NREL Celebrates 40 Years of Making a Difference

The National Renewal Energy Laboratory (NREL), originally known as the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), was created during the Carter administration 40 years ago. Its location close to the City of Golden has allowed Jefferson County to become a national center of innovation and business creation in the area of renewable energy.

The Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES) is marking this milestone on July 12th at the Jefferson Unitarian Church with a presentation by Denis Hayes, SERI’s second director and a co-founder of Earth Day.

His talk is titled, “How NREL Won the Long Game for Clean Power.” You can reserve your free seat at NREL40.eventbrite.com. Your reservation is not required but helps to plan for food, and any donations are appreciated.

 

Hayes and other remarkable scientists and engineers will share what motivated their research in solar power and other fossil fuel alternatives when oil was king, and how they weathered hostility from earlier administrations. The future of NREL in the Trump administration will no doubt be discussed. Stay for a networking reception with food and drinks after the presentation. The event is co-sponsored by the Colorado Renewable Energy Society, the JUC Green Task Force and New Energy Colorado/Golden Earth Days. 

 

Jefferson Unitarian Church is at 14350 W. 32nd Ave., west of the 32nd & Youngfield exit of I-70. The event begins at 7 pm.

Golden Real Estate Has a Phone-In Show Saturday at 3pm on KHOW

By JIM SMITH, Realtor®

As an extension of my YourHub column, Golden Real Estate is launching its own weekly radio program, “Real Estate Today,” every Saturday at 3 p.m. on KHOW (AM 630), starting July 8th.  I’ll be the host of this program, which will typically consist of two or three segments, at least one of which will be an extension of the previous Thursday’s column topic. Typically, I’ll be joined by one or more of our broker associates plus relevant guests such as inspectors, lenders, appraisers, etc. 

It will be a live program, and we’ll take phone calls from listeners. In the picture, I’m shown on Barry Miller’s program a couple years ago (before I lost 25 pounds!) talking about real estate and answering listeners’ questions.

 

For our inaugural program, I’ll have one or more guests who were present at the founding of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 1977, when it was called the Solar Research Institute.  We’ll discuss not only NREL’s contribution to the “New Energy Economy” but also about how homeowners (or tenants) can make their own homes more energy efficient, saving money while reducing their “carbon footprint.”

 

As you may know, Golden Real Estate has been honored for its sustainable practices and commitment to energy efficiency.  Indeed, our “for sale” signs (right) have two slogans on them, one of which is “Promoting and Modeling Environmental Responsibility.”  We have done that by installing 20 kilowatts of solar capacity at our South Golden Road office, by installing Velux sun tunnels to bring daylight into our office, and by super-insulating our building so that it costs far less to heat and cool than it did when we bought it 10 years ago.  With all the excess electricity from our solar panels, we are able to charge our own electric cars as well as offer free charging to the public at two ChargePoint stations in our parking lot.

 

We also accept block white polystyrene (aka “Styrofoam”) for recycling, keeping over 200 cubic yards of that material out of landfills every year.  Drop off yours 24/7 at the “Styrofoam Corral” located behind our South Golden Road office.