The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is looking to give batteries from electric drive vehicles (EV) a “second life.” Possible secondary uses for lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries include residential and commercial electric-power management, power-grid stabilization to help provide reliable electricity to users, and renewable energy system firming—which in this case involves using batteries to make…
NREL to explore legal routes to state feed-in-tariffs
In a technical report NREL issued, “Renewable Energy Prices in State-Level Feed-in Tariffs: Federal Law Constraints and Possible Solutions,” the organization discusses how state legislatures and their utility commissions seeking to attract renewable energy projects are considering arrangements called “feed-in tariffs.”
NREL Study Shows Power Grid Can Accomodate Substantial Increase In Wind & Solar
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently released an initial study assessing the operational impacts and economics of increased contributions from wind and solar energy producers on the power grid. The Western Wind and Solar Integration Study examines the benefits and challenges of integrating enough wind and solar energy capacity into the grid to produce…
NREL & Samsung Obtain Decades of Wind Power Data in Two Months of Testing
In a coupling of giants recently, the 2.5-megawatt dynamometer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory blasted 12.6 million inch pounds of torque at Samsung’s 185,000-pound wind turbine drive train. The King Kong of wind turbines battled the Godzilla of dynamometers to a draw. It was the greatest amount of power ever…