National Security Partnerships
NREL and its U.S. national security sector partners work to understand and inform research about novel and emerging threats to U.S. and international energy security.
Our work also:
- Enhances resilience of regional and installation energy infrastructure
- Incorporates core research into unique operational energy and mission requirements.
Since 2006, NREL has provided energy, resilience, and sustainability support to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Chief Readiness Support Officer. NREL's DHS partnership includes training, policy and guidance, and technical assistance for energy, water, facilities, transportation, and resilience.
NREL has also supported DHS' unique operational energy needs by conducting research into remote power systems for border monitoring and planning the application of renewable energy resources to enhance national security missions.
Partnership Areas
National security sector partners include DHS, the Department of Justice, the National Security Council, and other agencies. NREL provides expertise and support in the following areas.
Energy Security
- National security implications of global energy transformations, including geopolitics, global economics, supply chain, cybersecurity, grid defense, and resource planning
- Impacts of climate change on global energy infrastructure
- Security and defense of energy systems while achieving carbon-neutral goals, nationally and internationally
Disaster Relief
Since 2012, NREL has provided disaster recovery support funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist communities, including recovery efforts for:
- Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey
- Flooding on the Yukon in Galena, Alaska, and in West Virginia
- Extreme storms in South Dakota
- Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Installations and Facilities
- Resilience against acute and chronic environmental drivers
- Enhanced energy efficiency for mission assurance
- Integration of electric vehicles in fleets
Operational Energy
Application of research across renewable energy technology areas to operational energy requirements
Data, Tools, and Computational Capabilities
The Distributed Energy Resource Cybersecurity Framework provides U.S. federal government sites with a tool to assess the cybersecurity posture—or health—of their distributed energy resource systems.
Fleet DNA: Commercial Fleet Vehicle Operating Data helps federal fleet managers choose advanced technologies for their fleets.
Through the Federal Laws and Requirements Search, the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program provides information about energy management laws and requirements for federal agencies.
REopt: Renewable Energy Integration and Optimization and REopt Lite identify the most cost-effective ways to meet energy goals, estimate the cost of achieving those goals, and help organizations identify the most economically and technically viable opportunities.
To mitigate hazards and risks, the Resilience Roadmap offers comprehensive guidance for federal, state, and local entities to effectively convene at the regional level for adaptable and holistic planning.
Explore how federal buildings contribute to energy or emissions targets and how much energy can be saved through cost-effective improvements with ResStock and ComStock analysis tools.
The Smart Labs Toolkit describes a systematic process that helps laboratory owners and operators plan and cost effectively achieve safe, efficient, and sustainable laboratories.
The Technical Resilience Navigator enables organizations to be proactive in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities to their critical energy and water systems to reduce outage impacts and support continuous mission operations.
Use TEMPO: Transportation Energy and Mobility Pathway Options to better understand the potential for radical transformations of transportation demand and its impact on energy use.
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