Episode Details

Disclaimer: This episode was produced when the laboratory operated as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The laboratory is now the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR).

Hosts Kerrin Jeromin and Taylor Mankle discuss three recent stories from NREL:   

• All Aboard! NREL Releases First Comprehensive, Open-Source Software for Freight Rail Decarbonization: The rail industry has an opportunity to revolutionize transportation. In the coming years, railroads could lay the tracks for industry-wide net-zero-emissions operations—thanks, in part, to a new software tool from NREL. ALTRIOS, the Advanced Locomotive Technology and Rail Infrastructure Optimization System, is the world's first fully integrated, open-source software designed for exploring deep decarbonization of the rail industry. 
• NREL Analysis Quantifies Impacts of Setback Ordinances on Land Available for Renewable Energy Deployment: The number of local zoning ordinances governing renewable energy deployment is growing in the United States, according to new research by the U.S. Department of Energy’s NREL. The results indicate that local land use and community considerations play a significant role in U.S. decarbonization and should therefore be accurately reflected in modeling and analysis.
• A Decade of Greener Computing Blooms Inside NREL's Data Center: NREL installed its first water-based cooling system inside the Energy Systems Integration Facility­ (ESIF) data center in 2012. That risk paid off, and not just in the $4.05 million operational-cost savings to date. By not relying on air conditioning, the data center has avoided expelling 22,829 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the past 10 years. That is the equivalent of sequestering carbon dioxide emissions from over 25.2 million pounds of coal.

This podcast is hosted by Jackson Fletcher, Kerrin Jeromin, Taylor Mankle, and Nataleah Small and written and produced by Hannah Halusker, Allison Montroy, and Kaitlyn Stottler. Editors are Joe DelNero, Brittany Falch, and Taylor Mankle. Graphics by Brittnee Gayet. Music by Ted Vaca and Chuck Kurnik, Jim Riley, and Mark Sanseverino of Drift BC. Peaks to Power is created by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies in Golden, Colorado. Email us at podcast@nlr.gov. Follow NLR on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, and Facebook.