Sandia researchers are working to lower the cost of solar energy systems and improve efficiencies in a big way, thanks to a system of small particles. Technologists John Kelton and Daniel Ray (both in Sandia’s Concentrating Solar Technologies Dept.) perform inspection of the falling-particle receiver during a cloud delay atop the NSTTF’s Solar Tower [...]
DOE-EERE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power, Douglas Hollett. (DOE photo) In his role as Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power, Douglas Hollett oversees research, development, and demonstration of a diverse clean-energy portfolio that includes power generation from wind, solar, geothermal, conventional [...]
The Energy Council pauses in their tour of the NSTTF. Energy Council legislators oversee energy and related environmental regulation in North American states/provinces where energy is important to the employment base and fiscal well-being. The Energy Council provides a larger context in which each jurisdiction may consider its particular concerns. The Council’s interests [...]
SolarReserve is testing engineering units at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) operated by Sandia. The company says it decided to test its prototype heliostats at NSTTF because of Sandia’s, “knowledge and reputation in the solar industry, as well as the breadth of resources available for improving and testing new designs.” SolarReserve is focused [...]
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 [...]
On June 16th, the Department of Energy Fuel Cell Technology Office (FCTO) announced $20 million for 10 R&D projects to advance technologies that can economically produce and deliver hydrogen to power fuel cells from diverse, domestic, and renewable resources thereby enabling substantial reductions in energy use and carbon emissions. Advancing these technologies is critical to [...]
On May 21st, the Department of Energy SunShot Initiative announced $10M for six new R&D projects that will advance innovative concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies. The Concentrating Solar Power: Efficiently Leveraging Equilibrium Mechanisms for Engineering New Thermochemical Storage (CSP:ELEMENTS) funding program supports developing thermochemical energy storage (TCES) systems that can validate a cost of ≤ $15/kWhth [...]
AREVA and Sandia began operations of their molten salt energy-storage demonstration plant designed specifically for use with AREVA’s compact linear Fresnel reflector (CLFR) technology. Funded partially by DOE, this full-scale project is being carried out at Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) in Albuquerque. The demonstration project at the National Solar Thermal Test [...]
Joshua Mark Christian (Concentrating Solar Technologies Dept.) working with the falling particle receiver, which more efficiently converts the sun’s energy to electricity in large-scale, concentrating solar power plants. (Photo by Randy Montoya) Engineers at Sandia, along with partner institutions Georgia Tech, Bucknell University, King Saud University, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are [...]
Glare viewed from the air traffic control tower at Manchester/Boston Regional Airport. (April 27, 2012, at 8:15 a.m.) Sandia researchers—competing in an international pool of universities, corporations, and government labs—captured three R&D100 Awards in this year’s contest. R&D Magazine presents the awards each year to researchers whom its editors and independent judging panels [...]
