June 3, 2013 - U.S. energy secretary Ernest Moniz revealed five manufacturing R&D projects to support energy-efficient lighting products. The Energy Department’s $10 million investment is matched dollar for dollar by private sector funding. The projects will focus on reducing manufacturing costs while continuing to improve the quality and performance of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic LEDs (OLEDs).

April 25, 2013 - Researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), in collaboration with colleagues at the Ecole Polytechnique in France, say they have conclusively identified Auger recombination as the mechanism that causes light emitting diodes (LEDs) to be less efficient at high drive currents.

April 10, 2013 - The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) in the States expressed its “overall satisfaction” with the Department of Energy’s (DoE) final rule establishing increased energy conservation standards for distribution transformers.

April 10, 2013 - The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) issued new energy efficiency standards for electric distribution transformers. In the final rule, relative to a draft standard issued a year ago, ACEEE explains DoE improved the standard for dry-type transformers (those primarily used in buildings) but left the proposed standard for liquid-immersed transformers (those most commonly owned by utilities) unchanged.

December 12, 2012 - Sandia National Laboratories says it is advancing “viable, low-carbon power” by collaborating on five regional test centres (RTCs) where industry can assess the “performance, reliability and bankability” of large-scale photovoltaic (PV) energy systems.

November 28, 2012 - With most of the cost of electricity for wind tied up in the initial capital investments made in the wind turbines themselves, GE says new technology advancements that reduce these costs could substantially lower the overall cost of wind energy. GE is partnering with Virginia Tech and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to work on a new blade design that could reduce blade costs 25% to 40%.

September 11, 2012 - A performance evaluation of Class 8 hybrid electric tractor trailers compared with similar conventional vehicles by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) shows significant improvements in fuel economy.

September 5, 2012 - Today’s light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs have a slight environmental edge over compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and UK-based N14 Energy Ltd., that gap is expected to grow significantly as technology and manufacturing methods improve in the next five years.

August 21, 2012 - The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), its members who manufacture electric motors, and several other groups filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) recommending both new and more robust energy efficiency standards for the types of electric motors used in commercial and industrial applications such as pumps, conveyors, and fans. The petition asks that the standards, if adopted by the end of this year, be effective January 1, 2015.

July 30, 2012 - Sandia National Laboratories’ wind energy researchers say they are re-evaluating vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) to “help solve some of the problems of generating energy from offshore breezes”. Though VAWTs have been around since the earliest days of wind energy research at Sandia, VAWT architecture could transform offshore wind technology, say the researchers.