NREL

A growth system that can produce thin solar cells quickly and at low cost, and an ultra-efficient supercomputer platform – both developed or advanced by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and its partners – have been named among this year’s most significant innovations by R&D Magazine.

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and General Motors (GM) are partnering on a multiyear, multimillion dollar joint effort to accelerate the reduction of automotive fuel cell stack costs through fuel cell material and manufacturing research and development (R&D).

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been recommended for recertification to three significant international standards demonstrating the laboratory’s commitment to the environment, safety, and quality excellence. The management system certifications include: ISO 14001:2004 (environment); OHSAS 18001:2007 (health and safety), and ISO 9001:2008 (quality, limited scope).

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) projects would add additional value of 5 or 6 cents per kilowatt hour to utility-scale solar energy in California where 33 percent renewables will be mandated in six years, a new report by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has found.

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory will host several events at the 2014 Denver Solar Day on Sunday, June 8. The free expo is expected to attract more than 2,000 photovoltaics (PV) installers, PV buyers, students, utility officials and members of the public.

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has recently completed construction of several award-winning, energy efficient buildings on its campus in Golden, Colo. On June 4, leaders from NREL and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will recognize and celebrate NREL’s three latest LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum buildings – the Energy Systems Integration Facility, the NREL Café and the South Site Entrance Building – with a USGBC Plaque Ceremony. The Platinum certification is the highest level available in the USGBC’s LEED® certification program.

A new report, prepared by analysts from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), reviews estimates of the costs and benefits of compliance with Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in the United States and explores how costs and benefits may evolve over time.

Indy-500-style checkered flags, high-tech neoprene rubber tracks, and of course, sponsor decals graced the site of today’s Junior Solar Sprint and Lithium Ion Battery car competitions for Colorado’s middle schoolers. Nearly 300 students on 74 teams from 21 Colorado schools converged on Dakota Ridge High School to vie for a spot in the final races using solar and lithium ion battery powered vehicles they designed and built themselves.

Nearly 300 middle school students from around Colorado will participate in the 24th Annual Junior Solar Sprint and Lithium Ion Battery car competitions on Saturday, May 17, at Dakota Ridge High School in Littleton. The competitions give students the opportunity to showcase their engineering skills by building and racing high-performance model solar and battery vehicles.

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has selected 17 leaders to participate in its 2014 Executive Energy Leadership program (Energy Execs), which empowers executives to integrate clean energy solutions in their communities.

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently recognized the professionals behind the lab’s greatest innovations from the past year during its annual Innovation and Technology Transfer Awards ceremony. The event also celebrated NREL’s commercialization and partnering successes, recognizing the researchers and engineers—including three honorees in the new Rising Stars Award category—who made it happen.

Increasingly, banks, credit unions, and other lenders are beginning to offer loan products to homeowners and businesses for the installation of rooftop solar systems. However, barriers to accessing this growing market still remain. The Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently convened the Banking on Solar working group to engage lenders and other stakeholders to address these barriers.

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory will be hosting its annual Innovation and Technology Transfer Awards ceremony on May 8, at the Denver West Marriott. The awards celebrate NREL's innovation and technology transfer accomplishments from the past year, including NREL patented technologies, outstanding achievements in transferring NREL-developed technologies into the marketplace, and notable innovators.

A new project led by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories will support H2USA, a public-private partnership co-launched by industry and the Energy Department, and will work to ensure that hydrogen fuel cell vehicle owners have a positive fueling experience as fuel cell electric vehicles are introduced starting in 2014–2015. By tackling the technical challenges related to hydrogen fueling infrastructure, the Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure Research and Station Technology (H2FIRST) project is designed to pave the way toward more widespread deployment of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.

Twenty-eight teams from U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities will converge on the Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., from April 26-28 to present their zero-energy ready home designs to panels of industry experts as part of the Energy Department’s Challenge Home Student Design Competition.

Field demonstrations of newly proven energy efficient technologies are yielding valuable results for the U.S. Navy, helping it meet energy goals. In partnership with the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) recently demonstrated eight technologies at installations in Hawaii and Guam, and the initial results have encouraged the Navy to move forward with broader implementation of several of the energy efficiency technologies.

The editors of R&D Magazine have named the Energy Department’s Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) as the 2014 Laboratory of the Year. Located on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., research at ESIF transforms how the nation generates, delivers and uses energy by modernizing the interplay between energy sources, infrastructure, and data.