The quest for cleaner energy has been significantly bolstered by the advanced computing capabilities at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Operating under the banner of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) commitment to energy efficiency and sustainable energy research, NREL’s latest achievements are showcased in their Advanced Computing Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2023.
Innovative Projects Powered by HPC
Throughout fiscal year 2023, the NREL team dedicated substantial efforts to the deployment of the Kestrel High-Performance Computing (HPC) system. NREL’s HPC infrastructure facilitated more than 300 renewable energy projects, which significantly impacted every technological division of the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
The Vital Role of Computational Science in Energy Advancements
Citing computational science’s role as a cornerstone of modern-day energy advancements, Ray Grout, the NREL’s Computational Science Center director, emphasized the importance of HPC in bridging the gap between scientific discoveries and viable sustainable energy solutions. The introduction of Kestrel has been a game-changer, with the promise of a stronger future for renewable energy innovation.
Diving Into the Heart of NREL’s Annual Computing Report
Curious minds can explore the highlights or delve into the entirety of NREL’s Advanced Computing Annual Report. This document lays out the significant impact of advanced computing on DOE’s research, citing noteworthy achievements such as:
- The R&D 100 award-winning SEAS platform, an innovative open-source software instrumental in building and testing virtual energy communities through ARIES-related hardware and modeling.
- An interdisciplinary study called PR100 that combines the efforts of multiple laboratories to strategize on achieving Puerto Rico’s renewable energy objectives.
- Research into the use of 100% drop-in sustainable aviation fuels and their influence on aviation combustor performance, paving the way for greener skies.
The Advent of Kestrel and Its Pioneering Architecture
Housed in the Energy Systems Integration Facility‘s data center, Kestrel stands ready to deliver over five times the computational might of its predecessor, Eagle, when it reaches its full potential. Its innovative heterogeneous architecture boasts both CPU-only and GPU-accelerated nodes, tailoring a more robust GPU capacity to burgeoning fields such as artificial intelligence and expanding the research horizons of computing.
The introduction of Kestrel is a testament to NREL’s ongoing commitment to harnessing the power of high-performance computing in the relentless pursuit of energy sustainability and efficiency. This technological fortitude drives the forward momentum in renewable energy research and its translation into real-world applications.
