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Most Americans don’t realize cooking can be a major source of indoor air pollutants, unless they’ve recently burned something on the stove. But studies have shown that cooking-related contaminants can cause health problems such as respiratory illness and asthma attacks.
To learn more, I spoke with Brett Singer, PhD, a scientist at Berkeley Lab who investigates indoor air quality. Recently, he measured the levels of pollutants emitted from gas... Read More
Berkeley Lab-led study suggests early exposure to thirdhand smoke may lead to greater health risks later in life.
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) identified thirdhand smoke, the toxic residues that linger on indoor surfaces and in dust long after a cigarette has been extinguished, as a health hazard nearly 10 years ago. Now a new study has found that it also increases lung cancer... Read More
in light of changes in how electricity is being both generated and consumed, the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has written a new report analyzing challenges facing the nation's electric grid and making recommendations for ensuring continued reliability.
The report was prepared for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Office of Electric Reliability, to support ongoing FERC and industry... Read More
With traffic congestion at a record high, some Bay Area officials would like to see more people take public transportation to work. Habits, however, are hard to break — and so the gridlock grinds on, with no solution in sight.
But for Anna Spurlock, an environmental and behavioral economist in the Electricity Markets and Policy Group of the Lab's Energy Technologies Area, the path to changing our minds about driving lies deep within — our brains... Read More
The 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development was held in Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on December 9–11, 2017. This important forum allows Chinese leadership to engage the international community on environment and development issues. The theme of the 2017 meeting was “Ecological Civilization in Action: a Common Green Future for the New Era”.
Jiang Lin is the Nat... Read More
Through the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center Building Energy Efficiency (CERC-BEE) program, the U.S. Department of Energy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and U.S. industry, are working together to accelerate the research, development and deployment (RD&D) of advanced building energy efficiency technologies. A cornerstone of the program is R&D on building energy efficiency financing product innovation to... Read More
On December 12th in Beijing, China, Carolyn Szum participated in a panel discussion entitled, “International Green Finance Experience Exchange,” alongside representatives from Citibank, HSBC, and the Green Climate Fund, to advise leading Chinese banks and government agencies, such as Ministry of Finance, National Development and Reform Commission), People’s Bank of China, China Banking and Regulatory Commission, and China’s Green Finance... Read More
Berkeley Lab Atmospheric Chemist Allen Goldstein and Theoretical Physicist Hitoshi Murayama received prestigious research grants from the Humboldt Foundation, which promotes collaborative research with German scientists. As part of the award, the two researchers will be invited to spend a period of up to one year cooperating with colleagues at a research institution in Germany.... Read More
Berkeley Lab's Jiang Lin delivered a keynote speech at the International Forum on Sustainable Solutions for New Era of Ecological Civilization at Tsinghua University on December 18, 2017. Dr. Lin presented research results on potential impacts of electricity market reforms in Guangdong Province from a study by Berkeley Lab's China Energy Group and the Berkeley-Tsinghua Joint Research Center. Researchers from Berkeley Lab, Energy and... Read More
Peter Larsen of the Energy Technologies Area recently announced the release of the Alaska Energy Data Gateway 2.0. The gateway, first released in 2013,provides Alaskans with data to make informed decisions prior to undertaking rural energy projects. The project is a joint effort of the Alaska Microgrid Partnership and DOE's Grid Modernization Initiative.
After an extensive search, Associate Lab Director Ramamoorthy Ramesh has announced the appointment of Tom Kirchstetter as the Division Director of the Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division. Kirchstetter had served as acting director since June 2017.
Scientists from research areas across Berkeley Lab, including ETA's Hanna Breunig and Anna Spurlock, have been awarded new Early Career Development awards, as part of the Laboratory-Directed Research and Development Program.
The China Energy Group took home a prestigious R&D 100 Award for its innovative Benchmarking and Energy Saving Tool for Low-Carbon Cities (BEST Cities), which provides software for low-carbon planning that users can easily install and run.
Berkeley Lab also won awards for technologies that help determine how solar energy affects the grid; understand the functions of genes in microbes under different environmental conditions; and simulate how... Read More
The International Energy Studies Group recently announced the release of a new Berkeley Lab study that will improve the energy efficiency of room air conditioners.
"Assessment of commercially available energy-efficient room air conditioners including models with low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants" reviews improvement of energy efficiency of room air conditioners (RACs) while transitioning to low global-warming-potential (GWP)... Read More
The International Energy Studies Group is pleased to announce the release of Berkeley Lab’s new study: Energy Efficiency Roadmap for Uganda, Making Energy Efficiency Count.
