Golden, Colorado

NREL Analysis Quantifies Impacts of Setback Ordinances on Land Available for Renewable Energy Deployment

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 3, 2023

The amount of land available to deploy renewables depends on the characteristics of the ordinances.

Key Points: 
  • The amount of land available to deploy renewables depends on the characteristics of the ordinances.
  • “Setback ordinances determine how much land is available for deployment and how much wind and solar resource we have to decarbonize our energy system.”
    The impact of setback ordinances has not traditionally been captured in large-scale resource assessments because it requires highly detailed modeling and hyperlocal data.
  • Ordinances can also protect the natural habitats and species where renewable energy projects are deployed and ensure efficient, sustainable use of land resources.
  • NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development.

Boppy® Bassinet Launches in August, With an Emphasis on Safe Sleep Solutions in Time for Baby Safety Month

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Arriving before Baby Safety Month in September, the offering furthers the brand’s commitment to putting safe solutions at the forefront, positioning them as safety ambassadors in the industry.

Key Points: 
  • Arriving before Baby Safety Month in September, the offering furthers the brand’s commitment to putting safe solutions at the forefront, positioning them as safety ambassadors in the industry.
  • They recommend keeping loose blankets, pillows – including nursing pillows, stuffed toys, bumpers, and other soft items out of the sleep space.
  • The Boppy® Bassinet helps families meet these guidelines, allowing babies to stay close to their parents during the night while maintaining a safe sleep environment.
  • "The Boppy® Bassinet is everything a baby needs for safe sleep," said Senior Product Designer Haley Gibbons.

Bifacial Perovskite Solar Cells Point to Higher Efficiency

Retrieved on: 
Monday, July 17, 2023

Past bifacial perovskite solar cell research has yielded devices considered inadequate in comparison to monofacial cells, which have a current record of 26% efficiency.

Key Points: 
  • Past bifacial perovskite solar cell research has yielded devices considered inadequate in comparison to monofacial cells, which have a current record of 26% efficiency.
  • Ideally, the NREL researchers noted, a bifacial cell should have a front-side efficiency close to the best-performing monofacial cell and a similar back-side efficiency.
  • The researchers were able to make a solar cell where the efficiency under illumination from both sides are close together.
  • To evaluate the efficiency gained through bifacial illumination, the researchers placed the cell between two solar simulators.

Next Decade Decisive for PV Growth on the Path to 2050

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 6, 2023

The increasing acceptance of PV technology has prompted the experts to suggest that about 75 terawatts or more of globally deployed PV will be needed by 2050 to meet decarbonization goals.

Key Points: 
  • The increasing acceptance of PV technology has prompted the experts to suggest that about 75 terawatts or more of globally deployed PV will be needed by 2050 to meet decarbonization goals.
  • The 2018 meeting moved the target even higher, to about 10 TW by 2030, and to three times that amount by 2050.
  • The PV industry must continue to grow at a rate of about 25% per year over the next critical years.
  • As the report noted, the target of 75 terawatts of installed PV “is both a major challenge and an available path forward.

Perovskite-Based Thermochromic Windows Reduce Energy Load and Carbon Emission in Buildings

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 9, 2023

The thermochromic windows based on the use of perovskite materials to absorb energy from the sun shift from transparent to a visibly absorbing or reflecting state.

Key Points: 
  • The thermochromic windows based on the use of perovskite materials to absorb energy from the sun shift from transparent to a visibly absorbing or reflecting state.
  • The findings are detailed in the paper “ Thermochromic Halide Perovskite Windows with Ideal Transition Temperatures ,” which appears in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.
  • The researchers noted that in colder climates triple-pane windows provided more energy savings than the thermochromic double-pane windows, but adding a thermochromic laminate to create a triple-pane window provided the most annual energy savings compared to the highest efficiency double-pane windows.
  • NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development.

Thin, Lightweight Layer Provides Radiation Barrier for Perovskites in Space, Protection From Elements on Earth

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 26, 2023

While the biggest challenges on Earth are related to weather, in space perovskites must address the problems that come from radiation bombardment and extreme temperature swings.

Key Points: 
  • While the biggest challenges on Earth are related to weather, in space perovskites must address the problems that come from radiation bombardment and extreme temperature swings.
  • Perovskites show signs of better tolerance to radiation than many other solar cells, but plenty of testing remains to be conducted.
  • Researchers last year ran simulations to demonstrate how exposure to radiation in space would affect perovskites.
  • The oxide layer also provided protection when other perovskite compositions typically more sensitive to moisture were exposed to water.

NREL Develops Systematic Framework To Compare Performance of Plastics Recycling Approaches

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) examined the benefits and trade-offs of current and emerging technologies for recycling certain types of plastics to determine the most appropriate options.

Key Points: 
  • Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) examined the benefits and trade-offs of current and emerging technologies for recycling certain types of plastics to determine the most appropriate options.
  • Those same processes can be used on PET in addition to three chemical recycling technologies: enzymatic hydrolysis, glycolysis, and methanolysis.
  • The NREL study quantitatively characterized the performance of plastic recycling technologies—including factors that are usually only discussed qualitatively, like contamination tolerance—and established a methodology for comparing new recycling processes as they emerge.
  • NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development.

New Method Addresses Problem With Perovskite Solar Cells

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, December 22, 2022

Developing highly stable and efficient perovskites based on a rich mixture of bromine and iodine is considered critical for the creation of tandem solar cells.

Key Points: 
  • Developing highly stable and efficient perovskites based on a rich mixture of bromine and iodine is considered critical for the creation of tandem solar cells.
  • Various strategies have been tried to mitigate those issues, but the stability of wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells is still considered inadequate.
  • The NREL-led group used that same architecture and moved further away from the conventional method of making a perovskite.
  • The researchers also tried argon and air as the drying gas with similar results, indicating that the gas-quench method is a general way for improving the performance of wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells.

BOTTLE Project Outlines New Strategy for Valorization of Mixed Plastic Waste

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 13, 2022

Golden, CO, Oct. 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Combining chemical and biological processes is a promising new strategy for the valorization of mixed plastic waste, according to researchers with the Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) Consortium.

Key Points: 
  • Golden, CO, Oct. 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Combining chemical and biological processes is a promising new strategy for the valorization of mixed plastic waste, according to researchers with the Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) Consortium.
  • Only about 5% is recycled in the United States , with existing strategies requiring separated and clean plastic inputs to operate effectively.
  • The BOTTLE researchers developed a process that can convert mixed plastics to a single chemical product, working toward a solution that would allow recyclers to skip sorting plastic by type.
  • The paper, Mixed plastics waste valorization through tandem chemical oxidation and biological funneling , was co-authored by NREL researchers and BOTTLE team members from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of WisconsinMadison.

Catalytic Process With Lignin Could Enable 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 22, 2022

Researchers at three institutionsthe U.S. Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Washington State Universityreport success in using lignin as a path toward a drop-in 100% sustainable aviation fuel.

Key Points: 
  • Researchers at three institutionsthe U.S. Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Washington State Universityreport success in using lignin as a path toward a drop-in 100% sustainable aviation fuel.
  • The newly published research demonstrated a process the researchers developed to remove the oxygen from lignin, such that the resulting hydrocarbons could be used as a jet fuel blendstock.
  • Accomplishing the industrys goal of achieving net carbon neutrality during that same period will require a massive deployment of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with high blend limits with conventional fuel.
  • As the largest source of renewable aromatics in nature, lignin could hold the answer to achieving a complete bio-based jet fuel.