Massive Data Set of Photovoltaic System Performance Quantifies the Small but Significant Impacts of Extreme Weather and Long-Term Degradation, With Important Lessons for the PV Industry. For photovoltaic (PV) systems—designed to operate over lifetimes of 20, 30, or even 50 years—small losses in energy production can add up to measurable differences over time. These differences … Continue reading How Extreme Weather and System Aging Affect the US Photovoltaic Fleet
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NREL Analysis Identifies Drivers of Offshore Wind Power Development
As much as 20% of regional power needs along the Atlantic coast could be served by offshore wind farms by 2050, according to researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) who modeled deployment of this emerging U.S. energy sector in new depth and detail. The researchers who performed the analysis … Continue reading NREL Analysis Identifies Drivers of Offshore Wind Power Development
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Building Better Blades: Renewed Funding Supports Wind Turbine Blade Innovations at NREL
Wind turbines are getting bigger, and so are turbine blades, which need to be made of durable materials if they are going to keep functioning for 20 or more years. And at the end of their lifespan, it is essential that those durable materials be reused, not tossed in a landfill. Working out how to … Continue reading Building Better Blades: Renewed Funding Supports Wind Turbine Blade Innovations at NREL
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NREL Reimagines Next-Generation Drivetrain Technologies for Offshore Wind Turbines
Comparison Provides Insight Into Future Trends of Offshore Wind Energy. New studies leveraging conceptual designs of offshore wind turbines point to how their drivetrains could change in the near future to produce more power while lowering costs, according to a new journal article by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and … Continue reading NREL Reimagines Next-Generation Drivetrain Technologies for Offshore Wind Turbines
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NREL, GE Research Team Find Critical Adjustments To Improve Wind Turbine Design
Low-level jet streams, also known as low-level jets (LLJs), behave in powerful and complex ways that can impact numerous American lives and livelihoods. Winds that blow along the U.S. coastline hit the homes of over 128 million people; that same wind energy has the potential to bring ashore a tidal wave of clean, renewable electricity … Continue reading NREL, GE Research Team Find Critical Adjustments To Improve Wind Turbine Design
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Next Decade Decisive for Photovoltaic Growth on the Path to 2050
Global experts on solar power strongly urge a commitment to the continued growth of photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing and deployment to power the planet, arguing that lowballing projections for PV growth while waiting for a consensus on other energy pathways or the emergence of technological last-minute miracles “is no longer an option.” The consensus reached by … Continue reading Next Decade Decisive for Photovoltaic Growth on the Path to 2050
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New Marine Energy Prize Investigates Novel Materials To Capture and Convert Wave Energy
Imagine using the force of ocean waves to power the nation’s coastal cities. With wave energy being the most abundant and geographically diverse marine energy resource in the United States, it is possible. Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office launched the Innovating Distributed Embedded Energy Prize (InDEEP) in partnership with the … Continue reading New Marine Energy Prize Investigates Novel Materials To Capture and Convert Wave Energy
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Concentrated Solar Power Projects Around the World
Working with member countries, SolarPACES—Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems—has compiled data on concentrating solar power (CSP) projects around the world that have plants that are either operational, under construction, or under development. CSP technologies include parabolic trough, linear Fresnel reflector, power tower, and dish/engine systems. For individual concentrating solar power projects, you will find profiles … Continue reading Concentrated Solar Power Projects Around the World
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Experts Forecast the Wind Plant of the Future To Be Taller and More Economical
In the most-likely scenario, the experts predicted that hub height for newly installed onshore wind turbines will reach 130 meters in 2035, rather than the 115-meter forecast offered in a 2015 survey. Anticipating key features of wind plants a decade or more ahead of their installation can inform today’s investment, research, and energy system planning … Continue reading Experts Forecast the Wind Plant of the Future To Be Taller and More Economical
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NREL finds up to six-cent per kilowatt-hour extra value with concentrated solar power
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 report, «Estimating the Value of Utility-Scale Solar Technologies … Continue reading NREL finds up to six-cent per kilowatt-hour extra value with concentrated solar power
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NREL Pioneer Celebrates 35 Years of Advancing Concentrated Solar Power Research
When it comes to concentrating solar power (CSP) research, Mark Mehos has seen the industry growth and solar boom firsthand. Mark Mehos has pioneered thermal systems research at NREL and worldwide since 1986. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL CSP technologies—capturing sunlight to produce heat that drives thermoelectric generation systems—had their beginnings in the mid-1980s, at … Continue reading NREL Pioneer Celebrates 35 Years of Advancing Concentrated Solar Power Research
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Hyperlight Energy signs license with NREL for Concentrated Solar Power receiver that replaces steel with plastic
Improved receiver design is part of company’s technical roadmap, pushing up the performance curve while maintaining world-leading low cost. Hyperlight Energy, a developer of Hylux™, the world’s lowest-cost concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, today announced that it has signed an exclusive license agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for … Continue reading Hyperlight Energy signs license with NREL for Concentrated Solar Power receiver that replaces steel with plastic
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NREL and Acciona Solar Power Develop Technology To Reverse Costly Effects of Hydrogen Buildup in Concentrated Solar Power Receiver Fields
Since the mid-’80s, concentrating solar power (CSP) plants have generated clean energy to power our homes, schools, offices, and communities. Yet, one consistent challenge of CSP plants is hydrogen buildup, which can be costly to mitigate and reduces plant efficiency. NREL Senior Scientist Greg Glatzmaier has spent much of his career finding a solution. By … Continue reading NREL and Acciona Solar Power Develop Technology To Reverse Costly Effects of Hydrogen Buildup in Concentrated Solar Power Receiver Fields
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Offshore Wind Energy Grew 19% Globally In 2019
Global installed offshore wind capacity reached 27,064 MW in 2019 — a 19% increase from the previous year. This and other trends can be found in the 2019 Offshore Wind Technology Data Update, released by NREL on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office. Only one commercial offshore wind farm currently … Continue reading Offshore Wind Energy Grew 19% Globally In 2019
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NREL unveils 15 MW wind turbine developed with DTU
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US has released an open-source model for an offshore wind turbine developed in collaboration with the Technological University of Denmark and University of Maine. It was partially funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office. NREL designed the … Continue reading NREL unveils 15 MW wind turbine developed with DTU
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Declining renewable costs drive focus on energy storage
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 until it’s needed. Declining costs in available technologies have propelled interest in energy storage forward like never before. The price … Continue reading Declining renewable costs drive focus on energy storage
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High Renewable Energy Electricity Growth Continued in 2015
The 2015 Renewable Energy Data Book shows that U.S. renewable electricity grew to 16.7 percent of total installed capacity and 13.8 percent of total electricity generation during the past year. Published annually by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on behalf of the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the data book … Continue reading High Renewable Energy Electricity Growth Continued in 2015
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CPV’s LCOE may fall as low as that for photovoltaic in 2020s
The German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, have compiled a study that describes the status of both the current market as well as the state-of-the-art for concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology. This young technology has achieved tremendous progress and has the potential for delivering solar … Continue reading CPV’s LCOE may fall as low as that for photovoltaic in 2020s
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Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Reveals the Steady Rise of Renewables
The newly released 2013 Renewable Energy Data Book illustrates United States and global energy statistics, including renewable electricity generation, renewable energy development, clean energy investments, and technology-specific data and trends. The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on Jan. 20 released its latest report on U.S. and global renewable energy. Published annually, NREL’s … Continue reading Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Reveals the Steady Rise of Renewables
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Solar energy prices are dropping fast, NREL says
Distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) system prices dropped by 12 – 19 percent nationwide in 2013, according to the third edition of a jointly written report on PV pricing trends from the Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). In addition, 2014 prices are expected to drop another 3 … Continue reading Solar energy prices are dropping fast, NREL says
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