The Energy Efficiency Roadmap for Uganda is a response to the important role that electrical energy efficiency can play in meeting Uganda’s energy development goals. The report shows that implementing energy efficiency in parallel with expanding both the electricity... Read More
The utility-scale solar sector has led the overall U.S. solar market in terms of installed capacity since 2012. In 2016, the utility-scale sector installed more than 2.5 times as much new capacity as did the residential and commercial sectors combined, and is expected to maintain its dominant position for at least another five years. This report—the fifth edition in an ongoing annual series—provides data-driven analysis of the utility-scale... Read More
Lynn Price has been awarded the 2017 Champion of Energy Efficiency in Industry Award by the American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The Champion award recognizes outstanding achievement and leadership in the field of industrial energy efficiency. Lynn is being honored for her passion for energy efficiency, including many and substantial accomplishments and she is being recognized for her commitment over many years which has set an... Read More
Wind energy pricing for land-based, utility-scale projects remains attractive to utility and commercial purchasers, according to an annual report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Prices offered by newly built wind projects in the United States are averaging around 2¢/kWh, driven lower by technology advancements and cost reductions.
"Wind energy prices—particularly... Read More
The New York Times recently featured a report by ETA's Nihar Shah, which reviews the regulatory frameworks, energy efficiency standards, and labeling programs in 18 countries that account for roughly 65% of global AC demand. Shah previously found that improvements could roughly double the 89.7 gigatons of expected emissions savings from switching refrigerant alone.
ETA's Lynn Price (left), senior scientist, retired from Berkeley Lab on June 29 and has stepped down as acting division director of the Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts (EAEI) Division as well as department head of the International Energy Analysis Department in the Energy Technologies Area. Tom Kirchstetter, staff scientist, head of the Sustainable Energy and Environmental... Read More
India is pushing hard to electrify its automobile market, aiming to sell only electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030. But what impact will that shift have on the country’s utilities and the grid? A new report by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found that the prospective EV expansion will deliver economic benefits, help integrate renewable energy, and significantly reduce imports of foreign oil.
India’s electric... Read More
Panagopoulos received a $35,000 scholarship from the Sweden-America Foundation to support his work at the Lab and in collaborations with Swedish scientists. The research focuses on human exposure to chemicals from artificial turf in sports arenas. The Foundation supports the exchange of science between Sweden, the U.S. and Canada.
Scientist Peter Therkelson organized a recent visit by the Association of Energy Service Providers (AESP) to the Energy Technologies Area at Berkeley Lab.
AESP leaders Patsy Dugger from CB& and Karen Maos from Navigant also facilitated the visit.
Seven LBNL speakers gave presentations, and the group enjoyed FLEXLAB® tours.
Approximately 25 attendees from AESP, representing 15 organizations, were at the May visit.
Speakers were:... Read More
As solar energy’s popularity continues to grow among homeowners, it’s changing the way people buy and sell homes. Because solar has been found to consistently add value to homes, real estate agents need a new way to fairly value solar homes and make sure house hunters can easily find key solar system information. New data standards from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will enable thousands of realtors in California to enter details about... Read More
As solar energy's popularity continues to grow among homeowners, it's changing the way people buy and sell homes. Because solar has been found to consistently add value to homes, real estate agents need a new way to fairly value solar homes and make sure house hunters can easily find key solar system information. New data standards from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will enable thousands of realtors in California to enter details about... Read More
Google Street View cars with pollution sensors are mapping pollution in Oakland, block by block, joining another assortment of low-cost sensors monitoring a wider array of gases and particles from the roofs of schools, museums, and hospitals in the Bay Area. The latter effort, led by ETA's Ronald Cohen, is called BEACO2N (BErkeley Atmospheric CO2 Observation Network).... Read More
Two projects on residential buildings will help state meet targets for low-energy buildings.
California has established ambitious goals to reduce energy consumption in buildings, including a policy goal for all new residential buildings to be zero net energy (ZNE) by 2020. Now the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has launched two projects to help the state meet its ZNE building goals.
One project will... Read More
Two projects on residential buildings will help state meet targets for low-energy buildings.
California has established ambitious goals to reduce energy consumption in buildings, including a policy goal for all new residential buildings to be zero net energy (ZNE) by 2020. Now the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has launched two projects to help the state meet its ZNE building goals.
One project will... Read More
Alex Bayen, the director of UC Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies and a researcher in the Lab’s Energy Technologies Area, was recently featured in a news segment titled “Driving apps like Waze are creating new traffic problems” for Crosscurrents, an award-winning daily news magazine from KALW Public Radio.... Read More
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