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The EERE Blog includes updates to current Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) projects, interviews with energy experts, and success stories about EERE’s technology offices and national laboratories. Subscribe to the blog email list.

November 21, 2016
Making solar energy system information public helps solar companies and customers alike.
Sharing the Wealth: Providing Access to More Solar Data

For the first time ever, the latest edition of the Tracking the Sun report is publicly sharing the data used in the report analysis, which is a win-win for both solar companies and solar customers.

November 18, 2016
Residential PACE Financing
Updated Guidelines for Residential PACE Financing Programs

The Energy Department has updated Best Practice Guidelines for Residential PACE Financing Programs, which allow qualifying homeowners in states offering PACE financing to make energy upgrades with no upfront costs and repay the costs over time through a special property tax bill assessment.

November 18, 2016
EERE Blog
New Analysis Shows National Potential for Solar Power in Low-Income Communities

Solar power is now more affordable in the United States than at any other point in history, and new analysis shows it has the potential to gain popularity in low- and moderate-income communities across the country.

November 17, 2016
LED patient room lighting system. Photo Courtesy|Philips Lighting Research North America
EERE Success Story—Tunable LED Patient-Room Lighting Offers Energy Efficiency and More

Healthcare accounts for 9% of the energy used in U.S. commercial buildings, and lighting represents the largest electricity use in all of healthcare. But as scientists learn more about light’s nonvisual effects—such as the role it’s known to play in suppressing the release of melatonin, a hormone that helps control the sleep-wake cycle—it’s becoming increasingly clear that light-emitting diode (LED) healthcare lighting offers an opportunity to address more than just visual needs.

November 17, 2016
EERE Blog
MPG-Type Rating for Homes Accelerating Energy Savings for Homeowners—Over 50,000 Homes Scored

The Home Energy Score, which evaluates energy in a home similar to miles per gallon reports fuel efficiency in vehicles, has now issued more than 50,000 scores nationwide as part of the Energy Department's continued efforts to help Americans save energy and money.

November 17, 2016
5 Reasons College Students Should Join the Collegiate Wind Competition

Since 2014, passionate college students from across the country have learned the ins and outs of the wind industry by participating in the Energy Department’s Collegiate Wind Competition, which challenges undergraduates to design and build a wind turbine and develop a business plan to market their project.

November 15, 2016
<em>Graphic courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency</em>
Heat from Beneath the Ground – Working to Advance Deep Direct-Use Geothermal

Beneath our feet lies a source of geothermal heat that can be tapped to provide heating and cooling to both residential and commercial buildings, manufacturing processes, greenhouses and aquaculture ponds.

November 14, 2016
In 2015 alone, installed wind capacity increased by more than 12% (8,100 megawatts), accounting for more than half of all new renewable capacity additions in the United States. | <em>Photo credit: Warren Gretz/NREL</em>
4 Charts That Show Renewable Energy is on the Rise in America

The numbers are in and the verdict is clear: clean energy is on the rise, both at home and around the world.

November 10, 2016
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted biobased, high-octane fuel experiments using this modified turbocharged Cadillac. | Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Achieving the Best of Both Worlds—Improved Vehicle Performance with Fuel that's Better for the Environment

Is it possible to increase your vehicle’s performance and fuel efficiency while also slowing climate change through reduced greenhouse gas emissions? New research says yes.

November 8, 2016
Pictured above is De-Meter’s inaugural project for Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, a 200kW combination rooftop and carport distributed generation installation in San Leandro, CA. Photo courtesy of De-Meter.
EERE Success Story—Setting the PACE for Commercial Solar Growth

Big box retailers are leading in commercial solar installations in the United States, but solar’s energy-saving benefits aren’t limited to Fortune 500 companies. Hospitals, small businesses, shopping malls, multi-family and other commercial and industrial properties have a new tool to help them go solar: the PACE Lease®.

De-Meter Power first developed the new financial tool through the SunShot Initiative Technology to Market program, which helps entrepreneurs bring innovative, early-stage technologies to the market.

November 8, 2016
David Friedman (left), acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, speaks with Zhang Yong, Vice Chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, during the U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum in Beijing.
Working with China to Advance Energy Efficiency Around the Globe

China is one of the United States' critical partners in the global effort of addressing climate change. Last month, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy David Friedman saw up close how the world’s two largest economies – and the two largest emitters – are committed to leading the world in transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

November 4, 2016
There are many easy energy-saving tips you can do around the house that will help you save money on your utility bills.
5 Energy-Saving Tips For When Daylight Saving Time Ends

With Daylight Savings Time ending on Sunday, try these 5 energy-saving tips to help you save money on your utility bills.

November 2, 2016
A rendering of a finalist's hydrogen fueling system from the H-Prize. SimpleFuel's system (built by  Ivys, PDC Machines, and McPhy North America) has already produced and dispensed over 70 kg of hydrogen--enough fuel to drive a fuel cell car 4,200 miles. | Photo courtesy of Ivys Inc.
H2 Refuel Competition Makes Progress

With fuel cell cars hitting the roads now, the need for places to fuel them is becoming a critical challenge. That‘s why, in addition to supporting hydrogen station technology R&D, the Energy Department launched the H2 Refuel H-Prize in October 2014. This competition challenges American innovators to develop small-scale hydrogen generation and refueling systems. These systems could support the growing retail infrastructure by providing ways to fuel hydrogen vehicles at people’s homes, community centers, or businesses.

