While Karsner has not given any reason for the resignation, the underlying point is that he resigned from a one-of -a-kind job at a time when there is major political discord about how the U.S. should be moving forward with its energy policy. The news came on the same day that, for the fourth time this summer, Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to extend funding for renewable energy tax credit.
Houston, TX - The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab has just announced three research and development partnerships with Siemens and the University Houston.
NREL Director Dan Arvizu made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday at the American Wind Energy Association’s annual conference in Houston. “We are very excited to be a part of this new movement,” said Mr. Arvizu. He added that wind power has come a long way in a relatively short period of time, and that things have changed quite dramatically.
The announcement came just one day after Vestas Wind Systems, and DOE’s Andy Karsner announced that it had chosen Houston, Texas as the location for its new research facility in the U.S.
From time to time the National Renewal Energy Lab (NREL) reminds us that the US used to be a leader in innovation. This time it’s in the area of solar thin film technology. The goal with solar thin film technology is to surpass the efficiency level of silicon solar cells. Efficiency refers to the rate at which sunlight falling on a solar cell is converted to electricity. Silicon has been the most efficient material, but it is is expensive and limited, so the world is seeking alternatives. (Picture above from the Dept. of Energy shows thin film manufactured by Iowa Thin Film Technologies.)
NREL has set a new world record using CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) thin film, which in tests has reached 19.9 percent efficiency, coming very close to the 20.3 percent level of multicrystalline solar cells.
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