October 5, 2020 – 5:00 am
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 the solar energy captured by […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are working to lower the cost of solar energy systems and improve efficiencies in a big way, thanks to a system of small particles. This month, engineers lifted Sandia’s continuously recirculating falling particle receiver to the top of the tower at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility, […]
November 3, 2014 – 8:45 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have received a $1.2 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative to develop a technique that they believe will significantly improve the efficiencies of photovoltaic materials and help make solar electricity cost-competitive with other sources of energy. The work builds on Sandia’s recent successes […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A soaring structure on the south side of the Department of Energy’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) combines two cutting-edge technologies in concentrating solar energy: Compact Linear Fresnel Reflectors and molten salt thermal storage. Using them together is a pioneering concept. Today’s Compact Linear Fresnel systems use water or oil as […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sandia National Laboratories engineers have been studying the most effective ways to use solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays — a clean, affordable and renewable way to keep the power on. Systems are relatively easy to install and have relatively small maintenance costs. They begin working immediately and can run unassisted for decades. But clouds could […]
December 9, 2013 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif.— Sandia National Laboratories researchers have devised a novel way to realize electrical conductivity in metal-organic framework (MOF) materials, a development that could have profound implications for the future of electronics, sensors, energy conversion and energy storage. A paper to appear in Science magazine, “Tunable Electrical Conductivity in Metal-Organic Framework Thin-Film Devices,” debuted in […]
September 16, 2013 – 9:10 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Engineers at Sandia National Laboratories, along with partner institutions Georgia Tech, Bucknell University, King Saud University and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are using a falling particle receiver to more efficiently convert the sun’s energy to electricity in large-scale, concentrating solar power plants. Falling particle receiver technology is attractive because it can […]