The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located in Golden, Colorado, as part of the U.S. Department of Energy, is the United States's primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development.

Established 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 .

External links

• http://www.nrel.gov