A research team that included Sandians Clifford Hansen and Joshua Stein (in Sandia’s Photovoltaic & Distributed Systems Integration Dept.) and Katherine Klise (in Sandia’s Geotechnology and Engineering Dept.) received a Best Paper Award for their work “Photovoltaic System Model Calibration Using Monitored System Data,” presented at the 6th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC) [...]
Different types of parallel arc-faults on the DC side of a PV array. Sandia National Laboratories/Tigo Energy researchers recently submitted an application for a US patent related to research on arc-fault detection and circuit interruption in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Sandia’s patent-pending methods, filed as Identifying an Arc-Fault Type in Photovoltaic Arrays, allow [...]
The state of the art in PV system monitoring is relatively simplistic, relying either on comparisons of outputs between various parts of the system (e.g., inverters) or on an evaluation of a performance metric that normalizes output to available irradiance and other environmental conditions. However, neither of these methods is very effective in discovering the source [...]
PV fault detection/monitoring system using machine-learning algorithms. A learning algorithm is trained to estimate power production based on meteorological data (irradiance, temperature, wind speed, etc.). This predic-tion is then compared to the actual power to detect various faults. Current research is focused on distinguishing different fault signatures. (Figure from Riley and Johnson, 2012) [...]
Sandia’s Kenneth Armijo (in the Photovoltaic & Distributed Systems Integration Dept.) was recognized in Hispanic Engineer and Information Technology magazine’s Fall 2014 issue as a “top professional in energy” in their article, “Where Does the Energy Sector Find Its Next-Gen Stars?” Dr. Armijo is a research scientist who holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from [...]
The PV Performance Modeling Collaborative (PVPMC) is excited to announce the launch of our newly redesigned Web site located at the new address: https://pvpmc.sandia.gov. The new site’s homepage welcomes visitors with a clean uncluttered design, with featured content focused on our mission to provide you with the most accurate information, strengthen partner relations, and share [...]
Dr. Danielson and Sen. Sanders attend ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the newly installed PV arrays at the Williston, Vermont, RTC site. The solar industry is now more than 60% of the way toward achieving the DOE SunShot Initiative affordability goal of $0.06 per kilowatt-hour for solar electricity. Meeting the last 40% without compromising [...]
Sandia and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) are delighted to host the second joint symposium on technical issues related to photovoltaic (PV) systems and related technologies. This year, the symposium will cover three areas: Sandia researcher Matt Lave uses pyranometers like these to measure the amount of irradiance, or available sunlight. This device employs [...]
Total Maintenance Actions per Component. This “button” chart shows the total number of maintenance actions across all system components per month. Color coding is used to differentiate each component. [Note: CTRLBRD = Inverter Control Board; CRTLSW = Inverter Control Software; CPS = Inverter Control Power Supply; CYL = hydraulic cylinder; DAS = Data Acquisition [...]
On October 21, Sandia’s Joshua Stein, Melissa Sisneros, and Bruce King (all in the Photovoltaic & Distributed Systems Integration Dept.) will host a workshop on demonstrating strategies for defining the bankability of new PV products, “Driving the Commercialization of New Solar Technologies: What You Can Learn with the U.S. DOE Regional Test Centers toward Demonstrating [...]
