specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
providerId: national-renewable-energy-laboratory
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
  - Government
  - Energy
  - Open Data
description: 'FOCUS-aligned FinOps for NREL APIs: free public-good developer network funded by the U.S.
  Department of Energy. No invoiced charges; the only meaningful FinOps signal is request volume per
  key against the 1,000/hour gateway cap.'
sources:
  - https://developer.nlr.gov/
  - https://developer.nlr.gov/docs/rate-limits/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC (operating NREL for the U.S. Department of Energy)
serviceCategory: Open Data / Public Sector / Energy
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Free / Public Good
  billingFrequency: None
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: NREL Developer Network
  ServiceCategory: Open Data / Energy
  ProviderName: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  PublisherName: Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC
  InvoiceIssuerName: N/A (no invoicing)
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
meters:
  - name: api_requests
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - api
      - api_key
  - name: ratelimit_blocks
    unit: event
    aggregation: count
    dimensions:
      - api_key
      - api
  - name: demo_key_requests
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - source_ip
      - api
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Inspect X-RateLimit-Limit and X-RateLimit-Remaining on every NREL API response; alert
      consumers approaching the 1,000/hour cap before they hit 429.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Issue a distinct NREL API key per consuming application or research workstream; aggregate
      rate-limit telemetry by key for showback (no chargeback applies — there is no charge).
  - name: Optimization
    description: Cache slow-changing datasets (utility rates, alternative fuel stations) and pre-compute
      PVWatts results when the inputs are stable; never use DEMO_KEY for production workloads.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Each consuming team owns its API key and migrates from developer.nrel.gov to developer.nlr.gov
      before the May 2026 retirement.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com