Cutting edge Renewable Energy Research done at NREL. Still hopeful for the future of Renewables.

As a part of the Climate Reality Project team, I visited National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) yesterday. NREL is the only federal laboratory dedicated to the research, development, commercialization, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.The research at NREL focuses on energy systems and technologies—and the science behind them—for a future powered by clean energy. Top-notch scientist are working hard to find market solutions to energy and climate change. They develop ideas and make these new renewable energy technologies feasible to the market. It was fascinating to visit the pioneers of the renewable technologies. Here are some things I learn from my trip.

-NREL is managed for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

-Through partnerships and licensing of its intellectual property rights, NREL seeks to reduce private sector risk in early stage technologies, enable investment in the adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, reduce U.S. reliance on foreign energy sources, reduce carbon emissions, and increase U.S. industrial competitiveness.

-The research area at NREL focuses on wind, solar, bioenergy, material science, energy efficiency, and transportation.

-NREL campus is composed of zero-energy buildings. Cutting edge technology to conserve energy in the buildings. The south-side solar panels on the roof bring an additional 1.13 MW of solar to the NREL campus and helps make the research support facility (RSF) and garage net-zero for energy use. The panels also help offset the energy used by the garage's 36 electric vehicle charging stations.

If you are in the Denver area and want to learn about NREL's accomplishments, they do give walking tours. The next one is on March 17, 2017. Please see the link for further information, NREL Walking Tours.