A report published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Renewable Electricity Futures Study (RE Futures), is an initial investigation of the extent to which renewable energy supply can meet the electricity demands of the continental United States over the next several decades. The study explores the implications and challenges of high renewable…
NREL issues cost and performance data for power generation technologies
This is the introduction to the NREL report, “Cost and performance data for power generation technologies.” Black & Veatch contracted with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 2009 to provide the power-generating technology cost and performance estimates described in this report. These data were synthesized from various sources in late 2009 and early 2010…
A Washington wind map for 80m
The Department of Energy’s Wind Program and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has published a wind resource map for the state of Washington. The resource map shows the predicted mean annual wind speeds at 80-m height. Presented at a spatial resolution of about 2 km (interpolated to a finer scale for display). Areas with…
An NREL director’s statement to energy leaders
Renewable energy is conventional energy and it is ready for wider use. This statement and others come from the remarks of Dr. Dan Arvizu, Director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory delivered at the 2011 EnergyBiz Leadership Forum, Washington, D.C. When I first read the title of this panel discussion, it occurred to me there’s something of…
NREL ranks utility power programs
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released its annual assessment of leading utility green-power programs. Under these voluntary programs, consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as wind and solar.
Study to detailed airflow through wind farm
To improve wind farm energy production, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) researchers are launching a study to make visible the invisible “wakes” produced behind wind turbines. Wind-farm designs have long known that wind turbine rotors generate ripples, waves, and other atmospheric disturbances downstream of turbines. “The turbulence can damage turbines downstream, and harm productivity,”…
NREL study says wind could bring in big dough
Wind could do great things to boost Wyoming’s economy, according to a recent NREL study. Analysts there have examined the economic impact of wind development in the state, on behalf of the Wyoming infrastructure Authority. The study considered factors such as power line construction and the growth of natural gas power production used to back…
Hydrogen bus lets lab visitors ride the future
DOE recently funded the leases for 12 hydrogen-powered shuttle buses to demonstrate market-ready advanced technology vehicles. NREL was the first facility to receive one of the leased buses which it uses on its Golden, Colo. campus for site tours. The shuttle buses are being placed at federal facilities across the country to demonstrate market-ready advanced…
Wind Turbines Whip Up Excitement, School Pride
The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Wind for Schools project is churning, having installed 42 Southwest Windpower SkyStream 3.7 turbines so far, with a goal of five new turbines each year for the 11 states already part of the program. Eventually, 35 states are expected to participate.
How to pass the wind farm “begun-construction” test
This article comes from law firm Foley & Lardner LLC The U.S. Treasury and NREL recently revised the application process for certain projects seeking to qualify for cash grants in lieu of tax credits under Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Section 1603). To be eligible for a Section 1603…
NREL report: Big opportunity in offshore wind
The United States is now deliberating an energy policy that will have a powerful impact on the nation’s energy and economic health for decades, says a report recently issued by NREL. The following is excerpted from its executive summary. The report provides an understanding of today’s wind industry and the offshore resource, as well as…
Recovery Act Sec. 1603 updates grant applications
The US Treasury Department and National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently updated the application used to apply for grants in lieu of tax credits (Grants) under Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Section 1603 established a program whereby an eligible person could, in lieu of claiming the production tax credit under…
Existing Grid sufficient for a little while: NREL
NREL says more than a third of the electricity in the western U.S. could come from wind and solar power without installing significant amounts of backup power. And most of this renewable-energy expansion can happen without installing new interstate transmission lines, according to a recent study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden,…
4,000 GW of offshore wind-power potential, says NREL
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released a report that assesses the electricity generating potential of offshore wind resources in the United States. According to the assessment, the U.S. has 4,150 GW of potential wind turbine nameplate capacity (maximum turbine capacity) from offshore wind resources. The estimate does not describe…
NREL bridging the gap between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists
Presenting entrepreneurs at NREL’s Industry Growth Forum have just 10 minutes to impress judges with sound business plans that will attract investors to their clean energy ideas. Preparations are nearly complete for the 23rd Industry Growth Forum held in Denver, Oct. 19. Entrepreneurs at the forum will take a stage under hot lights to make…
NREL teams up with University of Delaware for Offshore Wind Research
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Delaware (UD) will establish a test site for commercial wind turbines off the Delaware coast. Under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement of $500,000 over the next five years, UD will work with federal and state agencies meet criteria for establishing…
Brownfields’ bright spot: solar and wind energy
A few months ago, the EPA and U.S Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory announced their decision to join forces in evaluating sites that could be used for renewable-energy production. Since then, wind turbines have risen from abandoned toxic industrial sites, and solar panels have begun to catch rays over contaminated landfills. Here’s an…
NREL to foster MW-scale test facility
The Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) will soon be the nation’s only facility that can conduct integrated megawatt-scale testing of all components and strategies. This is critical to deploying renewable energy and other energy-efficiency technologies into the nation’s electric grid at utility scale. The 175,000 sq. ft. facility will house laboratories and office space for…
Turbine lab on an 80-m tower
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Siemens Energy Inc. have formally commissioned a 2.3 MW Siemens wind turbine at NREL’s National Wind Technology Center. The turbine is the centerpiece of a multi-year project to study the performance and aerodynamics of a new class of large, land-based machines in a program…
EPA says some contaminated sites good for wind farms
It’s not often two government agencies get together to do something that is almost inspired. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have done that by joinin forces in their evaluation of sites that could be used for renewable-energy production. These can be Superfund and brown…