Sandia Research Aims to Enhance Understanding
of Radiometric Instruments
Sandia National
Laboratories and Photovoltaic (PV) Performance Labs, Inc. have partnered on the
PVSENSOR project. This joint research effort aims to measure, characterize, and
understand the intricacies of modern radiometric instruments. Such instruments
are used to measure the amount of sunlight impinging on a plane and are
primarily used as reference devices for PV systems.
Two
identical sets of 21 radiometers are assembled on mounting
planes on a two-axis solar tracker at Sandia’s Photovoltaic Systems Evaluation
Lab (PSEL). After an initial characterization phase, one set of the instruments
will be shipped to Germany for year-long testing at PV Performance Labs, while
the other set is tested at PSEL.
The performance of different radiometers may vary
due to factors such as temperature, incident angle and spectral content of incoming light,
and temporal response to light level changes.
The PVSENSOR project will provide data on the performance of
radiometric instruments to PV system designers and modelers, helping them to select appropriate and cost-effective reference devices for use in
PV systems.
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Registration and Final Agenda Available for 4th PV
Performance Modeling Workshop
Registration
continues for the 4th
PV Performance Modeling Workshop in Cologne, Germany, October 22–23, 2015. Sandia
is partnering with TUV Rheinland
and the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic
Power Systems Programme Task 13 to host the workshop, which will convene solar photovoltaic (PV) professionals and
researchers to discuss critical, innovative technical issues related to PV performance modeling. Sessions for the 2015 workshop include solar
resource data and uncertainty; soiling models; spectral corrections; bifacial
PV performance array modeling; updates about modeling tools; and field modeling
and validation of PV performance models. The registration fee is 300EUR
(including VAT). The final agenda is available on TUV’s
website.
Sandia PV and Distributed
Systems Program Manager Recognized for STEM Contributions
Abraham
Ellis, manager of Sandia’s Photovoltaics (PV) and Distributed Systems
Department, has been recognized with a 2015
Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC) award by Great
Minds in STEM (GMiS).
Ellis
was selected as an awardee for Outstanding Technical Achievement. Nominees for
this category must have made significant technological contributions in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through key research
or design, development, management or assistance for a product, service,
system, or intellectual property. Some of Ellis’ achievements recognized by
HENAAC were related to work funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot
Initiative.
Ellis
and other awardees will be recognized at GMiS’s 27th Annual HENAAC event in
Pasadena, Calif., in October.
Stion Commissions PV System at Sandia
Regional Test Center
Thin-film
solar module manufacturer Stion has commissioned a 12-kW fixed latitude
ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) system at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s)
New
Mexico Regional Test Center (RTC), located at Sandia. The system will be monitored
and tested to collect a range of data related to the system’s performance and
reliability in New Mexico’s hot, arid climate.
DOE’s
SunShot Initiative established five RTCs across the United States to independently
validate the performance and reliability of PV and concentrated PV systems in
various weather and climate conditions. The objectives are to collect
performance data that can support commercialization of new technologies,
facilitate development of standardized protocols for PV system validation, and
accelerate PV deployment through the United States.
Sandia co-manages
the RTC program with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Commercial
partners are invited to submit
their interest in hosting a system at the RTCs.
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Sandia’s CSP Falling Particle
Receiver Project Featured on KOAT News
Sandia’s
research on a prototype falling particle receiver at the lab’s National Solar Thermal Test
Facility was
featured recently on Albuquerque’s
KOAT-TV news. The story, “New Solar Power Technology: Could Get Power on
Cloudy Days,” features Sandia concentrating solar power (CSP) researcher Cliff
Ho discussing how the receiver’s high temperatures and heat exchanger can
facilitate storage of the generated solar power even when the skies are cloudy.
The receiver
drops ceramic particles through a beam of concentrated sunlight that heats the
particles to temperatures that can exceed 700 degrees Celsius. The particles are stored
in an insulated tank, providing energy to the CSP system as needed. The
receiver’s ability to withstand high temperatures means less material is
required and more energy is available, so efficiency is increased while cost is
reduced.
Sandia has been
testing the solar particle receiver since March. The system was first tested
on-ground, and then moved to the top
of the tower in June. The research is
funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative and is a collaborative effort of
Sandia, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Bucknell University, King Saud
University in Saudi Arabia, and the German Aerospace Center.
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Sandia’s Support to IEEE 1547
Recognized in EERE Success Story
A success
story published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) highlights research funded by DOE’s SunShot
Initiative that contributed to the passing of IEEE’s 1547.1a.
The amendment standardizes inverter testing procedures for three advanced
inverter functionalities and creates two new tests to assess the ability of inverters
to respond to abnormal frequency conditions and to regulate voltage. Sandia conducted research to support the updated standard.
The lab’s work including development and validation of test procedures for grid
interoperability, validation of measurement capabilities for distributed energy
resources, and establishment of test protocols for advanced inverter functionality.
DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory also supported the amendment. The full
success story is available on EERE’s
website.
Webinar Scheduled for Sandia Rooftop PV Structural Report
Results from
the Sandia research reports, Structural Code Considerations of Solar Rooftop Installations and Empirically Derived Strength of Residential Roof Structure for
Solar Installations, will be featured in an upcoming webinar hosted by the Solar Instructor Training Network (SITN). Sandia Principal Investigator
Stephen Dwyer will discuss implications of the report for solar installers.
The webinar
is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 22. The event is free and registration
is required. The SITN is funded by DOE’s SunShot
Initiative and managed by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.
The reports
detail research conducted by Sandia and funded by the U.S. Department of
Energy’s (DOE’s) SunShot Initiative to test numerous wood rooftop structures to
failure and compare actual rooftop load-bearing capacity data to the perceived
load-bearing capacity in building. Results indicate that rooftop load-bearing
capacity is higher than allowable loads as defined by the International
Residential Code (2009).
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