The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located in Golden, Colorado, is the United States' primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility; it is funded through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This arrangement allows a private entity to operate the lab on behalf of the federal government under a prime contract. NREL receives funding from Congress to be applied toward research and development projects. NREL also performs research on photovoltaics (PV) under the National Center for Photovoltaics. NREL has a number of PV research capabilities including research and development, testing, and deployment. NREL's campus houses several facilities dedicated to PV research. Established in 1974, NREL began operating in 1977 as the Solar Energy Research Institute. Under the Jimmy Carter administration, it was the recipient of a large budget and its activities went beyond research and development in solar energy as it tried to popularize knowledge about already existing technologies, like passive solar, amongst the population.
Energy & Green Tech
When the government of India set a goal of deploying 175 gigawatts of renewable power by 2022, they understood changes to their power system's operations were needed to achieve that level of renewable power on the grid. India ...
Feb 05, 2020
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Energy & Green Tech
South Asia is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, possessing substantial generation potential yet nevertheless plagued by electricity supply shortages. Open electricity trading across borders can help, but poor ...
Jan 08, 2020
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Energy & Green Tech
An oft-repeated refrain—the sun doesn't always shine, and the wind doesn't always blow—is sometimes seen as an impediment to renewable energy. But it's also an impetus toward discovering the best ways to store that energy ...
Jan 03, 2020
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Energy & Green Tech
Like any system of moving parts, the U.S. electricity sector maintains a delicate balance. Any shift in the variety of factors comprising it—whether technology, policy, or market changes—has the potential to steer its ...
Dec 19, 2019
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Energy & Green Tech
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories are searching for ways to maximize the advantages of large-scale rotors and their potential ...
Dec 03, 2019
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Energy & Green Tech
Wind energy researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are among a team of authors inviting the scientific community to address three challenges that will drive the innovation ...
Oct 11, 2019
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Energy & Green Tech
If every turn of the wheel is a revolution, then every sweep of a wind turbine blade is an opportunity. That's how researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) view the potential for wind plant operators ...
Aug 21, 2019
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Energy & Green Tech
Rigid silicon solar panels dominate the utility and residential markets, but opportunity exists for thin-film photovoltaic and emerging technologies notable for being lightweight and flexible, according to scientists at the ...
Nov 15, 2018
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Energy & Green Tech
As perovskite solar cells set efficiency records and the nascent technology becomes more stable, another major challenge remains: the issue of scalability, according to researchers at the Department of Energy's National Renewable ...
Apr 09, 2018
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Energy & Green Tech
Scientists at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have discovered a new approach for developing a rechargeable non-aqueous magnesium-metal battery.
Apr 03, 2018
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