studies is knowing whether the data uses consistent assumptions. The Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) resolves this challenge by creating consistent assumptions for all electric generation technologies cost and performance data, including solar.
Aug. 24, 2021
A data-informed mobility modeling and analysis effort led by a crosscutting team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has identified pandemic-related travel changes--on the road and in the air--and informed regional vaccine administration site planning.
Aug. 24, 2021
With support from the U.S. DOE Water Power Technologies Office, NREL researchers are developing the Framework for Linked Analysis of Streamflow and Hydropower (FLASH), a systems-engineering-based approach that will improve hydropower's representation in grid operations modeling.
Aug. 20, 2021
C-Power is collaborating with NREL and the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office to prep their autonomous, wave-powered, renewable energy device—called the SeaRAY autonomous offshore power system—for its first open ocean trial.
Aug. 18, 2021
NREL researchers are developing strategies to prevent construction from gobbling up resources with BREX—shorthand for Building Materials' Reduce, Reuse, and Recycling.
Aug. 18, 2021
From academics to entrepreneurs, diverse participants are competing in the five-stage Waves to Water Prize, designing marine energy technology that turns salty ocean water into fresh drinking water.
Aug. 13, 2021
Seasoned Waves to Water Prize competitors are developing novel, wave-powered desalination devices that can provide clean drinking water to coastal and island communities as well as in disaster recovery scenarios.
Aug. 12, 2021
While COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Prevent NREL Researchers From Hosting In-Person Trainings, Virtual Solutions Are Creating Opportunities To Build Partnerships at a Distance
Aug. 12, 2021
NREL is measuring the performance of its potentially industry-changing thermoplastic blades on Verdant Power's tidal power turbine in New York City's East River.
Aug. 10, 2021
A new report from the DOE Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative identifies potential big gains for big rigs and the environment by creating low-carbon renewable diesel fuel blends for use in truck engines.
Aug. 5, 2021
NREL's partner institution, the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis, and research partners developed a new approach to more accurately estimate emissions from oil and natural gas production.
Aug. 4, 2021
Launched in 2015, the Hydropower RAPID Toolkit collects and organizes the latest regulations that protect air and water quality, preserve wildlife habitats, prevent soil erosion, and shield valuable cultural and recreational resources.
Aug. 2, 2021
NREL develops lightning protection system for wind turbine blades made of thermoplastic resins and bonded together with NREL's patent-pending thermal welding process.
July 30, 2021
NREL is developing and validating multi-timescale tools that will bring Maui and other systems closer to 100% clean and stable energy futures.
July 30, 2021
As group manager of NREL's Secure Cyber-Energy Systems group, Dane Christensen is seeking to mitigate the impact of cyberattacks and severe weather events on the grid.
July 30, 2021
NREL researchers are charting the course to better quality, lower-cost wind turbine blades through automation.
July 30, 2021
A workshop hosted by the DOE Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) and NREL brought speakers from the counterintelligence community, national laboratories, and renewable energy industry to share their perspectives on securing power systems of renewables and distributed energy resources.
July 29, 2021
Waves to Water Prize competitors are using their industry expertise to help advance marine energy technologies that could harness the power of ocean waves to produce clean drinking water.
July 29, 2021
JISEA program manager Liz Weber knew in 2010 she was ready to become an environmental leader. She did not know she would become a leading project manager within the U.S. Department of Energy complex.
July 29, 2021
Researchers at NREL have developed a rigorous new Storage Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (StoreFAST) model to evaluate the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), also known as the levelized cost of storage (LCOS).
July 29, 2021
This year, NREL joined the Department of Energy's Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC) in celebrating just a few of the women making significant contributions within energy storage programs.
July 28, 2021
After receiving a nearly $3 million award from the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), an NREL-led project will integrate electrochemistry with sugar fermentation to produce lipids used to make biofuels, while avoiding the release of CO₂ into the atmosphere.
July 27, 2021
Early-stage companies used microgrid validations at NREL to size-up commercial systems, and the results have high-impact lessons for the larger grid.
July 27, 2021
There is economic potential for 490 gigawatts per hour of behind-the-meter battery storage in the United States by 2050, or 300 times today's installed capacity. But only a small fraction could be adopted by customers, according to the latest phase of NREL's Storage Futures Study.
