National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

stablished in 1974, NREL began operating in 1977 as the Solar Energy Research Institute. It was designated a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in September 1991 and its name changed to NREL.

NREL is the principal research laboratory for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy which provides the majority of its funding. Other funding comes from DOE's Office of Science and Office of Electricity Transmission and Distribution.

NREL is managed for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle.

Its Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems: helping industry reduce energy use in buildings by conducting research on: Residential Buildings,

Commercial Buildings, Technologies, and Analysis and Evaluation.

NREL High Performance Buildings Research

"improving commercial buildings by ..."




National Wind Technology Center

"research facility managed by NREL.. researchers work with members of the wind energy industry to advance wind power technologies that lower the cost of wind energy... wind turbine designs."