January 2019
NREL's New Supercomputer, Eagle, Takes Flight
Now in production use, the ultra-efficient Eagle high-performance computer will power scientific insights to accelerate our energy system transformation.
New Substation Will Double Generating Capacity at National Wind Technology Center
This upgrade will enable megawatt-scale research that generates nearly twice that amount of power to occur at the same time--increasing opportunities for more grid-connected technologies, including solar panels, batteries, and additional wind turbines.
Advancements in Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis Give Biofuels a Boost
Researchers from NREL and two other national labs have discovered an alternative catalytic fast pyrolysis approach--using fixed-bed reactors and bifunctional catalysts--that significantly improves bio-oil yields and the overall economics of the process to turn biomass into biofuels and bioproducts.
From Intern to Engineer, Nick Johnson Follows the Wind to NREL
Former tribal energy intern follows the wind to a career at NREL.
December 2018
News Release: NREL Details Great Potential for Floating PV Systems
While the United States was the first to demonstrate floating PV panels--with the first installation occurring 10 years ago on pontoons on an irrigation pond in Napa Valley, California--the idea has not received widespread national acceptance.
A Big Year for Wind: NREL's Top Five Industry Takeaways of 2018
The wind industry is booming now that wind generation has become the cheapest source of new power in multiple U.S. markets, even without incentives. And--spoiler alert--early-stage research shows promise for driving down wind power prices even further.
Better Explanation of Coalescence-Related Defects Garners Journal Spotlight
New paper aids researchers in understanding defects in coalescing materials, helping to develop low-cost substrates for solar cells.
Ian Baring-Gould is Engaging in the Power of Communities
Ian Baring-Gould has traveled the globe for NREL, helping communities. He is amazed at the progress of renewables, particularly wind, over the past few decades.
Inspiring the Next Generation of NREL Researchers
Senior NREL researcher Alicen Kandt frequently volunteers to speak with college students and young girls about careers in engineering and renewable energy.
Q&A with Mike Callahan: Modernizing Energy Systems
Mike Callahan is the group manager for the Applied Engineering team, a new group at NREL that supports projects in the areas of resiliency, microgrids, building systems, and new technology testing and evaluation.
Expert from NREL Testifies Before Canada House of Commons
ASHRAE President and NREL senior research advisor Sheila Hayter testified before the Canada House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources in November.
Field Validation Campaign of German-Designed Rotor Blades Measures Adaptation to Strong Winds
The German Aerospace Center has partnered with NREL to investigate how well rotor blades designed with bending-torsion coupling handle strongly variable wind speeds.
NREL Garners Top Sustainability Honor at Data Center Dynamics Awards
International award cements NREL’s status as a world leader in energy-efficient and sustainable data centers.
Costs Continue to Decline for Residential and Commercial Photovoltaics in 2018
Two new reports from NREL track the evolving costs of PV and establish a new cost benchmark for PV-plus-storage.
NREL Powers Up GameChanger, Announces First Cohort of Start-Ups
The Shell GameChanger™ Accelerator Powered by NREL (GCxN) has announced its first round of start-up innovators – four companies focused on developing long-term energy storage and advancing the grid of the future.
News Release: Upwind Wind Plants Can Reduce Flow to Downwind Neighbors
New National Science Foundation and Department of Energy-funded research highlights a previously unexplored consequence of the global proliferation of wind energy facilities: a wake effect from upwind facilities that can reduce the energy production of their downwind neighbors.
NREL Expands Research in Geothermal and Solar Desalination
NREL scientists have a long history of successfully analyzing geothermal and solar energy data. But they are now actively researching desalination capabilities by partnering with technology leaders on several groundbreaking projects. The purpose is to explore geothermal and solar-thermal technologies for creating fresh water from otherwise unusable water.
Bioenergy Scientists Collaborate with Industry to Convey Feedstock Value, Improve Biomass Conversion Processes
A team of NREL scientists partnered with Forest Concepts to perform detailed thermochemical conversion simulations for biomass feedstocks. The simulations relate feedstock attributes to expected product yields and necessary pyrolysis conversion process conditions.
NREL-Led ExaWind Project Demonstrates New Capability for Simulating Modern Wind Turbines
NREL and partners have created a new blade-resolved model of a large modern wind turbine, enabling scientists and engineers to begin understanding the complex flow physics in multi-turbine wind farms that will take advantage of future exascale modeling and simulation capability.
November 2018
NREL Leadership in Grid-Mod Projects Highlights National Progress
The challenge to modernize our grid is not a maintenance task or an everyday repair. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium (GMLC) is responding to a grid transformation unlike anything the nation has experienced.
Last Updated Jan. 22, 2026