July 22, 2021
2020 JUMP into STEM Final Event competition winners Megan Bush, Zoe Landers, and Vedyun Mishra are supporting impactful research, exploring their passions, and contributing new perspectives to the NREL Building Technologies and Science Center.
July 21, 2021
Now in the third year of the Athena project, the team has published a series of three journal articles sharing key results on shuttle bus route optimization and expanded parking choices to improve energy use and reduce operational costs at airports.
July 21, 2021
NREL is driving innovation in geothermal lithium extraction through research, expertise, and prize incentives.
July 20, 2021
The United States has 37 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar capacity—enough to power over 4,070,000,000 LED lights—with an impressive additional 112 GW of capacity currently under development.
July 19, 2021
Leveraging its data science expertise and state-of-the-art modeling and analysis tools, NREL is helping the California Energy Commission pinpoint the number of electric vehicle chargers needed to meet the state’s ambitious zero-emission vehicle and greenhouse gas reduction goals.
July 15, 2021
In the Waves to Water Prize, competitors from academia are part of the diverse set of pioneers dipping their feet in the water by introducing, expanding, and evolving what is possible for marine energy.
July 15, 2021
Microstructure-scale modeling carried out by NREL over the past five years has culminated in the newly released Microstructure Analysis ToolBox (MATBOX) dedicated to the meshing, numerical generation, segmentation, and characterization of three-dimensional heterogeneous materials, such as battery electrodes.
July 14, 2021
DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Office announced $20 million for the Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) Photovoltaic (PV) Accelerator Consortium Solicitation to formalize the leadership of a consortium that will identify the technology development priorities to impact the entire domestic CdTe supply chain.
July 14, 2021
NREL researchers have crafted a guide to using federal energy performance contracting to transform U.S. General Services Administration buildings into tomorrow's energy-efficient, grid-interactive facilities.
July 12, 2021
The CWC aims to prepare students from multiple disciplines to enter the wind energy workforce by providing real-world technology experience. This year's contest met that goal with 173 students from a range of disciplines, including engineering, economics, and architecture
July 12, 2021
The 2021 Annual Technology Baseline offers new and improved electricity-generation technology cost and performance data to inform high-impact U.S. electricity-sector analysis.
July 1, 2021
The U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program recently honored nine National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers for their outstanding achievements at the 2021 Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting.
July 1, 2021
NREL is soliciting feedback from industry, utilities, grid operators, governments, and other grid stakeholders around applications of the Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) Test Bed, a capability for validating advanced grid architectures, controls, and operations.
June 30, 2021
Department of Energy launches second round of Solar Desalination Prize with new focus on storage.
June 29, 2021
Partnership with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power continues with stakeholder-driven effort to ensure equitable transition to 100% renewable energy for Los Angeles.
June 29, 2021
NREL's Modeling and Analysis Group is an interdisciplinary team of technical experts who support government and private entities with techno-economic modeling and analysis of energy efficiency, renewable energy, storage, and microgrids.
June 28, 2021
Simulations show nonlinear relationship between renewable contribution and costs—and that the U.S. can get to 80+% renewables at the same cost as keeping the system at today’s 20%.
June 25, 2021
The U.S. Department of Energy funded 16 National Renewable Energy Laboratory awards through its Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF).
June 24, 2021
Multiyear analysis shows that increasing electricity trade between countries and expanding interregional transmission can support a reliable future power system.
June 23, 2021
NREL and Sempra Energy's cooperative, multiyear projects exploring low-carbon fuels and microgrid technology have reaped success—including some groundbreaking achievements. Now, a memorandum of understanding signed in June 2021 formalizes a joint effort by NREL and Sempra Energy to continue advancing clean energy systems.
June 22, 2021
To address challenges for future electric markets, a major research collaboration has published its first study for a national project targeting grid modernization and understanding current market design challenges and opportunities.
June 21, 2021
Researchers recently studied a promising opportunity for near-term electrification within this segment through depot charging.
June 17, 2021
With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office, NREL researchers are exploring ways to significantly advance wave energy converter design and development.
June 16, 2021
Researchers are working to expand access to electric vehicles by building more charging stations in neighborhoods that otherwise might be overlooked.
