NREL Conduit Blog

Cohoes is a small working-class community in upstate New York operating with a small staff and limited resources, but their lack of energy-related expertise did not prevent them from pursuing cleaner and more cost-effective energy solutions through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) program.

In early December 2022, a snowstorm hit Fairbanks, Alaska, blanketing the city of around 32,000 people in six inches of snow and dumping even more on the surrounding hillsides.

Milwaukee turned to NREL's State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE) Platform to better understand its energy use and clean energy potential.

Clean energy is clearly the future, but currently is not accessible to everyone. NREL is committed to continue efforts to expand energy access deeper into communities and address energy inequities.

Although "it depends" is often the correct answer when asking whether energy storage makes sense in a particular context, utilities are exploring opportunities to incorporate community energy storage (CES) systems into the local grid. Utility-owned CES systems are a collection of two or more battery storage units connected to the low-level transformers that serve houses or small businesses.

In February, the Solar STAT blog featured a post on 2012’s Hurricane Sandy and  how solar PV can support disaster resiliency . Extreme weather events are not limited to hurricanes, of course. Others, like California’s ongoing drought, pose additional challenges for electricity generators but also demonstrate an emerging role for solar energy.