Facilities
NREL's state-of-the-art research facilities provide the venue for groundbreaking innovations and collaboration in energy systems integration.
Energy Systems Integration Facility
The nation's premier user facility for research, development, and demonstration of the components and strategies needed to optimize our entire energy system.
High-Performance Computing Data Center
High-performance computing facilities at the Energy Systems Integration Facility that provide high-speed, petaflop-scale computer processing as well as data visualization labs with onsite and remote-viewing capabilities.
Hydrogen Infrastructure Testing and Research Facility
A first-of-its-kind facility at the Energy Systems Integration Facility with hydrogen storage, compression, and dispensing capabilities for fuel cell vehicle fueling and component testing.
Vehicle Testing and Integration Facility
A collaborative facility for assessing charging, communication, and control technologies and for modifying plug-in electric vehicles to play an active role in building and grid management.
Thermal Test Facility
A flexible, multipurpose, multi-laboratory facility that enables detailed evaluation and development of building and thermal energy systems.
Solar Radiation Research Laboratory
A lab that continuously collects basic solar radiation measurements and has expertise in integrated metrology, optics, electronics, and data acquisition as well as outdoor performance-testing facilities.
Solar Technology Acceleration Center
An integrated, world-class test facility, called SolarTAC, where the solar industry can research, validate, and demonstrate photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies to accelerate integration with the electric grid.
Renewable Integration Facilities – National Wind Technology Center
Located in Boulder, Colorado, the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) offers similar integration capabilities to the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) on NREL's Golden, Colorado, campus, but at a larger 1–10 megawatt scale that goes beyond the physical limitations of the ESIF. NWTC hardware can be connected virtually to the ESIF's software modeling and power hardware-in-the-loop capabilities—allowing NREL researchers and collaborators to simulate operation of the national electric grid while introducing the effects of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. These simulations help inform research on the introduction of large amounts of renewable generation into the grid while maintaining grid stability.
Distributed Energy Resources Test Facility
State-of-the-art laboratories and outdoor test beds used to characterize the performance and reliability of distributed power systems, support standards development, and investigate emerging and complex system integration issues.