June 16, 2021
Large-scale simulations by NREL researchers show that the U.S. can get close to 100% renewable generation cost-effectively—but the final few percent drive a nonlinear increase in total system cost.
June 8, 2021
Puzzling out and testing new ways to improve the efficiency of cadmium telluride (CdTe) polycrystalline thin-film photovoltaic materials is a typical day in the life of NREL research scientists Matthew Reese and Craig Perkins. Like any good puzzlers, they bring curiosity and keen observation to the task.
June 1, 2021
The latest report in NREL's multiyear Storage Futures Study finds reaching full market potential of diurnal grid-scale energy storage hinges on system flexibility and solar photovoltaics penetration.
May 27, 2021
NREL researcher Josh Gesick joins the Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit Advanced Energy and Materials team to assist DOD with partner-related initiatives and adoption of commercial technologies.
May 26, 2021
An article in Nature Energy by NREL research engineer Omar J. Guerra describes research needs for longer-duration and seasonal energy storage solutions and opportunities to develop a stronger understanding of how long-term and seasonal storage technologies can become cost-effective and grid-supportive energy solutions.
May 25, 2021
The multiyear Electrification Futures Study concludes with first-of-its-kind national-scale modeling of power systems with widespread electrification, demand-side flexibility, and high renewable energy.
May 20, 2021
Seventeen teams were selected to participate in the 2022 MECC to offer a new wave of innovation in the third year of the competition.
May 18, 2021
A report released this month highlights the most significant breakthroughs of the last year in the U.S. Department of Energy's Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative, with details on findings that could translate into significant greenhouse gas and tailpipe emissions reductions.
May 13, 2021
Marine Energy Atlas features expanded data sets and offers a streamlined user experience.
May 13, 2021
The JISEA Catalyzers initiative will incubate research capabilities for 1–2 years before being launched into a new NREL-led program.
April 30, 2021
Three winners of the 2021 MECC were announced by DOE’s Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Office during a virtual ceremony this week.
April 30, 2021
New research from NREL explores the security features of 5G, highlighting network-slicing characteristics that can provide enhanced control, protection, and monitoring of distributed energy systems.
April 30, 2021
Cara Lubner, a chemist at NREL, coauthored a research article on electron bifurcation that was awarded the Class I: Physical and Mathematical Sciences 2020 Cozzarelli Prize on April 25.
April 29, 2021
NREL and six leading industry organizations have joined forces in developing a national Wind Cybersecurity Consortium. The consortium aims to improve the cybersecurity of the U.S. wind fleet through collaborative analysis, development, and information sharing.
April 29, 2021
Prioritizing environmental justice was a crucial component of the recently released Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study (LA100).
April 28, 2021
A new NREL study uncovers counterintuitive relationship between flexibility options and curtailment in power systems with high solar penetration.
April 27, 2021
NREL partnered with the Colorado Energy Office to assess the travel-behavior impacts of providing low-income essential workers with e-bikes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis shows e-bikes are an effective, energy-saving alternative to other travel modes.
April 26, 2021
System operator CEOs and energy leaders from around the world discussed paths to net-zero-emissions during the launch event for the Global Power System Transformation Consortium.
April 22, 2021
NREL is working with Natel Energy to investigate the revenue and downstream flow trade-offs for a hypothetical series of small, cascading hydropower installations.
April 22, 2021
With decreasing purchase prices, charging improvements, cleaner electricity, and consumer and industry support, the future of EVs has never been brighter.
April 22, 2021
Inching forward in bumper-to-bumper traffic, drivers bemoan the years of their lives sacrificed in bad commutes.
April 22, 2021
NREL scientists in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey and Western EcoSystems Inc. are developing a state-of-the-art computational framework for modeling golden eagle behavior near wind farms.
April 21, 2021
NREL will bring cross-cutting technical assistance to remote and island communities seeking resilient energy solutions as part of the DOE-funded, multi-lab, multi-partner Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP).
April 21, 2021
New funding for perovskites is considered a significant step toward metal halide perovskite PV commercialization.
April 19, 2021
NREL's Advanced Manufacturing team is applying what they have learned from 3D-printing of wind blade molds to create additively manufactured tidal turbine prototypes.
