News and Feature Stories
The following news stories take an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how NREL is advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
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July 2021
July 29, 2021
Celebrating NREL Women Advancing Energy Storage
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
Scientists To Develop CO₂-Free Fermentation Technology Amid Surging Demand for Low-Carbon Biofuel
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
'Fort Renewable' Shows Benefits of Batteries and Microgrids for Military and Beyond
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
Lower Battery Costs, High Value of Backup Power Drive Distributed Storage Deployment
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 26, 2021
Emerson Acquisition of 7AC Propels NREL HVAC Technology to Market
In November 2020, multinational powerhouse Emerson acquired a startup company, 7AC. It was a big deal in the world of cleantech startups—a fairy-tale ending for a startup company whose technology had made it to the HVAC commercial market.
July 22, 2021
News Release: NREL Chooses Mortenson To Complete RAIL Facility
The 15,700-square-foot Research and Innovation Laboratory (RAIL) will provide multipurpose lab space for cross-disciplinary research at the intersection of chemistry, materials science, bioscience, and engineering in support of a breadth of energy efficiency and renewable energy research areas.
July 21, 2021
Multiyear NREL Study Uses Digital Twin of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport To Inform Long-Term Investments at Major Transportation Hubs
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
Using Direct Lithium Extraction To Secure U.S. Supplies
NREL is driving innovation in geothermal lithium extraction through research, expertise, and prize incentives.
July 20, 2021
NREL Open-Source Modeling Framework Cracks the Code of Simulating Low-Inertia Energy Systems
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
News Release: NREL Elevates Two to Prestigious Senior Research Fellow Roles
NREL elevated two principal scientists to the position of senior research fellow, Joseph Berry and Ingrid Repins, who, along with the current research fellows, will advise NREL executive management on the strategic direction of science and technology research and ensure NREL's work continues to meet the highest standards.
July 19, 2021
Charging Infrastructure Analysis Aims To Help California Meet Zero-Emission Vehicle Goals
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
University Researchers Dive Into Water Desalination Challenge
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
News Release: Analysis Shows Enzyme-Based Plastics Recycling Is More Energy Efficient, Better for Environment
Researchers in the BOTTLE Consortium, including from NREL and the University of Portsmouth, have identified using enzymes as a more sustainable approach for recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic in single-use beverage bottles, clothing, and food packaging.
July 15, 2021
Microstructure Analysis ToolBox Changes the Game for Heterogeneous Material Modeling
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
CdTe PV Accelerator Consortium Solicitation Aims To Enhance U.S. Competitiveness in Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Photovoltaic Technologies
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
News Release: New NREL Report Details Current State and Vast Future Potential of U.S. Geothermal Power and Heat
A new publication from NREL showcases the current state of geothermal energy use in the United States and provides an outlook to a future where geothermal power and heat can play a key role in the national transition to a renewable, decarbonized energy system.
July 14, 2021
NREL Creates Blueprint To Help Expand Deployment of Grid-Interactive Efficient Building Technologies in Federal Performance Contracts
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
Students Build Skills for the Clean Energy Economy in 2021 Collegiate Wind Competition
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
2021 Annual Technology Baseline Adds Technologies, New Data Features To Support High-Impact Energy Analysis
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
DOE Recognizes Multiple NREL Hydrogen Researchers at 2021 Annual Merit Review Awards
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 Issues Request for Information on Advanced Distribution Management System Research
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.
July 1, 2021
News Release: What To Do With Food Waste? Well, That Depends
The expected decline in the number of landfills across the United States coupled with bans on disposing large amounts of organic waste in landfills that have been enacted in multiple states has prompted researchers at NREL to examine other ways to grapple with the issue of food waste disposal.
June 2021
June 30, 2021
Solar Desalination Prize Round 2 Seeks Innovative Desalination Technologies Combined With Storage
Department of Energy launches second round of Solar Desalination Prize with new focus on storage.
June 29, 2021
From Satellite Launches to Expert Energy Analysis for Earthlings
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
NREL Finds Keeping Renewables at Today's Levels—or Limiting Their Growth—Results in Higher U.S. Power System Costs
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%.
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