NREL

Although wind turbines generate electricity via an eco-friendly process, their blades end up in landfills once they wear out. That could change, however, thanks to a resin that would allow old blades to be broken down and recycled into new ones.

A new class of elastic energy converters is emerging, with the ability to capture energy from a variety of different motions. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is pushing to deploy them, first in a series of strange, bendy wave energy designs.

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have broken the world record for solar cell efficiency. Reaching almost 40 percent, the new device boasts the highest efficiency recorded for any type of solar cell in real-world conditions.

In summer months sunlight comes with an unwanted side order of heat. Now, researchers have developed windows that can change color automatically when heated by sunlight, to keep buildings cool – and to top it off, they’re solar panels as well.

Hydropower plants that leverage the force of falling water to generate electricity are already an important part of the global energy mix, but by bringing floating solar panels into the mix, a new study suggests they may have much more to offer.

Solar cells are constantly improving on the road to maximum efficiency. Now, three records have been broken by two different devices, including one that pushes the highest overall solar conversion efficiency towards the 50-percent mark.

With a little luck, researchers have happened upon an engineered enzyme with an appetite for some of the most commonly disposed of types of plastic, meaning this waste could conceivably be broken down relatively quickly rather than contaminating the environment for hundreds of years.

Google is doing its bit to help make tracking down EV charging stations easier by adding EV charging station location information to Google Maps.

The National Energy Renewable Laboratory (NREL) has just announced that Konarka’s organic based photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells have demonstrated a record breaking 8.3 percent efficiency.

Researchers at NREL have manufacture the first green LED, paving the way to the widespread use of highly efficient lighting.