Art Nozik
His own account of a life in solar research, persistence, and learning across disciplines. University of Colorado Boulder, 2022.
Surfacing Solutions
Follow the people.
Explore the work.
A starting collection of stories, institutions, and tools behind the opening essay. Follow the links, examine the evidence, and bring what we have missed.
These are independent resources, not announced partners or contributors. Historical accounts retain their original dates. Tools have their own licenses and limitations.
People and their stories
Richard Smalley
The energy challenge as a call to scientists and engineers. Rice University’s account of his 2003 lecture.
Bob Epstein and Nicole Lederer
E2’s co-founders and the connection between business leadership and environmental policy.
EarthSpark and its collaborators
Allison Archambault and the team’s early account of Les Anglais, the business model, and SparkMeter. A 2014 perspective.
Tools others can build with
En-ROADS
Explore energy and climate scenarios with the simulator developed by Climate Interactive, MIT Sloan, and collaborators including John Sterman. Test the connections—not just a single intervention.
Measure What Matters
John Doerr’s book on goals and results. A starting point for our conversation about which outcomes deserve to guide collective action.
HOMER
Hybrid energy-system modeling. The institutional origin story provides context for Peter Lilienthal’s work and its path beyond NREL.
System Advisor Model
Technical and financial modeling for energy projects. Explore the tool, documentation, and assumptions.
REopt
Compare distributed-energy options, economics, system sizes, and critical-load resilience.
NREL × First Solar
A laboratory–industry collaboration illustrating how research, validation, and reciprocal learning compound.
Ecosystems and context
CleanTX
Explore the Texas network connecting cleantech and renewable-energy businesses.
Austin’s Clean Energy Incubator
The University of Texas incubation program and its connections to technology, utilities, and markets.
Cleantech Open
Support for entrepreneurs developing businesses, engaging investors, and reaching customers.
The California electricity crisis
FERC’s historical account of the 2000–2001 crisis and market manipulation. Context for the opening essay.
Follow the evidence of progress
Clean Jobs America
E2’s clean-energy employment research. Check each report’s year and definitions; jobs employed are not the same as jobs created since 2001.
Energy Transition Investment Trends
BloombergNEF’s investment research. Keep deployment, corporate finance, geography, and reporting periods distinct.
World Energy Investment
IEA’s 2026 view across energy investment. A broader context for comparing infrastructure and technology funding.
Queued Up
Berkeley Lab’s 2025 edition covers interconnection requests through 2024. Queue capacity is a pipeline, not delivered infrastructure.
Questions worth bringing together
What needs solving?
Research into use. Faster infrastructure delivery. Affordable and resilient places. Better ways to model, finance, and integrate. Lessons that can travel across borders.
NREL’s people, tools, and entrepreneurial history deserve a fuller series. These are directions for exploration—not a publishing schedule. Contributions and real-world needs will help shape what follows.
Add a story, source, or problem