NREL

October 21, 2009 -- Members of the Solar Technology Acceleration Center (SolarTAC) and supporters convened in Aurora, Colo., today, to mark a milestone in “Powering Up” one of the world’s largest solar test and demonstration facilities. Since announcing the initial launch of SolarTAC one year ago, the site infrastructure development has progressed to the point where members can now break ground for their planned solar technology implementation and testing.    » read more »

Government-industry R&D partnership is largest ever

October 19, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Siemens Energy Inc. today formally commissioned a new 2.3 megawatt Siemens wind turbine at NREL's National Wind Technology Center. The turbine is the centerpiece of a multi-year project to study the performance and aerodynamics of a new class of large, land-based machines — in what will be the biggest government-industry research partnership for wind power generation ever undertaken in the U.S.    » read more »

October 13, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released a convenient online directory of Web-based tools, database searches, cost calculators, and interactive maps—all related to alternative fuels and advanced vehicles.

This comprehensive Web page helps users quickly navigate to the 23 tools, maps, and searches available on the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC) Web site for transportation technologies. Users can find the tools page on the AFDC under Information Resources at www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/applications.html.    » read more »

22nd Forum to Feature 34 Clean Energy Companies

October 9, 2009 -- Thirty-four clean energy companies will present their business cases to a panel of investors and industry experts in Denver Nov. 3-5 as the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosts the 22nd NREL Industry Growth Forum.    » read more »

June 17, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Renewable Energy Systems Americas, Inc. (RES Americas) have announced a partnership to evaluate the design and performance of vital wind energy support systems.    » read more »

June 4, 2009 -- The Center for Revolutionary Solar Photoconversion (CRSP) will play an integral role in a new federally-funded effort to develop revolutionary solar cell designs at the nanoscale.

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the lead organization of CRSP, and will partner with Los Alamos National Laboratory and share in a $19 million grant over five years by the U.S. Department of Energy for a joint Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) named the Center for Advanced Solar Photophysics. Two universities that also belong to CRSP - the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Colorado School of Mines – will participate in the new EFRC as well.    » read more »

Collaboration expected in energy analysis, wind and photovoltaic research

May 28, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has signed a research collaboration agreement with the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). NREL and ECN will join forces on areas such as policy studies, energy analysis, wind energy and solar photovoltaic energy.

The cooperation between ECN and NREL ranges from an exchange of expertise, to participation in joint projects, to making use of each others’ research facilities and conducting research on their behalf. In addition, NREL and ECN will support each other in the arenas of technology transfer and commercialization.    » read more »

Center to study new solar materials by combining predictive theory with experiment

May 27, 2009 -- The U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will be home to a new multi-million-dollar Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) established by the DOE Office of Science. NREL’s Center for Inverse Design will pursue advanced scientific research on material discovery for energy.

It is one of 46 Centers to study various areas of scientific research that were selected for funding by DOE over a planned initial five year period. NREL will participate in six additional Centers led by other organizations.    » read more »

May 18, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has completed a study comparing three proposed national renewable electricity standards, also known as renewable portfolio standards.

To assess the potential impacts of the three proposed standards on the U.S. electricity sector, a team of senior NREL energy analysts used the Laboratory's Regional Energy Deployment System, a detailed least-cost optimization model capable of simulating the special attributes of variable sources like wind and solar power.

The NREL report, "A Comparative Analysis of Three Proposed Federal Renewable Electricity Standards," is available online at http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/45877.pdf .    » read more »

Students Recognized for Creativity and Talent in Energy Education Event

May 16, 2009 -- Seventy-eight teams from 29 Colorado middle schools participated in today’s Junior Solar Sprint and Hydrogen Fuel Cell car competitions hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The student teams raced solar or hydrogen powered vehicles that they designed and built themselves.

The fastest solar-powered model car was #4 from Bell Middle School (Golden) with a time of 5.12 seconds on a 20-meter track. Second place and third place trophies were awarded to car #18 and car #20 from Drake Middle School (Arvada.)    » read more »

Fort Felker to begin new position May 18, 2009

May 14, 2009 -- Dr. Fort F. Felker has been named director of the National Wind Technology Center at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Felker, a co-founder of Winglet Technology LLC, and former director of engineering analysis and test at Kenetech Windpower, begins his new position May 18.

“Dr. Felker’s 30 years of aeronautical and mechanical engineering research and technology development expertise, combined with his public and private sector experience, brings critical leadership to DOE’s and NREL’s national wind program,” said Robert Hawsey, NREL associate director of renewable electricity and end use systems.    » read more »

May 7, 2009 -- A new class of ultra-light, high-efficiency solar cells developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has been awarded a national prize for the commercialization of federally funded research.

The Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction (IMM) Solar Cell was named a winner of the 2009 Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer by the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer.

The original IMM cell was invented by Mark Wanlass of NREL’s Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) Group. The design established a solar cell efficiency of 37.9% under concentrated light equal to 10 suns in 2005. In 2008, a modified version of the IMM design set a new record of 40.8% efficiency under 326 suns at NREL.    » read more »

KBIA’s partnership with Greensburg is a model for communities needing to rebuild

April 28, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in collaboration with the City Council of Greensburg, Kansas, and the Kansas Building Industry Association (KBIA), announce the launch of Greensburg GreenHome Residential Green Building Program.    » read more »

April 28, 2009 -- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is scheduled to visit the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden on Wednesday to announce funding for the agency from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Gov. Bill Ritter is scheduled to tour the facility with Secretary Chu.

"Secretary Chu could not have selected a better location to mark the first 100 days of the Obama Administration," Gov. Ritter said. "Not only is Colorado where President Obama signed the Recovery Act into law, but it's also the home of NREL and the New Energy Economy. NREL is a key partner in Colorado's New Energy Economy, and this funding will help create sustainable jobs and allow NREL to continue spurring innovation as we transform America's energy future."    » read more »

Annual assessment shows more consumers making clean power choices

April 13, 2009 -- GOLDEN, CO. - The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) today released its annual assessment of leading utility green power programs. Under these voluntary programs, consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as wind and solar.    » read more »