News

Two days after delivering a training on the China Energy Group's software tools for low carbon eco-city development in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, Dr. Lixuan Hong travelled to Shenzhen in southern China to give another training session on September 17. Twenty-five experts from the local government, the private sector, and a public research university that are directly or indirectly... Read more

The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) was credited in an article titled "U.S.-China Rifts on Hacking, Spying Put Aside for Climate" for its efforts in bringing together more than 1,100 Chinese and American scientists from research laboratories and private companies on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean to enhance cooperation on climate change.... Read more

Several speakers from the Environmental Energy Technologies Division will speak at the 6th Biennial Emerging Technologies Summit in San Francisco, October 20-22.The meeting will bring together participants in the energy efficiency and demand response emerging technologies sectors for a two-day interactive conference to discuss the intersection of utility programs, technology, market drivers,... Read more

Berkeley, CA — The price of solar energy in the United States continues to fall substantially, according to the latest editions of two annual reports produced by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).A third Berkeley Lab report, written in collaboration with researchers at Yale University, the University of Texas at Austin and the U.S. Department of... Read more

One of eight mid-career women who received a Clean Energy and Empowerment award from DOE-MIT partnership.As part of the U.S. Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) program, run by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), Sila Kiliccote, leader of the Grid Integration Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was recognized for her accomplishments... Read more

The Heat Island Group, with support from the California Energy Commission and California Air Resources Board, developed a new web portal for local governments to learn more about the science and implementation of cool community strategies in California. The new portal features information on urban vegetation, cool roofs and cool pavements on CoolCalifornia.org. The website also includes... Read more

Whether playing fusion, bebop or modern jazz, bassist George Ban-Weiss loses himself in the passion, creativity and freedom of music, finding transcendence in his art.His willingness to push boundaries has made him a much in-demand musician. Ban-Weiss has appeared on dozens of albums, toured and played with scores of bands with different sounds and styles.“Improvised music has shown me the value... Read more

Dr. Mark Levine, founder of China Energy Group of Lawrence Berkeley National Laobratory, has been named Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award for Societal Impact. For more detail, please visit LBNL's website.... Read more

Working with Chinese researchers, the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has conducted the first comprehensive study of cool roofs in China and concluded that they would be effective in substantially reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in climate zones with hot summers.The team simulated both residential and office buildings in seven Chinese... Read more

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is convening expert meetings of two International Energy Agency projects, Annex 58 and Annex 60. As part of this event, there will be a public series of seminars with experts from energy policies, building design and energy simulation. Presentations and discussion will evolve around the intersection of:energy policies in Europe and California, and... Read more

The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center Building Energy Efficiency (CERC-BEE) Consortium held its annual workshop on August 25-26 in Berkeley, California to evaluate performance of its 12 joint research projects and plan the future of the consortium after this high-profile program ends its first phase of work in 2015.About 90 researchers, industrial partners and experts, and government... Read more

In the commercial buildings sector, there is no shortage of opportunities to improve building performance and energy efficiency. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration statistics from the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey, 95 percent of commercial buildings in the United States are 50,000 square feet or less. These small buildings account for 44 percent of all commercial... Read more

Seven China Energy Group staff members participated in the 2014 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, with five panel presentations and two poster presentations. The ACEEE conference, held every two years in Pacific Grove, CA, is a pre-eminent meeting bringing together a diverse array of professionals focused on discussing both the technological basis and practical policy-related... Read more

Mary Ann Piette, Head of the Building Technologies and Urban Systems Department of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, will speak at the Emerging Technologies Summit in San Francisco. Piette will discuss “Whole Building Energy Management and Data Analytics” on October 21, 2014. The summit takes place Oct 20-22.The Summit is the 6th Biennial Emerging Technologies meeting hosted by... Read more

The 2015 ITRI-Rosenfeld Postdoctoral Fellowship opportunity is now open for applications. This fellowship recognizes the contributions of Art Rosenfeld and furthers the mission of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD) of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) in the advancement of clean energy technologies and reducing adverse energy-related environmental impacts.The... Read more

After three years of collaborative investigation, Ronnen Levinson and Jing Ge of LBNL's Heat Island Group co-authored a paper with Chinese researchers titled, "Cool roofs in China: Policy review, building simulations, and proof-of-concept experiments." Their work characterizes the potential for heat island mitigation, energy use, energy cost, and ambient air quality as a result of replacing dark... Read more

The Environmental Energy Technology Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been selected as one of the three winners for 2014 Champion of Energy Efficiency Awards by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The division is awarded for its four decades of leadership on energy efficiency R&D, helping to improve buildings technology and systems in extensive... Read more

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) was named a 2014 Champion of Energy Efficiency at the 18th biennial Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Berkeley Lab was cited for “four decades of leadership on energy efficiency R&D, helping to improve buildings technology and systems in extensive collaboration... Read more

Ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs have become an important tool for meeting electricity demand and addressing climate change issues in the United States. But methods for measuring and verifying those energy savings—justifying the current expenditure of $4.8 billion annually on utility efficiency programs—can be cumbersome, expensive, and, in some areas, do not provide a high level of... Read more

Wind energy pricing is at an all-time low, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The prices offered by wind projects to utility purchasers averaged just $25/MWh for projects negotiating contracts in 2013, spurring demand for wind energy."Wind energy prices—particularly in the central United... Read more

The Windows and Envelope Materials Group has a new website. Find out what they do by going to the link below.... Read more

Several Environmental Energy Technologies Division researchers will present their work at the 9th Annual North American Passive House Conference. The meeting will take place September 10-14 at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront Hotel.Iain Walker and Brennan Less will speak on “Smart Ventilation Challenges and Opportunities for Passive House.” Vi Rapp and Brett Singer will present a... Read more

Tighter housing envelopes help homeowners maintain thermal comfort but also require continuous mechanical ventilation to maintain healthy indoor air quality. While that tighter envelope can reduce homeowners’ heating and cooling energy use and costs, the required mechanical ventilation and the need to condition air brought in from outside cuts into those savings.Three maxims are key to designing... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy is funding research aimed at improving the accuracy of building energy simulation through an approach known as hybrid modeling.“Traditional physics-based energy modeling for existing buildings relies on user inputs among which some are unknown or difficult to measure, such as air infiltration rate and interior thermal mass that can vary significantly by time and by... Read more

In conjunction with the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz traveled to Beijing and met with China's Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang to chair the U.S. – China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) Steering Committee Meeting on July 11, 2014. CERC, launched by President Obama and former Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2009, serves... Read more