Data

Data sets and data-based software and tools are common products of NREL research. Follow this guidance when sharing data-related content on NREL.gov.

NREL Data Catalog

Consider registering your data sets with the Department of Energy via the NREL Data Catalog. Sharing the results of federally funded research is important for the advancement of science, and the NREL Data Catalog is our primary means of public sharing.

The NREL Data Catalog houses metadata about select public data resulting from our research and analysis. Catalog submissions link to data on publicly available servers. Data sets of up to 3 GB per file can also be uploaded directly via the catalog's secure, cloud-based repository. Catalog submissions are distributed to highly visible, public data platforms such as osti.gov, data.gov, and other scientific data hubs to ensure they are widely available to others.

You may submit data sets that are created at, or for, NREL using federal funds unless they contain:

Proprietary information
Personally identifiable information
Classified information
Copyrighted material.

Submit your data sets as soon as they are final. If the data are referenced in a technical report, they should be published concurrently.

To present information about prominent research from which your data are derived, consider creating a project page on NREL.gov. The project page should link to the associated Data Catalog record, and the Data Catalog record should link to the project page. This approach will cross-link the pages, provide content that can be indexed in NREL.gov site search, and help us meet our public data obligations.

Data Downloads

When posting data or software directly to NREL.gov, provide users with the following NREL data disclaimer within the data or software or as part of the download process:

Disclaimer

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC ("Alliance").

Access to or use of any data or software made available on this server ("Data") shall impose the following obligations on the user, and use of the Data constitutes user's agreement to these terms. The user is granted the right, without any fee or cost, to use or copy the Data, provided that this entire notice appears in all copies of the Data. Further, the user agrees to credit DOE/NREL/ALLIANCE in any publication that results from the use of the Data. The names DOE/NREL/ALLIANCE, however, may not be used in any advertising or publicity to endorse or promote any products or commercial entities unless specific written permission is obtained from DOE/NREL/ ALLIANCE. The user also understands that DOE/NREL/ALLIANCE are not obligated to provide the user with any support, consulting, training or assistance of any kind with regard to the use of the Data or to provide the user with any updates, revisions or new versions thereof. DOE, NREL, and ALLIANCE do not guarantee or endorse any results generated by use of the Data, and user is entirely responsible for the results and any reliance on the results or the Data in general.

USER AGREES TO INDEMNIFY DOE/NREL/ALLIANCE AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, AGENTS, AND EMPLOYEES AGAINST ANY CLAIM OR DEMAND, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES, RELATED TO USER'S USE OF THE DATA. THE DATA ARE PROVIDED BY DOE/NREL/ALLIANCE "AS IS," AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. DOE/NREL/ALLIANCE ASSUME NO LEGAL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF THE DATA, OR REPRESENT THAT ITS USE WOULD NOT INFRINGE PRIVATELY OWNED RIGHTS. IN NO EVENT SHALL DOE/NREL/ALLIANCE BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOSS OF DATA OR PROFITS, THAT MAY RESULT FROM AN ACTION IN CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS CLAIM THAT ARISES OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE ACCESS, USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE DATA.