Gene Holland, 2008 MRLS Graduate, and Senior Project Leader at NREL Talks About Renewables

Deployment and commercialization of renewable energy technology is one of the key goals of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) according to Gene Holland (2008 MRLS graduate).

Gene, who has been at NREL -- which is located about 25 minutes by car from the DU campus -- since June 2008, is a senior project leader at the laboratory, the premier U.S. federal government research institute for renewables.

Last week, Ann Vessels, the director of the internship program at DU, and I had lunch with Gene to find out what he is doing as well as hear his observations about what the road ahead might look like in the renewables sector. Prof. Vessels and I have known Gene for nearly two years, and so we were looking forward to catching up with him. And we weren't disappointed.

Gene explained a number of NREL's major initiatives, including its work with state and local governments that are pushing ahead with their own renewables efforts. In particular, he pointed to Hawaii, which hopes to generate 70 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030. He also mentioned other NREL projects such as one involving the small town of Greensburg, Kansas, which was destroyed several years ago in a tornado.

He talked about the importance of policy that underlies renewables as well as the many levels of "integration" that must be undertaken when a technology that is developed at the laboratory is prepared for the commercial market. "Deploying the research is being emphasized today," he said, noting that the real success of a renewables-related technology comes when it enters the marketplace as a viable service or product.

It was interesting to hear Gene talk about the types of people -- and issues -- he deals with in his job. The people he deals with range from engineers to policy analysts to financiers and lawyers. He also deals with people in the U.S. Department of Energy's headquarters.

Gene provided us a fascinating peak into the world of renewable energy technology development and deployment. Meetings like this help DU stay ahead of the curve when it comes to addressing and providing the types of experiences and courses students will need to enter the new energy economy.

It was great to see Gene, and it is impressive that he is playing a very real part helping design what our energy future may look like. We agreed to stay in connect in the future. Hopefully Gene -- and all of our other graduates for that matter -- will keep us posted on what they are doing and how we can continue to improve the graduate program to prepare our graduates for the future.