NETL’s Energy Markets Analysis Team (EMAT) conducts analyses to help utilities prepare for changing conditions and recover rapidly from disruptions. The recent near-collapse of the electrical grid in Texas, which occurred during an unusually severe winter storm, validates the importance of EMAT’s work and the value of the recommendations it issues.

Funding opportunities to meet workforce development needs and support economic development in distressed communities are highlighted in the February 2021 edition of RWFI E-Note Monthly. Application deadlines for many of these programs are approaching quickly. Important announcements in this edition of RWFI E-Note Monthly include:

A NETL-supported project by Physical Sciences, Inc. (PSI) has demonstrated its capabilities to produce rare earth element (REE) concentrates using available coal ash resources from Appalachia, providing a potential domestic source of these critical minerals and a means of local environmental remediation.

NETL Director Brian Anderson, Ph.D., will highlight NETL-supported projects to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), technologies to capture and store it safely, and processes to make value-added products from the carbon waste stream during an address to the Pennsylvania Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee on Wednesday, March 10, beginning at 10 a.m.

Team 1 from North Allegheny Cyber Academy, located in Wexford, Pennsylvania, claimed victory at the 30th annual Western Pennsylvania Regional Science Bowl (WPASB) middle school competition, organized and sponsored by NETL. The event was held March 6, 2021, in a virtual format. Twenty-two teams from 13 school districts from across the state participated in the competition.

NETL researchers were among those who connected with the various industries and decision-makers around the world looking to embrace the latest technologies and practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during CERAWeek 2021. CERAWeek is an annual energy conference organized by the information and insights company IHS Markit which brings together 5,000 global industry leaders and policymakers from more than 85 countries to discuss a range of energy-related topics. This year’s gathering from March 1-5 went virtual.

Two new features — Research Associate Spotlight and Mentor Profiles — will be published quarterly to showcase the valuable contributions made by interns at NETL and the important role the Lab’s researchers play in guiding them toward success.

Franklin Regional High School, located in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, claimed victory at the 30th annual Western Pennsylvania Regional Science Bowl (WPASB) high school competition, organized and sponsored by NETL. The event was held Feb. 27, 2021, in a virtual format. Thirty-seven teams from 23 school districts throughout the state participated in the competition.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) have awarded five grants totaling $1 million to support training programs that will teach workers new welding techniques and other advanced manufacturing skills.

Fritz’s poster detailed the economic feasibility and challenges of creating a domestic supply of critically important rare earth elements from America’s coal resources. Alison Fritz, a second year Ph.D.