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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Similar value for tower and parabolic trough Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies
NREL Report Finds Similar Value in Two Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Technologies. Findings demonstrate increasing importance for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems with thermal energy storage. Parabolic troughs and dry-cooled towers deliver similar value for concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, despite different solar profiles, a new report by the Energy Department
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Active Power Control of Wind Turbines Can Improve Power Grid Reliability
The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), along with partners from the Electric Power Research Institute and the University of Colorado have completed a comprehensive study to understand how wind power technology can assist the power grid by controlling the active power output being placed onto the system. The rest of the power system’s … Continue reading Active Power Control of Wind Turbines Can Improve Power Grid Reliability
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National Renewable Energy Laboratory tests wind turbines
National Wind Technology Center is using a new $16 million dynamometer to test how wind turbines perform. The 5-megawatt dynamometer test facility is the newest addition at the center, which is part of the Golden-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The new facility is an upgrade from a 2.5-megawatt dynamometer at the center. “As wind turbines … Continue reading National Renewable Energy Laboratory tests wind turbines
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NREL calculates emissions and costs of power plant cycling necessary for increased wind energy and solar power
New research from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) quantifies the potential impacts of increasing wind and solar power generation on the operators of fossil-fueled power plants in the West. To accommodate higher amounts of wind and solar power on the electric grid, utilities must ramp down and ramp up or stop and … Continue reading NREL calculates emissions and costs of power plant cycling necessary for increased wind energy and solar power
Continue readingValue in Concentrated Solar Power to Add to Electric Grid Calculated
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have quantified the significant value that concentrating solar power (CSP) plants can add to an electric grid. The NREL researchers evaluated the operational impacts of CSP systems with thermal energy storage within the California electric grid managed by the California Independent System Operator … Continue reading Value in Concentrated Solar Power to Add to Electric Grid Calculated
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NREL Joins Global Alliance of Solar Research Institutes
The main focus of the Global Alliance of Solar Energy Research Institutes will be a researcher exchange program where each organization will send researchers to the other participant’s labs for collaborative research lasting anywhere from six months to two years. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE)’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has joined the newly-formed … Continue reading NREL Joins Global Alliance of Solar Research Institutes
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