Enlarge image NREL’s Large-Volume Battery Calorimeter has the highest-capacity chamber in the world for testing of this kind. From the bottom clockwise are NREL researchers Matthew Keyser, Dirk Long and John Ireland. Credit: Dennis Schroeder With average U.S. gasoline prices approaching $4 a gallon, drivers and automakers are thinking electric. Previously steered in this direction […]
Biden Says U.S. Will Lead Energy Revolution
Boulder CEO to Use NREL Technology to Retrofit Windows US e-Chromic first to option license under DOE challenge. Full story. America, with its entrepreneurial spirit and innovative national labs, will lead the global clean-energy revolution and reap the economic and environmental benefits that go with it, Vice President Joe Biden vowed in a visit last […]
Solar and Hydrogen Car Races Spark Imaginations
Enlarge image Team members from Mead Middle School work on their car named “Torpedo” just before a hydrogen fuel cell race. NREL’s education programs are designed to generate enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, as well as extend students’ experiences with renewable energy technologies. Credit: Dennis Schroeder The call to advance America’s […]
NREL Adds Giant Wind Turbine to Research Site
Enlarge image Caption: NREL’s Deputy Laboratory Director Dana Christensen, left, shakes hands with Andy Geissbuehler, VP & General Manager of Alstom Power’s Wind Business North America, at dedication ceremonies for the Alstom Eco 100 wind turbine. On the right is Steve Chalk, the Department of Energy’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. […]
Antarctica’s Ice Puts Electric Vehicles to Test
Enlarge image The electric vehicles were staged at NREL before being transported to Antarctica. NREL is leading a project that will test two EVs at McMurdo Station.The goal is to reduce dependence on imported fuels in Antarctica and validate the performance of the vehicles in extreme conditions. Credit: Dennis Schroeder The punishment your car endures […]
PV Incubator Pushes Solar Innovations
Enlarge image NREL Principal Engineer Keith Emery prepares to load three-junction concentrator cells into NREL’s High-Intensity Pulse Solar Simulator to test for efficiency. Credit: Dennis Schroeder To catapult America to the global lead in solar manufacturing, the U.S. Department of Energy is turning to small start-ups with the kind of disruptive technology that has the […]
Algorithm Positions Solar Trackers, Movie Stars
Enlarge image NREL Senior Scientist Ibrahim Reda and NREL Senior Scientist Afshin Andreas developed the Solar Position Algorithm now used by solar trackers, orchard growers and movie-camera makers, among others. The algorithm used in the SPA appears in the shadow. Credit: Dennis Schroeder Math and programming experts at a federal laboratory took an algorithm used […]
NREL Helping the Army Be as Green as it Can Be
Enlarge image Spc. Dean Kalogris from Headquarters Company, Fort Bliss, Texas, charges the installation’s command sergeant major’s electric car. The cars, which are made from recycled plastic and can reach speeds of 25 mph, are driven by base leadership as a demonstration of their commitment to helping keep energy costs down. Courtesy of U.S. Army/Maj. […]
Super-Efficient Cells Key to Low-Cost Solar Power
Enlarge image The Amonix 7700 Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) Solar Power Generators are showcasing reliability and undergoing validation-of-performance measurements at the SolarTAC facility in Aurora, Colo. Credit: Dennis Schroeder Enlarge image A technician at SolarTAC in Aurora, CO, enters some numbers into a laptop as he monitors validation of the Amonix 7700 Solar Power Generators. Credit: […]
Searching for a Diamond in the Muck
Text version Most people scorn algae as pond scum, but Lee Elliott embraces the slime, captures it, filters it, and analyzes it for its potential to grow like weeds and fuel the airplanes and automobiles of tomorrow. Elliott is a 21st century prospector. His Eldorado isn’t gold, but that elusive briny pond or brackish puddle […]