The US National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) has laid off 114 employees as proposed federal cuts affect the Department of Energy (DOE).
Job cuts were confirmed to PV Tech by an NREL spokesperson. The cuts will affect employees and subcontractors in research and operations at the NREL headquarters in Golden, Colorado, according to The Colorado Sun newspaper.
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NREL is the primary national laboratory for energy systems research and development of the US DOE. It has two national centres, one of which is dedicated to solar PV and also 16 research programmes, including advanced manufacturing, energy storage, solar, grid modernisation or energy security and resilience, among others.
More recently, NREL published a study on the potential of floating solar PV (FPV) in the US, which could add up to 1TW of PV capacity. It also published reports on perovskite tandem modules or the increased breakages in modules.
“NREL continues to navigate a complex financial and operational landscape shaped by the issuance of stop work orders from federal agencies, new federal directives, and budgetary shifts. As a result, NREL has experienced workforce impacts affecting 114 employees across the laboratory, including staff from both research and operations, who were involuntarily separated today.
“We appreciate their meaningful contributions to the laboratory. NREL’s mission continues to be critical to achieve an affordable and secure energy future. We are grateful for the dedication and commitment of our staff as we continue to advance the laboratory’s work,” said the NREL spokesperson in a statement provided to media, including PV Tech.
Last week, the White House published a letter recommending budget cuts of US$20.3 billion—compared with 2025’s budget—for the DOE alone.
Among the programmes/offices likely affected by these recommendations are the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), within which sits the Solar Energy Technologies Office and which supports research into net-zero technologies, with a budget cut of US$2.6 billion, or the Office of Science with a US$1.1 billion reduction.
The Office of Science is responsible for 10 of the 17 US DOE’s National Laboratories, including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which has published several reports about solar PV and the US grid, including the report about the interconnection backlog.
Some of these budgets cuts were already foreshadowed right after Donald Trump won the US election back in November 2024, and was covered by PV Tech at the time.
