Australian Renewable-Energy Official Visits Sandia

Louise Vickery, General Manager, Renewable Futures at the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

At the end of June, Louise Vickery, General Manager, Renewable Futures at the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) visited Sandia.

ARENA manages the Australian government’s commitment to improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies and to increase Australia’s renewable energy supply.^* ARENA supports all renewable energy technologies and projects across the innovation chain—from laboratory research to large-scale technology demos. The agency hosts a blend of commercial and public sector skills that can be brought to bear on this problem of how to make renewable energy more affordable more quickly. One of ARENA’s primary aims is to improve the performance and lower the cost of renewable energy technologies, and help companies to commercialize them.

During her visit, in addition to presenting on ARENA activities, Ms. Vickery was briefed on Sandia’s renewables program and CSP, advanced receivers, latent sodium, thermochemical storage, selective solar coatings, systems integration, and energy storage.

^*  ARENA was established on July 1, 2012. At inception, it assumed responsibility for committed projects from the former Australian Centre for Renewable Energy; the Department of Resources, Energy, and Tourism; and the Australian Solar Institute.