News

Wind energy pricing remains attractive to utility and commercial purchasers, according to an annual report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by the Electricity Markets & Policy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Prices offered by newly built wind projects are averaging around 2¢/kWh, driven lower by technology advancements and cost reductions."Wind energy... Read more

Berkeley Lab study identifies two additional carcinogens not previously reported in e-cigarette vapor.While previous studies have found that electronic cigarettes emit toxic compounds, a new study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has pinpointed the source of these emissions and shown how factors such as the temperature, type, and age of the device play a role in emission... Read more

The Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine have just released a report on the health effects of indoor particulate matter, citing Berkeley Lab research. ETA researchers Bill Fisk and Brett Singer were invited presenters at the workshop and are also cited in this infographic.... Read more

In the mid-2000s, William Fisk, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, stumbled upon two obscure Hungarian studies that challenged common assumptions about the air indoors. The studies suggested that, even at relatively low levels, carbon dioxide could impair how well people thought and worked.Fisk, an indoor–air quality expert who led the UC Berkeley Lab’s Indoor... Read more

LBNL is collaborating with ClimateWorks on defining metrics for tracking changes in energy efficiency progress, measuring impacts and assessing strategic opportunities. This report provides a detailed description of the indicators selected. The authors considered a wide range of indicators drawing upon the literature, their own experience and consultation with experts and practitioners. A round... Read more

A major new initiative tackles water-energy issues in California and beyond.Billions of gallons of water are used each day in the United States for energy production—for hydroelectric power generation, thermoelectric plant cooling, and countless other industrial processes, including oil and gas mining. And huge amounts of energy are required to pump, treat, heat, and deliver water.This... Read more

A new report outlines the challenges and opportunities for the state’s 200 isolated communities that pay some of the highest electricity and heating costs in the nation. Peter Larsen of the Energy Technologies Area, was among the study’s authors.... Read more

As climate change disrupts weather patterns, many countries face swamping along the coasts, but also shrinking freshwater supplies in many regions. The Lab’s Ashok Gadgil is the principal investigator on the U.S. side of a new $64 million collaboration between China and the United States to develop strategies and technologies to conserve water in energy production and use.... Read more

A start-up team, including Dr. Hanna Breunig of the Sustainable Energy Systems group at LBNL, was recently accepted into the Bay Area regional NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps™), a program designed to help start-ups conduct customer discovery. Torq3, the start-up team, is developing new configurations of the Halbach Array Electric Motor (HAEM) to make them more powerful and energy efficient.... Read more

Automated vehicles can both drive more efficiently and be designed to be lighter, saving energy. However, the convenience of not having to pay attention on the road may lead people to use them more, increasing energy consumption. Which effect will tend to prevail? ETA’s Jeff Greenblatt seeks to answer that question in a blog posted on Move Forward.... Read more

A new report issued by researchers in the Energy Technologies Area, “Maximizing MWh: A Statistical Analysis of the Performance of Utility-Scale Photovoltaic Projects in the United States,” presents the first known use of multivariate regression techniques to statistically explore empirical variation in utility-scale PV project performance across the United States.... Read more

The January/February issue of Mother Jones magazine quotes Jeff Greenblatt on autonomous vehicles. A Scientific American article also quoted Greenblatt on how driverless cars may slow pollution.... Read more

Berkeley, CA — The price of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on homes and small businesses spans a wide range, and researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have published a new study that reveals the key market and system drivers for low-priced PV systems.Berkeley Lab’s Ryan Wiser, a co-author of the study, explains,... Read more

Berkeley, CA — A new study estimates that $2.2 billion in benefits came from reduced greenhouse gas emissions and $5.2 billion from reductions in other air pollution for state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies operating in 2013. The report also shows national water withdrawals and consumption were reduced by 830 billion gallons and 27 billion gallons in 2013, respectively. The report,... Read more

The Department of Energy announced historic new efficiency standards for commercial air conditioners and furnaces. The Lab’s Energy Technologies Area provided technical assistance to DOE and the stakeholder working group that negotiated the standards, as well as conducted the supporting energy savings and economic analyses which were key inputs to forge this consensus.... Read more

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley announced they are partnering with Tsinghua University in Beijing to form the Berkeley Tsinghua Joint Research Center on Energy and Climate Change, a center that will aim to develop scientifically based clean energy solutions and the next generation of leaders to champion those solutions.The three parties signed a Memorandum of... Read more

Results Confirm Earlier Berkeley Lab Large-Scale StudyPhotovoltaics added value to homes in six markets, according to a new report titled “Appraising into the Sun: Six-State Solar Home Paired-Sales Analysis,” led by a researcher from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and a home appraisal expert. Researchers engaged a team of seven appraisers... Read more

Joachim SeelAs grid-connected solar and wind resources become more prevalent, fifteen-minute resources—energy technologies that can be brought online quickly to cover dips in generation—become more important for grid stability. A recent study by Andrew Mills and Joachim Seel of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory concluded that batteries, demand response, and quick-start generators provide... Read more

"You are literally changing the world, and I am honored to be part of it, even if for few hours" said Arwa Guesmi, from Tunisia after her visit to Berkeley Lab. Guesmi is an Emerging Leader (EL) at the U.S. Department of State's TechWomen program. Nine TechWomen ELs from seven countries visited Berkeley Lab on October 14th to learn more about energy research and green technology. The visiting... Read more

A Berkeley Lab report led by Nihar Shah will provide the foundation for extending the progress announced at a White House roundtable on hydroflurocarbon (HFC) greenhouse gases internationally. A global HFC phase down under the Montreal Protocol would avoid the equivalent of up to 100 billion tons of CO2 by 2050, and 0.5°C of warming by 2100, providing significant near-term gains to slow climate... Read more

Berkeley Lab researchers are measuring truck emissions from above the Caldecott Tunnel. The effort, led by Berkeley lab Staff Scientist Thomas Kirchstetter, aims to track pollutants emitted not just from trucks generally, but from individual trucks. The study has already determined that California’s new emissions controls seem to be working, with “a factor of 10 decrease in the amount of... Read more

Berkeley Lab study reveals 70% decline in PPA prices since 2009Solar energy pricing is at an all-time low, according to a new report released by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Driven by lower installed costs, improved project performance, and a race to build projects ahead of a reduction in a key federal incentive, utility-scale solar project developers have been negotiating... Read more

Berkeley Lab scientists have been awarded $1.3 million to study health impacts of thirdhand smoke.Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers have been awarded $1.3 million for two sets of studies to better understand the health impacts of thirdhand smoke, the noxious residue that clings to virtually all indoor surfaces long after the secondhand smoke from a cigarette has... Read more

On Thursday, September 24, 2015, the honorable LI Qiang, Governor of Zhejiang Province, led a delegation team from Zhejiang Province to visit Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Honorary Zhejiang delegates accompanying the Governor included Yonghui Jin, Director General of Zhejiang Provincial Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Department, Jianming Shen, Deputy Secretary General... Read more

The China Energy Group of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) participated in the two-day U.S.-China Climate Leaders Summit in Los Angeles this week. The Summit fulfills a key element of the U.S.-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change by Presidents Obama and Xi last November, helping to ensure that the ambitious actions to address climate change that both leaders committed to... Read more