Welcome to the 2018/2019 academic year: The Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL) is a unique new research, development, project implementation, and community outreach facility based at the University of California, Berkeley in the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Nuclear Engineering. RAEL focuses on designing, testing, and disseminating renewable and appropriate energy systems. The laboratory’s mission is to help these technologies realize their full potential to contribute to environmentally sustainable development in both industrialized and developing nations while also addressing the cultural context and range of potential social impacts of any new technology or resource management system.
Go to AboutA note to prospective visitors to RAEL:
Due to the high demand for places in RAEL I regret inform to you that we no longer can accept any short-term visitors (months to a year). We now can only accept students who apply to and are accepted in a degree program on campus. If you write to RAEL making this request anyway, your email won’t be returned (because both we receive far too many such requests, and because you have not read/found this announcement on the RAEL home page).
With our regrets,
Dan
To highlight the latest research findings emerging from UC Berkeley and the Berkeley Lab, on sustainability we present Cal Future Forum: Our Changing World, an unusual opportunity to learn directly from leading researchers who are developing solutions to the environmental challenges we face.
In May 2017 over a dozen prominent Berkeley researchers provided a synopsis of the state of the planet, a better understanding of the challenges we face, and the solutions being developed at Berkeley – and being implemented globally. This rare gathering of leading Berkeley scientists, engineers, scholars and policy experts was moderated by prominent radio host, Michael Krasny.
Please visit this page for access to all of the talks.
Go to News & Events
RAEL is a unique collaboration of scholars, activists, policy makers, community groups and engaged leaders from industry all working to to expand our ability to do and put into practice “use-inspired basic research” in words of Donald Stokes. Please visit the RAEL project, student, publication and media pages to find information on our many activities. After a decade of the old RAEL website, this new site is just now being fully populated with our old and new content. Please visit the ‘support RAEL’ pages too, as your interest attention, and support is vitally need to extend and expand our ability to make a difference in accelerating the clean energy transition.
2018:
2017:
2016:
Dan Kammen will lead the RAEL lunch this week where we will focus on both materials science and operational innovations in energy storage, both focused on l0ng-term energy storage (a project we are doing with Prof. Sarah Kurtz at UC Merced, Prof. Noah Kittner at U. of North Carolina, and Prof. Patricia Hidalgo-Gonzalez of UC […]
For the article in English and Japanese versions, click here Read more
The paper, “Modeling the impact of EVs in the Chinese power system: Pathways for implementing emissions reduction commitments in the power and transportation sectors” is now available from Energy Policy, and is also available on the RAEL Publications page. Click here. This work involves partners from Chongqing University, Stonybrook University, Tsinghua University, the University of California at […] Read more
From The Daily Californian, November 13, 2020. Click here for the original. With Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ presidential victory came an international sigh of relief. After the dismal past four years, science, social justice and both domestic and global partnerships to address climate change are now back on the agenda in the United States. More than any […] Read more
November 9, 2020: Canada has expressed interest in a new, smaller type of nuclear reactor that proponents say will be critical to help the country reach its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But there is debate among researchers, advocates and other experts on whether these new reactors are necessary to reach net-zero — or whether […] Read more
For the original October 26, 2020, article by Peter Fairley in Grist, click here. Read more
What Caused August’s Rolling Blackouts? Experts Say It’s Still Not Totally Clear What Caused August’s Rolling Blackouts? Experts Say It’s Still Not Totally Clearhttps://www.kqed.org/news/11842647/what-caused-augusts-rolling-blackouts-experts-say-its–still-not-totally-clear In their ongoing investigation into what caused California’s rolling blackouts in August, the state’s electrical grid operator and utility regulators have focused primarily on structural issues like climate change-driven heat and […] Read more
My climate journey: Episode #126 A PODCAST FOR THOSE SEEKING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND CLIMATE CHANGE AND HOW TO HELP Podcast available in several formats for download: click here. Or, if you want to read it: Today’s guest is Daniel Kammen, Professor of Energy at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to his professorship in the […] Read more
A call for national leadership to solve the cascading crisis of climate, health, equity and the economy: Congressman Jared Huffman, Dr. Natasha DeJarnett, & Prof. Daniel Kammen Watch the video: click here. Or link to: https://leadonclimate.org Read more
To watch the interview and discussion video, click here on the KQED website. Fighting Climate Change Amid Wildfires, Extreme Weather and Presidential Denial On Monday, during a trip to California, President Trump refused to acknowledge the role climate change has played in generating wildfires that have burned more than 3 million acres and killed at least 26 […] Read more
New RAEL-WWF joint piece on clean energy for cultural and biodiversity conservation in the Mekong region. China Dialog, September 2, 2020. For access, click here. And for the version on the RAEL pages, click here. Read more