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Environmental Performance Report 2020 (Annual Site Environmental Report per the U.S. Department of Energy Order 231.1B Chg 1)
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the laboratory's environmental management activities in 2020, including information on environmental and sustainability performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes. The purpose of this report is to ensure that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public receive timely, accurate information about events that have positively affected or could adversely affect the health and safety of the public or workers, the environment, or the operations of DOE facilities. This report meets the DOE requirements of the Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) and has been prepared in accordance with DOE Order 231.1B Chg 1, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.
Environmental Performance Report 2019: Annual Site Environmental Report per the U.S. Department of Energy Order 231.1B Chg 1
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the laboratory's environmental management activities in 2019, including information on environmental and sustainability performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes. The purpose of this report is to ensure that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public receive timely, accurate information about events that have positively affected or could adversely affect the health and safety of the public or workers, the environment, or the operations of DOE facilities. This report meets the DOE requirements of the Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) and has been prepared in accordance with DOE Order 231.1B Chg 1, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.
Environmental Performance Report 2019: Annual Site Environmental Report per the U.S. Department of Energy Order 231.1B Chg 1
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the laboratory's environmental management activities in 2019, including information on environmental and sustainability performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes. The purpose of this report is to ensure that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public receive timely, accurate information about events that have positively affected or could adversely affect the health and safety of the public or workers, the environment, or the operations of DOE facilities. This report meets the DOE requirements of the Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) and has been prepared in accordance with DOE Order 231.1B Chg 1, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.
Environmental Performance Report 2021: Annual Site Environmental Report per the U.S. Department of Energy Order 231.1B Chg 1
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the laboratory's environmental management activities in 2021, including information on environmental and sustainability performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes. The purpose of this report is to ensure that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public receive timely, accurate information about events that have positively affected or could adversely affect the health and safety of the public or workers, the environment, or the operations of DOE facilities. This report meets the DOE requirements of the Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) and has been prepared in accordance with DOE Order 231.1B Chg 1, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.
Innovative and Economically Beneficial Use of Corn and Corn Products in Electrochemical Energy Storage Applications
The United States is by far the largest corn producer worldwide, with corn yields steadily increasing for the past decades. In many midwestern U.S. states such as Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska, corn farmers currently grow more corn than consumers can utilize as human food or animal feed. To sustain the economic viability of corn farmers, it is critical that new uses and markets for corn, corn byproducts from harvesting, corn industrial products, and corn byproducts from industrial processing should be discovered, giving the highest return to corn producers. With the increasing popularity of electric vehicles and grid-level energy storage systems for renewable energy, there has been an ever-growing interest in improving existing energy storage technologies as well as developing new ones. During this development, a great amount of effort has been focused on exploiting cost-effective solutions utilizing sustainable materials derived from renewable biomass. Here, innovative and economically beneficial uses of corn and corn products in various energy storage applications, such as lithium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, and redox flow batteries, are looked at comprehensively, which may shed light on how to establish an environmentally sustainable, technically feasible, and economically beneficial solution to support the corn industry.
Sustainability Base Construction Update
Construction of the new Sustainability Base Collaborative support facility, expected to become the highest performing building in the federal government continues at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, Calif. The new building is designed to achieve a platinum rating under the leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) new construction standards for environmentally sustainable construction developed by the U. S. Green Building Council, Washington, D. C. When completed by the end of 2011, the $20.6 million building will feature near zero net energy consumption, use 90 percent less potable water than conventionally build buildings of equivalent size, and will result in reduced building maintenance costs.
Regulations for Bat Protection in Mexico's Wind Farms
Wind energy development has expanded the fastest globally among all renewable sources during the last 20 years. However, wind farms have documented adverse impacts on bats, including mortality from collisions with turbine blades and disruptions to habitat and behavior. As the world's sixth most attractive economy for renewables, with 70 operating wind farms, Mexico and its bats now face escalating threats from the country's burgeoning wind industry. Despite this rapid growth, few studies have analyzed Mexico's regulatory framework to prevent, evaluate, and mitigate wind farm effects on bats. In this study, we reviewed Mexican laws and treaties that facilitate wind farm permitting, construction, operation, and decommissioning, and searched for guidelines that specifically address bat conservation. We found eight international pacts that promote wind power adoption along with three relevant articles in Mexico's Constitution. The General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection proved most pertinent for impact management. Supplementary guidelines from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources offer general strategies for evaluating wind farm impacts on bats, but adherence remains voluntary. Given expanding wind power investments across Mexico, we highlight the need for more stringent national standards that require preventative and corrective measures to protect bat populations. Tighter legislation and enforcement offer pathways toward environmentally sustainable wind energy development in Mexico.
