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).

• A new analysis by NREL that reveals that the $4 billion economic value represented by cardboard and paper is lost due to landfilling. The study, focused on 2019 data, emphasizes the potential for substantial energy, environmental, and economic benefits through improved waste management strategies for paper and cardboard waste, which constitutes a quarter of municipal solid waste in the United States.
• Owners of electric vehicles (EVs) are more likely to install solar panels on their homes, according to a behavioral study analyzed by researchers NREL. The study, based on a survey of 869 households in the San Francisco Bay Area, reveals a complementary relationship between EVs and solar photovoltaics (PVs), suggesting potential benefits for energy system resiliency and cross-sectoral adoption of sustainable technologies.
• NREL has released its 2023 Standard Scenarios, offering insights into potential changes in the U.S. electricity sector until 2050. The scenarios, generated using NREL's Regional Energy Deployment System model, project significant growth in wind and solar power by 2050, with a five-fold increase in wind capacity to 750 GW and a tenfold increase in solar capacity to 1,100 GW.

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.