News and Feature Stories

NREL Collaborating on Five Newly Funded Bioenergy Research Projects Totaling $15.3 Million

Funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is fueling five new bioenergy research projects involving NREL scientists.

Solar District Cup Heats Up as 35 Student Teams Advance in Collegiate Competition

The DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office announced 35 student teams from 32 collegiate institutions as finalists in the Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition. The Solar District Cup is a new competition, led by NREL, that challenges multidisciplinary student teams to design and model optimized distributed solar energy systems for a campus or urban district by integrating solar, storage, and other technologies.

Modeling Tomorrow's Energy Infrastructure Today: Researchers model electricity systems for future resource and climate uncertainty

A new modeling approach takes future climate and water resource conditions into account for long-term electricity generation infrastructure planning.

Powering the Next Wave of Energy Converter Devices

A multiyear system design and validation project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office reached completion in 2019 and resulted in increased knowledge about development and validation of wave energy converter devices and their associated materials.

Updated Standard Scenarios Outlook Models Possible Futures for U.S. Electricity Sector

A flagship NREL analysis project, the fifth annual Standard Scenarios Outlook models 36 possible projections for power sector evolution through the year 2050.

2019 Year in Review - NREL's Top 20 Stories

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) achieved many goals across the spectrum of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in 2019, and the news coming from the laboratory shows it.

NREL Welcomes Colorado's First-Ever American Society of Mechanical Engineers Energy Sustainability Conference

News Release: NREL, Co-Optima Research Yields Potential Bioblendstock for Diesel Fuel

A novel oxygenate molecule that can be produced from biomass shows promise for use as a blend for diesel fuel, according to researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

In Breakthrough Method of Creating Solar Cell Material, NREL Scientists Prove the Impossible Really Isn't

Scientists at NREL achieved a technological breakthrough for solar cells previously thought impossible.

Setbacks Are No Setback for Marine Energy Development: A U.S. Submarine Cable Analysis

The ocean may very well be the next frontier, and two major industries—telecommunications and marine renewable energy—are already employing and exploring this vital asset. Vital to both telecom and marine renewable energy development is careful planning to accommodate their respective operations, as well as those of other users of the ocean.