Sarah Turner is a researcher with the Community Energy Transitions Group in the Accelerated Deployment and Decision Support (ADDS) Center. Sarah joined NREL as a data analytics intern, developing training materials, technical papers, and policy resources for the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) Smart Labs program. As a policy researcher, Sarah continues to provide project support under NREL’s FEMP Distributed Energy program and Energy Savings Performance Contracts program. Outside of FEMP, Sarah assists the ADDS Engage team in modeling energy system transformations and communicating the costs and emissions of different energy decisions.

Research Interests

Community energy development and energy justice

Demand flexibility technologies and pricing models 

Energy financing for underutilized building technologies

Decarbonization and climate resilience

Policy strategy, outreach, and communication

Education

M.P.P., University of Chicago

B.A., History, University of Colorado Denver

Graduate Certificates, Energy & Environmental Policy and Finance Policy, University of Chicago

Graduate Certificate, Environmental Policy & Management, University of Colorado Denver

Featured Work

Understanding Emerging Building Technologies in Federal Performance Contracting Markets, NREL Technical Report (2023)

Clean Energy Education and Training Resources and Opportunities in New York’s Southern Tier Region, NREL Technical Report (2022)