Rooftop solar panels get boost from Sandia tool
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 that shows utility companies how rooftop solar panels at a specific house or business would interact with a local electrical grid throughout the year.
Don’t set it and forget it — scan it and fix it with tech that detects wind blade damage
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 researchers say.
Workshop strengthens Caribbean resilience
Sandia and DOE hosted the Advancing Caribbean Energy Resilience workshop at the Universidad Ana G. Mendez’s Gurabo campus in Puerto Rico, where researchers, engineers, policy makers and utility representatives met to discuss how to enhance and improve energy resilience throughout the Caribbean.
A day in the life of Sandia — 70 years and counting
To mark the 70th anniversary of President Truman’s letter that inspired Sandia to “… exceptional service,” Lab News photographer Randy Montoya spent a full day chronicling the people and work that make the Labs hum from sun up to sundown.
Experiments at Z Machine earn Gomez research honors
Sandia physicist Matthew Gomez has been awarded the 2019 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Early Achievement Award.
Testing solar irradiance
Last year, Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility brought in a helicopter to collect data on the strength and direction of light reflected from the concentrating solar power field at the solar tower.
Sandia, NMSU ink research deal
Sandia signed an MOU with New Mexico State University on April 10 that outlines how the institutions intend to collaborate for the next decade. The agreement seeks to foster research in areas of national security, including water, energy and critical infrastructure.
Sandia lends expertise to hydrogen center
Sandia is building on longstanding partnerships to help found a new global center focused on safety and best practices for the use of hydrogen in the global energy transition. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers, in partnership with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, recently launched the Center for Hydrogen Safety.
New lab offers mobile testing for devices that turn ocean waves into electricity
A new Labs facility — the Sandia Wave Energy Power Take-Off (SWEPT) Lab — offers mobile, specialized testing for systems that produce power from wave energy. Marine and hydrokinetic technologies convert the energy of waves, tides and river and ocean currents into electricity, creating the potential to provide millions with locally sourced, renewable and reliable energy.
Flying from the glass
Bird strikes against windows are an all-too-familiar sound. To birds, the transparent glass looks like open space, and between 500 million and 1 billion birds die each year trying to fly through closed windows. Sandia is solving this problem at one of its high-strike buildings, where ecology program staff partnered with facilities staff to place adhesives featuring a dot pattern on the building's windows.