November 1, 2016
The 1.2-megawatt La Ola solar photovoltaic power plant on the Hawaiian island of Lanai. | <em>Photo by Jamie Keller/NREL</em>
Helping Hawaii Chart a Path to 100% Renewable Electricity

As Hawaii charges toward its goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2045, the Energy Department's Energy Transition Initiative has been working with technical experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to deliver training to Hawaii Public Utilities Commission staff to help them prepare for the coming changes.

November 1, 2016
SunPower is using drones and robotics to improve the development and operation of large-scale solar projects. Photo courtesy of SunPower.
EERE Success Story—Drones Help Solar Site Design Take Flight

The commercial and civic benefits of drones are growing—from surveying the eye of a hurricane to helping farmers maintain healthy crops—enabling researchers to imagine new possibilities for the emerging technology. Now, researchers think drones can help the solar industry.  

October 31, 2016
Weatherization Training Centers and Technology Impact
Creating Jobs in Home Efficiency

Over the last 40 years, the Energy Department's Weatherization Assistance Program has helped weatherize more than 7 million homes, helping to improve the health and safety of occupants while reducing energy bills. Another benefit of this program is job creation with a recent national evaluation of the program finding that it supports 8,500 jobs in a typical year.

October 28, 2016
8 Questions with Idaho National Lab Director on the DOE Lab-Corps Program

Since the DOE Lab-Corps program launched in fall 2015, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has put through more researchers than any other national lab. We sat down with INL Director Mark Peters to find out why he thinks researchers at INL are so attracted to the innovative Lab-Corps curriculum.

October 27, 2016
Weatherization Assistance Program Sets Gold Standard for Home Performance Industry

The Energy Department is joining weatherization organizations across the U.S. who've used federal government funding to weatherize low-income homes in celebrating National Weatherization Day on Sunday, October 30. Forty years after the Energy Department started this program, it’s making a bigger impact than ever so many Americans don’t have to choose between heat, medicine, and food.

October 27, 2016
EERE Blog
“Witchgrass” Switchgrass: A Feedstock for Future Flights

You might think it would take a Halloween trick to transform grasses, corn husks, and other plants and organic waste into fuel you can use to power your car or an airplane. But scientists are already figuring out how to use chemical processes at a biorefinery to cost-effectively convert the sugars from non-food plants and wastes into biofuel. Biofuels are already powering some airplanes—and that’s no trick!

October 26, 2016
This Energy Department-funded technology, the Whooshh Fish Transport System, uses lengths of flexible tube and slight differences in pressure to gently propel salmon and other fish up and around obstacles such as hydroelectric dams in waterways. | Photo courtesy of Whooshh Innovations
Project Led by a Small Business Keeps Fish Out of Harm’s Way

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has worked with Whooshh Innovations on an inventive project demonstrating a fish-friendly transport system. This Energy Department-funded technology uses lengths of flexible tube and slight differences in pressure to gently propel salmon and other fish up and around obstacles such as hydroelectric dams in waterways.

October 25, 2016
More than Just an Energy Efficiency Program, Weatherization Ensures Health and Safety

The Energy Department’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) has reduced energy costs for millions of low-income households by providing energy efficiency upgrades. Many of the people getting their homes weatherized are also realizing another positive result: improved health and home safety.

October 24, 2016
Aerial photograph of the company’s algae test ponds in Kauai, Hawaii. | Photo courtesy of Global Algae Innovations, Inc.
Algae Hard at Work in Hawaii

The beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii, is known for its pristine beaches and dramatic mountain ranges. But Kauai is not just a vacation spot; it is also the location of one of the largest algae biofuel production facilities in the United States.

October 24, 2016
Sun Number Scores show a home’s solar potential and are now available on Zillow’s website for more than 35 million homes across the United States.
EERE Success Story—Sun Number Partnership with Zillow Brings Solar Potential Scores to Millions of Americans

Millions of Americans looking to buy a home have a new resource to help them go solar in the process. Thanks to a partnership between SunShot Initiative awardee Sun Number and real estate company Zillow, homeowners and prospective buyers across the country can now quickly and easily access detailed information about a property’s solar energy potential.

October 21, 2016
Announcing 7 Communities That Will Lead the Climate Fight in Alaska

Remote Alaska Communities Energy Efficiency Competition helps communities implement energy solutions that can be replicated throughout rural Alaska and potentially other Arctic regions.

October 21, 2016
SunShot's social sciences research is helping to explore the forces behind solar adoption in the United States. | Photo courtesy of National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Insights into Consumer Preferences Mirrored in Powerful Solar Software Platforms

The Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative is taking new steps to reduce solar energy costs. Social sciences research is helping to explore the forces behind solar adoption in the United States.