April 12, 2021
To take a bite out of transportation energy use and emissions and combat climate change, NREL is partnering with Google to develop more eco-friendly routing in Google Maps.
April 9, 2021
On April 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy announced 10 finalist teams that are moving forward in the American-Made Solar Prize Round 4 competition.
April 7, 2021
"We've put all this investment into energy technologies, and now we want to guide those innovations from the lab into the marketplace," said Shelly Curtiss, Energy-I-Corps program manager, on the program's rapid growth.
April 7, 2021
Using state-of-the-art modeling tools and sophisticated resource assessment technologies, the Wind Resource Characterization team at NREL makes available new offshore wind data sets through Wind Prospector—a geospatial tool using data from the WIND Toolkit that visualizes data, analyzes the potential for wind energy, and provides wind developers, consultants, and researchers access to updated wind data sets.
April 5, 2021
Ready to dive in? The 2022 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition is now open for applications!
April 2, 2021
In a series of three reports, NREL analysts examine options and opportunities to repair, reuse, or recycle solar photovoltaic system materials, moving toward a circular economy.
April 1, 2021
FAST.Farm, a new mid-fidelity, physics-based engineering modeling tool from NREL, can be used to predict the power performance and structural loads of wind turbines within a wind farm. An extension of OpenFAST, NREL's open-source wind turbine engineering tool, FAST.Farm addresses the dynamics of, and interaction between, each individual turbine in a wind farm.
March 31, 2021
NREL has been consulting with the National Park Service on where to install electric vehicle charging stations at select sites in California. The last of the new charging stations is expected to begin operating by the end of this year.
March 31, 2021
To strengthen bulk grid stability for highly renewable grids, NREL has developed a breakthrough impedance measurement system for understanding how wind, solar, and other modern energy devices interact to affect the grid's moment-to-moment stability.
March 30, 2021
In December of 2020, Alexandra Aznar took over leading the USAID-NREL portfolio, a partnership which currently comprises a mutli-year interagency agreement that spans multiple project to assist over 40 countries around the world.
March 29, 2021
With the Biden administration announcing a push to electrify the entire federal fleet, NREL's work supporting energy-savvy fleet management is more critical and timely than ever.
March 26, 2021
As part of NREL's InSPIRE Project, NREL senior analyst Jordan Macknick helped dream up a LEGO solar farm design to educate about energy, water, and food.
March 22, 2021
NREL researchers work to transform seawater into drinking water as we commemorate World Water Day 2021.
March 19, 2021
A startup founded by Philip Pienkos, a retired NREL researcher, has moved closer to commercializing technology he helped develop at the U.S. Department of Energy facility. The company, Polaris Renewables, is the first business to directly spin off from NREL since 1992.
March 19, 2021
When a lithium-ion battery fails, it can become engulfed in flames in a matter of seconds.
March 17, 2021
The $4.5-million CABLE Conductor Manufacturing Prize will boost U.S. industries and upgrade materials and applications to meet electrification needs and combat the climate crisis.
March 17, 2021
Don’t be blue: the launch of the 2022 MECC is just around the corner. Learn more.
March 16, 2021
As a JISEA/NREL clean energy manufacturing analyst, Samantha Reese puts early-stage research problems in context of techno-economic tradeoffs and technology potential because "no matter how awesome a technology is, it won't be adopted if it's not cost competitive."
March 16, 2021
The new architecture for the cells increases the area exposed to the sun by putting the metal contact layers side by side on the back of the cell.
March 16, 2021
A new NREL report provides a snapshot of U.S. marine energy potential at the national, state, and regional levels.
March 15, 2021
A novel biorefining process using the untapped energy of food waste and other wet waste to produce a "drop-in" sustainable aviation fuel may lift net-zero flights off the runway sooner than you think.
March 10, 2021
Achieving decarbonization goals—including the Biden administration's climate and energy plan—will require rapid and sustained deployment of wind and solar power.
March 8, 2021
In partnership with the solar industry, NREL recently developed Solar TRACE, an online tool to increase transparency into PII processes, requirements, and overall adoption cycle times nationwide.
March 4, 2021
Leveraging the newly developed Cyber-Energy Emulation Platform, NREL researchers evaluated a 50-kW fast-charge station in the ESIF to identify risks and challenges that fast-charge stations could potentially introduce to charging infrastructure.
