The National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Golden, Colorado

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is part of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Golden, Colorado facility is the government's primary research facility for renewable energy and the efficient use of energy. The bulk of the facilities funding comes from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The facility was established in 1974 as the Solar Energy Research Institute. And in 1991 its name was changed to the NREL. It specializes in research in the areas of renewable electricity, renewable fuels, integrated energy systems and strategic energy analysis. In many cases the staff entered into joint research projects with other public and private entities.

In this vein, the NREL examines the areas of vehicle technologies and alternative fuels. They investigate other ways of powering cars and the effects they have on the environment. With the rising cost of oil and the depletion of the supply of the natural resources, other ways of powering cars seemed necessary.

Another facet of research concerns technologies for moving energy and storing it near the site where it will be used. This applies mainly to wind turbine and solar energy which isn't generated all of the time. The energy has to be stored in some way and available for use when it is required.

A third function of NREL is to provide information about alternative energies and to help people find the resources to use these technologies. The NREL helps bring the technology from the lab to the consumer in the marketplace. This is viewed as one of their most important functions and they work with private and public organizations in order to affect this transfer.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has a very informative web site that provides information about the work and mission. They invite people and organizations to partner with them as they work toward their goal of providing clean air technologies. They bring people and groups together in the Industry Growth Forums.