High Honors From DOE Point to Important Work by NREL Staff
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Feb. 20 honored staffers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for their work on five major projects with far-reaching implications.
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm announced the presentation of Achievement Awards to 53 teams across DOE for what she called “remarkable contributions to this department and to our country.” The awards have been presented annually since 2007.
The virtual awards ceremony recognized:
- Caitlin Murphy and Shubhankar Upasani for their role on the 48C Team. Under Secretary Kathleen Hogan praised the team for “successfully leading a collaborative effort across the department to implement the Inflation Reduction Act 48C tax credit provisions.” The 48C program provides a tax credit for investments in advanced energy products.
- David Feldman and Ted Sears of the Inflation Reduction Act Energy Tax Credit Tiger Team. Deputy Secretary David Turk said their expertise and “extraordinary dedication” in helping implement clean-energy tax credits are leading to “a significant acceleration of investments in clean energy technologies.”
- Murali Baggu, Clayton Barrows, Nate Blair, Robin Burton, Mike Campton, Justin Daugherty, Emily Evans, Tom Harris, Caleigh Isaacks, Manajit Sengupta, Haiku Sky, Jordan Orsak, and Cameron Weiner for their part in the Puerto Rico Grid Recovery and Modernization Team. These awardees accept this recognition on behalf of a larger team of dozens of contributors (see Authors and Acknowledgements in the PR100 Summary Report). Hogan emphasized the team’s work in establishing a “resilient and reliable electrical grid in the wake of several devastating hurricanes” and the efforts to guide the island nation to producing 100% renewable electricity by 2050.
- Emily Kotz and Lissa Myers for their role with the Fleet Management Team. Turk praised the team’s “dedication to pursue an ambitious strategy to meet an executive order requiring federal agencies to reach 100% zero-emission vehicle acquisitions by 2030.”
- Lissa Myers, Suzy Belmont, and Michelle Slovensky of the Leadership in Climate Action Team, which Turk said oversaw the creation of DOE’s climate adaptation and resilience plan, including “an impressive set of objectives to address the short- and long-term impacts of climate change.”