Hydrogen Applications for Energy Transition in Port and Airport Operations at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) is focused on achieving meaningful reductions in emissions as part of its environmental sustainability efforts. To reach its 2030 target for reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions and its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, PANYNJ is exploring a range of energy solutions, including hydrogen technologies. This report evaluates the potential role of hydrogen in reducing emissions across key operational areas: vehicles, equipment, stationary power, aviation propulsion, and marine propulsion. It examines hydrogen's technical feasibility, infrastructure needs, and economic implications within PANYNJ's operational context. The findings aim to inform decisions as PANYNJ transitions to cleaner energy sources and reduces environmental impacts. Based on the existing literature and stakeholders' feedback, the report outlines both opportunities and challenges associated with hydrogen integration, providing insights to guide PANYNJ's future sustainability initiatives.
Unlocking the magic in mycelium: Using synthetic biology to optimize filamentous fungi for biomanufacturing and sustainability
Filamentous fungi drive carbon and nutrient cycling across our global ecosystems, through its interactions with growing and decaying flora and their constituent microbiomes. The remarkable metabolic diversity, secretion ability, and fiber-like mycelial structure that have evolved in filamentous fungi have been increasingly exploited in commercial operations. The industrial potential of mycelial fermentation ranges from the discovery and bioproduction of enzymes and bioactive compounds, the decarbonization of food and material production, to environmental remediation and enhanced agricultural production. Despite its fundamental impact in ecology and biotechnology, molds and mushrooms have not, to-date, significantly intersected with synthetic biology in ways comparable to other industrial cell factories (e.g. Escherichia coli,Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Komagataella phaffii). In this review, we summarize a suite of synthetic biology and computational tools for the mining, engineering and optimization of filamentous fungi as a bioproduction chassis. A combination of methods across genetic engineering, mutagenesis, experimental evolution, and computational modeling can be used to address strain development bottlenecks in established and emerging industries. These include slow mycelium growth rate, low production yields, non-optimal growth in alternative feedstocks, and difficulties in downstream purification. In the scope of biomanufacturing, we then detail previous efforts in improving key bottlenecks by targeting protein processing and secretion pathways, hyphae morphogenesis, and transcriptional control. Bringing synthetic biology practices into the hidden world of molds and mushrooms will serve to expand the limited panel of host organisms that allow for commercially-feasible and environmentally-sustainable bioproduction of enzymes, chemicals, therapeutics, foods, and materials of the future.
Optimization for Bioenergy Systems
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge (Langholtz, 2024 ) seeks to generate 35 billion gallons of SAF each year by 2050, with corn stover, an agricultural byproduct, playing a key role as a feedstock. This study develops an optimization framework to enhance the quality and quantity of corn stover while ensuring economic and environmental viability. Using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) crop model, we simulate the effects of cover crops on rotation yield, soil moisture balance, and nitrogen cycling across diverse climates and soils. The model outputs, including yield data and soil quality changes, inform a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) optimization model. This model aims to maximize economic and environmental returns by incorporating production costs, direct and indirect income, and environmental incentives. The optimization model evaluates 280 agriculture management plans composed of various crop management strategies, including corn stover removal rates, cover crop adoption, and fertilization practices. It seeks to identify the optimal combination of crop and tillage decisions for each subfield, maximizing profits while enhancing soil carbon sequestration and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Outputs include detailed subfield locations, optimal management plans, and profits per hectare and per acre, allowing for comparison with literature values on farm profits. This study provides a robust optimization framework supporting the SAF Grand Challenge by proposing economically viable and environmentally sustainable strategies for corn stover utilization. The findings highlight corn stover's potential as a sustainable feedstock for SAF production, offering practical solutions to enhance its quality and quantity while maintaining soil health. Idaho is used as a case study to demonstrate the framework's applicability and effectiveness in real-world scenarios. Langholtz, M. H., Davis, M., Hellwinckel, C., De La Torre Ugarte, D., Efroymson, R., Jacobson, R., Milbrandt, A., Coleman, A., Davis, R., Kline, K. L., Badgett, A., Curran, S., Schmidt, E., Theiss, T., Fried, J., English, B., Lambert, L., Cook, H., Field, J., ... Walker, L. (2024). 2023 Billion-Ton Report: An Assessment of U.S. Renewable Carbon Resources. https://doi.org/10.2172/2441098 DSSAT Foundation. (2025). Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). Retrieved from https://dssat.net/
Develop an efficient and cost-effective novel anaerobic digestion system producing high purity of methane from diverse waste biomass