March 2, 2021
A Fossil Ridge High School team has become the winners of the 31st annual Colorado Regional High School Science Bowl, unseating last year's champions, Cherry Creek High School.
Feb. 26, 2021
With funding from the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), NREL will lead and contribute to multiple projects that emphasize microgrid controls and stability for community-scale systems, building and demonstrating new microgrid designs in a variety of real-system scenarios.
Feb. 26, 2021
As laboratory program manager for Advanced Computing, Kristin Munch helps develop the vision and strategy for NREL's computational infrastructure and ecosystem.
Feb. 26, 2021
A new NREL-led multi-lab consortium addresses critical barriers to the development of smaller, cheaper, and better performing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles by investigating the use of silicon as an alternative to graphitic carbon anode material.
Feb. 25, 2021
Lithium-ion batteries are increasingly in demand for energy storage and use in electric vehicles—needs that are projected to grow further with expected technological innovations and declining costs.
Feb. 24, 2021
Keeping wind gearboxes in operating condition is essential to efficient and cost-effective wind power plant operation. New tools from NREL are making it possible to predict individual component reliability for the entire wind plant, reduce operations and maintenance costs through early design decisions, and take maintenance measures to extend gearbox life spans.
Feb. 23, 2021
Recipient of one prime award and playing a supporting role on eight other winning proposals, NREL had a strong showing in the recently announced 2020 DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office Multi-Topic FOA awards.
Feb. 22, 2021
The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, accounting for about 28% of total carbon emissions. Turning that metric to zero stands as a critical task in the global push to drive down emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Feb. 18, 2021
The Fall 2020 Geothermal Design Challenge asked students to tackle an important communications task—create infographics and data visualization to foster understanding of geothermal energy, broadly communicate its benefits, and help overcome key non-technical barriers to geothermal development.
Feb. 18, 2021
Energy storage scientists at NREL are turning to cutting-edge machine-learning techniques to strengthen understanding of advanced battery materials, chemistries, and cell designs.
Feb. 17, 2021
The JUMP into STEM management team designed the Jan. 28–29, 2021, virtual competition to replicate the experiences of an on-site competition. The first day helped create a community experience by providing students the opportunity to learn from and network with building science professionals and fellow students.
Feb. 16, 2021
Researchers at NREL are addressing critical challenges when it comes to achieving a circular economy for wind turbine components. The motivations for pursuing this research are outlined in a new journal article, "Wind turbine blade material in the United States: Quantities, costs, and end-of-life options."
Feb. 16, 2021
NREL has released a no-cost resource for cities and counties across the country to streamline distributed solar installation: SolarAPP (Solar Automated Permit Processing).
Feb. 16, 2021
The future of buildings is affordable, comfortable, and energy efficient. However, the current reality is that buildings consume 39% of all U.S. energy and 74% of all U.S. electricity at an annual cost of more than $400 billion.
Feb. 12, 2021
The latest Benchmarks of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing report assesses market characteristics, global trade flows, and manufacturing value added for four clean energy technologies to support deeper insights into balance of trade effects on upstream materials.
Feb. 12, 2021
Conducted in partnership with USAID, an NREL study assessing the electrification potential of transit fleets in two Mexican cities determined that at least 80% of the operational bus days for the studied routes were suitable for electrification—with a 250-kWh battery in Mexico City and a 300-kWh battery in León.
Feb. 11, 2021
NREL analysts tailor the Distributed Generation Market Demand model for Orlando energy planners, simulating individual household rooftop solar photovoltaic adoption potential through 2050—the highest-resolution projections for Orlando to date.
Feb. 10, 2021
Upgrade features new, high-resolution data sets and a streamlined, state-of-the-art interface.
Feb. 10, 2021
NREL marks ongoing cost reductions for installed photovoltaic (PV) systems, while also establishing benchmark of PV-plus-storage systems.
Feb. 9, 2021
Holistic strategy optimizes electronic structure and morphology, opening a new route to higher-efficiency organic photovoltaic devices.
Feb. 8, 2021
On December 17, 2020, the Department of Energy announced seven winners of the Phase II Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize. These winners advance to the third and final phase of the competition.
