New Projects - Renewables

Mortenson leading EPC work on $19.5M NREL Research & Innovation lab
Mortenson leading EPC work on $19.5M NREL Research & Innovation lab
(Image credit NREL)

Mortenson will lead construction on a new, $19.5 million research facility for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.

The project announced in August would be Minneapolis-based Mortenson’s fourth on NREL’s South Table Mountain Campus. Mortenson’s contract is for $15.5 million to design and build it.

The 15,700-square-foot Research and Innovation Laboratory (RAIL) will provide multipurpose lab space for cross-disciplinary research at the  intersection of chemistry, materials science, bioscience, and engineering in support of a breadth of energy efficiency and renewable energy, according to the company.

“Through our ongoing work on the South Table Mountain Campus, we’re helping NREL fulfill its mission as the nation’s leading center for renewable energy research,” Gene Hodge, vice president and general manager, said. “The work performed at NREL is critically important to developing new energy technologies that benefit both the environment and our economy and we’re proud to support those efforts.”

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Mortenson previously partnered with NREL to complete the Science and Technology Facility in 2006 and both phases of the Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility, the first in 2010 and the second in 2011. In total, these projects encompass nearly 95,000 square feet of research space constructed for NREL by Mortenson Denver.

RAIL is designed by Davis Partnership Architects. Energy efficient technologies such as heat recovery evaporative cooling and infrastructure to support future renewable technologies will be included in the design.

The electrical infrastructure will additionally accommodate a future microgrid, allowing the building to run from completely renewable sources in the future.

Mortenson has been an engineering, procurement and construction contractor on numerous wind, solar, storage and energy efficiency projects across North America.