This project focuses on developing an advanced, intensified anaerobic digestion system aimed at transforming the treatment and conversion of organic wastes into valuable products, specifically renewable natural gas. The motivation for this research stems from the limitations of conventional anaerobic digestion technologies, which often face challenges such as long retention times, high operational costs, and incomplete organic material degradation. The new technology called Intensified Versatile Anaerobic Digestion (IVAD), is developed to address these challenges by incorporating innovative reactors and processes that enhance the overall efficiency and output of anaerobic digestion. The significance of this project lies in its potential to revolutionize waste management practices and waste biomass utilization. The IVAD system integrates a hyperthermophilic anaerobic acidification reactor, a hydrothermal treatment (HTT) unit, and both thermophilic and mesophilic methanogenic reactors. This combination enables a higher rate of organic breakdown and energy recovery, resulting in faster processing times, reduced reactor sizes, and lower operational costs compared to traditional systems. Key data include an increase in methane productivity to 1.18 m 3 /m 3 /day, a significant improvement compared to the baseline technology’s 0.64 m 3 /m 3 /day. Additionally, the IVAD system achieves a 45% reduction in levelized cost of energy (LCOE), down to $\$$10.04/MMBTU, and an energy return on investment (EROI) of 3.19, representing an 87% increase over baseline levels. Technical and economic analyses highlight that the IVAD system significantly reduces hydraulic retention time (HRT) and solid retention time (SRT). The HRT for the HTT reactor can be reduced from 1 hour to 0.5 hours, while decoupling SRT from HRT in the anaerobic acidification reactor (AAR) allows for further reductions. These design optimizations lead to smaller reactor volumes, cutting down equipment and construction costs. Despite these advancements, energy consumption remains comparable to conventional methods due to a novel heat recovery strategy, enhancing overall process productivity. The system also achieves in-situ CO 2 removal and ammonia stripping features, resulting in biogas with a methane purity level of 75%, and produces high-quality nitrogen fertilizer as an additional by-product. Public benefits of the IVAD system are substantial, contributing to sustainable waste management and renewable energy production. By providing a scalable solution that can be adopted by dairy farms and similar agricultural operations, the IVAD system helps reduce waste, produce renewable natural gas (RNG) suitable for transportation fuel, and generate fertilizer, supporting a circular economy. This project plays a role in achieving broader environmental objectives by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and promoting energy independence. Additionally, it offers a pathway for farmers to lower operational costs while adopting practices that are both environmentally sustainable and economically advantageous.
Well-to-Wheels Analysis of Zero-Emission Plug-In Battery Electric Vehicle Technology for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks
Conventional diesel medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) create large amount of air emissions. With the advancement in technology and reduction in the cost of batteries, plug-in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are increasingly attractive options for improving energy efficiency and reducing air emissions of MHDVs. In this paper, we compared the well-to-wheels (WTW) greenhouse gases (GHGs) and criteria air pollutant emissions of MHD BEVs with their conventional diesel counterparts across weight classes and vocations. We expanded the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) model to conduct the WTW analysis of MHDVs. The fuel economy for a wide range of MHDV weight classes and vocations, over various driving cycles, was evaluated using a high-fidelity vehicle dynamic simulation software (Autonomie). The environmental impacts of MHD BEVs are sensitive to the source of electricity used to recharge their batteries. The WTW results show that MHD BEVs significantly improve environmental sustainability of MHDVs by providing deep reductions in WTW GHGs, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide emissions, compared to conventional diesel counterparts. Increasing shares of renewable and natural gas technologies in future national and regional electricity generation are expected to reduce WTW particulate matters and sulfur oxide emissions for further improvement of the environmental performance of MHD BEVs.
Ten questions concerning housing sufficiency
Housing sufficiency is an emerging concept in the provision of environmentally sustainable housing. It aims for demand-side strategies that reduce excessive, aggregate consumption levels to promote efficient resource utilization and sustainability in the construction sector while providing everyone with a decent standard of housing. However, it is challenging to implement as it interferes with housing-related social and cultural norms. This paper poses and answers ten questions that highlight the challenges, opportunities, and examples of sufficiency strategies in the context of housing provision and the environmental crisis. Question 1 discusses the need for sufficiency as a tool to complement supply-side strategies including efficiency and renewable energy strategies in providing housing. Question 2 examines the concept of housing sufficiency from different perspectives, such as ecological economics and social ecology. Question 3 summarizes the methods used to measure housing sufficiency, with specific focus on the upper and lower limits that respect planetary boundaries and basic human needs. Questions 4 and 5 describe the benefits, potential drawbacks, and rebound effects of housing sufficiency. Questions 6 and 7 examine housing sufficiency in developed and developing countries, respectively. Questions 8 and 9 discuss design strategies, housing occupancy, and tenure models that are needed for housing sufficiency. Finally, Question 10 provides a of policies and regulations that are needed to systematically support the implementation of sufficiency strategies. The questions and answers provide insights for wider application of housing sufficiency in research and practice.
