National Renewable Energy Laboratory

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Our twenty favorite Westword covers of 2012

As we point out (as if we needed to) in our Year in Review issue on stands now, 2012 was a weird, wild year for Colorado. And we would know: We've covered it online and in 52 print issues throughout the past twelve months. Choosing the images to embody the news on our front cover is often as tough a ... More >>

Denver named new program's first official "Solar Friendly Community"

After several negative headlines around solar energy locally -- including the bankruptcy of Abound Solar and news of major delays on a planned Aurora solar plant -- Colorado has some good news to share about renewable energy. Denver officials announced yesterday that the city is the first to be reco ... More >>

Federico Pena, Obama surrogate, defends Abound Solar, federal loans

In Colorado, a state that will play an important role in today's presidential election, Barack Obama has battled negative press regarding Abound Solar, a Loveland solar-panel company that went bankrupt this summer despite federal support. It's become a talking point against the president, but Federi ... More >>

Abound Solar: Ex-NREL exec defends bankrupt firm, government investments in renewables

In March, when news broke about layoffs at Abound Solar, a Colorado business with government support, the chief financial officer told us he was aware his company could be used as a political football in the presidential race. In June, Abound went bankrupt and has recently been the source of more ne ... More >>

Ed Perlmutter, Joe Coors launch attacks during season's biggest Congressional debate

Candidates for Congress fielded questions for hours this morning at a forum in Thorton where six politicians debated the economy and job creation, taxes, energy policy and unsurprisingly, health care -- launching a jam-packed week of political events in Colorado.

Reader: What is NREL's return on taxpayer dollars?

Photos: National Renewable Energy Lab's newest facility -- a sneak peek

In this week's feature, "Sun Burn," we explore the progress of Golden's National Renewable Energy Lab, which for decades has been researching alternative energy. A central part of the lab's current expansion is the construction of the massive Energy Systems Integration Facility, which will be comple ... More >>

Dick Lamm, Denis Hayes on progress of National Renewable Energy Lab 35 years later

In this week's feature, "Sun Burn," we take a closer look at what the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden has accomplished over the last 35 years -- and how bright its future appears to be as it pushes forward with a massive expansion. For the piece, we spoke with Denis Hayes, an early directo ... More >>

What has the National Renewable Energy Lab done for the public good?

See also: Top fifteen inventions and innovations of the National Renewable Energy Lab

Photos: Ten Obama fans on why they'll vote no matter what Dick Morris says

Before a group of Mitt Romney supporters in Centennial earlier this week, Fox News analyst and conservative pundit Dick Morris said Barack Obama won't be elected because his fans won't actually vote. Today, before Obama took the stage in Golden, we asked ten supporters what they think of Morris's co ... More >>

Photos: Top fifteen inventions and innovations of the National Renewable Energy Lab

In this week's feature, "Sun Burn," we go inside the National Renewable Energy Lab -- the federal facility in Golden that has for 35 years been dedicated to innovations in energy efficiency. In print, we take an in-depth look at NREL's important role in solar energy and other industries over the pas ... More >>

Ken Salazar says feds confident in solar despite Colorado setbacks

Abound Solar has officially gone bankrupt and General Electric PrimeStar is putting on hold a much-anticipated solar panel plant it had planned for Aurora. Both cases are disappointing developments for renewable energy in Colorado -- but Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar says these are just mino ... More >>

Update: Seventy layoffs at GE PrimeStar after Aurora plant put on hold

Update: Over the next few months, dozens of General Electric employees in Colorado will face layoffs as part of the company's controversial plan to put a much-anticipated solar manufacturing plant on hold for at least eighteen months. Since news broke last week about GE's plans to delay an Aurora fa ... More >>

Plastic bags ban in Denver? Officials considering fees and more

They clog up waterways. They end up in landfills, where they take thousands of years to break down. And they kill turtles and dolphins. Plastic bags of the sort used in grocery stores are a top enemy for environmentalists, and Westword has learned that some Denver officials are considering policies ... More >>

National Renewable Energy Lab is building homes of the future that are smarter than you

In the future, your home and its appliances might talk to you, make decisions for you, and, if the National Renewable Energy Lab is successful, help you save money. And, you know, make Planet Earth a greener place. Get more details and see photos of our domestic future below.

Abound Solar to become GOP talking point in wake of layoffs, unreported shutdown?

Update below: It's Super Tuesday, with voters in ten states choosing among Mitt Romney, Rick Santorium, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul for a Republican presidential candidate. And whoever wins the nomination is apt to use controversial Department of Energy loans to alternative energy companies as a talk ... More >>

Christopher Loven to face careless driving count in truck/bike death that killed Eugene Howrey

Eugene Howrey.​In June, avid bicyclist Eugene Howrey, age 73, was struck and killed by a dump truck driven by Christopher Loven, a man with a number of past run-ins with pedalers. In the years prior to the Lowrey tragedy, he was allegedly involved in two separate bike-rage incidents. Months l ... More >>

Doug Lamborn's Barack Obama-tar baby remark: Intentionally racist or harmless?

Lamborn.​As we reported yesterday, Doug Lamborn said that being associated with Barack Obama was like touching a tar baby during a Friday radio appearance -- a gaffe for which he's now apologized. But did he need to? An editorial in the Colorado Springs Gazette suggests it was really no big de ... More >>

Christopher Loven: Driver accused in two bike-rage incidents before crash that killed cyclist, 73

Eugene Howrey.​Dump-truck driver Christopher Loven has not yet been charged with a crime in the death of Eugene Howrey, a 73-year-old bicyclist killed in an accident this past June. However, Loven was convicted in a 2009 bike-rage case -- and now we're learning he received a citation in a bra ... More >>

Christopher Loven, driver in Eugene Howrey bike crash, convicted in 2009 bicycle-rage case

Flickr​No charges have been filed against dump-truck driver Christopher Loven in the Lefthand Canyon crash that killed bicyclist Eugene Howrey, 73, on Friday. But just two years ago, Loven was convicted in another bike case -- one related to road rage.

Poo Power at the Denver Zoo

Wake-Up Call: Hit the road

Governor Bill Ritter is heading down to Colorado Springs today, where he'll host a town-hall meeting and sign a number of bills. And along the way, he'll no doubt pass a handful of unauthorized signs along I-25, all asking, "Why does Ritter hate El Paso County?" Why indeed? I asked Evan Dreyer, ... More >>

For Colorado's largest power co-op, going green will mean taking down the King of Coal

Will the proposed Jefferson Parkway toll road take Colorado commuters for a ride?

Delegating Denver #28 of 56: Mississippi

Partly Sunny

CU students have twice won the Solar Decathlon. Can they make it a three-peat?

Energy Crisis: Day One

Sun Day

A Mighty Wind

The results of Xcel's wind-power program are still in the air.

Fuel for Love

The order is in: Buy bio.

The Message

Yours Truly?

Power to the People

The answer could be blowing in the wind.

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Spaced Out

Don't mess with Colorado's Klingon club.

If the Shoe Fits

Critics say the fix is in for Nike in Golden. But it won't be easy for the company to leave its imprint on a local landmark.