NREL

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) final energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers appear to strike a compromise with industry, softening the agency’s stance on steel requirements for essential transformer components and extending compliance deadlines to five years. The DOE’s final standards issued on April 4 seek to reduce losses in three types of distribution […]

One concern some observers raise about the growth of inverter-based resources, such as solar, wind, and battery storage, supplying the power grid is that they don’t provide inertia. Inertia has historically

The spectrum of geothermal technologies is quickly evolving. This supplement to POWER’s April 2023 feature, “Startups Are Shaking Up Geothermal Power’s Potential,” briefly explains the differences between some engineered geothermal systems. Conventional geothermal energy is largely produced by hydrothermal systems, which consist of hot water circulated in deep-seated permeable rocks. Resource temperature ranges from high (greater […]

U.S. utility Entergy and global power giant RWE are partnering to jointly assess the best means to develop an offshore wind market in the Gulf of Mexico. The two companies on March 30 unveiled a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which they will analyze the Gulf of Mexico offshore wind market and define an optimal […]

The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) has announced a new competition designed to support the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) into the nation’s power grid. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm unveiled the program Feb. 7 during a presentation to attendees of the DISTRIBUTECH 2023 event at the San Diego Convention Center in California. The program […]

GOLDEN, CO. (Dec. 20, 2021) — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), joined by our partners at Sandia National Laboratories and the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute, announces the launch of theHeliostat Consortium (HelioCon), an international effort to drive down the cost of heliostats. HelioCon, led by NREL, emphasizes the […]

The growth curve for solar power continues its upward trajectory, thanks to technologies such as perovskites, heterojunction solar cells, and energy storage systems designed to complement rooftop solar. New

Many consider the “hydrogen economy” (the idea that all our energy needs could be provided by hydrogen) a pipe dream, since current solutions to the green energy crisis are critically lacking in either economic viability or environmental sustainability. Producing hydrogen from natural gas (grey hydrogen) is the least expensive method but produces carbon pollution and consumes large […]

Advancements in batteries, along with an improved regulatory environment and more investment, could make this decade the Roaring ’20s for energy storage. Many areas have been considered a focus for the

Three GE business units will partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) to develop and demonstrate an integrated additive manufacturing process for high-performance blade designs as part of a $6.7 million project funded by the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO).  Under the AMO’s proposed “Additive […]