WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that researchers at DOE national laboratories have won three "R&D 100" awards for developments related to energy efficiency and renewable energy. Presented by R&D Magazine, the awards honor the most outstanding technology developments of the year that have commercial potential.

DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) helped develop a method of detecting impurities and defects in silicon boules, the single-crystal ingots from which solar cells are made. NREL also helped to develop an energy-modeling program called Targeted Residential Energy Analysis Tools (TREAT), which identifies the most cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades for both single-family and multifamily homes.

The third award went to DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which worked with SEMCO Inc. to develop a rooftop air conditioner that can independently control humidity and temperature while delivering any specified percentage of outdoor air into commercial and institutional buildings.