Turbines are important machines in our nation’s fleet of fossil-fueled power plants, extracting energy from domestic resources and converting it into the electricity we depend on. Turbines can also be key players in conserving resources because they can provide clean energy by using less fuel and generating fewer emissions.

Turbines are essential in meeting America’s power demands, producing electricity at virtually every power plant in the United States. With fossil fuels projected to remain the dominant source of energy for decades to come, advanced combustion turbine technology will play a critical role in capitalizing on the nation’s vast domestic resources.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is launching a valuable partnership with Ramaco Carbon to collaborate on innovative projects that use coal to manufacture high-value products. NETL Acting Director Sean I. Plasynski, Ph.D., and Ramaco Carbon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randall Atkins signed an umbrella cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) on Thursday, June 7, at the Lab’s Pittsburgh site. The agreement allows NETL and Ramaco Carbon to work together on specific projects that use coal as a manufacturing feedstock for high-value products.

NETL opened its doors – and its labs – June 4 to student researchers who are participating in the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship (MLEF) and Consortium for Integrating Energy Systems in Engineering and Science Education (CIESESE) programs. Participants include more than 40 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors who will get hands-on experience in NETL’s cutting-edge research facilities and work one-on-one with the Lab’s world-class scientists and engineers.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy has announced an extension of the submission period for the Request for Information (RFI) for input on the development of small-scale, modular coal-based power plants of the future. The new deadline for RFI submissions is July 9, 2018.   

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) announced that 15 of its employees were honored with prestigious awards by the Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board (FEB) for significant accomplishments, leadership, outreach, and impact on the region and beyond.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is hosting the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, including NETL, for a workshop on May 30 and 31. The workshop creates links and explores opportunities for partnerships between the DOE national laboratories and the University of Alaska. Organizers hope the workshop leverages America’s national laboratories to advance Alaska’s, and the nation’s, goals for growing the economy, developing and implementing sustainable energy solutions, and understanding the implications of a changing Arctic environment.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy has announced an award for a project to receive approximately $7 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development in unconventional oil and natural gas (UOG) recovery.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has selected three projects to receive approximately $29.6 million for cost-shared research and development under Phase II of funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0001450, Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE): Storage Complex Feasibility.

Representatives from more than 15 energy-related companies from around the nation will learn about cutting-edge computational tools and approaches to help design and scale up new high-efficiency power plants, support existing plants, and improve resiliency at a workshop May 23 and 24 in Washington, DC sponsored by the Institute for Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) – a collaborative effort involving NETL, sister National Laboratories and key academic research institutions.