The National Renewable Energy Laboratory was facing a $10 million budget cut last year and 40 layoffs. Today, the Golden-based lab is set to receive a $130 million infusion and 100 new hires.
The shift came after President Bush visited the lab last year and promised to boost its budget as gasoline prices shot past $3 a gallon and as Congress took up the renewable-fuels banner this year.
“NREL was ignored and seen as small potatoes,” said Scott Sklar, president of the Stella Group Ltd., a Washington energy consulting firm. “Things have shifted, and NREL is now in the right place at the right time.”
The new funding has boosted the lab’s overall budget for this fiscal year 62 percent to $340 million, NREL officials said.
The 100 new positions will increase the workforce at the 1,000-employee facility by 10 percent.
The key change came in March when Congress decided to add an extra $300 million to the $1.1 billion budget request of the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
NREL – which has programs to develop energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and hydrogen – received $101 million of that money for new research facilities and equipment, NREL officials said.
The lab is also competing for a portion of more than $100 million in research funds coming from congressional add-ons to other bills.
“An exciting time”
“This is an exciting time for NREL,” said Rita Wells, a deputy secretary in the Office of Energy Efficiency.
Just 18 months ago, NREL was facing a $10 million cut and layoffs as federal energy dollars were allocated to other projects.
Since the beginning of May, the lab has posted 35 job openings on its website for scientists, engineers, technicians, computer specialists and project managers.
The lab is also beginning design work on new buildings.
NREL is planning a $63 million research facility to enable employees working in leased office space to move onto the main campus.
A $20 million expansion of the biochemical processing unit where ethanol is made is in the works. The expansion will enable the lab to do more experiments and form partnership with other research institutions and industry, said Dale Gardner, NREL associate director for renewable fuels.
One project that has been jump-started, Gardner said, is the thermochemical synthesis of biofuels.
Currently the most prominent biofuel, ethanol, is made through the biochemical process of fermentation.
“In the short term, this is the process that is most developed,” said Gardner.
Heat and pressure
The thermochemical process – using heat and pressure – has the potential of using a wider variety of raw materials, generating bigger yields and producing either a gas or a bio-oil, Gardner said.
“It can be much more useful,” he said. “This is something we will pursue.”
In 2006, the Department of Energy had a $90 million biofuels budget, and NREL received $15 million, Gardner said.
This year, DOE’s allocation was increased to $150 million, and NREL’s biofuels budget doubled to $30 million.
The Bush administration has asked for $179 million for biofuels next year.
In its draft bill, the House of Representatives increased the sum to $250 million for next year, Gardner said.
The Senate still has to pass the appropriation and any differences between the House and Senate versions need to be resolved, Gardner said.
“One way Congress shows it wants to solve a problem is to drop some dollars onto it,” said the Stella Group’s Sklar. “That’s what you are seeing with renewables.”
Staff writer Mark Jaffe can be reached at 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com.
