At least 114 people were laid off at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory today, according to an email reviewed by CPR News.

It’s unclear which departments were affected or which employees were based out of the lab’s headquarters in Golden. The email, sent by the “NREL Leadership team,” cited shifting budget requirements, new federal directives and stop-work orders as affecting the lab’s operations.

The email implied the cuts would help the lab – which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy – focus on its longer-term mission and help the lab shift its resources to “critical priorities.”

NREL did not immediately comment on the cuts; a spokesperson said that a statement was forthcoming. 

NREL is the country’s premier laboratory for renewable energy research and development, and receives most of its funding from the federal government. Many NREL employees are not technically employed by the federal government and are instead paid by a third-party group, known as the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, which oversees the lab. 

The lab began in the late ‘70s as the Solar Energy Research Institute, established in part to deal with the aftermath of the 1970s oil crisis. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush elevated the facility to a national laboratory. 

Today, the lab partners with hundreds of companies to troubleshoot, and sometimes solve, thorny technical problems. The lab has endured cycles of funding and support — the Reagan administration dramatically cut the institute’s funding, while the second Bush administration fired, and then rehired, over two dozen employees.