The Trump administration renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, now calling it Rocky Mountain National Laboratory, marking a change in identity for the Colorado institution that had been a world leader in wind, solar and other renewable energy research.
“The new name reflects the Trump Administration's broader vision for the lab's applied energy research, which has historically emphasized alternative and renewable generation sources, and pays tribute to the natural splendor of the lab's surroundings in Golden, Colorado,” lab director Jude Virden said in a statement.
He did not specify what that “broader vision” would mean for the lab's programs and its staff of about 4,000.
The renaming is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to reduce or scale back parts of the federal government that support renewable energy and to expand federal support for fossil fuels.
Asked for details, the Energy Department said in an email that the renaming “reflects the Department's new emphasis on 'adding energy' rather than prioritizing specific energy resources.”
A spokesperson for the lab did not provide further information on whether there would be changes to the lab's programs or staffing levels.
Bill Ritter, a Democrat who served as Colorado's governor from 2007 to 2011, said it's reasonable to assume the name change signals the federal government is moving away from the lab's status as a world leader in energy research.
“This is a landmark research center,” he said.
Emphasizing this point, he recalled a trip to Israel when he was governor.
“The head of their renewable energy lab said, 'I don't have anything to say to you because you come from a place that has the best renewable energy lab in the world,'” Ritter said.
