capitalization

1. Proper Nouns

Capitalize proper names. These include the names of government programs, official projects, formal groups, organizations, companies, titles when they precede a name (use lowercase in titles that follow the name), specific geographic areas or features, and ethnic groups.

When referring to NREL, "National Renewable Energy Laboratory" is capitalized, but "the lab," "the laboratory," and "national laboratories" are not.

One exception to this rule is companies and products with stylized lowercase or "camel cap" names (e.g., eBay, iPhone). In these cases, use the company’s or product’s preferred capitalization.

2. Figure Captions, Table Titles, and Section Headings

Figure captions: Capitalize only the first word and proper nouns in figure captions. No period needed (unless there are multiple full sentences).

Table titles and section headings: Capitalize the main words of table titles and headings and subheadings, including the second word in a hyphenated term (e.g., "PV Program Five-Year Plan"). No period needed.

Do not capitalize:

• Articles (e.g., "a," "an," and "the") unless they begin the title or heading
• Conjunctions of three or fewer letters (e.g., "and," "or," "nor," "yet," "so," and "but")
• Prepositions of three or fewer letters (e.g., "for," "of," "on," and "up").

Do capitalize:

• Conjunctions (e.g., "than") and prepositions of four or more letters (e.g., “from,” “with,” “above,” “after,” “down,” “inside,” “over,” and “into”)
  
• "To" as an infinitive (but lowercase as a preposition, e.g., “Scientists Travel to Chile To Engage Utilities”)
• Verbs, including "is" and "are."
  

For journal/conference submissions or other non-NREL publications, follow the style recommended by the professional society or publisher.

3. Titles

Capitalize titles when they precede the person's name. Lowercase titles and names of groups when they follow the name.

4. Trade Names

Capitalize trade or brand names, and include a trademark, copyright, or other symbol only when it's an Alliance-registered trademark. Include the symbol the first time you use the trade name in body text (not in a title, acronym list, or section header); thereafter, you may omit the symbol. Also use superscript for trademark symbols. See the trademark symbols entry for a list of Alliance trademarks.

5. Taxonomic Names

When writing about botanical and zoological divisions, capitalize the names of all divisions higher than species: genera, families, orders, classes, and phyla. Italicize genera, species, and varieties.

After you first mention them (and spell them out), you can abbreviate most generic names followed by species names.

See also captions, fiscal year, geographic regions, headings and subheadings, states and countries, and tables.