News Release: NREL Releases Major Update to Wind Energy Dataset

A massive amount of wind data was recently made accessible online, greatly expanding the amount of information available on wind flow across the continental United States.

Low- and Moderate-Income Residences Can Help Modernize the U.S. Electric Grid

Pairing solar photovoltaics with rooftops of low and moderate-income housing represents an opportunity to help modernize the U.S. electric grid and improve energy affordability in low-income communities

News Release: New Solar PV Tool Accurately Calculates Degradation Rates, Saving Money and Guiding Business Decisions

A new software package developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and industry partners SunPower and kWh Analytics is making the measurement of PV system expected lifetime performance more reliable, consistent, and accurate.

New Analysis Finds Synergistic Relationship Between High PV Penetration and Energy Storage Deployment

Adding higher penetrations of solar photovoltaics (PV) to the electric power grid could increase the potential for energy storage to meet peak demand, according to new analysis from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

High Performance Computing and Cutting-Edge Analysis Can Open New Scientific Realms

NREL recently created the Scientific Computing and Energy Analysis (SCEA) directorate, pairing our expertise in high performance computing with our deep knowledge of energy analysis.

Ten Years of Analyzing the Duck Chart: How an NREL Discovery in 2008 Is Helping Enable More Solar on the Grid Today

In February 2008, a team of NREL analysts led by Paul Denholm published a paper that examined how to plan for future large-scale integration of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation on the electric grid. They observed a unique change in the shape of the electric load met by conventional power plants when increasing levels of PV are added to the system, and thus identified the earliest version of what was later named the "duck curve" by the California Independent System Operator.

How Low Can Conventional Generators Go? NREL Explains Why Minimum Generation Is Key to Maximum Renewable Integration

New study in the journal Energy Policy illustrates the importance of quantifying power system operational constraints to enable more renewables on the grid.

News Release: Cost-Reduction Roadmap Outlines Two Pathways to Meet DOE Residential Solar Cost Target for 2030

News Release: 2016 Data Book Shows Continued Growth of Renewable Electricity

The 2016 Renewable Energy Data Book shows that U.S. renewable electricity grew to 18.3 percent of total installed capacity and 15.6 percent of total electricity generation in 2016.

News Release: Multi-model Effort Highlights Progress, Future Needs in Renewable Energy Modeling

Four agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), hosted two workshops that led to a new report where the teams identified areas of importance for modeling variable renewable energy, performed experiments to determine key assumptions, and compiled a set of recommendations for future research in this area.