Renewable energy

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Here comes the sun: Tethered-balloon tests ensure safety of new solar-power technology

April 22, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — What do tiny dust particles, 22-foot-wide red balloons and “concentrated” sunlight have in common? Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories recently used 22-foot-wide tethered balloons to collect samples of airborne dust particles to ensure the safety of an emerging solar-power technology. The study determined that the dust created...
Two small balloons against a blue sky to the left of a large tower with a

New tool at Sandia brings some West Texas wind to the Duke City — virtually

February 2, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have a new tool that allows them to study wind power and see whether it can be efficiently used to provide power to people living in remote and rural places or even off the grid, through distributed energy. A new, custom-built wind...
Scientist in protective gear looks at a cyan and red couston-built wind turbine emulator

Carbon fiber optimized for wind turbine blades could bring cost, performance benefits

January 14, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new carbon fiber material could bring cost and performance benefits to the wind industry if developed commercially, according to a study led by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories. Wind blades containing carbon fiber weigh 25% less than ones made from traditional fiberglass materials. That means carbon...
Categories: Renewable energy

Turning up the heat on molten salt valves

October 5, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is partnering with Flowserve Corp. and Kairos Power LLC on a $2.5 million, three-year Department of Energy Advanced Valve Project grant to lower the cost and boost the efficiency of concentrating solar power in the U.S. Control valves are a critical link in managing...
Armijo at Molten Salt Test Loop

Don’t set it and forget it — scan it and fix it with tech that detects wind blade damage

June 24, 2019 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Drones and crawling robots outfitted with special scanning technology could help wind blades stay in service longer, which may help lower the cost of wind energy at a time when blades are getting bigger, pricier and harder to transport, Sandia National Laboratories researchers say. As part of...
Wind blade robotic crawler

Rooftop solar panels get boost from Sandia tool that previews a year on grid in minutes

June 20, 2019 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Homeowners and businesses may now have an easier time getting solar panels on rooftops thanks to software developed at Sandia. The new software can run a detailed, second-by-second simulation, known as quasi-static time series analysis, that shows utility companies how rooftop solar panels at a specific house...
Matthew Reno, Sandia National Laboratories

CRADA enables resilient microgrid research between Sandia, Emera Technologies

November 15, 2018 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Imagine a hurricane similar in magnitude to 2017’s Maria that pummels through islands and small communities, stripping out power lines and wreaking havoc on residents’ lives. Only imagine this time around there is a local power system that is more r…

Some like it cryogenic

October 15, 2018 • [caption id="" align="alignright" width="250"] Rendering of First Element Fuel’s liquid hydrogen retail fuel pump. The pump includes a canopy on top and the fuel storage is pictured in the rear. (Image courtesy of First Element Fuel) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resol…
Rendering of First Element Fuel’s liquid hydrogen retail fuel pump. The pump includes a canopy on top and the fuel storage is pictured in the rear.

Small business recycling ventures propelled by Sandia engineering

September 27, 2018 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Along Route 66 in rural, eastern New Mexico is a defunct ethanol plant in Tucumcari. Still hanging inside the building, calendars from 2010 mark the year it closed, and six massive fermentation tanks — each one 35 feet tall and 55,000 gallons — sit empty. Drought has...
Tucumcari Bio-Energy

From concept to commercialization: 40 years of concentrating solar power research

July 26, 2018, Media Advisory • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — From testing space shuttle tiles to making electricity from sunlight, the world’s first multimegawatt solar tower has contributed to energy research, space exploration, defense testing and solar energy commercialization since it was commissioned at Sandia National Laboratories in July 1978. The solar tower is a key component...
Categories: History, Renewable energy
Historical sepia toned photo of a crowd looking at the Solar Tower.

Raising the heat to lower the cost of solar energy

May 21, 2018 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories will receive $10.5 million from the Department of Energy to research and design a cheaper and more efficient solar energy system. The work focuses on refining a specific type of utility-scale solar energy technology that uses mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a...
Falling particle receiver video

First 3-D printed wind-blade mold, energy-saving nanoparticles earn Sandia national awards

April 25, 2018 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has won the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer’s national 2018 Technology Focus Award for designing the first wind turbine blades fabricated from a 3-D printed mold, which could dramatically shorten the time and expense of developing new wind energy technology. The labs also...
3D-printed wind turbine blade

Wind energy team to compete nationally after winning Sandia Labs’ first pitch competition

November 27, 2017 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In an effort to help researchers think about their ideas from a business perspective, Sandia National Laboratories collaborated with startup accelerator ABQid in the labs’ first Pitch Competition this fall.A team working to commercialize wind energy f…

Biofuels from bacteria

August 21, 2017 • Sandia helps HelioBioSys understand new clean energy sourceLIVERMORE, Calif.—You might not cook with this sugar, but from a biofuels standpoint, it’s pretty sweet. A Bay Area company has patented a group of three single-celled, algae-like organisms that, when grown toget…

Optimizing hydrogen-powered passenger ferries focus of Sandia Labs study

July 13, 2017 • LIVERMORE, California — Maritime transportation has emerged as one solution to the traffic gridlock that plagues coastal cities. But with urban passenger ferries operating in sensitive environments and tourist areas, hydrogen fuel cell-powered passenger ferries offer a qui…
Joe Pratt and Myra Blaylock

New Mexico firm uses motion of the ocean to bring fresh water to coastal communities

July 5, 2017 • Sandia Labs provides a fourth year of technical help ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Hurricane Katrina whipped up huge, powerful waves that caused severe destruction in 2005 along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Their size and strength convinced Phil Kithil of Santa Fe, New Mexico, there had to be a way to harness...

More small, clean-energy businesses will tap into Sandia technical expertise

April 25, 2017 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Department of Energy has chosen five more small, clean-energy businesses to work with Sandia National Laboratories to speed the commercialization of next-generation technologies and gain a global competitive advantage for the U.S. “Sandia is excited to bring these small businesses together with our scientists and engineers...

Two Sandia researchers receive Presidential Early Career awards

February 3, 2017 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia researchers Stephanie Hansen and Alan Kruizenga are among 102 scientists and engineers to receive the 2017 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The PECASE, established in 1996, is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the...
Stephanie Hansen
Results 26–50 of 153