A critical review on the progress and challenges to a more sustainable, cost competitive synthesis of adipic acid
Adipic acid is a key organic diacid intermediate used in nylon manufacturing. It is primarily produced by an industrial process that can form nitrous oxide as a byproduct. Nitrous oxide has a 300-fold higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide, and an estimated 10% of its annual global emissions are a result of adipic acid production. These concerns have led to significant efforts for the development of nitrous oxide mitigation technologies as well as more environmentally friendly routes for adipic acid production. New processes include both advanced chemical and biotechnological routes. Here in this review, we discuss key recent developments in mitigation as well as new technologies. We also provide a critical look at the potential of new technologies to compete with the incumbent process and highlight key remaining technical challenges to the development of greener (environmentally sustainable) and cost competitive (commercially sustainable) processes for adipic acid manufacture.
Remote Sensing of the Urban Heat Island Effect: Assessment of Risks to Human Health and Development of Mitigation Strategies for Sustainable Cities
The growth of cities, both in population and in areal extent, appears as an inexorable process. Urbanization continues at a rapid rate, and it is estimated that by the year 2025, 80% of the world's population will live in cities. One of the more egregious side effects of urbanization is the deterioration in air quality as a result of increased vehicular traffic, industrialization and related activities. In the United States alone, under the more stringent air quality guidelines established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1997, nearly 300 counties in 34 states will not meet the new air quality standards for ground level ozone. The mitigation of one the physical/environmental characteristics of urbanization known as the urban heat island (UHI) effect, is now being looked at more closely as a possible way to bring down ground level ozone levels in cities and assist states in improving air quality. The UHI results from the replacement of "natural" land covers (e.g., trees, grass) with urban land surface types, such as pavement and buildings. Heat stored in these surfaces is released into the air and results in a "dome" of elevated air temperatures that presides over cities. The effect of this dome of elevated air temperatures is known as the UHI, which is most prevalent about 2-3 hours after sunset on days with intense solar radiation and calm winds. Given the local and regional impacts of the UHI, there are significant potential affects on human health, particularly as related to heat stress and ozone on body temperature regulation and on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. In this study we are using airborne and satellite remote sensing data to analyze how differences in the urban landscape influence or drive the development of the UHI over four U.S. cities. Additionally, we are assessing what the potential impact is on risks to human health, and developing mitigation strategies to make urban areas more environmentally sustainable.
High Spatial Resolution Thermal Remote Sensing of the Urban Heat Island Effect: Assessment of Risks to Human Health and Development of Mitigation Strategies for Sustainable Cities
The growth of cities, both in population and in areal extent, appears as an inexorable process. Urbanization continues at a rapid rate, and it is estimated that by the year 2025, 80% of the world's population will live in cities. One of the more egregious side effects of urbanization is the deterioration in air quality as a result of increased vehicular traffic, industrialization and related activities. In the United States alone, under the more stringent air quality guidelines established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1997, nearly 300 counties in 34 states will not meet the new air quality standards for ground level ozone. The mitigation of one the physical/environmental characteristics of urbanization known as the urban heat island (UHI) effect, is now being looked at more closely as a possible way to bring down ground level ozone levels in cities and assist states in improving air quality. The UHI results from the replacement of "natural" land covers (e.g., trees, grass) with urban land surface types, such as pavement and buildings. Heat stored in these surfaces is released into the air and results in a "dome" of elevated air temperatures that presides over cities. The effect of this dome of elevated air temperatures is known as the UHI, which is most prevalent about 2-3 hours after sunset on days with intense solar radiation and calm winds. Given the local and regional impacts of the UHI, there are significant potential affects on human health, particularly as related to heat stress and ozone on body temperature regulation and on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. In this study we are using airborne and satellite remote sensing data to analyze how differences in the urban landscape influence or drive the development of the UHI over four U.S. cities. Additionally, we are assessing what the potential impact is on risks to human health, and developing mitigation strategies to make urban areas more environmentally sustainable.
The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative: Streaming Data Middleware for Environmental Observing Systems
The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative is an international community of scientists and engineers sharing a common interest in real-time streaming data middleware and applications. The technology base of the OSDT Initiative is the DataTurbine open source middleware. Key applications of DataTurbine include coral reef monitoring, lake monitoring and limnology, biodiversity and animal tracking, structural health monitoring and earthquake engineering, airborne environmental monitoring, and environmental sustainability. DataTurbine software emerged as a commercial product in the 1990 s from collaborations between NASA and private industry. In October 2007, a grant from the USA National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Cyberinfrastructure allowed us to transition DataTurbine from a proprietary software product into an open source software initiative. This paper describes the DataTurbine software and highlights key applications in environmental monitoring.