US Senator Gardner Applauds NREL Selection to Help Lead $100 Million Energy-Water Desalination Hub
Washington, D.C. – Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, applauded the announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will help lead a $100 million Energy-Water Desalination Hub (Hub) as part of the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) to address water security issues in the United States. According to DOE, the Hub will focus on early-stage research and development for energy-efficient and cost-competitive desalination technologies.
“The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden is instrumental in advancing our nation’s renewable energy technology,” said Senator Gardner. “I applaud the announcement that NREL will help lead this water desalination hub and develop water treatment innovations for non-traditional sources. Water is a resource we use in Colorado for agriculture, energy, drinking, and recreation, and we need to preserve this resource well into the future. I am excited NREL will continue to be at the forefront of water efficiency research.”
According to DOE, the NAWI team will develop technologies that treat seawater, brackish water, and produced waters for use in municipal, industrial, agricultural, utility, oil and gas, and other water supply needs. These technology advancements will help domestic suppliers of water desalination systems to manufacture critical components and parts—including the design and manufacture of small-modular and large-scale systems. NAWI’s goal is to enable the manufacturing of energy-efficient desalination technologies in the U.S. at a lower cost with the same (or higher) quality and reduced environmental impact for 90% of non-traditional water sources within the next 10 years.
The NAWI is a public-private partnership with more than 35 members and over 180 organizations within the alliance, which is led by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in collaboration with National Energy Technology Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Cory Gardner is a member of the U.S. Senate serving Colorado. He sits on the Energy & Natural Resources Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee, and is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy