Sandia to continue management of U.S. regional test centers for photovoltaic tech
Sandia National Laboratories announced on Tuesday that it has won a three-year renewal from the Energy Department to continue its management of the U.S. regional test centers (RTCs) – U.S.-based facilities that test the performance of solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies.
RTCs test PV technologies across a number of factors, including performance, reliability, ease of installation and economic viability. There are six facilities, located in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Florida and Vermont, with 300 kilowatts of installed PV at different stages of development. This informs the program’s 12 industry partners, consumers and the government about what kind of performance and bankability can be expected from the technology, and allows industry leaders to determine how to improve the systems.
“Very few programs like the RTCs exist, allowing manufacturers to test their products and models under such a wide variety of climate and location conditions, and at the same time provide access to an institution like Sandia that has literally written many of the world’s most adopted solar models,” CEO of Prism Solar Randy Stewart said. “We are very positive about the current work and the far-reaching goals the collaboration will reach.”
The RTCs serve as a source of high-quality data for the research institutions, manufacturers and stakeholders to perfect the source of clean technology for future consumers. The program is funded through the Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative.
