The laboratory has announced that it has cut overall greenhouse gas emissions more than 10 percent since 2000.
"We at NREL are proud to be leaders in energy efficiency and renewable energy," NREL Director Dan Arvizu says, "by both providing the research that helps the nation reduce its dependence on foreign energy sources, and by using those very technologies to make our own facilities the very best they can be."
Several of NREL’s laboratory buildings are among the most energy efficient of all comparable federal facilities, while on-site electricity production from wind turbines and solar electric systems contributes 138,000 kilowatt hours annually to the Laboratory’s power needs.
At NREL’s National Wind Technology Center south of Boulder, Colo. when wind turbines used for research and development are operating, the electricity they generate is used to meet on-site power needs. Thermal energy sources include solar hot water systems and ventilation air preheat systems. Passive solar heating and daylighting are used extensively.
All new construction at NREL is committed to exceed the current Federal Model Energy Code by at least 30 percent, the agency says. The Laboratory’s new Science and Technology Facility, scheduled for completion this summer, is projected to use 38 percent less energy than the 'base building' standard and was designed in accordance with criteria for Gold-level LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
NREL encompasses 618 acres on several sites, with 665,000 square feet of laboratory and office space, housing more than 1,100 researchers and support staff.
