NREL History Publication Documents Laboratory From 1977

Like the political and energy landscape at the time, the birth of the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) in 1977, which became the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 1991, was tumultuous at times. Born from a need for better energy solutions, the newly formed U.S. Department of Energy realized that creating an organization solely dedicated to clean energy was crucial to our nation’s ability to achieve energy independence. The new publication documents the creation of SERI and the politics and context of the times, from 1977 to 2016. It’s the culmination of extensive research and formal oral history interviews conducted over several years. The original project was scoped to capture NREL’s first 40 years and concluded in 2016, but completion was put on hold until 2021. As part of the project, nearly 100 current and former SERI and NREL staff participated in a multiday series of events intended to identify and validate key story arcs. “It was a really interesting process,” said Kim Adams, who was the project manager for the history effort. “The contractor we worked with, The History Factory, had a patented approach that helps identify and validate the common storylines.” Featured throughout the publication are chapter and cover artwork from a four-painting collection commissioned by SERI in 1979 and painted by NASA artist Robert McCall (1919–2010). Best known for his renditions of the United States space program—notably, the six-story moon landing mural that greets visitors at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum—McCall’s NASA-related art has been featured on U.S. Postal Service stamps as well as at the Pentagon and other science- and academic-related locations.