Also known as collectors, heliostats are large arrays of mirrors which collect and focus sunlight. In a concentrating solar power plant, the collectors focus sunlight on a centralized receiver. The receiver captures the heat, where it can be stored and used to produce power on demand. The unique capabilities and testing expertise of [...]
Representatives from the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) Research Institute of China recently visited Sandia to discuss research capabilities, interests, and potential for collaborative research between the two entities. The visit included an overview of Sandia and the hydrogen and fuel cells program. Staff discussed experimental research on liquid hydrogen behavior and the HyRAM toolkit, [...]
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office has awarded $72 million to projects advancing high-temperature concentrating solar power systems, including the falling-particle receiver system developed collaboratively at Sandia. Sandia’s continuously recirculating high-temperature falling-particle receiver is one of three concentrating solar power projects funded to advance high-temperature concentrating solar power (CSP) systems through the [...]
Sandia’s microsystems enabled photovoltaics, also known as “solar glitter,” captured a prestigious R&D 100 Award in this year’s contest. Microsystems enabled photovoltaics combine mature technology and tools currently used in microsystem production with groundbreaking advances in photovoltaic cell design. The cells are created using mature microdesign and microfabrication techniques, said Sandia researcher Vipin Gupta. The [...]
Sandia researcher Greg Nielson, team leader on the Microsystems-Enabled Photovoltaic cell project, was featured in the October/November 2011 issue of Innovation Magazine.
Sandia National Laboratories will begin researching how to use glitter-sized photovoltaic cells in utility-scale solar power systems, which eventually could cut the costs of solar panels in half and nearly double their efficiency. Sandia’s work with industry, other labs and universities to improve the design, materials and manufacturing processes of the Microsystems-Enabled Photovoltaic [...]
Sandia will receive $4.1 million from DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to design Vertical Axis Wind Turbines which could reduce the cost of offshore wind energy generation. Read more about the grant here.
Bernadette A. Hernandez-Sanchez is the project lead for the Advanced Materials Program and DOE's Marine and Hydrokinetic Technology Database (MHTDB). The Advanced Materials Program focuses on understanding the properties and performance of materials and coatings being investigated for potential marine hydrokinetic (MHK) and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) technologies as well as developing novel anti-biofouling [...]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — April 28, 2011 — Sandia engineers Jose Zayas and Dale Berg were honored by Windpower Engineering magazine as two of the nation's innovators and influencers in wind energy. [singlepic id=653 w=320 h=240 float=right]Zayas, senior manager of the Renewable Energy Technologies group at Sandia National Laboratories, was named an influencer on wind energy. [...]
