BECAUSE YOU ASKED
Q: What can you tell us about the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden where President Bush recently visited? Can the public visit the laboratory? What have they produced? Are we getting our money’s worth?
David Dearborn, Grand Junction
A: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or NREL, is the primary laboratory in the country for renewable-energy and energy-efficiency research and development. It is home to three national centers – the National Center for Photovoltaics, the National Bioenergy Center and the National Wind Technology Center – and many labs within those centers such as the Solar Energy Research Facility.
The Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy provides the majority of its funding. Other funding comes from DOE’s Office of Science and Office of Electricity Transmission and Distribution. NREL partners with industry, universities and other laboratories to work on energy issues.
Established in 1974, NREL began operating in 1977 as the Solar Energy Research Institute, until September 1991, when it was designated as a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. At that time, its name was changed to NREL.
Research at the lab over the past 29 years has helped with, among others, developments that have reduced the cost of solar electricity and wind energy by 80 percent.
The visitors center is open to the public from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. There are also energy workshops and other activities available. For more information, go to www.nrel.gov/visitors_center/contact_visit.html or call 303-384-6565.
Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (www.nrel.gov/overview)
– Bonnie Gilbert
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