Feb. 8, 2021
In its latest release, the REopt Lite team, which includes NREL and partners at Colorado School of Mines and Clean Energy Group, has added combined heat and power, expanding the model's scope beyond electric-only strategies to include a new universe of thermal energy opportunities.
Feb. 3, 2021
Researchers analyzed commercial electricity generator with high-temperature steam electrolysis technology, advancing H2@Scale initiative.
Feb. 3, 2021
DOE funding pairs NREL with academic, nonprofit, and industry scientists to transform how we create and recycle plastic.
Feb. 1, 2021
NREL has launched plans to develop the technologies and strategies needed to integrate the coming wave of offshore wind installations into the grid. The laboratory's success with integration—from its world-renowned work on utility-scale renewable energy systems to its comprehensive vision for offshore wind development and collaboration with industry partners—is steering efforts to deliver power efficiently and affordably from offshore plants.
Feb. 1, 2021
Techno-economic analysis just got a bit easier for the marine renewable energy industry. Learn more about the updates to the wave and tidal SAM tool.
Jan. 29, 2021
NREL and project partner Centrica have looked beyond single battery energy storage system (BESS) types to hybrid solutions, discovering that untapped potential exists when battery types are combined and optimally controlled.
Jan. 29, 2021
A Q&A with David Narang and Richard DeBlasio, two of the pioneers of IEEE Standard 1547 and its 2018 revision that have become the definitive technical standards for interconnecting distributed energy resources into the grid.
Jan. 29, 2021
As part of a multistate collaboration, NREL has modeled and assessed long-term reliability and integration impacts of solar PV growth in the western United States, with broader lessons for power grids and renewable policies.
Jan. 26, 2021
The first report in the study outlines four phases of utility-scale energy storage deployment, providing a potential roadmap to 100+ gigawatts of installed capacity in the United States.
Jan. 25, 2021
In collaboration with PNNL and Sandia, NREL has released a high spatial resolution, publicly-accessible ocean surface wave hindcast dataset.
Jan. 25, 2021
In the upcoming Waves to Water Prize CREATE Stage, competitors will transform their wave-powered desalination system ideas from concept to reality, vying for a shared prize pool of $500,000 and the chance to move on to the final stage of the prize: DRINK.
Jan. 25, 2021
Recently upgraded, user-friendly WISDEM takes a systems engineering approach to wind energy project design.
Jan. 22, 2021
The U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Office today announced the launch of the Spring 2021 Geothermal Collegiate Competition, managed by NREL.
Jan. 22, 2021
Today, natural gas and coal combustion supply most demand for industrial process heat (IPH), or the transfer of heat to a material within a production process. With the emergence of low-cost solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies, interest has grown in solar as an IPH option and decarbonization pathway for the industrial sector.
Jan. 20, 2021
NREL has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) for distributed wind. The application deadline is Feb. 26, 2021.
Jan. 14, 2021
Take a bird's-eye view of WPTO's 2019–2020 hydropower and marine energy accomplishments, and learn about the NREL projects highlighted within this comprehensive publication.
Jan. 13, 2021
Could the secret to unlocking wave energy's potential be found in shape-shifting control? NREL researcher Nathan Tom and his team think so.
Jan. 12, 2021
The fifth report in the multiyear analysis reveals how widespread electrification could impact energy sector infrastructure investments, fuel use, system costs, and emissions.
Jan. 12, 2021
In the 43 years since, the Solar Energy Research Institute—now known as NREL—has been a driving force in the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy. A new video shows why NREL researchers envision a future where PV is everywhere.
Jan. 12, 2021
Learn about the I AM Hydro Prize and the advanced-manufacturing partners supporting it.
Jan. 11, 2021
NREL recently announced the launch of the new Cybersecurity Program Office, established to accelerate NREL's leadership in securing renewable energy technologies and distributed energy systems.
Jan. 8, 2021
The sun has set on another round of the American-Made Solar Prize, awarding two new solar startups for their innovations.
Jan. 5, 2021
NREL and Defenders of Wildlife launched Wildlife and Wind Energy: Considerations for Monitoring and Managing Impacts, a nine-part webinar series to help familiarize stakeholders with the nuances of land-based wind energy development in the context of species conservation.
