Jim Pacheco built a reputation in concentrating solar power and was recruited by several companies when the technology took off in the marketplace. (Photo by Randy Montoya) Jim Pacheco (now in the Active Response and Denial Dept.) received an Entrepreneurial Spirit Award for his participation in Sandia's Entrepreneurial Separation to Transfer Technology (ESTT) [...]
Standard steps in modeling PV plant performance (from the PV Performance Modeling Collaborative). The wide variety of PV system technologies and designs, site conditions, and operations strategies means that complex PV system performance models are needed to represent PV plant performance. While PV component and system costs are rapidly falling, the upfront costs [...]
The PV Performance Modeling Collaborative (PVPMC) recently released version 1.1 of the PV_LIB Toolbox for Matlab. The new version includes important bug fixes and many new and useful functions, including support for the single diode module model, clear sky irradiance models, incident angle modifier models and more! Sandia facilitates the PVPMC, a group of over [...]
The Distributed Energy Technologies Laboratory (DETL) at Sandia National Laboratories. A report released recently by Sandia National Laboratories, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and the Georgia Institute of Technology provides a unique approach to help utilities assess the potential effects of high levels of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on the grid. “Time [...]
A recently released Sandia National Laboratories report, "Suggested Guidelines for Assessment of DG Unintentional Islanding Risk," outlines a procedure to help utility distribution engineers determine the risk of unintentional islanding in distributed energy generation installations. By providing a quick and reliable way to identify situations in which such risk is negligible, Sandia’s approach can help [...]
Sandia has developed a significantly cheaper, more efficient, and more accurate method of measuring the irradiance from solar reflections using a digital camera. Measurements of reflected solar irradiance is of great importance to industry, military, and government agencies to assess potential impacts of glint and glare from growing numbers of solar power installations around the [...]
ECIS has developed a new external website to facilitate the functions of the five DOE RTCs—both interacting with each other to fulfill the overall DOE objectives and with partners in the U.S. PV industry. The site houses project updates, news, and events as well as controlled access for project file sharing. The DOE has commissioned [...]
Cool Earth Solar CEO Rob Lamkin, left, and the former vice president of Sandia's California site, Rick Stulen, stand in front of one of the company’s inflated, concentrated photovoltaic units located at the Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC). A new research agreement between the two organizations aims to make solar energy more affordable and [...]
On November 24, 2012 the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) began testing of the Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) solar receiver shroud. Fifteen days of solar testing are scheduled for this testing. The flux levels on the shroud range between 100 and 500 suns. The work is sponsored by PWR in cooperation with the Department [...]
A team from Sandia National Laboratories’ (SNL) National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) recently won a first place Excellence Award in the 2012 Facilities Environmental, Safety and Health Go Green Initiative of the Lockheed Martin Electronics Systems Business Area. The award was given for an innovative means of disposing of 5000 mirrored glass facets that [...]
